Several of you have been asking the question, “What do you recommend for carry?”
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Well, that’s kind of a big question, and it has a lot of answers.
Choosing a CCW gun is an intensely personal decision and all we can really do is advise you on what to look for in your carry gun, and talk about what we ourselves carry.
Which is what we’re going to do today.
We rounded up the guns and gear that our staff — both editors and some of our writers — use on the daily when carrying concealed.
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Note: This isn’t all the writers, but we’ll be updating in waves, so be sure to check back in for more of our personal carry choices.
Eric Hung, PPT Founder
I have two carry guns, depending on what I’m wearing.
Sig Sauer P365 XL
My go-to 12+1 9mm carry gun is the P365 XL which gives me the perfect amount of grip and a slightly extended sight radius.
Plus, with the XL version, I get the flat trigger which feels slightly better than the original.
You can get my full take on it in my full review.
How about a holster? We’re up to our eyeballs with holsters, and every writer probably has a dedicated “holster drawer” in their house.
But I go with Hidden Hybrid Holsters for their comfort. Like in the name…it’s a hybrid holster of a leather backer and Kydex shell.
The best of both worlds, in my opinion. See my full review here.
It’s not too heavy, but I still prefer wearing a sturdy gun belt built for the purpose. And so, I use my Kore Essentials, which easily supports it.
Plus, with the benefit of easy re-sizing if I’m sitting down for extended amounts of time.
Check my full review of it here.
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Ruger LCP Max
How about when I want to wear some athletic wear? Or simply don’t want to put on a belt?
I go for my Ruger LCP Max…10+1 rounds of .380 that still packs a punch.
Unloaded, it’s about the weight of a big iPhone. And even loaded and in a Hidden Hybrid Holster, it feels like nothing at all.
Note…I got the Ulticlip option that sturdily clips onto athletic pants without the need for a belt. I tested it out with my shorts/joggers, and even with full running, nothing gets dislodged.
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You guessed it, we have a full review of the Ruger LCP Max too!
Jacki Billings, PPT Editor-in-Chief
Shadow Systems MR920
My everyday carry is a Shadow Systems MR920 — which is, essentially, a bougie Glock 19 clone.
I love the MR920 because it comes with interchangeable backstraps that accommodate my small palms but long fingers.
Additionally, I adore the enhanced beavertail and optics cut slide.
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The MR920 nestles inside a Dark Star Gear Orion holster fitted with a Dark Wing attachment in the AIWB position.
Belt-wise, I rotate between a NexBelt and a Volund Gearworks Atlas.
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As a petite female CCWer, flatter nylon belts work best to help me conceal that larger MR920.
Not to mention, nylon belts feel more comfortable around my hip bones.
Sig Sauer P238
As a lady, sometimes I wear pants without belt loops or full-on dresses/skirts.
This type of wear doesn’t pair with a mid-size gun like the MR920, so I step down to a Sig Sauer P238.
The P238 is a tiny .380 ACP semi-auto that works really well as a backup gun or, in the case of dresses, a primary on the thigh.
I usually wear the Can Can Concealment Garter Holster dresses and skirts, and alongside the Sig, it works really well. Perfect date night combo!
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Need more tips on how to carry as a lady? Check out my article here!
Wyatt Sloan, Jr. Editor
I cycle through about 50, yes 50, different carry guns — everything from duty-sized guns to pocket pistols, revolvers, and other weird stuff.
My mind changes about as much as the Texas weather, and my carry choices give off more mixed signals than your 3-year love crush at the office.
To save everyone the headache, I’ve reluctantly narrowed it down to two guns.
CZ 75 D PCR (Cajunized)
At the end of the day, this little guy beat out some tough contenders, such as my Staccato C2, Sig P229 Legion, and Walther PDP Compact, among others.
This small, hammer-fired, alloy-framed gun holds 14+1 rounds of 9mm and features a slide-in-frame design, decocker, and some of the best damn ergonomics of any pistol I have ever picked up.
Soft recoil, excellent accuracy, and superb reliability are all present in the PCR.
I installed the Cajun Gun Works Pro-Carry kit, which left me with a trigger that will stack up to any custom shop gun out there. I also installed some PCR-specific Trijicon night sights.
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I carry this gun OWB in either a leather holster or a custom-molded kydex holster with standard loops.
Sig Sauer P365
When I need to go even smaller, I regularly seem to fall back to my standard Sig P365.
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The smaller barrel and shorter grip length are easier to conceal for me than my P365XL, but it still allows me to use extended magazines to match the capacity of its larger brethren.
Great OEM night sights, a solid trigger, and 100% reliability have made the P365 a staple in my carry rotation.
I typically carry this gun OWB in a Bravo Concealment holster or a DeSantis Mini-Scabbard leather holster.
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Shake the magic 8-ball and ask again later; I will probably have a different answer.
Jonny Villanueva, PPT Video Editor & Videographer
Although I’ve always been an EDC fanatic, carrying a firearm along with my daily essentials didn’t begin until my recent move from Los Angeles to Austin, TX, in 2022.
Now that certain legalities have changed, I carry a Sig Sauer P365X with a pre-installed RomeoZero.
Its overall size and magazine capacity of 12+1 falls in line with my thinner frame of 120 pounds perfectly.
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The P365X is often paired with a Hidden Hybrid Holster to maximize comfort, though I occasionally switch to a Safariland Schema on warmer days.
I swapped out the stock frame for one styled in FDE and plan to replace the RomeoZero with a Holosun EPS in the near future.
Sean Curtis, Content Producer
Walther PDP
For everyday carry, I trust the Walther PDP.
I carried it on duty before I retired and love it! Some of my favorite features are the grip, trigger, accuracy, and reliability of the gun.
I have several thousand rounds through the full-size and compact models now — both have been outstanding.
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For formal occasions, I run the full-size in a Safariland Level III Duty Holster, as well as a C&G OWB Kydex holster.
The compact PDP also fits nicely in an IWB holster from C&G.
While I have a Leupold DeltaPoint Pro on the full size, the compact is still a slick top…for now!
Johnny Bragg, PPT YouTube Contributor
As y’all know, I test a ton of pistols for Pew Pew Tactical, so my EDC changes like the weather.
This week’s rig is the FN 509 Compact, colored in tired dark earth, plus an extra mag.
I’ve already done a full range test on the 509C, and this thing runs like a Swiss sewing machine.
Just got this new Tier 1 Concealed AIWB holster – so far, so good.
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I’ve recently fallen in love with the Kore Essentials X7. I wear it with the buckle at 4 o’clock and am super happy with it. Read our full write-up on the Kore Essentials belt here!
Great rig this week, but be sure to check out some of the other guns I’ve reviewed here.
Travis Pike, PPT Contributor
Sig Sauer P365 with XL Slide
My carry gun is a P365XL slide mated to a standard P365 frame.
I get all the benefits of the longer slide with all the concealment of the standard frame. Plus, I can use the smaller magazines to reduce the size even more.
Of course, smaller magazines mean less capacity, right?
Not so with the Mag Guts P365 magazine springs.
These allow me to add +2 rounds to my 10- and 12-round magazines. I tend to carry with the 12-round magazine that has a capacity of 14 with the Mag Guts installed.
The barrel is a True Precision threaded variant, and it wears a Griffin Armament Micro Comp.
The optic is the Holosun 507K, which features almost all the awesome features of Holosun pistol optics and only lacks the solar panel.
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The entire package ups the gun’s capabilities.
It’s easier to shoot faster, further, and more accurately, and that’s what matters to me.
It might not be the most compact P365, but it’s one of the easiest to handle and helps eliminate the human error associated with shooting.
Read up on more of my upgrades here!
Todd Gimian, PPT Contributor
For my EDC, I carry a modified Glock 43x.
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It has a “grip swell” by LVstipple to increase the width of the grip to a uniform dimension and eliminate the “Glock bump.” LV stipple did the stippling as well.
The slide was milled for Holosun 507k by Grant Defense, as well as Grant Defense’s trigger.
I carry the Glock in a Phlster Pro Series holster attached to a Phlster Enigma — that I’m currently in the process of combining with their Flex to allow for a better knife attachment.
The knife I carry is a Flagrant Havoc by Flagrant Beard.
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Beyond the knife and gun, I carry one extra Shield Arms S-15 magazine (for 30 rounds total on me). And, if I don’t have a bag with me, I’ll also carry a Cat7 Tourniquet.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, concealed carry is a very personal choice and often dictated by each person’s build and lifestyle.
Hopefully, this has given you some inspiration for your own carry choices and will help you out when picking one for yourself.
What do you think about our choices? Any questions for our authors? Let us know in the comments below! Once you’ve gotten your carry gun, check out our Best Concealed Carry Holsters.
