Help. I want a new carry gun.

[Guest bennychaff]

I am looking for a compact pistol that is easy to carry and has a thumb safety (call me paranoid). 9mm, .40 or .45. Any suggestions.

[SHbicycle]

Kimber ultra carry II.

I carried one for about 4 years and the great thing about it is I never had to shoot anyone.

[Guest tnvolfan]

You might try the Bersa Thunder .380. I know it's not the caliber you specified, but it is a compact gun with the safety and great sights. The bad thing is the .380 caliber -- difficult to find practice ammo, but not too bad to find the personal protection ammo. It is my carry because it lightweight and extremely accurate.

[Guest MCRAIG]

Taurus PT 140,145, 111, great little pistols.

[Guest cowboy20th]

While searching this week I really wanted a cz p01. Its a compact pistol with alloy frame decocking safety, hard to find around here, you would probably have to special order one. CZ also has a new polymer gun out that look impressive, franklin gun shop had one in stock if you wanted to check it out.

[willis68]

I am looking for a compact pistol that is easy to carry and has a thumb safety (call me paranoid). 9mm, .40 or .45. Any suggestions.

What is your budget for the pistol?

[Curiousgb]

Taurus PT 140,145, 111, great little pistols.

+1 on the PT145. Also check out the Dan Wesson CBOB.

[Guest m4coyote]

What about one of the new S&W M&P 9mm or .40 S&W compacts with the thumb safety? I really like my M&P9c.

[lowbud]

+2 on the Millenium pro series.

[tnroadrunner]

Springfield EMP.

[Guest HexHead]

Colt New Agent.

[TN9mm]

+1 For the Springfield EMP. You can check out my thread on the gun with a bunch of pics here. Match grade bull barrel, match grade trigger, factory night sights. Compact and light weight for what it is... gonna part w some $$ for one but it is no more than some of the other suggestions here so far. Good luck let us know what you decide.

[Guest SigVol]

I am 6'4" and 220 pounds of twisted blue steel romance...and carry a Sig P220 Carry Elite (.45 ACP). I have always felt body frame should be a consideration although limited in some aspects. But I also like carrying my Sig P232 (.380) in the summer.

Both firearms are point and pop; very accurate and easy to handle. The downside is that Sig Sauer is very proud of their firearms. Though, in the immortal words of Dizzy Dean: "It ain't braggin' if you done it..."

It ultimately boils down to - "What are you comfortable with?"

[Guest bennychaff]

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't really have a budget in mind yet. I wanted to get a few ideas first.

[nightrunner]

my suggestions are, in no particular order, 1911 variant, hk usp-c, hk45c, sig p229, or a s&w semi-auto.

[Guest CK1]

What about one of the new S&W M&P 9mm or .40 S&W compacts with the thumb safety? I really like my M&P9c.

+1 (if you still do indeed want the thumb safety...)

[Guest 3pugguy]

I am looking for a compact pistol that is easy to carry and has a thumb safety (call me paranoid). 9mm, .40 or .45. Any suggestions.

A guy at the range today had a S&W compact he let me try (I'm Glock guy fwiw). Great feeling gun and it shot nice; as comfortable to me as my Glock.

It was a .40.

Edited May 23, 2009 by 3pugguy
add note

[hkusp40cal]

I would suggest checking out the CZ P07 duty. Comes with a decocker setup from the factory but has the safety setup in the box and even allows cocked and locked carry. Comes with 16 round mags and has to be one of the best grips I have ever held. I picked one up to replace a G19 I sold. Fits the hand great and at under $500 I consider it a steal. Guns and Ammo has a review

New Age 9

[Guest Hemo]

Compact doesn't mean much. I'm 5'9" about 170 and to be honest...I have had a hk tactical 45, to a ppks, to a sp101. A lot in between. Since it has warmed up I have really taken to my sp101 2"(which I fell in love with after it came back from Gemini, but honestly I continued to rotate after the "new" wore off) .357. My heavier clothes gun is a sig 229 in 357 sig....However the gents over at Tri City gun Depot are holding me a colt series 80 to be the in between gun that I plan on picking up in a week or two.

Long story short, I carry the revolver anywhere I want, khaki shorts and a T-shirt while hiking localy, but at the same time I can put on a suit (and I wear one 2-3 times a week) and can cover a 229 in .357 sig very easily.

I know not everyone needs to rotate(and suit jackets make it easy honestly), but you kinda do depending on your build and lifestyle. . . If you are on a budget for a cary gun for all weather I would recomend a comander length 1911. . . It's a solid caliber, thin, and a decent length.

You can however pick any Sig, Glock, 1911 (honestly I have owned everything from a Springer to a Nighthawk,) to a Smith, and anywhere in between. A Taurus is a good gun, and so is charter arms for a small revolver.

Set your budget, figure out if your lifestyle requires 1 or 2 guns, and get your mits on what you think you would want. It will be worth a drive for you to visit any of the dealers that frequent this site. At this point I have decided that any caliber that works, works, and anything that fits your hand...works... I love .357 sig and Mag. I also have a very American love for the .45 . YMMV but just define your priorities and then decide.

Edit: My keyboard is falling to #@%@... fixing some caps...time to hit newegg.

Edit: Try number 2 and I still faile with Charter Arms being caps...I give up. UPS needs to hurry lol

Edited May 23, 2009 by Hemo

[poak]

I really dig my HK USP9c (V1: DA/SA w/ de-cocker & thumb safety) but it is a little pricey compared to other pistols on the market.