Most EDC rundowns are BS, but I am faxing this one to my Dad.
By Jon Trobaugh
Disclaimers first: The content here is meant to give you permission to carry what works best for you and to reassure you on your “weird” EDC decisions. Work out your own EDC with fear and trembling, but carry and carry on!
I suppose I have a duty as a self-described gun blogger to present my carry gun and EDC gear here even though I do not believe sharing this information will prove useful to anyone, especially not “EDC lifestyle” newcomers to whom this type of content is usually targeted. The problem as I understand it is that these show-and-tells are often given (and received) as directives and not as inspirations.
Influencers in the self-defense space have a nasty habit of presenting a binary reality for every tool and tactic. Either something is essential to surviving a gunfight, or it will get you killed, instantly. No inbetween. We have all heard some version of the following “words of tactical wisdom,” haven’t we?
Jim What’s His Name carries X and Y, so you should too.
Oh, you don’t carry a Glock 34 with a Surefire and an Aimpoint? You got a deathwish, pal?
You aren’t confident enough in your skills to carry only a Seecamp and a sharpened drinking straw like me? Well, all I can say is that you need to train, train, train,
And so on. It’s annoying, and potentially harmful to our community.
My concealed carry EDC pocket dump
I carry a gun: A Wilson Combat CQB Compact or a Wilson Combat SFX9 3.25 15-round, both in 9mm. I load them with GoId Dots.
I use JM Custom Kydex AIWB holsters. I carry a spare magazine in a leather pocket mag carrier from Galco.
I carry a flashlight, usually a Stylus Pro or Pro-Tac 2L from Streamlight. I carry a Spyderco Endura and a small Swiss Army knife or multitool.
I carry my wallet, my phone, and keys.
That’s it.
Wait. You carry a single-stack, 9mm 1911?
Yes, but only to trigger you and the libs. :)
The CQB compact is a bare-bones Wilson Combat offering, but it has the three things Jeff Cooper said a carry gun should: sights you can see, a trigger you can use, and a dehorning. I could have sprung for a fancier gun, but I am only concerned with Wilson quality in terms of reliability and accuracy. I need the gun to work, every time. If I pay the WC premium and do the testing I need to after purchase, I can be 100% confident in my carry weapon.
The SFX9 is what I assume John Moses Browning wanted his Hi-Power to be. If you took a BHP, crossed it with a Star Firestar and a Browning BDM and accurized and improved the whole thing with modern production processes and input from world-class shooters, you would have something similar to what Bill Wilson and company put together. It is one of the best pistol designs in history. There, I said it.
With 15-plus-one rounds in the gun and an 18-round backup magazine, I am confident I can make it home with the SFX9. The gun’s shorter barrel improves my draw-to-first-shot times and the aluminum frame makes the gun easy to carry all day without issue. I do wish there was better aftermarket support though.
THe SFX9 is a thicker gun, and I find it conceals better when I can wear more than just a t-shirt. For summer, I stick with the CQB. It is thin, and disappears easily. The guns operate the same and feature the same sights, triggers of the same length and weight, etc.
I carry appendix inside-the-waistband, but on occasion I carry at 3:30 or so strong-side using a Milt Sparks summer special. Both guns work well carried this way. No one talks about this, but appendix carry allows you to tote a much heavier gun comfortably. My CQB is all steel, which means I am not afraid to put practice rounds through it every week, but if I carry on the hip, I do feel it in my old man bones that night before bed.
Speaking of round count, I do not mind the “limited” capacity of the CQB.I think ten rounds of +P 9mm is enough. I could carry a Sig Sauer P320 with a 30-round magazine or a CZ P-09, but I don’t have thousands and thousands and thousands of rounds through those firearms. My dad didn’t take me out every weekend to shoot his Glock when I was a kid. I grew up shooting his double action revolvers and 1911s. I shoot 1911s well. Every class I’ve taken was taken with one of the guns mentioned here. I am committed to the 1911 pistol and believe it is best for me.
9mm vs, .45 ACP for Concealed Carry
The age old debate, and I’m not going to win over either camp with my lukewarm reasoning here. I can shoot 9mm for cheaper. I can also shoot it faster and more accurately In my all steel 9mm than I can a similar pistol in .45 ACP.
Every gun is different. You must shoot your chosen defensive round through your pistol. Shoot at least one hundred rounds of that ammunition to make sure the gun functions well with that exact ammunition and the exact magazines you will carry.
I load my 9mm guns with the hottest rounds I can shoot well, and you should too. See what I did there? That's called a call-back, son. Peace.
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