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compact .45 cal

I've been looking for a conceal handgun. Guy I work with in the barber shop keeps a Glock 40 sub compact tucked.
We were at the gun shop looking around and I saw two compact .45s I really liked. Any personal experience on them would be appreciated.
The Springfield micro-compact, Kimber Ultra Carry II, and the Kimber Pro-Carry II.

I had to carry .45's in the Marines a long time ago, so it's not as if I'm unfamiliar with them.

In the 40 cal, I'm leaning hard toward the Sig 239. We were shooting 40s that day. Didn't even look at the 45's until after we were done shooting.

Thanks for any input.

Kev
 
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The 239 is an awesome gun. A bit big and definitely heavy for the capacity, but awesome nonetheless. And the extra heft definitely helps deal with the recoil.

No experience with those particular .45s. You might want to look into the ballistics of the .45acp out of a particularly short barrel though. It is a pretty slow round even out of a 5" barrel and would lose a fair bit of velocity out of a much shorter barrel. Personally I prefer CCW weapons without an external safety, so compact 1911s have never held much interest for me. But if that's what you want Kimber is generally known for producing a high quality pistol, so I'd go for it.
 
Shot the Procarrys alot and like the full size grip. Only Sig I own is the 226 which is to big for everyday carry. My carry gun is a Kahr P9 since 2003 and a K9 from '96 to 03. I would suggest checking out the Kahr pistols as they were pretty much designed ground up for CCW. The have them from 380-45.

www.kahr.com


Jay
 
I carry a P239 in .40 almost every day. The only change I made to the gun was to swap in Hogue finger groove grips. A very popular addition.

I still have an unused swappable .357Sig barrel for it but it shoots the .40 so accurately, I never bothered w/ it.
 
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I carry a P239 in .40 almost every day. The only change I made to the gun was to swap in Hogue finger groove grips. A very popular addition.

I still have an unused swappable .357Sig barrel for it but it shoots the .40 so accurately, I never bothered w/ it.

I've actually shot the 239 in both calibers side by side and preferred the .357sig to the .40. The recoil on both was significant of course, but the .40 seemed to want to twist too. So to get the .40 version back on target I had to both bring it down and rotate my wrist to straighten the gun back out. The .357sig version did not twist like that. The recoil was straight up and back.
 
I've actually shot the 239 in both calibers side by side and preferred the .357sig to the .40. The recoil on both was significant of course, but the .40 seemed to want to twist too. So to get the .40 version back on target I had to both bring it down and rotate my wrist to straighten the gun back out. The .357sig version did not twist like that. The recoil was straight up and back.

The .357sig has a lot of fans, myself included. I have a 229 in .357sig that(when I can afford to) is fun to shoot. But I'm to the point where I actually shoot tighter groups w/ the smaller p239 in .40S&W. I'm not sure if its because I like the trigger better and that it's a single stack that fits my hand better, but w/ the hogue grips, I have no problems w/ the snappy 40.

I also use "medium" Slide Glide grease on the rails and found it hard to believe but it really feels like the stuff reduces felt recoil. W/o causing failures.

Edit: Of course, all of this would apply if I was shooting it in .357sig too but last time I went to buy it they were out so we shot .40 instead. Availability and price have kept it from the top of my list.
 
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I have one of the Kimber Ultra Carry models. Honestly it's a fantastic shooter, lightweight and very accurate.

I just never felt comfortable carrying cocked and locked (hammer back, round in the chamber and safety on), so I retired it to bedside duty and use a Para Ordanance PDA for carry. It's one their LDA, light double action only, models which except for the double action vs single action is almost identical to the Kimber. I carry it with a round in the chamber, safety on, same as any 1911 type, but hammer is down and has no spur to catch on anything. Trigger pull is much longer than the typical 1911, but with their mechanism is very light and easy to pull.
 
My favored CCW piece is a titanium S&W J-Frame revolver but when I carry a semi-auto it's a Glock.

The model 27 your friend owns is a fine piece of equipment. I've owned Glocks for many years and for a time was a certified armorer. They are just incredibly tough and reliable. They are also one of the few firearms that can be readily disassembled, maintained, and reassembled by persons with little or not gunsmithing skills (this includes detail stripping not just field stripping)

The only issue I have with minis is that because of the short grip they tend to "walk" out of your hand during rapid firing. Many aftermarket companies offer "pinky rests" (grip extensions) and magazine extensions none of which really work or they enlarge the grip reducing concealability.

GAP Enterprises in Gallup, NM has come up with an ingenious solution to the problem: a magazine floor plate extension that allows the "ring finger" to firmly lock into the grip. The grip on the firearm during draw and presentation is just awesome. Check it out:

www.concealablecontrol.com

Greg Pugh is a stand-up guy.

A mini-glock with night sights and GAP floorplates is an excellent choice.
 
My favored CCW piece is a titanium S&W J-Frame revolver but when I carry a semi-auto it's a Glock.

The model 27 your friend owns is a fine piece of equipment. I've owned Glocks for many years and for a time was a certified armorer. They are just incredibly tough and reliable. They are also one of the few firearms that can be readily disassembled, maintained, and reassembled by persons with little or not gunsmithing skills (this includes detail stripping not just field stripping)

The only issue I have with minis is that because of the short grip they tend to "walk" out of your hand during rapid firing. Many aftermarket companies offer "pinky rests" (grip extensions) and magazine extensions none of which really work or they enlarge the grip reducing concealability.

GAP Enterprises in Gallup, NM has come up with an ingenious solution to the problem: a magazine floor plate extension that allows the "ring finger" to firmly lock into the grip. The grip on the firearm during draw and presentation is just awesome. Check it out:

www.concealablecontrol.com

Greg Pugh is a stand-up guy.

A mini-glock with night sights and GAP floorplates is an excellent choice.

I'm with you on the J frame. I have a hammerless, double action only, scandium framed model I use for summer pocket carry. It's so light and small that the hotter +p loads plain hurt my hand. I would prefer more weight but it is so light it does not pull my pants down like a heavier gun.

It's probably the most concealable and handiest gun I have.
 
Stick with any mainstream manufacture and what feels go to you there after.
You will get many opinions but in the end anything mainstream will do just fine. Also look at factory support and warranty such as lifetime for Smith and Wesson products.
 
i would suggest a sig p229 40cal. when you go to sub compact and compact with a .45 you dont have the accuracy you normaly do an there is quite a bit more kick
 
I carry Springfields .45 compact and Kimbers CDP II both great guns. My wife just changed her off duty snubby .357 special to the Glock 36, wow what a neat pistol. I recommend staying away from any .45 GAP
 
Being a larger gentleman(pronounced FAT GUY), I usually carry a full size 1911 IWB. I haven't tried a lot of compacts, but Para's WartHog was my favorite of the ones I tried. Generally, when I need UDC and reach for something small to carry, it's a DAO hammerless J-frame in a Galco tuckable.
 
Glock 37 is a nice single stack 45. The various Kimber carry models are excellent. I personally love the 220 in 45-incredibly accurate out of the box but a bit big for easy ccw. The Springfield XD compact in 45 is a terrific piece-a bit thick but rugged, goes bang every time, mine is very accurate, has a nice grip safety for carry. Lastly, my all time favorite for 45 carry is a Colt Commander, alloy frame or for a few more ounces the Combat Commander with steel frame. Slim, accurate, reliable, classy, classic-fast first shot when carried cocked and locked. If I had to pick one-that would be it.
 
I have two for CCW. I have a Taurus PT145. It's their sub-compact in a .45. It's a double stack and fits great in the hand and fun to shoot.

I also have a Ruger LCP in .380. It's small in the hand and not fun to shoot for long periods of time.

I carry the LCP almost exclusively. It's super light weight and easy to conceal. I wear shorts and a t-shirt almost every day in the summer in San Antonio. It gets really hot here. I have a real nice horse hide pocket holster for it. I just grab it and throw it in my front pocket. I almost forget it's there. A lot of people starting out make the mistake of not thinking about comfort and buy a big caliber sub-compact like me. Pretty soon you find excuses not to carry it. The most important thing is that you are carrying.
 
I have two for CCW. I have a Taurus PT145. It's their sub-compact in a .45. It's a double stack and fits great in the hand and fun to shoot.

I also have a Ruger LCP in .380. It's small in the hand and not fun to shoot for long periods of time.

I carry the LCP almost exclusively. It's super light weight and easy to conceal. I wear shorts and a t-shirt almost every day in the summer in San Antonio. It gets really hot here. I have a real nice horse hide pocket holster for it. I just grab it and throw it in my front pocket. I almost forget it's there. A lot of people starting out make the mistake of not thinking about comfort and buy a big caliber sub-compact like me. Pretty soon you find excuses not to carry it. The most important thing is that you are carrying.

I carry every day, either openly or concealed depending on what I'm doing. Just choose a different piece and carry mode appropriate for my daily activities. I really like the LCP, but not a fan of the 9X17 round. If they ever decide to make it in 9X19, I'll buy one in a heartbeat. Ballistically, the 9X17 is fine, but there seems to be vastly more diverse ammo avaiable for the 9X19.
 
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