Best Concealed Carry Weapons for Summer Heat: Expert Recommendations

Question
What are your top three concealed carry weapons for summer wear? T-shirt and shorts weather specifically.

Answer
Hi Gil,

Since here in Arizona we get some pretty serious hot weather, this is a topic that comes up quite a bit in many of my concealed carry classes.

Personally, I am partial to two small pistols that are manufactured by Keltec.  For the longest time I carried a P-32, a small .32 cal semi auto that had a seven round magazine plus one in the pipe for a total of eight rounds.  A .32 cal is as low as I would go for any type of personal defense pistol which is why I don't generally recommend some of the North American Arms or Beretta pocket pistols.

A couple years back, Keltec came out with a .380 auto version of the same pistol at about the same size and weight.  You lose one round since the P-3AT (a clever play on the gun's caliber) is 6+1 vs. 7+1 for the P-32.

Both weight around 11 oz. loaded and disappear into a pocket.  Make sure if you do pocket carry that you buy yourself a decent pocket holster.  

I like the DeSantis Nemesis.  It is a lined neoprene holster that will stay in your pocket when you draw the pistol.  It is a real value as it is priced at around $20.  It covers the trigger and keeps things safe, although personally I wouldn't carry anything else in that pocket for safety reasons.  Keltec also makes a 'clip' that will allow you to put the pistol in the waistband of your shorts or slacks.  Really handy if you are wearing no belt or a light weight belt.  Despite what some people might say about Keltec and their reliability, both of mine have been accurate and 100% reliable out of the box.

Two other pistols for concealed carry in summer are either a Glock 26 or 27 carried in an Inside-the-Waistband holster.  I have a Galco 'Summer Comfort' holster that I carry the Glock in when I want to have a little more 'horsepower'  The G-26 holds 10+1 while the G-27 holds 9+1 with the standard mag.

The other small, highly concealable pistol for those that have a few extra bucks is the H&K P2000SK.  This is a subcompact version of the regular P2000 and has many nice features including a unique decocker.  It is a highly accurate pistol and weighs only 25 oz.

You might be asking why I'm kind of moving you towards guns like the Glock or the H&K vs. other small pistols.  First, any steel framed gun, even a subcompact 1911 is going to be heavy and not have as much magazine capacity.  Smaller pocket pistols don't have the stopping power.

I am also an advocate of carrying one type of pistol for concealed carry.  If you are constantly switching guns and holsters, you are going to have a more difficult time creating the 'muscle memory' of the draw stroke, trigger break and reset, pistol manipulations (load, unload, speed load, malfunction clearances)

Personally, I carry an H&K USP Compact .40cal year round.  It is concealable under a baggy T-shirt with shorts.  If I am needing to go really light, I carry the Keltec P-3AT.

Certainly there are many other good choices out there, but these two seem to work for me in both summer and winter.

Hope this helps you out...

Regards,

Doug