CCW pistol

Personally, I recommend old school revolver, Charter Arms, 5 shot, .44 special bulldog.

Welcome to the forum, AC. I personally carry a Sig Sauer P-938 which ain't exactly what I would call inexpensive. I have owned the two 9mm you mentioned and of those two I think I would recommend the SCCY over the LC9. The Ruger that I had shot about a foot high at 10 yards, where the SCCY shot pretty true to Point Of Aim.

I don't know any thing about the LCP, the .380's I have owned are the Keltec P3AT, the Llama .380, and the Sig P-238. I still have the Llama but traded off the other two, nothing wrong with them, I just wanted something different.

AlaskanCelt said:

Looking into getting a nice small inexpensive by not cheap ccw. Wanted to go with the ruger lcp but never had any experience with .380. I like how easily I could conceal the lcp but is that .380 gonna do damage if needed? So maybe the ruger lc9s or sccy cpx. Thoughts or experiences with any of the 3?

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First off, Welcome to the forum!

I'm in the school of bigger is better. My wife does carry the LCP, but I want maximum damage, not just a little damage! I prefer calibers in .44, or .45. Maximum Impact! I have never owned a 9mm so I can't help you decide which one you want. The .44 special Bull Dog weights in at around 19-20 ounces empty. Think of that as you look at pistols for self defense.

I carry a Sig P938 when I am not carrying my P220 I have a few others as well S&W Bodyguard S&W 342 & an 3" SP101 depending on dress and time of year. Both Sigs ride in Paddle holsters. A SCCY
CPX2 is dedicated to the P/U console. I chose the Bodyguard over the Ruger because it has a better
purchase on the grip and the built in Crimson trace cat toy. The Button is directly under my trigger finger when drawing from my pocket allowing me to turn it on as I draw. No need to raise my hand to acquire my target and giving a better field of view for alternate threats while maintaining better retention of my weapon keeping it close to the body.

Bayou Ogre said:

Personally, I recommend old school revolver, Charter Arms, 5 shot, .44 special bulldog.

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I thought I was "old school" because I carry DA/SA, metal framed semiautomatics.

SkeeterDope said:

I carry a Sig P938 when I am not carrying my P220 I have a few others as well S&W Bodyguard S&W 342 & an 3" SP101 depending on dress and time of year. Both Sigs ride in Paddle holsters. A SCCY CPX2 is dedicated to the P/U console.

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I think that if you ever tried an Alien Gear holster, you would throw those paddle holsters away. I have a box full of all the holsters I tried out until I found them!

I'm not a fan of tuckable holsters, to many moves. I have 1 IWB holster that is comfortable for all day wear from DM Bullard for mySP101. I Prefer leather & OWB or pocket carry

Used to pocket carry a Kel-Tec P-3AT. I've switched to a Baretta Nano. It's a tad heavier but I prefer the 9mm cartridge to the .380. And being heavier, it shoots easier. My old arthritic hands will thank me.

Personally, I'm about stopping power. 9x19mm ball has a nasty habit of zipping through a body. And any 9mm round that offers any sort of stopping power, generally is a candidate for jamming up the works. Hence, why I prefer wheel guns that chamber .41 or better cartridges. Although I feel these newer .50 are a bit of over kill, especially for the wrist. Too many fight the recoil, rather than ride it.

Maybe the Taurus PT 809 Compact? Give you 12 rounds of 9mm, I think.

Ball ammo tends to punch straight through
17 rounds of high quality hollow points will ruin your day

Gun Geezer said:

Used to pocket carry a Kel-Tec P-3AT. I've switched to a Baretta Nano. It's a tad heavier but I prefer the 9mm cartridge to the .380. And being heavier, it shoots easier. My old arthritic hands will thank me.

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The Nano is a quality gun
Smooth , nothing to catch on clothes
Dependable
I had one but ended up trading for a S&W Shield 9mm

gunnut1215 said:

Maybe the Taurus PT 809 Compact? Give you 12 rounds of 9mm, I think.

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Friends dont let friends buy Taurus

dbcooper said:

Friends dont let friends buy Taurus

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Now db, that's just wrong. I've owned several in the past and they are darn good pistols. Before you ask, the reason I USED to owned them is because of a divorce.

I'll go out on a limb and say I personally like paddle holsters. I tried the IWB ( In the Waist Band ) holsters and found myself constantly adjusting them. Since I open carry, I use a Glock 21 full sized behemoth ( Tupperware ) in a paddle holster. When I conceal carry, I often carry the Glock but wear a loose fitting hoodie over my shirt, concealing it nicely. When I go to church and a hoodie is frowned upon, I pull out the old reliable AMT Backup in .45. It is wallet sized, and has 5 rounds plus one in the pipe of potent .45 hollow points. A spare magazine keeps me ready to stop most muzzie invasions.

Whatever you choice think light. You want the lightest setup for all day carry. You don't want to have to pick up your pants off the floor all day/

I have the Ruger LCP as one of my CCW pieces. Equipped with a laser site (mine came with it) it is quite accurate, in spite of the LOOOONG trigger squeeze. The sight radius is simply too short for any accuracy at all without the laser. No safety, so make darned sure your holster completely covers the trigger on this one. My wife carries the S&W Bodyguard in her purse, and it does have a safety. Crossbreed makes a darned nice pocket holster for both of these.
I consider the .380 a bit on the light side - it is the least powerful primary carry I would recommend, even though a .22 is better than nothing -
My usual primary is a Glock 17 IWB for CC, a GI 1911 in a paddle or Ruger GP100 in a drop for OC.

gunnut1215 said:

Now db, that's just wrong. I've owned several in the past and they are darn good pistols. Before you ask, the reason I USED to owned them is because of a divorce.

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Im just giving you a hard time
The 92 is a good gun, basically a Beretta M9 clone. I've had a few other autoloaders of theirs over the years and had trouble and had to send them back and ended up trading them.
I also had a Taurus revolver back in the early 90s, that was a good gun too

gvw3 said:

Whatever you choice think light. You want the lightest setup for all day carry. You don't want to have to pick up your pants off the floor all day/

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George, I have carried a 1911 for alot of years. The weight of a carry gun isnt as important as the proper carry gear. With a thick belt and a good leather holster, its nothing to carry a full size steel pistol...if your pants are dragging, somethings wrong with your gear.