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I am looking to get my conceal carry permit and wondering what would be the best, I like the XD but Walther is nice. Any recommendations?

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You put this in the wrong area, but the best concealed carry pistol hands down is the Glock 19.
 

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Start with HOW you are going to carry. Be honest with yourself - will you realistically be able to carry in a belt holster all the time in your everyday life? A gun does you no good at home in the nightstand when you get carjacked. I personally have two dedicated carry guns - a Glock 27 for belt carry and a Kahr MK40 for pocket carry. I probably pocket carry the Kahr about 80% of the time because putting a belt holster on is just too inconvenient in the context of my lifestyle.

If you can only justify one gun right now, I'd suggest going with a Glock 26. Big enough to be shootable, small enough to carry on the belt (nice with a magazine extension) or even in a pocket (with a standard basepad on the short mag). Ammo is potent enough with quality HP projectiles, yet cheap ammo for practice is readily available. Easy to shoot. Carry a full-size 17-round magazine as a spare.

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Hi Power, CZ 75, Sig 228 or HK P7/HK USP for 9mm. 1911 or Sig p220 for .45 caliber. Ruger SP101 for a wheel gun.  

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I am looking to get my conceal carry permit and wondering what would be the best, I like the XD but Walther is nice. Any recommendations?

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Try everything you can get your hands on. There are at least a half dozen popular pistols you should handle before making a decision.

XD/XDm, Glock 19/17, and M&P to name a few. Get out to a gun shop and handle as many as you can, then rent the ones that feel good to you.

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You put this in the wrong area, but the best concealed carry pistol hands down is the Glock 19.
 

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You put this in the wrong area, but the best concealed carry pistol hands down is the Glock 19.
 

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Lol, I love when shooters think their gun is "The best"...

Glock makes good guns, So does SIG, CZ...Theyre all around the same price range and equal in quality.

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I'm going against the grain here and will recommend a single stack auto for CCW: Walther PPS, Kahr, S&W Shield, etc. ...

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I'm going to counter that by saying that more rounds are better than fewer. Ergo, double stack.

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Everyone has an opinion. However the Glock 19 does blend size, controllability, reliablity, magazine capacity in a perfect package. Its the yard stick by which carry pistols are judged in 9mm. As for Sig being of the same quality HA HA HA HA. Not lately. 10 years ago yes but not  new Sig pistols coming out. I have seen quality control all over the map with them.  
Pat

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I love my glock 19 and I think that it is probably a top 5 if not the best all around carry considering combat proven reliability, firepower, and size...

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Well, the Glock 19 is a compact handgun, so if you are looking for a compact, I could judge things like a PF9 against that, but I have a CZ75B...Glock 19 has nothing on the CZ but being smaller and less ammo. My CZ is accurate to boot, conceals easy because its slim, and its a better feel for me. Ive shot both a G19 and 23, and I know people who own both. Both of my CZ's out perform Glock..consistently, including a full size Glock.

Its all in taste. Glock 19 is a damn good gun. It is a stretch to say its "The best" or even "The Standard". If anything, the CZ75 took take title nearly 40 years ago.

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While I agree for me (G19 as primary for the last 20 of my 30 years CCWing), if I were starting over today from scratch and not already so invested (guns/training/practice) in the G19 platform I would take a hard look at the Walther PPQ. I have been VERY impressed with mine so far, more so than I ever expected.

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It's a complicated subject, and it's sometimes hard to separate what really matters from the "favorite boy toy" syndrome. Under the what-really-matters category you have to think about how much risk there is in your lifestyle and balance that against how much effort and inconvenience you're willing to tolerate. It's fun at first to carry a gun, but after a few years it gets to be more like work. What kind of a climate do you live in? A Kahr CW9, for example, will hide under a T-shirt with an inside the belt holster, and is light enough not to be much of a bother. Bigger guns won't do that, but if you have real reason to fear for your safety, then you have to consider that. Of course anyone, anyplace, anytime can need a gun, and when you do you want as much gun as possible. On the other hand, statistically the odds of needing a big number are fairly small for most of us. I know from first hand personal experience that pretty much any gun will deter most criminals. You will read horror stories about coked up crazies that need a 45 to be put down, and it does happen. But you're probably about as likely to be hit by a car or struck by lightning unless you're a cop. I think folks that carry the big numbers do so because they like them, and I have been there and done that myself.

If you really want to carry something big, and in any kind of weather, then it pays to get creative. I sometimes carry a S&W M&P full size 9mm, even in very hot weather. I don't even try to carry it under my clothes. I carry it in something I wear that has a sturdy shoulder strap and quick access. I can get at it fully as quickly as I could lift up my shirt and draw from a holster. I avoid fanny packs and other bags and products made for the purpose. Too obvious. I get something from a sporting goods store or outdoor adventure store like EMS and adapt it for safe carry.

Mostly in the Summer heat I stick my Kahr CW9 in a simple inside the pants holster under a T-shirt if I'm going to be doing much walking. But if I'm mostly going to be in the car and then some stationary location, then I carry a full size gun in some kind of off body contrivance but still attached to me. I happen to like the Kahr line of small, light 9mm pistols, but there are lots of other options that are small and light. Even a .38 snubby isn't a terrible choice for most civilians. As I said before, most thugs looking down the barrel of any gun will go find someone else to victimize.

Your first gun probably won't be what you settle on. There are just too many factors to consider in advance. This is an area where you will probably kiss a few frogs. And it's also true that one gun may not fit all occasions/situations. You may want something small and light for some days, and something with more meat for when it won't be too much of a bother.

Several posters have touted the Glock 19 as the perfect solution. I disagree. The newer ones are having too many reliability issues. Apart from that, it is a compromise. It is neither big enough to be a full size pistol nor small enough to conceal well under very hot weather clothing. I have owned 2 Glock 19's, and that is my opinion at any rate.

Hope all this rambling helps OP.

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Having more rounds is better at having more rounds.
So long as you can shoot a particular gun accurately, round count doesn't really matter.

I carried a snubbie for a while and never felt the least bit undergunned because I could hit with it.


....and I haven't heard Pennywise in a long time, great band.

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Having more rounds is better at having more rounds.
So long as you can shoot a particular gun accurately, round count doesn't really matter.

I carried a snubbie for a while and never felt the least bit undergunned because I could hit with it.


....and I haven't heard Pennywise in a long time, great band.

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Your musical tastes are worthy of commendation. Their new album is even better than the rest.

With the prevalence of multiple assailants- "flash mobs", gang activity, and just general scumbaggery- having more rounds on hand is good, cheap insurance. However, as you said,  it won't matter if you can't shoot that handgun for shit. I keep a 13 round magazine plus one in the chamber in my Hi Power with a 17 round backup. 31 rounds in two magazines is pretty potent, and, for me, since I shoot the pistol well enough, is a huge advantage over say a 1911 or a revolver, both of which I can shoot just about the same. Sure, you could carry the same amount of ammo in those, but that's either 4-7 round extra magazines or 3-10 round -not the best for concealed carry- for the former, or four extra speedloaders for the latter. Adding another 13 round magazine for my pistol will not add the same bulk that additional ammunition for those two example options will, either. Plus one needs to factor in the time for reloading, which, under stress and where seconds could very well count for everything, it's best to minimize that if at all possible. The entire engagement might very well be over and done with before a reload can even occur, so the more rounds for which you have the potential to squeeze into that narrow time frame the better.  

I'd suggest anyone pondering the capacity question spend a lot of time analyzing self-defense shooting statistics and draw their own conclusion. Factor in all the variables, all the advantages and disadvantages and go from there.

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I read a study that claimed the average CCW defensive shooting entailed a total of 2 shots fired from the weapon holder.  I don't recall where I read it, but it might have been some .gov study.

What are your sources?

Thanks

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... You plan for the worst case not the best case...

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I'm going against the grain here and will recommend a single stack auto for CCW: Walther PPS, Kahr, S&W Shield, etc. ...

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This...I carry a Walther PPS .40 in an IWB holster and I sometimes forget it's there.  I have about 1000 rounds through it and it hasn't given me any problems.  I like the Shield as well.  It's almost exactly the same size as the PPS.  
 

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Sorry but you're not being realisitc. Round count does matter.  The hit ratio for trained police officers is between 15 and 25% in gun fights depending on the region of the country. Better in the west than the east. That being said if you have a snubbie your likely to have 1 round hit the target unless your much better than the average at shooting and handling the stress  of a gun fight. Reloads are painfully slow with the snubbie as well. I carry a snubbie only when I absolutely can not carry a bigger gun. Generally that means at least a Glock 19. I only carry the snubbie while jogging.
Pat

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Military and police need high capacity because their jobs are inherently dangerous.

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When it's time to use our extreme emergency tool, is it any less dangerous for us civies ?

Military and Police have a lot of resources backing them up, while we do not.

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I can understand that as you're in Texas and its as hot as hell down there.  Weather does dictate to a degree how large of a pistol you can conceal.

Pat

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Agreed...

Tell the survivors in Colorado that life in general is not dangerous at times

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Yeah,  It can get down right miserable trying to carry around a huge slab of metal strapped to an even larger piece of leather while it's 100 degrees and 90% humidity.