Concealed-carry handguns are sort of like bras: There are a few out there that are just right for you and a whole lot that aren’t your style, don’t match your needs, or simply don’t fit in a variety of uncomfortable ways. And no one else can really pick out the perfect one for you—you have to select it yourself.
That’s not to say there’s only one magic gun that will fit you perfectly like Cinderella’s glass slipper, but the fact is there ARE plenty on the market that just aren’t going to work for you. If any of the following apply, you might be carrying a gun that doesn’t suit you well.
1. You’re Afraid of It
This can be a psychological thing, especially if you’re new to guns or to concealed carry. But if you’re generally comfortable around guns and you just don’t want to shoot this one in particular, or worse, you cringe when you take it to the range for training, there’s something wrong. It could be any number of things, and most likely a combination: It’s too large or too small for your hands; it’s snappy; the recoil is too harsh; or something else.
I have owned two guns like this in the past. One was a super-microcompact striker-fired .380 with a horrendous trigger pull—I literally would pull it as far as I thought it would go and the gun still wouldn’t fire, so I had to squeeze harder and harder, torquing the gun in the process, until it finally went bang. It was torture, and of course I couldn’t hit anything with it shooting like that. The other was a midsize .40 S&W belonging to my husband. For whatever reason, the recoil of that gun bothered me more than the recoil of some other larger-caliber pistols we own. Some guns are just like that; their recoil feels out of proportion to the size of the gun.
Now, to be clear, concealed-carry guns aren’t always the most fun firearms to shoot because they tend to be smaller; full-sized guns are usually easier (and therefore more fun) to deal with. But you should still be able to shoot your CCW comfortably. If you can’t, and you find yourself dreading a trip to the range with it, it’s probably not the gun for you.
2. You Can’t Hit Anything With It
A gun might feel great in your hands and even be fun to shoot at the range, but some are inherently less accurate than others and some are not going to fit your shooting style in a way that lends itself to accuracy. Some are inherently accurate but are just difficult to shoot well. My very first handgun, a lightweight snub-nosed .38 Special, was a great example. It’s a very well-made gun, but the light weight (which leads to greater perceived recoil and more muzzle flip) and the super-short barrel made it better suited to an experienced shooter. I couldn’t hit anything with it. Not only is that useless for defense, but it’s also really demoralizing at the range.
There are lots of reasons why you might not be shooting well, almost all of which are related to your skills as a shooter. But if you’re relatively experienced and you shoot some guns well, but not this particular one, you shouldn’t be betting your life on it.
3. You Can’t Get Comfortable Carrying It
As with the other two points here, there are lots of reasons why you might be having trouble hiding a gun on your body or getting to that “it’s comfortable enough that I forget I’m wearing it” point. You concealed-carry setup is an entire system that involves the gun, your holster, your wardrobe and maybe even your belt, and if all those things aren’t working cohesively, it’s very possible that you just haven’t found the right combination yet. I encourage you to keep trying different holsters with different configurations and ride heights, and different carry positions. And accept the fact that you might have to tweak the way you dress a little bit to accommodate your gun.
In the end, if you’ve tried several holsters and different carry positions and you still just can’t get comfortable, it could be that this gun, or more likely this size/configuration of gun, simply isn’t suited to your body. Try something completely different, and keep in mind that size isn’t everything—in some cases, a larger gun might actually be easier to conceal than a smaller gun (the length can help keep it pressed against your body better rather than the grip being pushed out away from the body line).
There isn’t just one magic “soul mate” gun that’s perfect for you to the exclusion of all others. There will be plenty of firearms that fit you well that you find easy to conceal and fun to shoot. If you can shoot it accurately and it fits those other characteristics, you’re probably good to go. But it must meet all three requirements to be the right gun for you: You like shooting it (or don’t mind shooting it); you can hit the target with it consistently (assuming you’re a semi-experienced shooter); and you can carry it without undue discomfort.
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