Recommendations for a CCW pistol

My carry piece, concealed or not, has been a 1911 since the ‘70s.

Pick something you shoot well, that is of a size and weight that you will actually carry.

Remember that your holster, mag carrier, and belt must comfortably carry the weight of a pistol and spare magazine.

Comfort is relative.
 
Salibas007 said:
I can’t store or buy a gun in the us.
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Why not? There are at least a dozen US states where it is legal for a non-resident legal alien to purchase/acquire a handgun.

All you need is to have a valid Admission Number (You have to ask customs to stamp your passport and issue you the AN, which they don't normally do), and be able to pass a NICS background check, which will be pretty easy if you have never been cited for any criminal offences in the US.

If you are allowed to legally own it, you can legally store it just about anywhere in most states.

jperos said:
If you can't legally buy a gun in the us then how do you get a ccw permit?
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By submitting an application, by mail, to the NH State Police. No photo, no course, no test, no trouble. Two page application, background check and $100 USD and you are cleared for five years of freedom carry. You have reciprocity in twenty something states, and when you factor the constitutional carry states you are good to go in about 65% of US land mass.

Idaho has better reciprocity than NH, and they will also issue to non-resident legal aliens, but they make you apply in person. If the national reciprocity bill ever clears the legislature, I suspect a lot of the non-resident permits might disappear, or might not be recognized.
 
My vote would be HK45 compact with LEM trigger. No safety, DA/SA. The only way for the gun to fire is if the trigger is pulled, nice for carrying with a round chambered. I have the HK 45, 45 compact, and PL30 in 9mm. All with LEM trigger. I like the full size 45 best at the range. CCW I would pick the 45 compact.
 
CZ P01 Omega. There have been some brought into the country with the extended threaded barrel. Or
the P10C as mentioned earlier.
 
The new Gen2 M&P Compact is an improvement over the Shield. The gun has a 4" barrel with a Compact grip. If the OP likes the M&P Series the gun is worth a look.

I am trying to get S&W to ship a 4.25" barrel and slide on a Compact frame up here. Easy to do and just marginally longer than a G19 without the nipple look. I believe the gun would sell. It would be legal for IDPA CCP Division as well.

Take Care

Bob
 
2tall2 said:
How does a Canadian buy a firearm in the US, legally?
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Still according to my knowledge and the US laws it is illegal for a non American to purchase a firearm in the US period. But yes buying used at a gin show circumvents that but still doesn't make it legal.

I frequently take G19's or 26's down to ##, have factory length barrels at the house and just swap out the Canadian Length barrels for my stay. While it takes a bit of jumping through hoops to get it all set up its really not that bad, and in my opinion VERY worth it to do. Once you have filled out a Form 6, life south of the boarder is much more fun!
 
2tall2 said:
Non-American can, but non-resident can't.
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According to Federal Law, Canadians who are non-resident legal aliens who are issued a valid entry number and can pass a NICS background check can legally acquire firearms IF they meet the residency requirement for the particular state. There are two states that I know of which do not impose a residency requirement for legal aliens to purchase firearms. Vermont and New Hampshire. There may be others but I have not done an exhaustive search.

Any non-resident alien can apply to the attorney general for a waiver from the residency requirement, and the word on the street is that these are generally rubber stamped.

Thats the strict letter of the law.

In truth, there are many many counties in the US where the sheriff doesn't give a damn about federal gun law, and only cares about State Law. At one point I had letters from two different sheriff county offices where the sheriff basically ran their own checks and wrote a letter for me to take to the FFL saying I was good to go, even though at the time federal law clearly prohibited me from purchasing. Such states typically also have whats called states law pre-emption which means that in a conflict between state and federal law, states law wins. Not sure I'd want to be a test case on that jurisdictional battle, but any theory issued by the county sheriff purporting to authoring you to acquire firearms should probably be sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt at trial and result in an acquittal.

I never did buy a pistol using those letters, but I did recently use my NH non-resident carry permit to purchase a firearm in NH. All I needed was a valid entry number from US Customs in order for them to run the NICs check and photo ID. I showed them my carry permit, and I got laughed at for actually bothering to get one. The gun lives in a safety deposit box when I am not stateside. Live free or die.
 
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OP: You could consider a Commander size 1911, 4.25" barrel. I have a Dan Wesson, quite nice. Other than that the G19 is your best bet for size. Or make the effort to be able to purchase one legally there, lots more options in that case.
 
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