My first CCW was G19. My biggest mistake was buying a Sidecar 2.0 as my first holster when I could've just bought Enigma Express and saved a lot without spending tons on other holsters and belt setups. Now I carry 43X + EPS Carry in Engima or LCP Max pocket carry with Alabama holster.
My first carry gun was a Walther PPK in one of those cheap leather pocket holsters probably around 2011/2012 when I was in college. Honestly I kind of miss that gun even though it destroyed my hand when shooting. I did get to take with me to see Skyfall in theaters so that was dope 😎
I started with a walther pk380 when I was 19. I carried that thing everywhere in a crappy uncle Mike's iwb sleeve holster. I wish I would have never sold that gun. Then i messed up and went to a ruger sr40c (bad idea) Then finally ended up with a g19 after one of the mass shootings when they were nearly impossible to find BUT I carried in a junk alien hear hybrid. I Finally learned things and now carry a g45 or a shield aiwb in a phlster holster.
I went from a para ordnance 1911 .45 in a crossbreed to a taco kydex with a fomi clip to a Jericho 941/cz75 .40 to a .40 XD to a Glock 23 to a Glock 19 to a Springfield Mil Spec and Dan Wesson 1911's to a Glock 17 to a Ruger LC9S to CZ-75 SA to an M&P in a stealthgear holster to an M&P 2.0 with phlster/dark star/henry/JM Custom/Tenicor holsters. Still love the M&P 2.0, but it's supplemented with a Sig P365XL, Keltec P32, and various small/mid size revolvers.
First (and current) carry setup is a G19.5 with an Enigma. Done some things to the gun as well as swapping from a floodlight 1 to a darkstar rigel. Probably the biggest mistake was trying to use a ton of wedge without optimizing where the gun sat in the first place. That and trying to basically turn the enigma into an IWB battle belt instead of just putting my handheld light/medical stuff in my pockets.
Colt CCO carried "Mexican Style"... Then I fell in with some Farnham/Hoffner folks and it was a G19 with Warren sights in a Comptac CTAC. 20 years later its a P365XL in a PHLster Pro Series or an Enigma Express.
I absolutely LOST IT when I realized what his P99's serial spelled out 🤣 just imagining the scene in the shop is something straight out of a comedy skit 💀
Mine was a Shield Plus in an AIWB Kydex with a single belt clip-on. I mostly carry that now OWB in a leather holster with two loops for the belt to pull thru. I just got a Charter Off-Duty and hopefully I can hide that easily on my smaller frame.
My first was a Taurus 709 Slim in an eBay special holster on a Walmart belt! Lol. It was unreliable and I quickly upgraded to a Gen 1 M&P Shield with a Tulster holster and a 5.11 belt. After I learned to conceal, I upgraded to an M&P Compact in a T Rex Arms Raptor with a Blue Alpha Gear minimalist belt, then a Sig P365XL in a Harry's Holster. Didn't care for the Sig as much as I thought I would. Now I'm back to a Shield Plus with 407K on a Phlster Enigma. So I guess I've come full circle, but with much better gear now.
Check out the Shield Plus 4". One of those with a 507k is my primary carry gun. I bought a P365 and didn't care for it either so it's getting traded for a Shield Plus 3.1" as a deep carry gun.
First carry gun was a Glock 21 in a Leather don hume iwb , it didn't conceal great, but it was a usable setup. My biggest carry mistake was a H&K usp 45 with that stupid LEM trigger in a terrible single loop kidex holster. Current carry is a LCR in a enigma,or a Glock 17 in a dark star holster
My first carry was the Glock 26 in a high-noon holster hated both, trade the Glock 26 for a Glock 19 gen4 and used a G-code Eclipse holster was much happier with both. Currently Glock 43x mos TLR-7 sub in a Tenicor SL2, or an Sig 365xl in a Tier 1 Xiphos elite, and last a Hellcat in the Enigma Express when I don’t wear a belt. Been using the Kore belt, also the Blue Alpha hybrid both have been great, but of course in between tried a different bunch of firearms and holsters even tried ankle carry a j-frame which I liked.
Carry guns and holsters are a long, expensive learning process but once you find the one (or few, for different situations) that fit it's great. My first carry gun was a Ruger SR9c. Great gun, a better shooter than a cheap compact had any right to be, but finding compatible holsters was tricky. I still have it and would happily carry it if I needed to. Then came a SCCY CPX-1 I got on sale for $199 because I wanted something a bit smaller than my SR9c. Crappy gun with 2x4 ergonomics, heavy recoil, and a heavy trigger. It was 100% reliable though. I bought into the hype of the Vedder holster and found it to be middling. It wasn't a bad holster but it wasn't great. Then came a S&W M&P9 M2.0 4" with a Streamlight TLR-7 that I carried in a sidecar holster. I could pull it off but it was the absolute limit. Then the pandemic happened, and I put on weight up front. I got a S&W Shield Plus 4" with a Holosun 507k that I really like and is now my go-to. For a micro-compact, I love the balance and how it shoots. I picked up a Sig P365 for deep carry but I'm going to trade it for a Shield Plus 3.1" because I've come to prefer the Shield Plus more. The Shield Plus 4" usually rides in a JMCK Wing Claw 2.0 with one DCC clip at the front and a Dark Star wing at the back.
First carry pistol was a XD9 subcompact in a serpa pancake holster.....all the cringe and no real concealment. Luckily I live in a state that it is not a huge problem. Now it depends on dress and where I am going but mostly between a 509SC in a OWB or a M&P 360 in a IWB. I just can't get to appendix carry for any real length of time.
