What I’m Carrying Now: A Customized M&P9 M2.0 Compact and a Rolex

1. The GMT is a nice watch. I prefer the Submariner. Or an Omega Seamaster. Own them both. The weapon is not bad. If it didn’t have all that crap hung all over it. Knife.

   • For cutting cake?

     • I use my knife much more often than my handgun. Not so much since I’ve retired. But I still use it regular.

       • Last time I shot a box open at work HR wanted to “discuss” things with me. Something about creating an “unsafe work environment”.

       • HR has no sense of humor.

2. I carry an M&P compact, 1.0 version. But I thought the 2.0 was introduced in 2017. You’ve shot 15,000 rounds already! Good for you.

   • He meant 150,000 I think, lol

3. And she said “Is that a gun in your pocket or are you happy to see me .” 🙂

4. Certainly is a unique setup.

   “I activate the Rail Master as I rack the slide (it’s ‘Israeli carry’ here in Israel).”

   Is it actually the law that one must carry without a round in the chamber in Israel? I thought it a hold-over from military\police sops.

   • I’ve never read that it’s the law. It’s just a common practice there, and a lot of other places, a hold over back from when firearms weren’t as reliable. In Israel’s case, a very diverse selection as well, so to simply training, they chose to train everyone to carry on amber. I think at this point they could move away from it, but old habits die hard. One can certainly learn to draw and rack swiftly, but that’s not the issue I see. I don’t like it because you may not always have both hands available to you if you are attacked.

     • Yeah that was my understanding, as well.

       It’s one thing if one is in the military and following procedures. It’s another if one is mindlessly following a procedure that doesn’t even apply.

       Particularly when you trick out a gun and then gimp yourself by carrying it unready to fire. People who practice “Israeli Carry” because they think it’s high-speed, low drag (“Israeli Commandos do it!”) remind me of a cargo cult.

       • Most all males in Israel are in the reserves subject to instant call up. Maybe that’s why he does the empty chamber thing. He may have been trained that way? It ain’t my choice. But then I usually carry a j frame.

       • I think it’s good advice for people who are new to carrying to lose their fear of carrying with one in the chamber, to carry a revolver first. That’s the advice I was given, and how I started, and it made me more of a confident and component carrier and shooter. Revolvers are no longer the hot new cool thing to carry but they have immense value in learning.

       • jwm Yes, I can see how if you do a lot of training and have the muscle memory it might be better to keep it. If anything, I’m amazed that a modern military would continue to use that method of carry for any sort of combat role (as opposed to the sort of guard role that some personnel play in the US when they have to have unchambered weapons… might as well put a round in the front shirt pocket.)

       • I don’t have a problem saying “Israeli commandos are better than I am”, and then carrying fully loaded.

5. No one makes a light laser combo that could fit on the rail?

   • Surefire does. Multiple ones.

6. Gadsden, why do you like the Submariner more than the GMT? Between the Omega and the Sub, which is your favorite?

   • DCJ, the GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) is a pilots watch. Two hour hands. One for local. Another for wherever. Submariner and Seamaster Professinal are dive watches. Now, my Dad was crippled by polio when he was eight years old. Grandpa sent him to learn matchmaking so he would have a skill. I learned a little about watches. My Dad didn’t have a very high opinion of Rolex. I know he was always servicing mine. Gained time. Always gained time. Guess it still does. It’s laying on top of the stereo. Omega has always been spot on. Larger face too. My Dad was the watch guru until he passed last September. He was nearly 100 years old. People still call.

     • Polio? And made it near to 100? Respect. Those old timers were tough as nails.

     • ” I learned a little about watches. My Dad didn’t have a very high opinion of Rolex. I know he was always servicing mine. Gained time. Always gained time. Guess it still does.”

       Your dad was right about Rolex, they keep shit time. Learned that from pawn days.

       A quality watch that keeps good time is a Swiss case, like a TAG Heuer, with a quartz movement. Looks good, and keeps dead-nuts time…

     • GMT is a pilot’s watch, and I am (was) a pilot. Mine is 18K and 33 years old, and I like it just fine. Thank you very much! My bride also likes her 33 year old 18K Ladydate, as well!

       • Neglected to mention, the GMT is a pilot’s watch specifically because that #2 hour hand makes one revolution in 24 hours rather than 12, with a 24 hour bezel for telling you the time in Greenwich Mean Time, which flight records are recorded in and is the same all over the world. IOW, a GMT makes a pilot’s job easier.

7. Put both hands on the table, I’m going to remove your watch, then you are free to go.

   • “Bang! Bang!” It’s been fun, have a nice day.

8. That’s cool I like what you did to the holster, the base plate light is very unique idk if it’s for me but I like it.

9. Good question about ‘where’s the knife’? believe it or not- it’s illegal to carry a knife here in Israel! If I did, and got caught-I’d lose my gun license!!! Carrying with ‘one in the chamber’ is actually legal here, but very few do it. All training for almost everyone here involves racking the slide as you present the weapon….it really isn’t that big of a deal compared to nightmare thoughts of leaving your gun in the bathroom and someone pulling that trigger…

   • Well we have two items of nonsense then. First that a knife is illegal when someone is carrying a gun. We have those laws in the US, too, and they’re just as stupid. Guess you can’t do much about that. Oh well, knives as a weapon are tremendously overrated by the ‘carry’ community anyway, IF you have a firearm. There seems to be this idea that you’re gonna whip out a blade and bury it in a bad guy’s neck as he’s wrestling for your gun… it just doesn’t happen. Even among police who are much more likely to have a retention fight over a firearm documented I have yet to find a single example of an officer, armed with a handgun, using a knife defensively

     But the unchambered carry foolishness is on you. You absolutely cannot trust it as a safety if you leave a gun in the bathroom. But if you have to use your gun you are adding a layer of potential failure in a stressful environment.

     • I carry knives more as tools than weapons. I am always needing to cut something or open or break down boxes. They make passable screwdrivers and can be used to pry to a certain extent. They can also slip into tight spaces if you just need a slim object to get in somewhere and manipulate or push something.

       • I have 2 SAK’s and a few multi tools so I don’t have to use a knife blade for a screwdriver or pry bar. I effed up more than one blade doing those things in my younger days.

     • Hannibal, a knife is the oldest tool known to man. It must be pretty important. 1. Why wouldn’t you carry one? 2. Why wouldn’t you carry he best one you can afford?

   • I am impressed that you can stuff a 7.3″ pistol in your pocket and still conceal it. I would like the name of your tailor and does he do business through the internet?

   • Not that big of a deal? Yes, it is.

10. That’s amazing. I wish I could afford a Rolex.

    • If I could I would rather buy an expensive gun.

    • Pwersge, it’s called budgeting. Don’t bother though. Rolex is overrated. Since I retired I don’t wear an automatic watch enough to keep the time/date up and running. Started just using my PX. Thought about buying a G-Shock. Sticks in my throat. Kinda like an AR-15.

11. I thought I had seen mag base plate flashlight adapters. All I can turn up on a quick search is for Glock

    https://store.teamglock.com/review/product/list/id/473/category/28/

    Oh, here’s something that may be adaptable

    https://mantisx.com/products/smith-wesson-m-p-shield-magazine-floor-plate-adapter

12. I checked out one of those 2.0’s. Its grip was way to thin for my hand. Smith makes good guns. I just couldn’t get a comfortable hold on that model.

13. 2.62 seconds is very impressive. It is also unnecessary and dangerous (from what I know, he could have good reasons).

14. Thats a funky setup! Join the grown-ups and start carrying with a round in the chamber lol. Why carry on an empty chamber? there are absolutely no advantages to it, are you scared of hurting yourself?

    Not hatin’ bro, just busting your chops lol. We’re all gun guys here

    Why you gotta flex on us poors with that rolex? Lol im still stuck with the casio i got out of a cereal box 20 years ago!

    • Timex all the way.

    • I have 5 watches, all sitting in a drawer for more than 10 years. I hate wearing them…metal against skin…drives me to fidgeting.

      I keep a sun dial in my pocket, instead.

      • Same here. No watch, no jewelry. Even my wedding band lives in my nightstand. My stove, computer, motorcycle, car, truck and my phone all show time just fine.

      • I like to walk around in a trench coat and a fedora, with the inside of the coat lined with shiny cheap watches, greased slicked back hair, and smirk on my face.

15. The watch is a nice reward for defeating his security measures. It’s always good to have something really expensive on you to make an attack worth the while;-)

16. No round in the chamber? A light attached to the bottom of the mag? A pocket carry on such a big gun?

    Somethings fucky here.

    I carry a 3.6″ version of the m2.0, and that shit don’t fit in ANY pockets. Not even a cargo pocket on my RIGGS pants. Also, I honestly cannot believe TTAG would post a setup like this unless they were expecting criticism. Mainly for the light attachment. No way that is fitting in the pocket either. Surefire has multiple light/laser combos that attach to the m2.0, even on my 3.6″ version, that sit flush. 15k rounds? Bullshit. Who TF counts that many? Once you hit 3k it’s like “okay, shits G2G”. You are definitely not going to reholster that odd fuckery of a pocket holster after shooting either. Also, 2.62 seconds, that’s a lot. About 1.8 seconds too much. And even worse is carrying noob style, call it whatever you want, it’s noobish as fuck, without a round ready to rock and roll. If you are scared of the bang switch, get a better holster and carry option with a safety.

    All around, fuck this carry. I had no idea israelis could be so FUDDtastic. Because this carry is general order number 1 of FUDDery… number zero is no carry, and number 2 is leaving it off body.

    • Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?

      • Some folks are just angry cause they was born.

      • Calling it how I see it. And I had an omelette.

17. Wow! Hard to imagine being ALLOWED one gun.
    Difference between a gun culture and a culture that allows guns.
    Long live the Republic.

    Don’t care about watches but I do know that’s a nice one.

    Nice gun. Dont know much about red dots.

    If I could only carry with an empty chamber, i would probably rely on a revolver instead.

    YMMv.

18. Trigger pull much too light for pocket carry.

19. For folks that are questioning his ability to pocket carry that rig. Read the entire post. Tailor. Tailor. It’s a thing, look it up.

    • 2.62 seconds? It’s a bad thing. Waste of money to tailor pockets when you can IWB with a round in the chamber.

20. I don’t like Rolex. I am more of a Breitling or Tag Heuer kind of guy, although I don’t own any, lol. That MP and holster sure look different, if it works for you great but it has me worried just by looking at it.

    • Yep, this. Tag above all, Timex on the cheap.

21. Interesting for sure. Seems oddball to a lot of folks but I’ve seen worse ghetto rigs.

22. To address some of your valid points Y’all: My dress code at ‘work’ requires white shirt tucked in- no jacket. IWB is just uncomfortable for me and slow to draw. However pocket carry like this, is both comforting and extremely comfortable (Yes- Clint Smith!) and fast to draw. I literally carry like this all day every day and it is the most comfortable way of carrying a decent size gat. (Remember enlarged pockets and braces and a decent gun belt)
    The light is not always attached- In a pitch black dark situation I will whip out the TIP and slap it on the baseplate.

    One in the chamber? I have lived in Israel for 30 years. I have studied almost every single public defensive pistol use in that time. The threat here is not of ‘violent crime’ rather it’s terrorism. As far as I know-there has not been one single incident of racking the slide causing a delay in the successful use of a pistol in Israel. My gun can be racked one handed using the RMSw off my belt. No it’s not foolproof if you leave your gun in the loo, but its about 1000 x more dangerous with one in the chamber on that 3.5lb trigger!

    The lazer light combo- has to be slim!!! And I haven’t found one yet that they sell in Israel!!!

    JWM- Have you tried the thickest palmswell on the M2.0 -it comes in 5 sizes!!!!? Have you tried adding a Pachmayr rubber surround on the grip?

    Rich? Not at all!- I bought the Rolex back in 2000 tax free as a tourist in the U.K. when they were still affordable. The M2.0 I actually got for free!!! My G19 literally blew up in my hand (inside a Roni) on rapid fire. We don’t know if it was the ammo, the Roni or Gaston. (We think it was the Roni with the slide rubbing the plastic and messing up the timing)- but the range at Nir Am said “Choose a new gun -we’ll pay for it!”

    That 2.62 seconds was with all three rounds on a watermellon size target at ten meters…(from inside the pocket) You think slow? No-one at the range has done faster…

    The one gun rule I think is a blessing..it means you get real good with what you carry!

    Re-holster? I’m ejecting the loaded round into my hand (a well practiced drill I do in my sleep) before it goes back in my pocket….

    Tailor: Just tell him you want pockets extended with ‘jeans’ fabric ‘cos you’ll stick a gun in there. He knows what to do….

    Oh – I count every single round through my gun -invaluable info for what fails and when. Current rounds through gun 15,329.

    • I just had a suit made, cut specifically for 3 o’clock owb carry. Not all tailors see this frequently, but most will give you what you want because that’s literally the job of a tailor.

      Rolex – my first was the original GMT Master bought at the Base Exchange at Futenma, Okinawa around 1975 for $440. Back then Marine combat arms officers felt a lot of peer pressure to have a timepiece that could be relied on to precisely predict the lifting of air support and naval gunfire during an assault. It survived salt water, motorcycle accidents, and general abuse until I had to sell it to pay some bills in the mid-‘80s. Rolex watches remain the most precise mechanical automatic watches made, bar none. (The one shown in my own EDC blurb is a 2011-vintage Explorer II – it didn’t get anything like the hate response you’re getting here.)

      Israeli carry – the U.S. military did the same, at least up to 1982. It had its advantages, particularly when managing a hundred 19-year-old Marines all clearing weapons at the same time when relieved of watch.

      Defensive knives are overrated. Swiss Army knives are useful.

      Good original post. Good follow-ups.

    • “The one gun rule I think is a blessing..it means you get real good with what you carry!” is absurd as you don’t need a law to master a weapon – you could do that simply by choice. There are numerous, obvious and more or less indisputable reasons why owning more than one handgun would be beneficial. Your statement seems more like a psychological defense of your ego when you have be unethically restricted in your options.

    • “As far as I know-there has not been one single incident of racking the slide causing a delay in the successful use of a pistol in Israel”

      Nice try, but by definition every single incident was delayed by carrying cold. Also 2.5 seconds+ is actually quite slow for anyone who’s not physically handicapped. It may be OK *for Israeli carry* but it’s not *good*.
      You carry your way – cool, carry on. But don’t try to alter facts to fit your notions.

      • No doubt, nicely said. Jerry agrees. You know, Miculek Mk. 1, mod 1.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQEwye98so

        • With all due respect to you and Jerry, LOOK at the video!- He was shooting ONE ROUND at a target 2.5 times the size of mine- at 3 YARDS AND he starts with his hand IN his pocket WITHOUT racking the slide!- It took him 1.06 seconds.
          I started with my hand OUTSIDE my pocket, my target was TEN METERS (!) AWAY – it was 2.5 times SMALLER than Jerry’s target, and I put 3 rounds in it at 2.62 seconds- Including with one round in the dead center x in the middle- WITH RACKING THE SLIDE!!!

          Point proven!

        • Steve:
          Do you honestly believe that two more rounds would take another 1.62 seconds?

          The point they are making is that your method of carry is slowest. While it may be good enough for you, it is not good as defined by many other better proven methods. Plain and simple. Argue all you want. Doesn’t change it.

          Also, to address your “in the dark” comment. How many situations have you been in that you need a WML and have time to grab a lightsource from another pocket and slap it on the magazine of your gun to some velcro… My guess is zero. Because anyone who has been, and you are speaking to one (actually, many here) that has been in low light CQB situations. Nobody is holding their flashlight in a separate hand anymore for a reason… there are modern inventions that are called weapon mounted lights for that reason. If you need a light in dark scenario, you should have a seperate one away from your gun. If you need your gun in a low light situation, you are either a some form of professional, or defending your home, to which you should still only use it to find a light switch. Other than that, it’s training purposes and that amounts to fuck all in this conversation.

          I borderline think you are trolling at this point. Trying to use Hebrew in replies and refusing to accept that your 2.62 seconds from the draw is slow in modern standards is not helping your case.

          Lastly, to address your lack of ability to find a combo WML, have you tried reaching out to streamlight and asking about shipping? Or Amazon? Or ebay? or literally thousands of other online variants that will ship to you?

    • Steve. No need to. I’m not restricted to one handgun. So I keep a variety for different purposes. Didn’t think the 2.0 fit my hand or needs.

    • hmmm…tucked in white shirt? לומד בכולל או איזה ישיבה? 😁

      • What does those gang-sign runes mean?

        • He is saying that he is a student and his name is not Steve. Pretty sure it’s either a troll EDC or someone who actually believes their third world style carry is better than other methods because it works for them and they have never actually had to do anything other than static training with it.

      • ישיבת מיר

      • וסטיב שרידון -זה לא השם שלי

        • איזה הפתעה 🙂
          איך קיבלת רשיון? אתה גר במקום מסוכן?
          אני למדתי כמה שנים בישיבה בירושלים (שערי חיים/תורה אור)

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24. Don -Oh What I’d give to find that original GMT master of yours….. a real watch with some real man history in it….and I bet it’s still working…..

25. Again- 2.62 secs from the beep -3 rounds -3 hits at 10 meters on a 40cm x 25 cm target- with one round in the dime sized x in the middle. Don’t tell me that’s slow…..

    And no Vic, -if you are forced to own only one gun -you will train only with that gun. I have shot 15k rounds with my gun and am now better on that gun than if I shot 5000 with three different guns. I am just pointing out one advantage of only owning one gun.

    Leave it to choice? If you want to lose weight- don’t walk around with a dough-nut in your pocket….get my point?

    If they didn’t sell cigarettes we wouldn’t smoke……hard to swallow but true…..

    • People were smoking LONG before cigarettes were sold buddy. Swallow that pill yourself.

      • 1) Yes, put the target out to 12 yards -not 3! (like the video), make it a third of the size smaller, shoot 3 rounds, and start with you hands outside your pockets and I did it as good if not faster than Jerry in the video, WITH racking the slide. Duhhh.
        2) Obviously racking the slide is ‘slower’ than not- but it has made SQUAT difference in any tactical situation Israel has had in 30 years. FACT.
        3) I didn’t say I was a ‘student’. I revealed my general location in Hebrew.
        4) TIP is in pocket- 360 lumens. Takes about 2 seconds to slap on the base of the mag, in case of moving into dark environment.
        5) No-one knows how many ND’s occur in the U.S. everyday because of carrying a round in the chamber. It is unheard of in Israel. Fact.
        6) I spoke to an operator friend of mine yesterday, who has been 20 years Israeli special forces (Yamam), done security for ElAl, has killed terrorists in at least one pistol fight, and he says Chamber carry is the stupidest, most dangerous thing he has ever heard. It has nothing to do with ‘throw back from military days”… We train to rack- so should you….
        7) Let me know YOUR speed, 10 METERS, 3 hits at a 17cm x33cm target, on the beep, with your hands at your side, with your chamber carry….and then maybe you’ll have a point. I’ll let you off without having at least one round dead center…..
        Then you’ll know how ‘slow’ my 2.62 seconds was- won’t you…..

    • Also, if FORCED to only have one gun, you can only fight back for a limited period of time and your ballistics are limited to that gun. Not very smart in terms of freedom.

26. Eric- my point is that the 3rd of a second delay in racking the slide- has so far not made squat difference in Israel in any armed confrontation with a terrorist in 30 years. And there have been a lot of cases…..
    It would be even faster to walk around with a gun in your hand 24/7 but it’s not necessary….

    • If you can rack the slide in a third of a second then bragging about 2+ seconds to first shot is honestly even sadder.

      • I honestly don’t know why TTAG posted this at all. Or why this carrier even comes here. Nothing that takes place here is relative to them, obviously. I suspect a troll.

        • To be fair the level of delusion wasn’t really clear until he started commenting. Also silliness like this gets clicks, I suppose.

      • No genius….2.62 seconds to THIRD HIT at 10 meters..Duhhhhhh….. and you couldn’t do that in double the time from the draw even without racking the slide…..

27. Thank you Gadsden. Please excuse my delayed reply.

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