The unavoidable first rule to a gunfight is and will always be, have a gun. Preferably the biggest, highest capacity, longest sight radius gun possible.

The market is saturated with every shape, size, and now color imaginable. From the micro pocket guns to mammoth competition guns, the options of make, model, brand, and caliber are endless.

All to often I see new shooters gravitate toward the smallest of the small. Either by their own will, skillful marketing, or influenced by the gun guy on the other side of the counter. Those new to carrying concealed see the small gun as an easy fix to their new problem of how to hide a gun.

While hiding a small gun is truly simpler than a large gun. Running one is a completely different story.

God forbid you ever find yourself in the proverbial dark alley faced with the task of having to present your gun quickly and place accurate fire while startled and in fear for your life. Fumbling over a teeny tiny gun with buttons and levers is not a way to set yourself up for success.

There’s a few reason you don’t see competition shooters using micro pocket guns. Drawing, acquiring sights, pressing the trigger, managing recoil, reloads, and malfunctions are all harder to handle with smaller guns. Not to mention the smaller the gun the less rounds it will hold. Also on the flip side you don’t see really anyone carrying full custom competition guns for self defense either.

So where does that leave us? If you haven’t guessed the title gives this post away quite quickly. If you are going to carry a firearm on your person from day to day to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Carry the biggest gun YOU can hide.

Now I don’t mean the biggest gun you can hide under a heavy winter coat. Or the biggest gun you can hide in a bathing suite. But what is the biggest gun you can hide in your normal daily life.

I know their are countless variables as to what size firearm a person can hide. Body type, dress requirements, local climate, and levels of comfort all come into play when finding the gun that balances between hiding easily and easy operation.

To prove a point to a friend of mine I carried concealed the largest gun I own, 9.57 inches long 5.43 inches tall 6.02 inch long barrel and weighing in at 33.5oz my Glock 17L. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing, and with the barrel being so long it was a tad slower out of the holster but as you can see from the video below it hid under a t shirt just fine.

A very close friend of mine, big old’ boy 6 foot 3, 280 lbs carries the slightly smaller Glock 34. To him the Glock 19 and even the 17 just seemed a bit small. The right holster, jeans and a t shirt make the Glock 34 disappear on him.

Another Good friend of mine and fellow security team member at my church hides a full sized FN FNP 45, and two spare mags. This gun is no joke big, double stack 45 acp, hammer fired, full sized combat handgun. This size gun would be very difficult to hide for most people, but he carries it under a button down shirt or polo just about everyday unbeknownst to the rest of the world.

Ladies… don’t think I’ve left you out of this. My wife’s business partner, fellow security team member, and fellow blogger (theworldofwtf.com) hides a Glock 19 on duty with the security team while 99% of the time wearing leggings! While the 19 is by no means as large as the Glock 34 or the FNP 45. It is usually viewed by ladies as to big to carry.

Now we must address the other end of the spectrum, my wife can not hide a Glock 19 on her person. She has tried various holsters and a few different carry positions and the 19 was just to big for her.

She has stepped down to the Glock 42 on her person and the 19 stashed in her purse. This gives her the ability to immediately respond with the Glock 42 and if need be fight to her bigger gun in her purse.

The difficult part of having a setup similar to my wife is having to train with both guns regularly. She enjoys shooting her 19 and dreads running drills with the 42.

The point of this post is to challenge you to start with the biggest gun that you can shoot quickly and accurately and work on concealing it. As opposed to picking the smallest gun and trying to work out all the kinks that come with running it defensively. You will be surprised how easily a full sized gun hides with the right holster and carry position.

But if you have found that the biggest gun you can carry is still quite compact do not neglect the training.

The smaller your carry gun the more you should train with it.

Staysuspicious