This EDC was submitted as an Urban Weekend carry. It includes a Kahr CM9, a pistol that weighs fourteen ounces empty and has a 3-inch barrel. The CM9 is a double-action only gun which leads to my question for today’s EDC: do you guys think a DAO for daily carry is best for guns without an external safety? Or are guns such as GLOCKs just fine as they are?
Discuss.
I carry a Glock 23, and it’s fine as it is. I respect that some folks only feel safe with a DAO, or a DA/SA with a safety that’s on. Whatever feels safe so that the end result is achieved: you carry, and you’re comfortable with the gun you’re carrying.
I had a Kel-Tec P11, DAO. I just didn’t like it. I have a couple of .380s that are DAO. So long as they’re backup, okay. Though, hell, I’ll take a DAO .380 over nothing any day.
That said about DAO, I usually carry a Ruger LCR .357 as my backup gun. I wouldn’t hesitate using it as my main carry.
Whatever works so that we carry!
Whatever you train regularly with is the right system.
While I’m not comfortable carrying a striker-fired pistol in an IWB, help yourself.
DAO is safer for appendix carry…
My lowly Taurus 709 has an external safety. Don’t like it? Don’t use it. And I like the single action trigger after the 1st DA shot…that Kahr is TINY.
Kahr is striker fired. Not double action only.
Perfectly safe to carry any way you want.
Striker fired guns can be DAO, SAO, or something in between. I don’t know about the Kahrs. The majority of them operate like a glock, striker is half cocked by the slide.
Carrying safely is a system, of which the action is a part of. A quality holster is the best bang for buck prevention of accidental discharge assuming the gun is not junk.
Which is how the Kahr is configured.
The author is simply wrong. We are talking about subtle degrees of variation.
In other words a Glock may have a 5.5 lb trigger and the Kahr a 6.5 lb. So what.
Correct. The Kahr is not a true double action. True double actions cock and fire with a trigger pull. The Kahr is not capable of second strike, therefore, its cocking requires more than a trigger pull. Thus a trigger pull does not accomplish the cocking of the weapon.
I recently switched from my striker fired P320 Carry to a Sig P220 still carrying 230gr Critical Duty. I practice with it regularly and use it in IDPA competition to maintain my proficiency with the DA/SA trigger.
Why did you switch from the P320 to the P220? I’m curious because I’m interested in the P320 .45 Compact, but most reviews are for the various 9mm versions. I’d be interested to hear you opinion of the P320 in .45 acp.
I’ve always liked da/sa the best. Ironically I do not currently own one. All but one of my current pistols are half cocked by the slide. I have one that’s sao.
I’ve always liked my Duty model Witness in Da/Sa with safety off. It has heavy but manageable Da first shot if needed.
I was issued a Browning Hi Power single action for a few years and mostly went condition 3 as safety was so small and finicky it was faster.
I understand others feel differently, but for me I wouldn’t own a DAO at all. Or a striker. Or a polymer-framed anything, either. SAO I have no problem with, and could go either way vs DA/SA. I carry (edc/all the time) a CZ SP-01 Shadow, hammer down. It has a huge extended safety on the left, but I use it as a thumb rest for the most part – the safety will only engage with the hammer cocked (half or full). The trigger is very light, even on DA it’s less than 5lbs, and I can cock it on the draw no problem (square-spur race hammer on 11lb spring). I’m thinking of getting a RAMI as B/U and in case I need deeper concealment.
I don’t see any point in double action only guns except for revolvers for the snag free factor. For semi autos da/sa makes a lot of sense for appendix carry.
The point is to have a consistent trigger pull every time but one which is heavy enough to not require an external safety. This promotes simplicity of operation under stress.
A double action subcompact with a pocket clip makes a lot of sense from a convenience standpoint. Something like a P11 or a PF9 (both of which I’ve owned; no complaints) is small enough that a proper holster isn’t really necessary and with a double action trigger you can carry with a chambered round even without the trigger guard being covered. But if you’re gonna always carry in a real holster then I don’t see the point. As long as the trigger guard is covered you can safely carry a chambered 1911 with the safety disengaged
Unless you have to draw it under stress. Maybe if you train enough… but boy, under (life or death) stress things change. Your hands turn into mittens. Your brain reverts to a mildly smart lizard.
Until this month, I’ve used DAO Ruger pistols at all 3 of the federal prison institutions that I worked at. [Brooklyn,Oahu,Phoenix] I carry a Kahr P45 with LEOSA and like it for no safety and it’s trigger that was similar to my work guns. [Ruger P89’s and P95’s, all DAO] NONE of the triggers are a HARD pull but they are a LONG pull. [hard pull being a DA/SA like the Beretta 92 style]
My ONLY regret is that I didn’t get a P 9 instead of the .45acp P45. It’s gotten to be a bit of a handful, nothing terrible but a handful to shoot.
IMO a Glock with a Striker Control Device (Gadget) is just as safe as a hammer-fired gun. That is why all of my carry Glocks have an SCD installed 😉
I’m not a big fan of da/sa due to the lack of consistency between first and second shot. I also prefer double action for pocket carry for the added safety. If it’s going into a real holster carried on the belt then any type is fine.
Uh . . Kat
The premise of your question is wrong.
The striker on a Kahr is partially cocked as the slide moved forward, just like a Glock.
Also, even if it wasn’t. What we are talking about degrees of length and pull weight. Not something that really deserves to be discussed as a type of action.
Stupid.
no.
My Shield 2.0 45, P938 both have safeties, my PPS M2 and G27 do not. No problem carrying any of them.
I carry the Bersa BP9CC and would never under any circumstances carry it without the trigger being covered by the holster as it has a 3.5 lb. trigger. That’s just slightly less than my 1911A1 so I don’t have a carry gun with a heavy trigger pull and one with a light one.
My Kahr CW9 (one more bullet, 3.5″ barrel, a longer grip, and two more ounces than the CM9) suits me just fine. It takes a bit to get used to the trigger, but that is not a major deterrent.Yes, I wish it had a shorter length of pull. But at 16 ounces, it is a lot easier to carry and conceal than my 27 ounce commander size 1911.
I like DAs and SAs, but have never taken a cotton to DA/SAs, perhaps as on all the ones I’ve tried the SA setting is very very sloppy with little feel for the break. For example, I like the DA setting on the FNX 45 I bought for my daughter, but hate the SA setting.
Recommendation: lose the rubber slip on grip. They can creep up and interfere with magazine releases…amongst other potential problems.
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