Help me spend money, lighter CCW

[Totem Polar]

An honest question for those who have G42s that run - is it THAT much more shootable over, say, an LCP? I'm looking for an uber concealable pocket rocket for multiple weddings in NPEs this summer/fall, and I'm worried that the G42 will be "bigger" enough in the pocket that it will be more noticeable. I'm thinking of something for Craig's "PCP" application, and would just get a P32, but I'm f'ing cheap and hate buying expensive, hard to find ammo...

I’m 5’10” and (relatively) thin build. An LCP is just enough smaller that it’s another level of concealment on my build. I can’t get away with pocket carry of a 42. It’s most def legally concealed, and good enough for running errands, but too intuitively “off” to work in a daily environment with close co-workers—or anywhere beyond casual exposure to asleep at the switch public citizens. So there’s that.

As to shootability, with the caveat that OMMV, I find the 42 can most def be held to a higher performance standard than the little LCP, and it’s waaaaay more fun to shoot.

If I was possessed of FU money, I’d own a nice A-frame cabin somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and I’d roll out of bed each morning with a G42 and a bucket of .380 ball to shoot tennis balls, orange reactive targets, and dirt clods all over the back yard—until my wife threatened me with divorce.

I’d pay someone else to shoot my LCP for me.


(Just kidding on the LCP… sort of)

[MattyD380]

I'd never heard about SEALS being consumers of the PPS. I thoroughly enjoy my M1 and it's the only striker pistol I've shot since retiring from a Glock shoppe. I had never noticed your hipstertactical.com. It looks well done and I plan to read the reviews. Thanks!

Thanks so much, my friend! Appreciate the kind words. Hopefully you find the content entertaining... and informative.

This link references an article from 2012 about Navy SEALs carrying the PPS: https://defensereview.com/walther-pp...onsoperations/

It's my understanding that SEALs acquire and carry whatever guns they want... so we're not talking, like, a "standard-issue" SEAL pistol, per se. But, clearly, some SEALs liked the PPS and carried it. Which, I think, is a decent endorsement.

"I'm not a Navy SEAL--but I did carry a Walther PPS last night."

I don't typically love SFA guns with Glock-style triggers. But the PPS surprised me. I can't really say it's trigger is good... but most commonly accepted criteria. But it's good enough to allow for excellent shootability. I'd loooove to see a PPS in Walther's AS | DA/SA configuration. But, even as is... I really like the little pistols. They just seem tough--like little duty pistols. A few people put PPSs through the 2000 round challenge, here on PF: https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....ther#post50741 (post #74).

I don't have a PPS review on HT, yet. But I will at some point. Though I do have a thread on it over at the Walther Forum: https://www.waltherforums.com/thread...de-wow.131744/

[TGS]

An honest question for those who have G42s that run - is it THAT much more shootable over, say, an LCP?

Oh fuck yeah, dude. They're not comparable at all regarding how they shoot. I can't resolve your concern about whether it's concealable enough in your pockets, but shooting the G42 just plain fucks. It's honestly one of the more fun guns to shoot that I've ever owned, and the recoil is more akin to an old .32ACP pocket-pistol rather than the snappy "I exploded in your hand lol" attributes of LCP sized 380 guns.

Shooting a 5 second AMRAP at 10 yards on an 8" circle, I can fire 9 rounds with the G42. With the G43, I can do 4. Going to 5 and 6 rounds with the G43 is possible, but ends up pushing rounds outside the 8" circle. The G42 is just stupid easy to shoot well. I don't have a comparison to the LCP, because I don't even view the LCP as being in the same category of usefulness/shootability. I view the G42 as a competitor to other slimline subcompacts like the G43 or P365, but if you can pull it off in a pocket instead of an LCP then that would likely be a stellar improvement in your ability to engage targets beyond bad breath distance.

[42Willys]

1. I like the snub options in .32 flavor, either LCR or S&W Ultimate Carry.
2. For a like weight auto, well under 20 ounces, Glock 42 is pretty nice to shoot.
3. S&W Shield Plus has a nice grip for a micro compact, I like it, however, it’s empty weight is just over 20 ounces.

[Clusterfrack]

I’m 5’10” and (relatively) thin build. An LCP is just enough smaller that it’s another level of concealment on my build. I can’t get away with pocket carry of a 42. It’s most def legally concealed, and good enough for running errands, but too intuitively “off” to work in a daily environment with close co-workers—or anywhere beyond casual exposure to asleep at the switch public citizens. So there’s that.

As to shootability, with the caveat that OMMV, I find the 42 can most def be held to a higher performance standard than the little LCP, and it’s waaaaay more fun to shoot.

If I was possessed of FU money, I’d own a nice A-frame cabin somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and I’d roll out of bed each morning with a G42 and a bucket of .380 ball to shoot tennis balls, orange reactive targets, and dirt clods all over the back yard—until my wife threatened me with divorce.

I’d pay someone else to shoot my LCP for me.


(Just kidding on the LCP… sort of)

I've found a mousegun that I like much better than the LCP. The Kahr p380 has ergos that make it feel larger than it is. But, it requires reliability mods.
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....=1#post1501738

[GearFondler]

An honest question for those who have G42s that run - is it THAT much more shootable over, say, an LCP? I'm looking for an uber concealable pocket rocket for multiple weddings in NPEs this summer/fall, and I'm worried that the G42 will be "bigger" enough in the pocket that it will be more noticeable. I'm thinking of something for Craig's "PCP" application, and would just get a P32, but I'm f'ing cheap and hate buying expensive, hard to find ammo...

In my opinion you could use a G42 to teach someone how to shoot and get good results... Try that with an LCP and they might walk away after the first round or they may try to send the second round at you.
So yeah, you definitely want the G42, except for its size. Unless you're a really big guy I don't see you finding any kind of "wedding" pants that will have pockets large enough to properly conceal it. In dress slacks my G42 looks like a brick and my 642 looks like a tumor, but that little LCP fucker pretty much dissappears and still let's me easily draw it.

[feudist]

An honest question for those who have G42s that run - is it THAT much more shootable over, say, an LCP? I'm looking for an uber concealable pocket rocket for multiple weddings in NPEs this summer/fall, and I'm worried that the G42 will be "bigger" enough in the pocket that it will be more noticeable. I'm thinking of something for Craig's "PCP" application, and would just get a P32, but I'm f'ing cheap and hate buying expensive, hard to find ammo...

I own a G42 and 2(well, 3 if you count the .22) LCP2s.
The G42 is the softest recoiling center-fire pistol I've ever fired. Mine is as reliable as the day is long-with 6 round mags, I've tried a couple of different brands of stendos and they wouldn't work after long storage loaded.
It's a snag monster from the pocket because of the beaver tail and the vertical rear of the slide. In my pockets(I wear wranglers, not Duluth) the G42 prints more obviously than a J-frame.

The LCP2 is noticeably smaller and lighter, has a sloped rear of the slide that draws smoothly...and is unpleasant to shoot. Between trigger pinch/slap, the weirdly square edged profile of the backstrap that digs into the ball of my thumb and the "firecracker going off in your hand" vibration it's a chore to put 25 or 30 rounds through it.
My workarounds include a band-aid or piece of tape around the booger hook, a Hogue Beaver tail rubber grip wrapped with electrical tape to tame the stickiness...and a LCP2 .22 for an understudy. Singles, SHO, WHO and 1-1 on two targets I do with the double deuce. I do Doubles and FTS with the .380. So, a typical practice session will be 100 through the .22 and 50 through the .380.
The trigger and sights are usable and better than on the LCP for me.

In my hands, the G42 is good for service pistol splits and accuracy out to around 15 yards. With the LCP2 that range limit is around 10 and splits are .30 vs .20 at 5 yards and I use up the whole A-box.

I don't carry my G42 at all, whereas I carry the LCP2 daily.

I'd like a Max, but even after two years they still seem problematic.

[RJ]

I am looking for a 20 oz 'ish loaded option for occasional CCW duty when my normal 30 oz loaded is too heavy/bulky.

I realized I have some data that might help you. I've been tracking weight fully loaded of most all of the firearms I've purchased over the last 10 years, including some I almost purchased. The table is below, sorted by weight in ounces. ("Almosts" are in pink.)



On the basis of a 20 oz carry criteria, your choices would seem to include a Ruger LCR, a 43, and perhaps a P365 or P365X. Of those, the P365X has the lowest weight in ounce per round carried. This is one of the reasons I bought and carry a P365X, aside from the many other reasons to.

Oh and I see you mentioned a snubby. If you don't have a snubby, I'd get one. I bought my Ruger LCR four years ago not thinking I'd use it all that much. It's on me almost every day, and is my primary take out the trash, work in the yard or wash the truck gun. Carry it in the Gym, too.

[Crow Hunter]

I realized I have some data that might help you. I've been tracking weight fully loaded of most all of the firearms I've purchased over the last 10 years, including some I almost purchased. The table is below, sorted by weight in ounces. ("Almosts" are in pink.)



On the basis of a 20 oz carry criteria, your choices would seem to include a Ruger LCR, a 43, and perhaps a P365 or P365X. Of those, the P365X has the lowest weight in ounce per round carried. This is one of the reasons I bought and carry a P365X, aside from the many other reasons to.

Oh and I see you mentioned a snubby. If you don't have a snubby, I'd get one. I bought my Ruger LCR four years ago not thinking I'd use it all that much. It's on me almost every day, and is my primary take out the trash, work in the yard or wash the truck gun. Carry it in the Gym, too.

I made a big excel file with unloaded weights and recoil velocities based on a practice and defensive round choices and highlighted them based on 13<14<15 fps. I read somewhere that anything over 15 was uncomfortable for most people.

It seemed to mostly jive with my experience. G19 with 115gr was 12.51 fps (shoot all day) and G43x was 15.81 which was uncomfortable.

So I assumed that the G43 at 16.47 would be bad.

The LCR 357 with 148 gr wadcutters should be 13.65 and 15.47 with 130 gr WWB. Which should be ok, but he calc also says the 3" 60 I had would be 11.40 with 130 gr and I found it painful to shoot. So I am wary about the LCR in 38/357.

LCR in .32 HR 85gr should be around 12.80 but again, anything I have shot in a revolver over .22 lr has not been fun.

Unfortunately there aren't any rental ranges less than an hour away from me to try out the LCR or the P365 and I hate to get it and have to try abd sell it. Especially in a not common caliber.

[psalms144.1]

I used to obsess over recoil calculations until I figured out that, except for BROAD strokes, the math means nothing. Broad as in 9mm in a 15 ounce gun can be ouchy broad. Because having shot an 18 ounce G43 and an 18.5 ounce P365, I can tell you I'd rather shoot the P365 any day. Better (for me) ergonomics, better trigger, better grip texture, it's all better, for me.

I can tell you that 158gr +P LSWC in a 13.5 ounce LCR sucks, but it sucks LESS than the same ammo in a 14.5 ounce alloy j-frame. Again, better grip that's arguably less concealable makes the LCR more comfortable. But, realistically, the only loads I'd shoot in either now are 148gr LWC or bunny fart reloads.

Again, just my opinion. "Carried a lot, shot a little" isn't a cliche because small, light, full-power pistols are fun on the range.