I would like opinions on what you have experienced in highly concealable handguns. This would be for times when it is really inconvenient to carry and I need something I can easily hide. I know this involves a lot of tradeoffs. Some criteria of my search are:

Extremely important to me:
- Very concealable, it’s the whole idea for this particular weapon. It will not be the only thing I own or the only thing I will carry all the time.

- Highly reliable and safe. It should go off when I need it to...period! It should not when I slip on something or go to the bathroom (even at the same time).

- Durable to carry. I may end up carrying it a lot if it’s really comfortable to do, maybe even when I have something a little bigger too.

High importance to me:
- Available in the USA new. I hate buying used guns as I always seem to get someone else’s problem.

- Should have a high probability of being usable as purchased. To go with my poor luck on used guns is my equally or worse luck with gunsmiths. If I need to buy something from Midway I can put on myself that is fine. If it needs to be “tuned up just right†by my favorite smith I’d rather stay away from it.

- If I need a special holster to carry it well or anything else, that should also be readily available.

Other considerations:
- Durable to repeated fire. I will likely shoot it a few times whenever I’m at the range just to keep familiar with it. It’s not going to be a range gun and I don’t plan on putting 1000’s of rounds through it.

- Should be at least “combat†accurate.

- Should have firepower that is at least acceptable. I want more than 1 or 2 shots and I would favor something a little bigger than the 25 ACP or a rimfire, if I can get it in a really small package.

- I hope a budget of $500 to $600 will cover it. I would rather pay less if I can get something satisfactory.

Thanks for any first hand knowledge.

I carry various pocket pistols in my right front trouser pocket. I use a couple of crumpled paper towles to break the outline. This may not work with jeans that have no pocket liner.

Try the various guns in a store and see what you like.

I use the Berreta 21a, Smith Chiefs Special Airweight and I can even conceal the Walther P22.

I have had others. I was not able to shoot the Keltec p32 well and would not have another. I prefer double action. If you can shoot a DA only gun it will save size and weight.

I use COMP-TAC
holsters. Please check out their C-T.A.C.

You can tuck in your shirt if you'd like.

I for one being an old balding fat guy and don't tuck in my shirt, just wear their paddle FBI Slant holster under my shirt.

COMP-TAC products great products. All my pistols are carried in their holsters.

My Off Duty carry is a Smith & Wesson 640-1
with two of those Brianchi Ammo strips
Not too Heavy to be irritating,and small enough
to conceal.

S&W titanium 38. At 11oz it will not pull down your jogging short's and it fits easily in a trouser or shorts pocket. I've carried two at a time while undercover...they are very easy to conceal.

Almost forgot to mention, the hamerless model is the way to go. No hammer to get caught on clothing and you don't get the lint build up around the hammer which works its way into the action. If you carry it loose in your pocket, don't forget to clean the lint out of the barrel on a regualr basis. Guns that are not holsered get dirty 10 times as fast as guns that are carried in a holster. My two cents worth.

That used to mean SEECAMP! Now NAA has the Guardian and a new cartridge that is like the .357 SIG concept on a smaller scale. A .32 ACP case that is necked down to take a .25 ACP bullet. Ballistics appear to be considerably better than the .32!

My favorite little gun is my walther p22, sure it's just a rimfire, but I can stuff 11 rounds of cci sgb's into it, and it's so light it could go in the pockets of some loose fitting jeans without a problem. Cute little thing only cost me $229 but I think they are a bit more now.
I guess if you want to stick to a 'real' caliber, one of the best deals I have heard of is a bersa .380. Still small enough to pack around, but big enough to shoot well.
And of course who wouldn't love a classy .38 snub revolver!
All those mini automatic people poppers in 9x19 and up don't sit well with me, I don't believe they should be in tiny pistols. I love the Kel-Tec 9mm, but no way can most of us do anything accurate. Just shoot from the hip, or try to get within powder burn range.

Most important rules of a gunfight:
#1 Don't get into one!
#2 If you do get into one, make sure you have a gun!

sounds like a specification for the little keltec 380. It is the most concealable one out there that I know of. they're around 275-300 & hideable in a pair of shorts, & a tee shirt

I always have my Seecamp.Then it would be the Glock 27 and one spare mag.In cooler weather or if large sums of cash involved I carry the Sig 226 and two spare mags.

Kahr the P9 or the smaller PM9 .Well made reliable , a real cartridge [9mm].

I second the kahr, flat, well made & in a fight stopping caliber; 9mm min.

Keltec P3AT (380). It's the only pistol larger than a 32 ACP that will fit in the back pocket of jeans, shorts, or dress pants. It's truly the have at all times pistol. I have the P32 32 ACP and P3AT 380 ACP, and both have been 100% reliable. I carry a 45 whenever possible, but as you can imagine the Keltec gets carried a lot more often.

MakeMineStainless:
Try looking into a small frame revolver in .357 mag or more I like the .357 since I can download it and plink a lot, but my carry gun is a Taurus 85Ti it's a .45LC with a ported 2" barrel and Titanium frame (I belive the barrel is a sleeved stainless on the rifling and titanium on the outside). It works great as a concealed carry because it's got 5 good rounds, easily reloadable (if you need to for some odd reason), unusual shape so it doesn't "print" very easy and it carrys light and easy with great shootability.
I enjoy the revolvers for both myself and my wife as they are so funtional, accurate, hardhitting and reliable. Nothing against auto's I own those too, just get tired of packing them around and my hand doesn't fit well with the compacts.
One thing I'll say about small frame revolvers for CC though is see about getting a hammerless if you don't mind firing double action they don't catch on the draw so much, a problem I have encountered but is easily fixed with the practice you should put in anyway and you still get the SA shot's everyone desires out of a revolver.

Charter Arms Bulldog, .44 Special.
Bobbed hammer,5 shots and accurate.
I had my 'smith smooth it out.
Fits in my pants/jacket pocket.
$250.00- $300.00.
250 grns. Keith hardcast/8.5 grns Unique.

If 5 shot revolvers are not too large for considertion, I'll second or third, or whatever, the recommendation. Mine is the 3" Ruger SP-101 in .357 Magnum with a very nicely smooth trigger job done by yours truly!

S&W 337pd 10 oz 38 spec. Uncle Mikes sidekick holster. Only problem, with +P loads it feels like a 44mag. Right front pocket, always there.

Mostly I carry my glock 23. But up here in the north woods 9 months out of the year one has some type of coat or jacket on. There fore one can carry anything one likes. I have been know to carry my 5.5 redhawk.

Hot weather poses a differant problem. But my glock normaly goes along in my teal green fanny pack. I had purple fanny pack but it wore out. I try to find weird colors they don't spell gun like a black one does. I think my next might be hot pink.

On jacket/coat days I carry a Kimber Ultra CDP in a Galco FX218 holster. Very comfortable and no great outline. On vest days I carry a SW 340PD 357 in a velcro holster inside my 5.11 Tactical Series vest. Dont even know its there it is so light. Both are comfortable and thats important in my book.
mebow

Look at the Glock model 36 in .45 ACP. It may meet your needs in terms of size, it is known to be reliable and there have been one or two articles over the years describing that particular cartridge.

Normally a Glock 23 in a fanny pac. Now here in Texas if you have a fanny pac on they know your packing. My Charter Arms Off Dudy is more discrete inside the pants with my shirt out. The wife has a Bersa Thunder in 380acp. I was worried about function, but the little thing runs silver tips like a hose and will put the all in a pie plate at 20 yds.

I just slip my S&W 642 (15oz) in my back pocket. It's easy to carry. I certainly have to agree with the hammerless guys. It don't snag. I could carry it in the front pocket of my jeans and I don't believe anybody would know there either. I much prefer to trust a small revolver like that than a small semi auto. 38+p is fine in warm weather. If it turns cold then you can carry something "heavier".

Taurus 605 in .357, five shots, not too heavy. Mine has 158 grain Hydra shocks, my wife's has 130 grain .38 +P in the hydra shock. The fanny pack is getting a little dated but works, mine is from London Bridge, they will fit up to the M-9. The 605 also rides nice in the back pocket of most jeans or up front in a coat pocket for short walks. Total cost should be about $450 with ammo and pack.

By the way, it is available in stainless, though I prefer blued.

Taurus makes a very neat little 1.75 snubby in 9mm using star clips. +p+ 115 gr ammo does 1200 fps from that little tube and it is 100% reliable.

I know it's been a while but I did want to say thanks. As some suggested, I had a lot better luck with holster modification and especially shopping the clothing department then I did at the gun counter. I now have a few outfits and holsters to go with them that let me carry a hammerless j-frame very well. I've been mostly using a soft inside the pocket holster. I found it to be very slow on the draw at first but after a little work I got pretty good. You get some funny looks walking around in street cloths with no gun on the range. It works well with big pocketed shorts and with light jackets with a suitable inside pocket. Finding pants with big enough pockets so you can sit down was a little tougher. The jackets work pretty well to allow me to discreetly leave the gun in the car when entering places it's not legal to carry. On the flip side it is a little socially awkward to hang onto your jacket at other times. I don't think I stand out and I'm now seldom without "5 for sure". Thanks again.

Depending on the weather and the clothing I wear, I would carry a Glock 27, or a J-Frame hammerless. That said, my favorite of late is my Kahr PM9. It has been functionally excellent, more accurate than I expected at combat ranges and the easiest one to conceal comfortably especially in T-shirt and short weather. It feeds anything I put in the magazine and just the other day gave me a 1/2" 3 shot group at 7 yards with CorBon ammo.

I just picked up a Springfield XD Sub-Compact in .40 S&W. So far I'm extremely impressed. It's a bit wider and longer than the Kahrs, but it's easy to conceal, and it packs plenty of firepower with the double-stack 9 round magazine. It's got a better grip angle (in my opinion) than the Glock, and I like the added feature of the grip safety. Since it's a .40 it's got a pretty snappy recoil, but it's not uncomfortable to shoot. On top of everything else, the price was very reasonable (about $425) and Springfield's lifetime warranty is hard to beat. All in all, I'd definitely recommend it as a concealed carry / LE backup pistol.

Chiefs Special Airweight, with Nyclad+P 158gr hollow points, or if background may be a problem, Magsafes or Glasers.

If weight isn't a problem, try a 640, with the same ammo.

Cheers, Dave.

I carry a model 36 s&w blue in a Don Hume JIT
belt slide holster. Ammo is either Speer Gold Dot or Corbon 110 or 125 gr. I like to change out ammo every so often and shoot up the old. I've never had one fail to go off.
In summer it is a little different because of how many or what type clothes that you wear. Some folks change guns to something they can carry in their pocket. The hottest thing in my area is the KEL-TEC 380 automatic. That being said a person could use the Kel-tec year round.
If you use the Kel-tec I would use only
corbon Ammo.
My 2 cents
Larry