Self defense and firearms are often synonymous in today’s world, and here we talk about 5 firearms that we have come to trust as some of the best options available. Do you agree with our selection? If you do not (or if you did), let us know in the comments.

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The full transcript is below …

– Hi guys, this is Patrick R. with firearmblog.com.

– This is Alex C. with firearmblog.com.

– We’re here today to talk about our five picks for concealed carry guns.

– You know guys, Patrick knows a lot more about concealed carry, or rather, has more opinions about it than I do.

I’m not as avid a concealed carrier as Patrick.

– That is true.

– I’ll admit, I’m bad about it.

I have a license and everything.

More often than not, I’ll forget to throw my holster and my gun on, admittedly because it takes some time.

– I can’t tell you how many times we’ve gone out to dinner, I’m like, “Hey, you gonna carry or no?” And you’re generally like, “Oh, yeah.” “I forgot about that.” – Obviously, the best concealed carry gun is a gun that you’re going to have.

I’m sure that you guys are probably guilty of that, as well, sometimes too, probably, less so than I am.

Patrick, why don’t you walk us through your choices, here.

– Before I do that, I want to go ahead and give a little bit of back story about my history with concealed carry. – Sure.

– I’ve been carrying for approximately eight years, now.

I started out with the mindset of that I needed a big gun, and I was religious in carrying a USP compact.

It graduated to where, there was a period of time where I was not able to carry, because my license lapsed, due to me forgetting about renewing it.

Realized, “You know what? “Carrying a big gun kinda stinks.” – As good as a USP compact is, it’s not exactly the best carry gun.

– No, it’s not.

And because of my build, I have a hard time hiding larger firearms, such as the P7 that you carry.

But I’ll let you talk about that one.

– Sure.

Guys, when I do carry, I would say I carry, probably 25% of the time, maybe.

If I feel like I’m going to be at risk, or I’m going to an area where I know that it may be possible, or higher than likely, that I might need a concealed carry gun.

I reach for my P7.

I’ve always carried this, since I’ve gotten it, several years back.

It’s never failed.

They were very revered for their reliability when they were introduced.

They’ve got a unique, it’s not a safety, they’re up front by not calling it a safety.

But, to cock it you have to apply force to this mechanism, right here.

– The infamous squeeze cocker.

– The squeeze cocker.

Once, that has already been squeezed, it only takes a couple pounds of pressure to maintain that, so when you’re in your natural stance, it’s not that big a deal to hold the gun cocked and ready to go.

My friend Jason had to actually had to hold a guy at gunpoint, one time, who was trying to rob his house, with one of these, for over thirty minutes, when he was waiting for police to get out there.

He’s in a rural area, so the response time was a little slower than usual, and I don’t think they took him seriously when he said, “I have a gun, there’s someone robbing my house.” But, he said the response time felt like it was long.

He said an hour, but in reality, he says he thinks it was maybe more like 20 or 30 minutes.

– That’s still a while.

– It’s still a while, but you know how it is out in rural counties.

– Yeah, yeah, it can take awhile to get somebody out there.

– So, the P7 is a great gun, guys.

It’s got a very unique system, the way it operates.

It’s gas delayed blowback.

There’s a piston that sits underneath the barrel, that actually serves to delay the opening of the action, which means that the bore axis is very low.

It points very naturally.

Patrick, you and I both like the P7.

– I do, but I don’t like it as a concealed carry gun.

– That’s valid.

– I think we’ve had this discussion, if I can, I’m gonna go ahead and grab that from you.

Something I do want to show you guys, for a single stock gun, it is very wide in the grip area, and that’s the area that I’ve got a hard time concealing a gun.

I don’t have a problem with the thick slide, so much, as I do a big, fat grip, just because of my build.

When we have shot this, it’s a phenomenal gun.

If you’re able to go ahead and hide it, then by all means.

– I’m very happy with it.

That’s why I haven’t really changed it up.

I’ve been carrying that for awhile.

I don’t wanna change, any time soon.

– Unfortunately, changing concealed carry guns is something that I do fairly often.

– Tell us about it, here.

– I’ve gone from something this size, on down to, sometimes, carrying something as small as this.

This is an NAA, North American Arms, .22 mag, single action revolver.

Sometimes, if I just don’t really feel like doing anything else, I’ll toss this in my sweatpants pocket, or whatever the case might be.

It’s reliable, it’s pretty darn accurate, if you learn how to shoot it.

I’ll be honest, it’s actually a lot of fun at the range, too.

– Yeah, it’s pretty fun.

– I bought the one that comes with two cylinders.

It comes with a.22 long rifle cylinder, and a.22 mag cylinder.

When I take it out to the range, I’ll take that.22 long rifle cylinder, and there’s nothing more fun than fanning something that’s this small.

– And, you know, the price on them is not bad, you can get them for around $200, or so? – I think for the conversion one, I paid $220, more or less, shipped.

– So you can practice with.22 long rifle, and if you want to carry it for defence, put your.22 mag in there.

– In.22 mag, it’s actually kind of a formidable little gun.

– Yeah, that’s no joke.

– Next up, I’ve got my wife’s concealed carry gun, actually.

She liberated me of it after she shot it.

It’s a Ruger LCP, with a Laser Max on the side.

I’m not a big fan of the, Crimson Trace grips, or anything like that, that hang down here.

They make the gun a little too bulky to fit into a pocket holster, or whatever have you.

So, I installed one of these little guys.

It’s proven to be a pretty reliable setup.

But, the one thing I didn’t like about this one was, it doesn’t have a last round hold open.

But, when I was carrying it, it wasn’t really a concern for me.

It’s a fantastic gun.

I previously have had a P3AT, and that was also a great gun, after I did the fluff and buff to it.

This was great, while I had it, and then my wife said, “You know what, I think I’d rather have that.” I conceded, because, well, she wins.

After that, I moved to the Bodyguard 380, with the integrated laser, which alleviates all the problems.

It stays nice and slim, so I can carry it in on an ankle holster, or in a pocket.

It doesn’t really add any additional bulk.

The trigger on this is pretty terrible, but that’s kind of the theme with these pocket pistol type guns.

– You know guys, from everything I’ve read, most encounters, where you’re gonna need a concealed carry firearm, they occur within less than five yards.

– Right, I didn’t buy these to target shoot with.

I bought these to go out and practice with, become proficient with.

– I like to tell customers that, when they’re like, “How’s this gonna shoot at the range?” When they’re buying a pocket pistol, like an LCP, or like this gun, I tell them, ” It’s not going to shoot that great at the range, guys.

“You need to realize what it is, “and that’s a self defense firearm.” – Right.

– They’re great for what they are.

They’re not designed to take to an IPSC or IPDA match.

– No, no, not by any means.

I’m able to change mags pretty quickly with this.

I can shoot pretty quickly with it, and pretty accurately.

It’s really, far and above, my favorite pocket 380 at this point.

I haven’t had any trigger time on the Glock 42, but it’s a little bit bigger than I’d consider for pocket carry, because of my stature.

That’s one of my go-to’s right now.

My other go-to, if I decide to carry inside the waist band, is the good, old Smith and Wesson J-Frame.

– Honestly, guys, I’ll recommend these to nine out of ten people.

– Yeah, they’re awesome guns.

We both have J-Frames.

You’ve got a 642, I’ve got a 442 because, to be truthful, I’m not a big fan of stainless guns, even though I own a couple.

We did the apex trigger on it.

– Yep, it makes a big difference.

– It does, it does.

– That’s a good piece, man, worth every dollar.

– Yeah, absolutely, I agree.

It was really easy to install.

The instructions were, really pretty good.

I was able to go ahead and knock it out in, I’d guess it was like 20 minutes.

– Your capacity-crazy people will say, “Well, it only holds five shots.” And I say, “Yes, it will only hold five shots,” but, going back to what I said earlier about an encounter with a concealed carry situation, five shots is more than studies have shown that you need.

– I wanna say it is five.

– Okay. – It is the average.

– I’m not gonna say, “Less bullets is better,” — – It’s not. – But, let’s face it, even Massad Ayoob said, I think they said, “Is three bullets enough “for a concealed carry gun?” or something.

And he said, “Yes, or less”.

And he knows more than all of us combined.

– All of you.

He’s a very smart man, when it comes to firearms.

– Absolutely.

So, the J-Frame is a good option.

They’re reliable as a toaster.

– Yes, and the only reason this is still riding with me, the only reason I still carry this gun, versus a single stack 9, like I would like, I’ve got a car Khar CM9 that I just don’t like.

You guys that carry them, more power to you.

The trigger on it is just, very, very squishy.

It’s very ambiguous on the reset, so, I just can’t really trust it as much as I can the good old J-Frame.

But, when we do get our hands on a Glock 43, that, probably, will be replacing my J-Frame.

– That’s a bold statement.

I saw the video where they interviewed the engineer.

(laughs) That kind of hurt my feelings.

Anyways, guys, this is our picks for concealed carry stuff.

Patrick, you know more about it than I do, because you do it more than I do.

– That’s an accurate statement.

I wish you did carry more, and I’m, by no means, an expert.

This is just what I’ve learned over 7 or 8 years of carrying tiny guns and shooting them.

These are my preferences, and if you’ve got a better solution, I’d love to what you guys do.

– Absolutely.

– What kind of holsters you guys use, what gun you prefer, what ammo you carry.

Because those are all important choices that play into what you choose.

That’s kind of redundant, but- They’re all important pieces to the puzzle.

– Anyways, we really do appreciate you guys watching TFBTV.

This was a fun video.

This was something that could be invaluable to, maybe even, saving your life one day.

– Yeah, it could be.

Before we do go, I do want to touch on– A lot of people tell you that a defensive caliber should start with four.

Not necessary.– – I assure you, anything on this table can kill you deader than a hammer, including this guy.

– I agree.

Buy what you’re comfortable with, go to the range, try some guns, make sure that what you choose is good for your use.

– Absolutely, guys.

– Anyways, this is Alex C.

– And Patrick R.

– And thanks for watching TFBTV.