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Capacity or Comfort... what's more important?

9K views 141 replies 97 participants last post by  FR3 
#1 · (Edited)
Ok, so what's more important to you when carrying. Capacity or comfort? I myself am on the fence with this. I would like to carry something small, like a g43 or a shield.. but having 15 + 1 is very nice.

Thoughts.
 
#5 ·
The present day social conflicts, mean I have more interest in the number of rounds than smaller pistols.

I carry a G41 since I can do it comfortably and realized it had a factory capacity of 13+1.

The spare magazine in in the car.
 
#19 ·
I agree with Kalmah, Find what you're comfortable with get a good holster kydex, leather, or a hybrid. Whatever feels best to you awib, 3-5 o'clock. Then dress around the gun i.e. dark shirts go up a size, no European cuts, slim fit etc etc.

I'm 5'10" 175 I carry a g17 with x300 and rmr in a aiwb sidecar with a extra mag with a tt +2 base plate. Or I carry a m&p full size in a raptor no extra mag aiwb. It's comfortable to me and I dress around it.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I don't call it "comfort". It's just a fact that since I pocket carry the 9mm SIG P938, gun/round count will be about 7 rounds.

I somewhat make up for this by having two pistols and a rifle, and extra magazines in the car 24/7.

I like the Ruger LC9s a lot.
Just yesterday I checked to see if I could pocket carry it (for about the 10th time).
Just too much of the butt can be seen.
It would most likely never be noticed since people carry so much junk, like phones, in their pockets now days.
 
#16 ·
Ask yourself:

How long have you been carrying?

Is you job high risk or could it make you a target? I.E. Law enforcement, judge, lawyer, jeweler, money handler, etc.

Do you frequent high risk areas? Such as inner cities and other high crime areas?

How many gunfights have you been in?

How many rounds fired in defense since you have carried?

How many times have you had to even present your weapon?

Is discretion a must?

My answers brought me to comfort over capacity. However if the answers change I will grab a higher capacity handgun and go with capacity over comfort because I have a diverse collection.

Choices are great aren't they?
 
#121 ·
That was an awesome post, and eloquently put what I had been thinking, thank you.
 
#18 ·
I'm here in Komnecticut where we have a 10 round magazine limit. Doesn't affect me much, as other than the Browning HP and the CZ83, I never much cared for double stack pistols before these silly restrictions, anyway. Large and thick and on my frame, they don't hide well under a suit or short jacket or tucked in polo shirt. So I wouldn't carry, say, a Beretta 92 or even a G17 even if I could slap a full magazine into it.

A 6 or 7 round .380 in the pocket or a slim 9 x 18 or 9mm on the belt is usually what I end up with, or even 5 shot revolver. Might get a G26 just for the 10 round mag, but I don't lose much sleep over it. I'm kinda of the opinion that if I haven't stopped one guy with 2 or 3 rounds, or 2 guys with 4 or 5 rounds, 3 guys with 6...yeah, right. At that point I'm outnumbered and outgunned and it probably wouldn't matter if I had a G18 with a 33 round stick; I'd be dead a couple times over by the time I got to rounds 7 & 8 and target #3 or 4. I mean, if 4 or 5 Los Solidos fellas decide that I am their next take down, realistically, I am going down. The local ISIS dude with the AK and body armor? Me and my G42 are not likely to come out of that encounter well. But those really aren't the scenarios I am likely to face. It's the one or two muggers or armed robbers or the whacked-out meth-head up in my face on the street, parking lot, or local stop & rob that I am most likely to encounter when out and about and that is really the thing I try to prepare for.
 
#85 ·
I'm here in Komnecticut where we have a 10 round magazine limit. Doesn't affect me much, as other than the Browning HP and the CZ83, I never much cared for double stack pistols before these silly restrictions, anyway. Large and thick and on my frame, they don't hide well under a suit or short jacket or tucked in polo shirt. So I wouldn't carry, say, a Beretta 92 or even a G17 even if I could slap a full magazine into it.

A 6 or 7 round .380 in the pocket or a slim 9 x 18 or 9mm on the belt is usually what I end up with, or even 5 shot revolver. Might get a G26 just for the 10 round mag, but I don't lose much sleep over it. I'm kinda of the opinion that if I haven't stopped one guy with 2 or 3 rounds, or 2 guys with 4 or 5 rounds, 3 guys with 6...yeah, right. At that point I'm outnumbered and outgunned and it probably wouldn't matter if I had a G18 with a 33 round stick; I'd be dead a couple times over by the time I got to rounds 7 & 8 and target #3 or 4. I mean, if 4 or 5 Los Solidos fellas decide that I am their next take down, realistically, I am going down. The local ISIS dude with the AK and body armor? Me and my G42 are not likely to come out of that encounter well. But those really aren't the scenarios I am likely to face. It's the one or two muggers or armed robbers or the whacked-out meth-head up in my face on the street, parking lot, or local stop & rob that I am most likely to encounter when out and about and that is really the thing I try to prepare for.
 
#21 ·
This is another perennial question that is always looked at differently by different people.

Personally, since my opinion and experiences matter to me ...

I spent too many years carrying big handguns around on and off-duty. I carried .357 Magnum & .44 Magnum revolvers IWB on my own time as a young cop, and a Colt Commander when I was willing to carry something less powerful.

Well, years of lugging big handguns around got old, and started to leave their mark. Hot spots (pressure points) eventually developed from both heavy leather gun belts (before they were called equipment belts), and toward the end of my career even lighter weight (alloy framed) compact pistols issued for my plainclothes assignment started to wear on me.

So, for me, "comfort" is more than feeling comfortable about some gun's size & weight. It's also involved in avoiding aggravating hot spots, causing hip & knee pain, etc.

I've always thought that simple saying about "comforting versus comfortable" failed to take into consideration the wider context of carrying a weapon outside of professional requirements, too. It's one thing to belt on a gun belt for a uniform role, but another to try to conceal a weapon under soft clothes while engaged in normal, personal activities.

Capacity? For me, that's a larger risk assessment question. When I was working, at one time or another I was carrying a 6-shot revolver or a 7+1 shot pistol at one end of the "capacity" spectrum ... or a 15+1 shot pistol at the other end ... and some of my issued guns had capacities in between.

Off-duty? The same, or less.

Retirement CCW? Well, the highest capacity pistol I own only uses 12-rd mags, and the rest use 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10rd mags. I don't often carry one of my 6-shot revolvers (except when working a range session, since I enjoy shooting revolvers), but my assortment of 5-shot snubs see a lot of retirement carry use. Ditto a couple of LCP .380's I picked up, to slip in a pocket holster when my pockets are too small or too tight to conceal a 5-shot revolver.

If my travels and activities are going to take me either back to some of the "busier" jurisdictions where I used to work, or into places where local events make it seem a "working gun" is a better option, then I'll belt on one of my 6-10rd pistols (9, .40 or .45), and hope it takes a while for any lingering hot spots to become aggravated.

Spare me the "better belt & holster" thoughts, as I've acquired some great belts and holsters, and my share of not-so-great ones, and have become passingly familiar with the concepts as a LE firearms trainer. ;) Even the best combinations of belts and high quality holsters can still produce aggravated hot spots, after enough time. The legacy of wearing all that gear for so many years.

What's "enough" capacity? Well, might as well ask yourself how many punches (or kicks) are going to be "enough" to defend yourself in any given situation and circumstances. Dunno.

However, with a background (all of my adulthood) in various martial arts, given my druthers I'd give the emphasis and attention to a properly placed, properly executed strike, or a couple of strikes ... than a flurry of ill-timed and/or poorly performed strikes. Yes, horsepower counts, but only if delivered and utilized properly and effectively. Luck is a fickle thing.

One thing that's increasingly stood out to me when reviewing shooting incidents over the course of my career, as a firearms trainer, and especially when listening to cops who have been involved in them, hasn't been either caliber or capacity. It's been whether or not they were able to aim and make effective hits on their attackers.

One guy did mention he'd used "point shooting" to hit & stop his advancing, close range attacker (1 shot), but he's a rather skilled shooter, LE firearms instructor and an experienced hunter. "Gun guy". He normally emphasizes the use of "aiming", when at all possible. Practices it a lot, too.
 
#31 ·
This is another perennial question that is always looked at differently by different people.

Personally, since my opinion and experiences matter to me ...

I spent too many years carrying big handguns around on and off-duty. I carried .357 Magnum & .44 Magnum revolvers IWB on my own time as a young cop, and a Colt Commander when I was willing to carry something less powerful.

Well, years of lugging big handguns around got old, and started to leave their mark. Hot spots (pressure points) eventually developed from both heavy leather gun belts (before they were called equipment belts), and toward the end of my career even lighter weight (alloy framed) compact pistols issued for my plainclothes assignment started to wear on me.

So, for me, "comfort" is more than feeling comfortable about some gun's size & weight. It's also involved in avoiding aggravating hot spots, causing hip & knee pain, etc.

I've always thought that simple saying about "comforting versus comfortable" failed to take into consideration the wider context of carrying a weapon outside of professional requirements, too. It's one thing to belt on a gun belt for a uniform role, but another to try to conceal a weapon under soft clothes while engaged in normal, personal activities.

Capacity? For me, that's a larger risk assessment question. When I was working, at one time or another I was carrying a 6-shot revolver or a 7+1 shot pistol at one end of the "capacity" spectrum ... or a 15+1 shot pistol at the other end ... and some of my issued guns had capacities in between.

Off-duty? The same, or less.

Retirement CCW? Well, the highest capacity pistol I own only uses 12-rd mags, and the rest use 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10rd mags. I don't often carry one of my 6-shot revolvers (except when working a range session, since I enjoy shooting revolvers), but my assortment of 5-shot snubs see a lot of retirement carry use. Ditto a couple of LCP .380's I picked up, to slip in a pocket holster when my pockets are too small or too tight to conceal a 5-shot revolver.

If my travels and activities are going to take me either back to some of the "busier" jurisdictions where I used to work, or into places where local events make it seem a "working gun" is a better option, then I'll belt on one of my 6-10rd pistols (9, .40 or .45), and hope it takes a while for any lingering hot spots to become aggravated.

Spare me the "better belt & holster" thoughts, as I've acquired some great belts and holsters, and my share of not-so-great ones, and have become passingly familiar with the concepts as a LE firearms trainer. ;) Even the best combinations of belts and high quality holsters can still produce aggravated hot spots, after enough time. The legacy of wearing all that gear for so many years.

What's "enough" capacity? Well, might as well ask yourself how many punches (or kicks) are going to be "enough" to defend yourself in any given situation and circumstances. Dunno.

However, with a background (all of my adulthood) in various martial arts, given my druthers I'd give the emphasis and attention to a properly placed, properly executed strike, or a couple of strikes ... than a flurry of ill-timed and/or poorly performed strikes. Yes, horsepower counts, but only if delivered and utilized properly and effectively. Luck is a fickle thing.

One thing that's increasingly stood out to me when reviewing shooting incidents over the course of my career, as a firearms trainer, and especially when listening to cops who have been involved in them, hasn't been either caliber or capacity. It's been whether or not they were able to aim and make effective hits on their attackers.

One guy did mention he'd used "point shooting" to hit & stop his advancing, close range attacker (1 shot), but he's a rather skilled shooter, LE firearms instructor and an experienced hunter. "Gun guy". He normally emphasizes the use of "aiming", when at all possible. Practices it a lot, too.
The hot spots is right. I switched to appendix in large part to the hot spot at the 4-5 o’clock position.

I have collected over seventy holsters for my guns, so your point about the better holster agrument is very true.

While some holsters really help, IWB carry can shift things like sitting on a wallet in the back pocket can cause back problems. Wearing a gun belt for years does it too. I can’t do a parade detail without my back as stiff as board now

I downsized as my threat level went down over the years and moved to a single stack 9mm for EDC from a double stack. And plan on carrying a little 380 at times in retirement. But it will change as my perceived threat level and ability to carry comfortably change. I think my Service gun will be safe queen except at LEOSA requals and a few range cycles.
 
#25 ·
Yeah, had he taken that gun right off the old noggin and kept that smug smile on his face, THAT would have ended the fight!

I always assumed the reason the guy bothered to throw the gun is he was like most who carry, never practiced and assumed he had missed with all six... :)
 
#29 ·
I want ten to twelve rounds. Caliber is not as important as capacity to me. I normally carry a Glock 26 with a +2 magazine. I have carried a Glock 42 and honestly I missed the capacity more than the caliber.

If I carry a gun I want one I can fight with. I would say big enough to fight with and small enough to carry. How that works out for you just depends on you.
 
#34 ·
Capacity or comfort? Yes, please. I work as a prosecutor in the building right next to the county jail. If I'm not there, I'm downtown, near the courthouse. The odds of my running into someone that I tried to send to jail are higher than most of the general public. Unfortunately, I also work in an environment where guns are prohibited, and like to carry as much gun & ammo as I can conceal with some reasonable degree of comfort. Most days, that's either: (1) a 9mm Shield + 2 spare mags; or (2) a G19 and 1 spare mag. That gets me a comforting round count, and a good belt and holster get me comfort. I will admit that for early-morning grocery runs, I stuff a Ruger LCR in my pocket. I have yet to see any of my defendants in the cheese aisle at 6 a.m.
 
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#36 ·
The older I get the more I lean to the comfort side with a Ruger LCP.

If I find myself outgunned in a gun battle some day, I guess I'm just having a really bad day.
 
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