Hunting season? The .22 for squirrels, the shotgun for birds, the serious rifle for deer or bigger.
For those of us who carry guns, the weather dictates what we wear that covers, well, what we wear.
Since July or so I’ve been mostly carrying a Glock 19, a 15+1 capacity 9mm semiautomatic. It’s actually much the same footprint as the classic “snub-nose .38,” the Colt Detective Special introduced circa 1927, but two and a half times the old revolver’s six-shot capacity (and more than three times the round count of Smith & Wesson’s five-shot equivalent small frame .38 snubby.
When I had to teach in a state with the draconian 10-round magazine capacity limit, I downsized from the “compact” G19 to its “subcompact baby Glock” sibling, the Glock 26. Designed for 10+1, it not only concealed a little better but saved me the irritation of having to download my carry gun.
Now we’re getting into the cold weather with heavier garments, and I’m thinking about teaching my next class with the larger (“standard size”) Glock 17 with 17+1 capacity with the same ammo as the 26 or the 19. That’s either Speer Gold Dot 124 grain +P, rated for 1220 feet per second out of the 19’s four-inch barrel, or Winchester Ranger 127 grain +P+ at 1250 foot-seconds. That’s about the same velocity as a 125 grain full power .357 Magnum out of a two-inch barrel (chronograph it yourself, as I did, if you don’t believe me) and it takes the worry out of carrying a medium caliber gun.
Almost 30 years ago, the department I served issued the Smith & Wesson 4506 .45 auto for duty. I carried it at work and on my own time in the winter, when heavy clothing discreetly concealed a big gun. In spring and fall my off-duty gun was the same maker’s lightweight compact in .40 S&W, and in the summer my un-tucked polo or tee shirt concealed the little S&W Model 3913 9mm. All held 8+1 rounds of their designated caliber, all worked Identically, and that wardrobe of pistols worked pretty darn well.
What are your “seasons of the gun”? As always, your input is invited in the comments.
I’m just thankful to be living in the Golden Age of Technology. We have wonderful tools with which to defend ourselves, AND, we rarely have to use them to defend our lives. So, we are armed and safe, and we have a lot more fun than most of the people in the world, whose governments refuse to trust them with firearms.
I’ll bet Christians in Nigeria wish they could walk around armed and safe.
Not to mention Christians in Germany. I read a long piece this morning (available on RCP https://nationalinterest.org/feature/a-farewell-to-europe) about this, focusing in part on rape culture. I think the writer was European because it never occurred to her to mention having an armed citizenry even in her long list of suggested policies.
Richard,
Great article with a lot of details.
Sun Tzu said the best general is not the one who wins battles, but the general who can win without fighting. In Europe, the invaders are invading without firing a shot, and they are getting the invaded to pay for the invasion.
actually, no seasonal changes. Pocket carry, right and left, an S&W 442 and 642, with the venerable 158-grain, lead, semi-wad-cutter, hollow-point +p. When hiking, a fanny-pack with a Charter Arms “Target” Bulldog, a speed-strip, and one of the J-frames in the pocket.
Where have you found a source for that ammo?
I’ve always had very good luck with “Ammoman.com”
I don’t change my carry gun for the seasons. It’s a Sig “C3″, an aluminum-framed 1911A1 with an Officer’s sized grip and a Commander length (4.25”) slide and barrel. It’s in a Don Hume clip-on IWB holster with thumb retention, and a spare magazine in a holder on the other hip.
In warm weather my tee-shirts are untucked and cover it well, and in cold weather a nice big bulky sweatshirt covers it. I’m retired so I don’t have to dress for work anymore.
The Glock 45 is my all seasons carry pistol. If extra discretion is needed The G43X fits the bill nicely, with 2 extra mags instead of one
Year round,anywhere pretty much,except the post office. G19 in my Eclipse holster AIWB.I could probably wear it sleeping but it would pull down the front of my drawers!
Sid Pitts,
I’ve experimented with wearing a snubnose revolver in a belly band with pajamas. Obviously, the belly band provides its own support. I sleep on my back. It is both comfortable, and comforting. I go to the bathroom armed! ; )
If I lived in a bad neighborhood, I would sleep like that every night, plus with a shotgun near the bed.
In warmer months, I’m more inclined to EDC my Bulgarian Makarov. In colder months, back to Beretta 92FS.
A performance center M&P Shield .45 with four inch barrel works for me year round. Best all around handgun ever for me, and imminently concealable.
Here in midwestern semi-suburbia, I don’t change my carry much with the seasons. It’s either my S&W 442, my Glock 42 or Glock 43x. I suppose the 43x will get the nod more now due to the cooler temperatures. I like to stick with what I know. Glocks were my duty weapons most all of my LE career. A j-frame has been my steady companion for 40+ years.
I carry the Glock 19 year round in an outside the waistband holster with an untucked shirt here in Maine year round with Federal HST’S and 1 extra mag in a multi tool pouch on the other hip.
I live in a very temperate part of the country (SW Washington State), and I rarely switch out my carry (Kahr CW9). Our two seasons are cool-and-wet, and warrm-and-dry(ish), so it’s the same gun/holster under untucked shirt: long sleeve flannel during cool-and-wet, or untucked short sleeve during what passes for summer. One exception is that occasionally I need to clean up and wear a suit. On those occasions, a S&W Bodyguard goes in the right pants pocket and a Kimber micro .380 on the ankle (so I can remove the coat if needed). I also always have a Kimber Pepper-Blaster in the left pants pocket, every day, year round. (BTW, the Pepper Blaster can be purchased in 3 packs for about $100, and they make great gifts for the people in your life.)
Also my turph. I only use one dressout. BHP in nine, Crossbreed tuck holster on right hip. Spare mag holder in other pocket, disappears. When casual I leave he shirt untucked and loose. the oher extreme is a three piece suit, and with he tucking rig, vest, suit coat it is not even “there”.
The only place I do not wear that is when I am out cycling.. road bike I wear the standard “road” jersey, three pockets across the lower back Wallet on the lepht, movil phone in middle, Kimber semiauto little guy in nine kurz in pistol rug with spare mag, all o which disappear into the “lump” accross my back. Hah I got yanked by a sick Portland Or copper who tried to run me down in his unmarked squad car, and when I screamed a him (not yet knowing he was a copper) he lit me up and started screaming at me and being very aggressive. I was certain he’d arrest me because I was armed. He never suspected I’d be armed (had Oregon Mother May I Card, but……. ) using what diplomacy skills I had I deescalated and he eventually decided he had won the pissing match HE instigated and let me go. Never suspected an old guy on a road bike in Portland would be armed, and had no visual cues to arouse suspicion.
I have a spanish word in mind that starts with a P and ends with an O. And they wonder why they are hated and despised?
Mr. Ayoob
I wish you would share an older article you wrote called “Seasons of the Handgun”. What an excellent article about using different handguns throughout the year in different types of weather. Lots of great information in that article
Thank you!
Pocket carry S&W Shield in 45acp hp all year round.
I have transitioned from Glock 17 9mm Luger with Glock 19 backup to Glock 10 mm auto and S&W 320 PD with 38 +P ammo. I switch to my “range gun” if I’m headed to the public range where brass pickup might be impossible due to multiple users, Ruger GP100 5 inch or other revolver and semi auto, 45 ACP 1911, Brownig Hi Power clone SA-35 and so on. The 320 PD goes to skeet or trap range in my front left pocket, to keep my range bag from banging into it.
I have (somewhat) jokingly mentioned to my CC students that CC is a ‘fashion statement’.
As Massad mentioned in his article, varying conditions result in varying methods needed to CC and various CC tools accordingly.
Here in Florida during the Summer with 90+ degrees of heat and similar percent humidity, you stand out like a sore thumb if you’re wearing anything like a CC vest, a jacket, long pants, etc.
If you want to ‘blend in’, you need to wear appropriate clothing (the fashion part) not just for being unobtrusive, but also for accessibility, etc.
Even pocket carry may not be appropriate in some circumstances, so alternative methods may be required, also depending on the activity.
Some students have recommended the ‘thunderwear’ type of conceal which will even fit under short shorts and a T-Shirt. Some female students have recommended the ‘flash bang’ type of conceal.
However this is also dependent (and creates limitations) on the size and type of CC tool.
Not everyone can afford multiple CC tools. Owning something small enough for skimpy clothing and something a bit larger for clothing in cooler weather may not be in their budget.
So I tell them that when choosing a CC tool, they not only need to consider the size, format, caliber, etc., they also need to consider their budget, location, lifestyle, etc.
They may need to start off with something smaller that they can CC year round, rather than something larger that will require them to either not CC, or, to possibly not blend in as much as they would like.
I’ve found that I can conceal almost anything under a baggy hoodie, shirt jacket, or winter coat, even with an OWB belt holster. The same is true with a Rothco 3 season concealed carry jacket, which has huge inner pockets that will fit virtually any handgun including a Ruger Super Redhawk with a 7 1/2″ barrel. A baggy hoodie, sweatshirt, or shirt jacket also allows for extremely fast quick draw access.
My favorite summer concealed carry handgun is a Springfield Armory XDS-45 with a CT Laserguard, which becomes almost completely invisible in a clip-on IWB holster under a loose fitting untucked shirt. It’s so thin that it’s good for pocket carry, too. For the last couple of years I’ve been carrying it year round with 2 or 3 extended spare magazines just because it’s so lightweight & comfortable to carry.
My three main choices these days are a Ruger RXM loaded with 124 gr +P Gold Dot and one spare magazine, Glock 26 with 12 round magazines, same ammo, or a Charter Arms Undercover stainless steel .38 with the NYPD 135 gr + P Gold Dot. My EP uses the Pink Lady version of the same gun and of course ammo. Pepper spray is Vexor or Streetwise 23, and we each carry a folder plus tactical light.
You can overthink this. I once had an hour long social conversation with a LEO while carrying a SW29 IWB under shorts and a T shirt. If she noticed, she gave no sign. The conversation opened with me alerting her to my encounter with a bull moose 5 minutes before and 100 yards away from her campsite. Of course, she was a Wyoming cop and might have thought carrying a 44 was required there. For all I know maybe she had one too. Or her husband who was messing with baby and gear while we talked.
Glock 19 gen 5 during warmer seasons, and HK .40 (P30 or VP) at other times.
I usually carry 124 HST +p in my 9mm & 165 HST in my .40s.
My EDC is a Taurus GX4 11+1 and a 13 rd back up mag, all year. When “polite” ( read discreet) carry is needed, until recently I carried a Kel-Tec P32, but traded for a Ruger LCP, .380
Cold and snowy now in late November Michigan, so I’m carrying a S&W 4506 IWB.