DAO is fine for carry. Chances are that if you have to pull it out your fine motor skills are going to be somewhat degraded due to the affects of adrenaline being dumped into your system.
Now if you are shooting something like IDPA a DAO is going to cost you points. But then if you are into the zen of IDPA, you shoot against yourself and don't worry about being king of the hill.
My home defense gun is a Ruger P90DC. It ain't a target gun and never will be. It does go bang every single time unless I screw up and use rifle primers by mistake and then it is 95% (oops). 100% on restrike. Oh, just mentioned another reason why DAO makes sense in a carry semi-auto.
Exactly. Which is why I dont much care for anything less than a 3 lb trigger on a street gun, particularly a self loader.
Bingo again!
Ayup..if it dont go bang..squeeze her off again. Though..I rather like revolvers for this same reason. Carried one for years as my street gun. Still carry a .41 Mod 57 when out in the sticks.
Gunner
"I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.
I hit a plateau last summer (3 months from zero) with my XD .40, wondered if zero-recoil practice with a .22 semiauto of similar weight and balance would identify and get me past some developing bad habits So I got a .22 that felt quite similar to the XD in my hand: a Browning Buckmark with 4" bull barrel. I'd fire 10 rounds with the .22, then one round with the XD. When I did that, the .40 rounds went pretty much right were they were intended to go. I then gradually increased my ratio of .40 to .22 for two or three shoots.
That drill got me back on track more quickly than I'd have thought possible. I still often start each shoot with a few rounds of .22 to "get in the groove" because I'm still in the habit-forming or habit reinforcing stage of my development with only a coupla thousand rounds thus far. I now shoot the .45's as well as the .22 and sometimes better. I don't shoot the (DAO) XD.40 quite as well, but definitely well enough for HD/SD which is why I got it in the first place. I was determined to gain some proficiency with it, but I had no idea how much fun handgun shooting would be. I now have the .45's primarily because they are so much fun to shoot. I probably won't get much better with the XD but I have years of growth ahead of me with the
1911's. Some days go better than others, but I always come home grinning and already looking forward to next time.
Not initially, but I might down the line. I do have several muffin-sized ingots that started out as a 5-gallon pail full of wheelweights. Had fun loading that sucker into the trunk of my car. I don't have access to the berm at the range. They probably make more off of recycling lead and brass than they do on lane fees, but they do allow individuals to collect their own brass.
Also consider three other important items for a daily carry gun.
Weight. A heavier gun will usually make you less likely to carry it, Just don't go to the other extreme and buy something that is so light that it twists your wrist for every shot. A Ultra light weight .45 is fine IF you can handle it properly. Try it first. I know of a couple people who hate my back up pistol (Walther PPS in .380) because it really snaps back during recoil with a good load in it. But because I can shoot it well it goes out every day. (yes it is a small caliber BUT two in the chest and one in the head usually takes the fight out of a goblin.)
Overall size. CCW means that the soccer mom anti-gunner next to you cannot look at the bulge it makes and scream "He's got a gun" while your standing in line at Starbucks with a couple cops behind you. NOT FUN.
Third is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. I have a routine where I go to the range and take some snap caps with me. I will then ask someone else to load a couple mags and insert snap caps in place of live rounds at random. I also like shooting at the combat range when I have the chance.
My wife was a Colt Agent in .38 Spl. With standard loads it is too snappy for me. I don't like to shoot it, it's painful. I thought I wanted a S&W 642, but shooting that Colt makes me think otherwise. On the other hand, My Keltec .380 is no problem. Others find it too sharp for them, but it doesn't bother me for some reason. I've shot 100 rounds through it in one short session with no discomfort and good accuracy. You definitely need to try out different options. And I need to rent a 642.
I'm no expert on carry, but I have thought some about it. I would not want a piece that is so unpleasant to shoot that I wouldn't practice regularly with it. I understand the argument that in a "situation" one would not notice the bite, but shot placement is also important and that comes only with practice and familiarity.
Some find the Kahr CW9 quite acceptable but we found it unpleasant to shoot and ruled it out for that reason.
I've not tried a Keltec. I did look at one, didn't like how it felt in my hand, or the fit and finish in general. I decided I wouldn't practice with one so I passed on it.
I settled on the Walther PPK/S in .380. It's 0.98" thick so not difficult to carry without "printing". (The CW9 has 0.90" slide width) The PPK is 6 ounces heavier than the CW9 at 22.4 oz, is beautifully made (by S&W) and quite enjoyable to shoot. Everyone (both genders) that has tried it has liked it. Trigger pull is 13 lb in DA, 4 lb in SA.
I have a friend of similar build to mine (5'7") who has carried his PPK every day for several months now. He says he forgets he has it on him.
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