The essential idea behind a pocket pistol is to carry it concealed on your person in the event of immediate need. During an active 
SHTF event, a prepper-survivalists may have multiple opportunities to engage their pocket pistol for a wide variety of reasons. It might be needed to get out of the office and home or out of the driveway to get on the road toward your Bug Out destination. It may be needed to thwart a threat at the front door or in the parking lot.
When things go south during a natural or unnatural event, self-defense and family/team protection can quickly become a top priority. For this reason, a pocket pistol has to be chosen very carefully with deliberate intents in mind at all times. A pocket pistol has to be small enough to be carried easily, but it must be retrieved quickly to put into play. Then it has to carry enough power to be an effective defensive threat. The shooter has to be trained and proficient in doing this.
Pocket Power
The first round of the debate starts with the size of the hole in the end of the muzzle. The primary contenders are the .380 ACP, 
.38 Special, 9mm, and maybe with a select few shooters, the .45 ACP. See, I have already stepped on somebody’s toe by not mentioning this round or another such as the .40 Cal. Some 10mm fans might be offended. And if you are just getting into shooting handguns, start with the .22 rimfire from the get go, but then move up. Skip the rimfire for self-defense as it just has too many limitations for serious protection work.
The bottom line here is to choose a caliber with which you are confident in using and in a 
handgun you can shoot well. Any one in this first list will perform well in the right hands of a properly trained and experienced shooter. The days are gone when the .380 and the .38 Special were considered wimps. Even the 9mm was slighted not all that long ago. Forget that. Ammunition manufacturers have stepped up the game with new highly potent and accurate self-defense loads new on the market. Many new offerings by Hornady, Remington, Winchester, Federal and others have laid to rest the arguments about these rounds being too weak for self-defense protection. Make your choice.
Gun Choices
To simplify things I generically used the term “pistol” when I am really talking about both semi-auto pistols and revolvers as well. 
Believe it or not, a good revolver in the hands of a competent and confident shooter becomes an awesome defensive combination. The “pistol” is certainly a popular choice but by no means the only one or even the best one in every instance.
A top of the line revolver such as many by Smith and Wesson, Ruger, Charter Arms, Taurus, and a few select others are good choices for prepper pocket pistols. An intriguing new revolver that I have yet to see or handle is the Kimber K6s Stainless in .357 Magnum, which of course can handle .38 Specials including hearty +P loads. This ought to be a grand pocket pistol, pricey, but extremely well made as all Kimber’s are.
Pistol wise there are just so many choices, the average or new prepper to the horse race is going to quickly get bogged down in decision-making over features, fit, grip, handling, magazine loading, pointing, slide cycling, sight alignment, safety mechanisms, weight, size, carry and concealment considerations. These are a lot of things to think about when picking out a good pocket pistol. Among the competitive leading makers of pocket pistols, you have to look at the Glock 42 and 43, the Ruger models LC9 and LCP, several from S&W including the Bodyguard and their 9mm series.
Remington has out a new .380 pistol to look at in earnest. Others worthy of a look include the Kimber Micro Pistols, the Solo, Ultra models, and some of the downsized 1911 versions. In this marketplace, there is no shortage at all of models, brands, and versions to examine for use as pocket pistols.
The Wrap
Check with reputable gun 
dealers, and nose around at shooting ranges, and gun shows. Handle and inspect as many different gun models as you can get your hands on. Shop where the inventories are large, selections and prices are competitive. If you know a cop, then ask them their opinions as well as other preppers and survivalists. Gather all the information you can as you make your choice or choices.
The pocket pistol profile is a lightweight, small, 2-4 inch barreled handgun designed to be easily carried actually in the pocket or in an IWB (inside waist band) or OWB (outside waist band) holster. It has to ready to be drawn quickly and deployed into action at a moment’s notice. Besides picking the right gun in the right caliber for you, proceed to knowing your gun. Learn it, clean it, take it apart, and get intimate with it. Spend a lot of quality time on the shooting range running it through the paces. Shoot your new gun at realistic confrontational distances.
Forget 50 yards. Concentrate on 7 feet to ten yards. Punch those paper plates in the center. Practice quick reloads with a fresh magazine or a 5/6-round speed loader. This is a learned talent all its own that requires lots of practice to perform smoothly and securely. Practice, too, withdrawing your pistol from your pocket and carry holsters. Dress up in the role of concealed carry to see how all that works out. Get in and out of your vehicles to test those moves. It all takes practice. Just keep at it.
Get your concealed carry permit so you’ll be legal. Start to tote your pocket pistol on a regular basis. Carry it around some to get used to the weight, feel and tug of it on your body. At home or discretely work with drawing your pocket handgun in practice, unloaded of course. Learn that sight plane down the barrel and pointing that muzzle nose to the target. If you have to depart your office, home, or vehicle during a SHTF event of any kind, you are going to want some measure of protection. A pocket pistol can help fill that role. Make your selection with earnest consideration, then move full forward to learning to use it effectively. It could save your life or the lives of family members, a prep team, or others caught exposed.
8 comments
finger off the trigger please, unless you are on a target which absolutely positively needs to be shot…
I think of pocket pistols in terms of just that, pockets. Putting a Kimber Ultra Carry II in your pocket is not going to work unless it is you winter coat pocket.
I like firearms that I can carry in the front pocket of my jeans and nobody knows. For this I like the NAA Guardian. The Beretta Tomcat is a bit thick but fits nicely. Both firearms have small sights that wont catch when pulling it out of your pocket. The barrels are very short (less than 1 inch) and the bullets often leave oblong holes in the paper. The best I could do with the Tomcat is a 5″ group at 7 yards.
Don’t discount smaller calibers such as the 7.65mm or .32acp. Even a .22 or .25 will take somebody down when pressed into their ear. Remember this is to take out a bad guy up close. I mean very close.
I generally use my Springfield Armory Ultra Compact .45 as a carry gun. It is small but very dense. It is also surprisingly accurate as I have routinely hit a 6″ pig target at 50 meters.
Bersa Thunder Compact Carry is an inexpensive, reliable and accurate ‘pocket’ carry gun.
I recently had a converstion with a retired SS agent about the ” lowly ” .22 and how deadly it was. His answer was , know the .22 handgun that you are using, use the best .22 hollow point ammo you can buy, aim for center of mass and empty the magazine. Reload, holster your weapon, call leo’s, answer all questions and be very polite and have a lawyer on retainer.
I have tight pockets, because of the jeans I usually wear, so I opt for belt carry. Finally got around to getting a foot-in-the-grave small 9mm pistol. Yeah, it is inexpensive, but it works for bad breath distance, and I won’t feel “lost” if it winds up in “evidence” because I had to use it to same my bacon, and I’m very selfish about my personal bacon. I practice at 12 meters, with a 3X5 card taped to the target, so I can keep all shots within the card itself. I have yet to see a suspect survive multiple rounds into center mass that are within the 3X5 artificial self-imposed target concentration area I like to use. That’s just my subjective decision for my own use. We all are responsible for our own salvation, and the first Rule of Salvation, is to have and be proficient with a hand gun.
One of you got something wrong. In the event of an SD shooting: CALL YOUR LAWYER FIRST. UNLOAD your weapon and lock the slide to the rear. Place the weapon and ammo on the ground in front of you. Call the cops. You WILL be “felony stopped” IE: You will be made to turn around, Lay on the ground ,searched and you WILL be cuffed and read your rights. SAY NOTHING but “Name & number” until you see your lawyer. Tell them you called your lawyer THEN SHUT THE F*** UP until you see the lawyer. If it was a clear ” the SOB was in my house” shooting you will be set down in the back of a car in cuffs till the lawyer arrives. SAY NOTHING , COP CARS ARE WIRED AND HAVE CAMRAS in them in most states and the “officers” are trained to violate your rights. Remember this EVERY THING YOU SAY WILL BE USED to harm you in a court of law. After your lawyer speaks to you the police will take your statement. If you are in a “stand your ground” state and it is a “clean shoot” you’ll still have to interview with the Homicide Squad and wail till the LEO’s “clear” the “crime scene” so if its you house don’t get in a hurry–THEY WON’T. ABOVE ALL SHUT UP! More people talk themselves into a murder charge than you can imagine. NEVER TALK TO THE COPS FIRST! They are not your friends and ARE NOT there to “help” you. Never assume that you were “in the right” and the cops will see things your way. That’s not the job.
I agree with Ray… in my line of work, I interact with a lot of police officers. Even cops will tell you, that in the event of a clean and clear event where you have to shoot an armed assailant who broke into your house, or tried to rob or rape you in the street, you will essentially have to prove your innocence to investigators and the Prosecutor before being cleared. Even then, the family of the thug(s) will attempt to paint your assailant as an angelic saint, and you as a bloodthirsty savage, who was just waiting to shoot anyone who looked at you funny. I keep a stock home defense gun. It has NO modifications. If the gun you used to shoot someone is tricked out with a custom trigger, fancy embellished scrollwork, a laser, a custom paintjob, with silver embossed skull grips, with the words “Death Dealer” engraved on the side… well, the prosecution, and the family of the victim will own your life, home, and cash for many many years. Use a “stock” weapon, and follow Ray’s advice in the previous post. Say nothing, except to your attorney.
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