Defensive Handguns Forum - 40 cal. Concealed Carry

MannyFromMiamiLakesFLA Newbie Offline Proud Firearm Supporter Posts: 13 Miami Lakes, FL Gender:	40 cal. Concealed Carry Aug 15^th, 2010 at 12:41am What 40 cal is best to carry concealed. Any out there with interchangeable grips for small and med. hands? What about recoil. What can be done to reduce it? Changing ammo?
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M1911A1 Steve

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Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry
Reply #1 - Aug 15^th, 2010 at 2:10am

In any caliber, the pistol that's best is the one that fits your hands and lifestyle the best.
The most useful advice I know to give is to go to a range that rents time on several different pistols, and try shooting as many different guns as you can afford to. Find the one that best fits your hands.
I am not a .40 user, but my personal experience with other calibers leads me to believe that the cartridge that fires the heaviest bullet of that particular diameter will have the most manageable recoil. Heavy-bullet loads tend to recoil with a push, rather than with a jab.
If you want the most concealable weapon, remember two things: One, it's the grip area of a semi-auto that's the difficult part to hide, while a long barrel will just dive deeper into your pants. Two, the smaller the pistol, the harder it will be to control and to hit effectively with. Beginners should learn on full-size pistols.

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Amend2 Newbie Offline Proud Firearm Supporter Posts: 2 East Providence, RI Gender:	Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry Reply #2 - Aug 17^th, 2010 at 1:27pm Reflecting on the good advice offered by M1911A1Steve, you may want to include a mid-sized pistol like the Glock 23 in your "try-outs." It offers a decent grip and ease of operation as you get used to shooting the .40 S&W.
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trlhrv Newbie Offline Proud Firearm Supporter Posts: 18 Richardson, Tx. Gender:	Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry Reply #3 - Aug 19^th, 2010 at 12:16am My preferred carry pistol is the Kahr PM40. If you want to go a little larger there is the P40. For a small gun the PM40 handles recoil wonderfully.
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Dave49

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Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry
Reply #4 - Aug 19^th, 2010 at 8:39am

Manny, the XDm 40 comes with 3 backstraps included. Between the 3, you will be certain to be able to adjust the grip to fit your hand.

As mentioned earlier, don't be concerned with the length of the barrel, it's the handle that will "out" you - not the barrel.
If you check manufacturers websites, they will normally express the height of the gun, they are talking about the distance from the top of the slide to the bottom of the handle (acutally the magazine).

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Obiwan Newbie Offline Jihad THIS! Posts: 21 Miami Gender:	Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry Reply #5 - Aug 19^th, 2010 at 4:01pm Go up to Big Al's in Hallandale and rent a Kahr K40 (they have one in the rental counter - I've seen it) and then respond. I think you'll like it - especially if you have small/medium hands!!! I LOVE mine!
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pop pop Master Member Offline Proud Firearm Supporter Posts: 756	Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry Reply #6 - Aug 22^nd, 2010 at 2:45pm I have both a Kahr PM 40 and a P 9 9mm. I like both of them. I have a Glock mdl 23, in 40 cal. that I have never been able to conceal carry, except under winter time cloathing. For me it is just a tad bit too large to conceal on my person. I am sure there are other 40's that will fill the bill but I like the Kahrs.
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mtvmd

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Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry
Reply #7 - Sep 2^nd, 2010 at 9:53pm

I carry my Glock 19 9mm in a crossbreed supertuck, which conceals wonderfully! The 19 and the 23 are the exact dimensions, just chambered for different calibers. I'm planning to upgrade to the 23 (.40 cal) soon, and I like the fact that I can use the supertuck for both without buying another.

That being said, I've never shot the 23, but i've shot other .40 cal handguns, so the recoil isn't bad, to me at least. More and more police units are moving to .40 cal due to more "stopping power" than a 9mm, and the Glock 23's are seeing more active duty due to this.

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GP-100 Fan

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Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry
Reply #8 - Sep 13^th, 2010 at 3:14am

I don't think I could conceal my XD-40 full size very well at all. I have shot many different rounds from Federal In my XD. My personal experience has been that personal defense rounds generally have quite a bit snappier recoil than target rounds. I usually shoot 155gr hollow points that are faster than target rounds and are pretty darn snappy, but extremely accurate. I have shot the XD sub-compact 40, and found the recoil about the same. even with the short mag.
Federal makes some low recoil loads I have not tried yet. But they are an option to reduce recoil.

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Chippy482

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Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry
Reply #9 - Sep 14^th, 2010 at 10:28pm

I carry a Kahr PM 40 as a back up weapon when I am on duty. Since is is a "single stack" with a short barrel it is relatively easy to conceal. Recoil is not too bad. If it does not fit your hand well they have extended magazines that make it a little easier to grip. One thing I have noticed, the Kahr is very picky with ammo, it prefers ball or hollow points with a sharp taper. Hollow points with "wide openings" will not feed at all.

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M1911A1 Steve

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Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry
Reply #10 - Sep 14^th, 2010 at 11:12pm

Chippy482 wrote on Sep 14^th, 2010 at 10:28pm:

...If it does not fit your hand well they have extended magazines that make it a little easier to grip...

...But remember that the grip of a pistol is the difficult part to hide, so making it longer makes your gun that much more difficult to conceal.
There are other ways of accommodating a short grip, rather than merely extending it. However these methods require a bit of practice and familiarity.
Chief among the required techniques is a very firm grip, which must be continuously maintained by the thumb and all of the (fewer) fingers involved. It makes smooth trigger presses difficult to accomplish, so the technique really must be practiced, both dry-fire and live.

(Jean and I are going to be visiting our new granddaughter from September 15th through the 29th. We'll see you when we get back.)

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tnhawk

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Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry
Reply #11 - Sep 16^th, 2010 at 8:14am

MannyFromMiamiLakesFLA wrote on Aug 15^th, 2010 at 12:41am:

What 40 cal is best to carry concealed. Any out there with interchangeable grips for small and med. hands?
What about recoil. What can be done to reduce it? Changing ammo?

I have easily concealed a G27, XD40sc and K40. Recoil will vary with ammo but the 40 is managable.

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FlashBack Newbie Offline Proud Firearm Supporter Posts: 3 Iowa Gender:	Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry Reply #12 - Mar 24^th, 2011 at 12:40am Recently acquired a Ruger SR40..absolutely love it so far!
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Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry
Reply #13 - Mar 26^th, 2011 at 8:53am

S&W makes the M&P 40c and it comes with the interchangeable backstraps. I have the 9c and I love it. Handles almost as well as does my Beretta 92fs. I know some have problems with the M&P trigger but after a few hundred rounds and lots of dry firing, I find the trigger to be consistent and smooth. Trigger tweaking is possible. I carry it concealed in a Galco Super Tuck IWB. No one mentioned S&W so I thought I'd throw that into the mix.

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Randy Liddle Newbie Offline Proud Firearm Supporter Posts: 2 Upstate NY Gender:	Re: 40 cal. Concealed Carry Reply #14 - Apr 26^th, 2011 at 12:11pm I love my glock 22 . It's big, but I don't care. I carry it with an Uncle mike's super belt slide with a long shirt over it, or long tank top. It will get the job done. Also use my Taurus 24/7 pro .45 in same setup.
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