I decided to purchase a handgun, and pursue my concealed carry license. I was looking at an FNP 45 or a smith and Wesson(I think) M+P. Turns out they were having a military/law enforcement special on Glocks. I ended up leaving with a Glock 23 in .40. The gun has no safety other than the glock safe trigger. I'm a little cautious about carrying a gun with no safety and would love some opinions about it. Thanks in advance for your input.
First Handgun
- Thread starter anodor
- Start date
Ultimately it comes down to you, but Glocks are perfectly safe. ALL negligent discharges with them are exactly that... negligence. If you're not willing to take the time to train and become proficient with it... especially for drawing and holstering... then maybe it's not the right choice for you.
Again, be comfortable with it. It needs to be an extension of your body and be second nature. You need to be comfortable with the trigger and drawing it with it loaded (one in the chamber) because should the need arise the bad guy won't wait for you to rack one.
One bit of advice, albeit a bit late, never buy a gun for protection because it was on sale. If the gun you like, feels good in your hand and are comfortable with is on sale, all the better, but saving a few bucks over a gun that fits you better is never the right choice.
Enjoy the ride and shoot plenty.
One bit of advice, albeit a bit late, never buy a gun for protection because it was on sale. If the gun you like, feels good in your hand and are comfortable with is on sale, all the better, but saving a few bucks over a gun that fits you better is never the right choice.
Enjoy the ride and shoot plenty.
Then you should be fine. Decide on how you plan on carrying it and buy a QUALITY holster. After that, if you're still a bit uneasy about it. Carry the gun unloaded, but cocked around the house for a few days. See how many times it accidentally "fires". You'll see it is zero, and feel better.
I carry a Glock 27 .40 cal... It's a perfect size for concealment, and enough stopping power to stop a truck. Does not weight a ton, and fits perfect in my hand however, only with the extended clip. I use to own a S & W 40v. But I got tired of the firing pin malfunction and they could never figure out the proper head spacing for the gun... For the money you can't go wrong with a Glock... But for the bang and for the size for carrying, you can't go wrong with the Glock 27.
Chef
Chef
If you like the Glock, then I think you bought one of the best CC handguns made. If you didn't really like it, bought it anyway, and are now stuck with it. Don't fret, you still own one of the best defensive handguns on the market.
Glocks are easy to get a handle on, especially since you have a background in firearms. As previously stated, buy yourself a high quality holster, one that you're comfortable with. Go down to the shop, and try a bunch of holsters on, see which one works best for you and the gun. You may find that your holster will cost up to 25% of what you paid for the Glock, but it will be worth it.
Then, after getting the holster, comes the fun part - Practice. Practice conealing, practice drawing, practice firing, practice dry firing, practice, practice, practice and then when you're sick of it, practice some more. You want that handgun to become an extension of you, and the actions you need to make to be second nature. Don't be fooled, that only comes with SAFE practice.
Most important, be extremely safe about it. Taking classes are one of the best decisions you can make. Proper training will teach you how to properly practice. Ask the instructor what they recommend you do as practice drills, they are always happy to lay out a plan for you.
Anyway, congrats, have fun and enjoy yourself!
Glocks are easy to get a handle on, especially since you have a background in firearms. As previously stated, buy yourself a high quality holster, one that you're comfortable with. Go down to the shop, and try a bunch of holsters on, see which one works best for you and the gun. You may find that your holster will cost up to 25% of what you paid for the Glock, but it will be worth it.
Then, after getting the holster, comes the fun part - Practice. Practice conealing, practice drawing, practice firing, practice dry firing, practice, practice, practice and then when you're sick of it, practice some more. You want that handgun to become an extension of you, and the actions you need to make to be second nature. Don't be fooled, that only comes with SAFE practice.
Most important, be extremely safe about it. Taking classes are one of the best decisions you can make. Proper training will teach you how to properly practice. Ask the instructor what they recommend you do as practice drills, they are always happy to lay out a plan for you.
Anyway, congrats, have fun and enjoy yourself!
rick12string
Caught in the Crossfire
A lot of good advice above.
Remember, a handgun is a mechanical piece of equipment. All mechanical equipment is subject to possible failure INCLUDING A SAFETY. You are the one and only important safety to count on. There are no gun accidents but merely an infraction of one or more of the safety rules. This is why training is so important. In addition to proficiency, it is important to know when not to draw a weapon as much as it is to know how to draw and shoot it efficiently among other things. TRAIN, TRAIN TRAIN!
So other than that, like NCost said go with what’s comfortable and what feels good to you. Something you can shoot well and also has a decent reputation for reliability. Now, importantly for a carry gun, reliability will still have to be proven by running a few hundred rounds though the gun without any malfunctions or signs of a potential malfunction, especially with the ammo you’ll be carrying because every gun is different even of the same make and model.
Remember, a handgun is a mechanical piece of equipment. All mechanical equipment is subject to possible failure INCLUDING A SAFETY. You are the one and only important safety to count on. There are no gun accidents but merely an infraction of one or more of the safety rules. This is why training is so important. In addition to proficiency, it is important to know when not to draw a weapon as much as it is to know how to draw and shoot it efficiently among other things. TRAIN, TRAIN TRAIN!
So other than that, like NCost said go with what’s comfortable and what feels good to you. Something you can shoot well and also has a decent reputation for reliability. Now, importantly for a carry gun, reliability will still have to be proven by running a few hundred rounds though the gun without any malfunctions or signs of a potential malfunction, especially with the ammo you’ll be carrying because every gun is different even of the same make and model.
Welcome to the world of firearms and great advice here already. Remember, it can be a very slippery slope, just like these cigars! I bought 4 new guns over the last year and some of them are double action with no external safety. You have to practice, but now I feel very comfortable with it. Same issue that some have with carrying a 1911 in condition 1, racked and cocked with saftey on. Looks/feels a bit intimidating carrying a gun with the external hammer cocked! Read and practice and it's a joy. Steve
Hot_Sauce
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒ&
Sounds like the guys have it covered for you. Get framiliar and practice with you Glock 23.
By the way I own a G23 and concealed carry it all the time
IMO you can't go wrong with a Compact or Sub Compact Glock.
By the way I own a G23 and concealed carry it all the time
IMO you can't go wrong with a Compact or Sub Compact Glock.
My main carry weapon is also a G23. I shot competitively with a glock 35 for several years before I got my permit, which is the main reason I went with the 23. Didn't make sense to waste all the muscle memory I already had.
That being said the Glocks were meant to be carried with a round chambered and are carried this way by thousands of people everyday (major PDs and some federal agencies, not to mention civilian carriers) Keep your finger out of the triggerguard and pay attention to your shirt when reholstering and you have nothing to worry about.
Also Glocks have I believe three safeties, they are all just deactivated when the trigger is pulled.
A good belt and holster are key. My usual holster is a galco king tuck. I love it. Got a good deal from an online retailer named after a major river.
I think you ended up with a great pistol for ccw use. I left mine stock except for adding some night sights and a grip plug.
That being said the Glocks were meant to be carried with a round chambered and are carried this way by thousands of people everyday (major PDs and some federal agencies, not to mention civilian carriers) Keep your finger out of the triggerguard and pay attention to your shirt when reholstering and you have nothing to worry about.
Also Glocks have I believe three safeties, they are all just deactivated when the trigger is pulled.
A good belt and holster are key. My usual holster is a galco king tuck. I love it. Got a good deal from an online retailer named after a major river.
I think you ended up with a great pistol for ccw use. I left mine stock except for adding some night sights and a grip plug.
I have a Smith and Wesson M&P .40 for a full size pistol, however for carrying I personally like having something a little smaller and thinner so it's easier to conceal. I find a lot of the "compact" models of guns are still thicker then I would like for a carry gun. I have a Ruger LCP, which is tiny and can fit in the palm of my hand, but you can conceal that thing anywhere, accuracy and capacity might not be as big as some others, but it's still 6 shots and I figure it does everything you need a concealed carry pistol to do. If I was worried about distance or having more ammo then I'd be carrying the full size.
cartisdm
Young & Eager
Just rememeber the most dangerous instance of handling your firearm is when you holster and unholster it. When you're at the range, guns are on your mind so you're safe. When your about to hop into bed at night and you need to unholster your gun, you might not be thinking safety first. PLEASE make sure your finger never gets in the trigger guard (sounds obvious but I see people do it all the damn time) and if the gun slips out of your hand, don't try to catch it!
I have 4 handguns, and none of them has a safety. If you have even half a brain and a bit of training, the absence of a safety is irrelevant. In fact, I consider a safety a handicap in a gun that is intended to be drawn and fired quickly in an emergency self-defense situation. JMO, YMMV.
Welcome to the world of concealed carry. There are a ton of options out there for holsters, concealment styles and the such.
I have four handguns for different carry situations (I'd say my Glock 23 is my primary carry). I just wrote a comment yesterday on another board about the holster option I use (it is called ClipDraw). Here's a link for that discussion. Check it out. You might get some cool ideas from all the input from that board.
Specific to your question about the model 23, I think you made a great choice if you train with it for a while. I always advise folks interested in handguns that ownership with no training is irresponsible. Last but not least, I've been asked a few times if I had to pick just one gun from my collection to take with me (and I'm not coming back... that kind of thing), what would I grab from the safe? I'd grab my Glock 23 without a doubt (I'd probably grab my 9mm conversion barrel for it too... two calibers, one gun).
Have fun!
I have four handguns for different carry situations (I'd say my Glock 23 is my primary carry). I just wrote a comment yesterday on another board about the holster option I use (it is called ClipDraw). Here's a link for that discussion. Check it out. You might get some cool ideas from all the input from that board.
Specific to your question about the model 23, I think you made a great choice if you train with it for a while. I always advise folks interested in handguns that ownership with no training is irresponsible. Last but not least, I've been asked a few times if I had to pick just one gun from my collection to take with me (and I'm not coming back... that kind of thing), what would I grab from the safe? I'd grab my Glock 23 without a doubt (I'd probably grab my 9mm conversion barrel for it too... two calibers, one gun).
Have fun!
i actually teach an NRA certified new shooters workshop and this question comes up all the time.
the glock is a great choice and its perfectly safe in its stock form. Remember that millions of dollars in R&D have been put into all glock pistols and certain tests have to be performed before it can go on sale to the public, tests such as a drop test are performed to make sure that a loaded pistol will not go off without pulling the trigger. Safeties on a pistol are purely mechanical devices and can fail too..... ultimately the number one safety is your trigger finger so until you have your target in sight and sights aligned and are ready to shoot, your finger should always be straight along the frame of the pistol.
the glock is a great choice and its perfectly safe in its stock form. Remember that millions of dollars in R&D have been put into all glock pistols and certain tests have to be performed before it can go on sale to the public, tests such as a drop test are performed to make sure that a loaded pistol will not go off without pulling the trigger. Safeties on a pistol are purely mechanical devices and can fail too..... ultimately the number one safety is your trigger finger so until you have your target in sight and sights aligned and are ready to shoot, your finger should always be straight along the frame of the pistol.