I bought a Khar CW40, a nice little .40 caliber pistol that feels comfortable to me. I've been out twice so far to shoot and learn, and I'm signed up for a concealed carry course although I may never carry. I also bought a gun safe, an extra clip, a few types of bullets (fmj, hydro shock jhp, and another jhp), and some odds and ends for cleaning and such. I was reading this article by Sam Harris and it got me thinking about gun ownership in today's world. It's worth reading, it will likely irk liberals and conservatives alike, but it's very well thought out and has tons of great points. Anyway, it's nice knowing I have access should a day ever come, but it's Also pretty fun to just fire off some rounds at targets. I'm surprised how good I am right off the bat, I was hitting 3in targets from 15 yards pretty easily. Took my a few tries to find the target the first time, but after that I was hitting about four of five. One of the reasons I never got a gun in the past was I have had bouts of severe depression, but it's been a very long time and I really can't see those days returning. I've done a lot of work on myself and am now confident I would never be a threat to myself (or others, that was never the issue). The reason I bring this up is I think it's very important for people to truthfully assess their emotional stability before ever owning a firearm. Ok, that's it.
Only if you like lighting your cig with a .40 caliber hollow point. It might not light the cigarette but you'll never know it didn't ignite.
It's too bad you went .40 and not a cheaper caliber like 9mm. I really like my 9 mm Glock. The key is to practice a lot. If you're planning on doing a CHL, you want to be extremely proficient with the weapon. You should try to get out and practice with it a lot before you even think about carrying.
As Nate said, practice, practice, practice The other thing that is really important is to invest in a nice gun safe
Nothing wrong with a .40, but the ammo can get really expensive with 40 or 45. The thing that I like about 9mm is that you can generally get the ammo pretty cheap so you can get real comfortable with the gun without blowing a ton of cash.
Magpul videos are amazing if you're not very good with a handgun. [video=youtube;GRCOi8IeLPI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRCOi8IeLPI[/video]
I think it's totally fine to own a .40 or a .45, but for a concealed weapon it should be something that you are extremely familiar with and comfortable shooting. I can't afford to shoot .40 or .45 enough to be proficient, so 9mm was the right choice for me. If someone can afford to buy plenty of .40, more power to them.
Nate, the difference between FMJ for the 9 and the 40 seems to be just about $2 per 50 rounds. Not a big difference, it's not like .22 rounds which are virtually free. So far I have bought 300 FMJ rounds to target shoot with, and couple 20-25 packs of HP rounds just in case. Over time I'll buy more. I went shooting with a couple friends who brought their 9's and were out of ammo, so we stopped at Big 5 and then Walmart and both were out of 9mm ammo. Apparently, there has been a run on that caliber for some time, and often you have to hunt around for it, even if you do save $2 per 50 rounds. But .40's are plentiful for some reason. Also, more stopping power and still easy for me to place back on target. I considered the glock 23, which is a .40 also, liked the way it felt, but the Kahr is a single stack and very slim, which I quite liked. Like the glocks, it's also DOA which I liked, but it's doubtful that I need that many rounds as long as I practice.
Thanks. I actually went shooting with one of my buddies who has trained excessively, taken many courses and is quite able to teach me. He taught me what was in this video and more. It's nice, I kind of lucked out that he moved back to PDX right when I got the gun. I actually bought the pistol at the gun show a couple weeks ago, it's that friend that took me to the gun show. But I'll certainly watch videos like this, each person can add their own touch and the more knowledge the better. The main thing for me is to practice it. I was practicing the quickdraw, just like in the video, and I am damned slow. Repetition is what it's going to take.
Nice gun!! I am thinking about getting one of the following: MP Shield 9mm, Springfield XD SubCompact 9mm, Glock 26 w/pinky extension, Ruger Sr9C. http://www.springfield-armory.com/xd.php?version=59 http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...80153_757781_757781_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y http://us.glock.com/products/model/g26gen4 http://www.ruger.com/products/sr9cDE/models.html Do you guys have any experience with any of these? My Aunt's a LEO for Tualatin and loves her MP Shield. Uncle has the shield also. But there are so many that catch my eye. My lady wants the LCP 380 just because its tiny and works for her.
I know everyone here is suggesting going with a 9mm, but in my opinion you should look into getting a .40. There is a reason most law enforcement have stepped away from using 9's, they are just a little shy on stopping power. A 45 has a bunch of kick, so it's hard to bring back on target, but a .40 has plenty of stopping power and is very controllable. As I stated earlier, it costs about $2 more per 50 round box of full metal jacket rounds, so the savings isn't what it used to be when it comes to ammo.
I have a .40 as well. That is what is in my safe and ready for a burglar. Stopping power in that thing is awesome. My wife has the 9mm
Disparity in stopping power between the .40 and 9mm has been proven to be greatly exaggerated. http://www.best9mm.com/9mmballistics.html I have fired a few .40's before and they were nice guns. Honestly imo it merely comes down to feel. What feels best to each person is probably different. Pick one you are most comfortable with and can improve the most on.
