Newbie question.. Carry handgun

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Engineerguy30

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Hello All,

I hope this is the right place.

I am a newbie to the forum, and with modern handguns in general. I have shot all my life, but have recently gotten into some modern pistols.

My thought right now is that I feel "safer" using a SA/DA handgun, and bought a CZ 75d PCR. What I mean by "safer" is that I have tested out concealed carry holsters, and AIWB feels most comfortable to me.

I worry about unintentional trigger pull with a striker fired weapon. Especially from getting it caught on clothing or something like that.

I would really like to get a nice striker fired pistol, like a Sig365, Hellcat,or Ruger Max 9, but am not there yet. I like the striker fire pistol smaller size.

Any recommendations to help get over the fear of shooting myself with striker fired weapons.
 
I got past it after I shot a box of ammo through a Glock almost 30 years ago.
Carried a Glock for 25+ years, the last year I’ve been carrying a Hellcat AIWB. I’m more comfortable with the Hellcat’s striker being locked in place and not preloaded, like a Glock.
Find someone near you that you can shoot different guns & see what fits you.
 
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Practice, practice, practice.
draw/dry fire/reholster, repeat many x daily. You'll either gain the necessary confidence, or you'll decide it's not for you.
Never rush the re-holster. that should be slow and deliberate.
 
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Get Off My Lawn said:
more comfortable with the Hellcat’s striker being locked in place and not preloaded, like a Glock.
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What do you mean “preloaded”? You’re tracking that the Glock striker is only partially cocked until you pull the trigger right?
 
Engineerguy30 said:
bought a CZ 75d PCR
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Nice choice, I kinda like those things. But, 🤫, its a secret, dont tell anybody.

As far as getting over the fear, do like Catfish says. Practice, and practice a lot. Experience is gonna be the key here. And as an aiwb carrier myself, pay heed to everyone that says not to rush the reholster.
 
Derek8404 said:
What do you mean “preloaded”? You’re tracking that the Glock striker is only partially cocked until you pull the trigger right?
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The striker spring isn’t compressed on a Glock or Hellcat until the trigger’s pulled back.
My understanding is the Springfield XD & Sig P365 strikers are cocked/striker spring compressed. Let me know if I’m mistaken.
I don’t want to carry AIWB with the striker in the loaded position, like a cocked hammer.
 
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Engineerguy30 said:
Hello All,

I hope this is the right place.

I am a newbie to the forum, and with modern handguns in general. I have shot all my life, but have recently gotten into some modern pistols.

My thought right now is that I feel "safer" using a SA/DA handgun, and bought a CZ 75d PCR. What I mean by "safer" is that I have tested out concealed carry holsters, and AIWB feels most comfortable to me.

I worry about unintentional trigger pull with a striker fired weapon. Especially from getting it caught on clothing or something like that.

I would really like to get a nice striker fired pistol, like a Sig365, Hellcat,or Ruger Max 9, but am not there yet. I like the striker fire pistol smaller size.

Any recommendations to help get over the fear of shooting myself with striker fired weapons.
Click to expand...

Screw it. Nothing wrong with sticking with a PCR. You don’t have to have tupperware if you don’t want it. Be a rebel.

CZ is always the answer. 😄
 
Get Off My Lawn said:
I’m more comfortable with the Hellcat’s striker being locked in place and not preloaded, like a Glock
Click to expand...
Get Off My Lawn said:
The striker spring isn’t compressed on a Glock or Hellcat until the trigger’s pulled back.
Click to expand...

Now I’m more confused as to what you’re saying as these statements seem to be contradictory to each other……

The striker on a Glock is mostly compressed, probably about 90%, you finish “compressing” (cocking) it with the trigger pull.
 
Derek8404 said:
Now I’m more confused as to what you’re saying as these statements seem to be contradictory to each other……

The striker on a Glock is mostly compressed, probably about 90%, you finish “compressing” (cocking) it with the trigger pull.
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When I pull the slide off of my glocks, using my finger the striker slides back to the locked position with almost no pressure. When the trigger's pulled, the locking pin is lifted, and the striker spring is compressed, then released.
 
My one suggestion for AIWB carry is to take the holster out, put the pistol into it, and then put both of them back where you carry them. Reholstering seems to be the major cause of unintended discharges. The same applies for pocket carry. It may seem to take too much time, but reholstering quickly is of no importance if you actually have to draw the handgun to shoot somebody to save your life. I carried a J-frame for years AIWB until my belly got too big. I now generally carry a J-frame or a 365 in my pocket.
 
LTT reintroduced the SCD (striker control device) for Glocks yesterday. Basically, it's a backplate that moves backwards with the striker. The striker will not be able to fully cock when your thumb (or anything else) is covering the backplate.

 
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The P365 is available with a thumb safety for those that want it, M&P Shields are too. That may give you more confidence carrying AIWB. The downside is that disengagement of the safety adds another level of difficulty to your training.
 
I carry a Shield with manual safety. You’ll frankly get a lot of hubris if you go to a gun store and ask for one. A lot of “this is my safety” showing you their finger. Ignore it, they’re not carrying it for you. Then practice. It’s an extra step but it’s a quick one if it’s muscle memory. Every mag at the range comes with one or more draws and manipulating the safety. Thumb hurts at the end but worth it IMO.

That said the original Shield thumb safety sucks. You could leave it off if you changed you mind down the road and it wouldn’t move. Takes a bit more deliberate push. The new Shield Plus has a much more easy to manipulate safety, which would make a slightly quicker draw.
 
I do like my cz, and am getting used to the double action first pull. JUst shot a glock 43x, and it seems like a good gun, just not as sturdy as the cz. It would be a good concealed carry though.
 
If you have good trigger finger control, a good holster, and are conscious of your actions then it just isn’t an issue.

The catching on clothing thing is good to be aware of.
 
Get a (gun you like) and carry it around for a few days cocked but no round in chamber. After a week you will see there’s no chance of it going off unless you pull the trigger. From then on carry with one in the chamber.
 
All the guns you’ve expressed interest in are micro-compacts. Make sure they draw and shoot well for you before converting, regardless of trigger.

I don’t even have huge hands, and the P365XL was far, far too small for me to draw consistently. Too short front-to-back.

Glock 43X/48 have a more traditional trigger reach and are also still very thin and light. You should also be able to get a SCD for it from Langdon Tactical. Paired with a quality kydex holster, an SCD-equipped Glock is basically a DA/SA hammer-fired gun in terms of AIWB safety.
 
Honestly after 12 years of carrying a loaded XDCS there really is nothing to be afraid off. Speaking of XD that has the added bonus of the grip safety, may that be a consideration for you, OP?
 
Engineerguy30 said:
Hello All,

I hope this is the right place.

I am a newbie to the forum, and with modern handguns in general. I have shot all my life, but have recently gotten into some modern pistols.

My thought right now is that I feel "safer" using a SA/DA handgun, and bought a CZ 75d PCR. What I mean by "safer" is that I have tested out concealed carry holsters, and AIWB feels most comfortable to me.

I worry about unintentional trigger pull with a striker fired weapon. Especially from getting it caught on clothing or something like that.

I would really like to get a nice striker fired pistol, like a Sig365, Hellcat,or Ruger Max 9, but am not there yet. I like the striker fire pistol smaller size.

Any recommendations to help get over the fear of shooting myself with striker fired weapons.
Click to expand...

When I first started carrying a pistol (after the Lubys Massacre in Killeen Texas in 1991), I was where you are at and wanted something with a separate safety. A Browning BDA was my carry gun of choice for many years. Over time, as I attended self defense classes and practiced more drawing from my IWB holster, I have replaced the BDA with a striker fired pistol; in my instance a Walther PPQ.

My logic with the striker fired is that polymer guns are resistant to body sweat, which makes them more practical for EDC. Additionally, in a high stress situation where I may have to draw a weapon, I want to keep it as simple as possible. Having to chamber a round, cock the hammer, or manually release a safety are all things that I foresee can be overlooked in a haste for speed in an adrenalin laced self defense situation, and could cost me additional time or loss of focus when seconds count. Therefore I want a pistol with built in trigger or grip safeties that don't require me to do anything other than point and pull.

YMMV, but that's where I've evolved to over the hears. Modern striker fired pistols seem to be inherently safe as long as you keep your finger off of the trigger. Best of success to you.
 
I appreciate all the input. I do have a striker fired pistol. It is actually my wife's, but she carries it in her purse with a special holster. I have been trying it unloaded and cocked to get a better feel.
 
Best advice is remember, youre the number 1 safety. All the pistols you named, none accidentally go off. Only if you pull that trigger. So practice holding your weapon with trigger finger in safe position. Draw doing the same. Respect the firearm. Never treat it as a toy and you will grow more comfortable with it.
 
Get Off My Lawn said:
The striker spring isn’t compressed on a Glock or Hellcat until the trigger’s pulled back.
My understanding is the Springfield XD & Sig P365 strikers are cocked/striker spring compressed. Let me know if I’m mistaken.
I don’t want to carry AIWB with the striker in the loaded position, like a cocked hammer.
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Gaston Glock's first US patent US4539889A claimed that the firing-bolt/hammer spring is pre-compressed to varying degrees to require less trigger force to fire the gun.
Preferably the starting position of the firing bolt is in a noncritical region of its travel path or that of the hammer, in one in which the force of the partially loaded firing-bolt spring or hammer spring is insufficient to fire a shot.
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The patent subsequently describes the slide returning to battery as partially loading the spring and pulling the trigger as fully loading the spring.
Further forward sliding of the slide 2 compresses the firing-bolt spring 30 partially. The pistol is ready to shoot in this condition.

When the trigger slide 115 is pushed back by the trigger, it slides on the surface 116 of the frame 1 and its edge 114 pushes the pin 110, the lever 103, and the nose 101 back also. This fully loads the firing-bolt spring 30.
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BTW, note that the original patent provided for the gun to be either striker-fired or hammer-fired.
 
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A lot of good advice has been given so far, so to pile on:

1: Familiarity is key: when I first started carrying/using a Glock I was also leery of the lack of safety. But a few range sessions, a pistol class, and time with the pistol gave me greater confidence in it. I now carry a CZ-P07 and a Ruger LCPII, neither of which have “safeties”. And I don’t feel unsafe in the least.

2. The P01 you have is an excellent carry pistol. So unless you are either just wanting something smaller/new, then no reason not to keep rocking that sweet little shooter. You are already familiar with it.

3. You probably know this, but the holster is probably the most important element of someone’s carry. In my opinion. So as long as you have a good, reliable, sturdy holster that retains the pistol, is easy to draw from, and is one you will actually use, then 90% of your issues are solved.

As an aside. A holstered pistol with the trigger protected is safe. The vast majority of negligent discharged and mistakes people make occur when bolstering the firearm or mucking around with it when they shouldn’t.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Pbj ak said:
Get a (gun you like) and carry it around for a few days cocked but no round in chamber. After a week you will see there’s no chance of it going off unless you pull the trigger. From then on carry with one in the chamber.
Click to expand...
This works well to develop and then bolster confidence in your carry system and will convince you how safe it can be while at the same time you are evaluating the comfort and concealability of the holster/pistol package you are trying out.
 
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I just did a spring kit on my Shield 9mm. Seeing how the systems interacted to prevent accidental discharge was nice. Was past the point of worrying but made sense. The trigger safety though, at least for the Shield wasn’t that convincing IMO. But the manual safety and striker safety would be hard to defeat without a pull.
 
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