I will have to say m&P9c specifically for the size, capacity and accuracy. I think it is a great sc gun and conceals well with a raven owb or any variation of hybrid iwb holsters.
Sidearms & Scatterguns Best 9mm sub compact carry pistol
- Thread starter fisho91
- Start date
I recently got the Sig as well. Working good so far. Very thin when you're used to carrying a Glock everywhere.
And the winner is CZ. The P-01 for compact, has a decocker and fits the hand perfect, for subcompact, the Rami. It also has a decocker. These are extremely accurate and dependable firearms. I recently bought a Ruger LCR 22mag and it fits right in the pocket.
I carry a Kahr PM9, kinda pricey. The CM9 is a lot cheaper and still a great pistol.
Once you break them in properly they are great. Kahr recommends a 200rd break in due to the pistols being so tight from the factory. Oh one other thing- Kahr's customer service is EXCELLENT! They sent me a part that had a tiny bit of finish coming off it free of charge.
Once you break them in properly they are great. Kahr recommends a 200rd break in due to the pistols being so tight from the factory. Oh one other thing- Kahr's customer service is EXCELLENT! They sent me a part that had a tiny bit of finish coming off it free of charge.
I have been carrying the Kahr CW9 for about 2 years and absolutely love it. Several guys at work carry the CM9 or CW9. The CM9 is a bit too small for me but the CW is perfect. I have over 3000 rounds through it and the only thing I have done was clean it and replace 2 magazines.
In the past I have carried a lot of other pistols. The all have pros and cons but the CW9 seems to cover all the bases for me. It is very reliable, if I do everything right it is VERY accurate, not too heavy, small enough to conceal in almost any circumstance. I do not pocket carry but the Kahr also has a long trigger pull similar to other small pistols so the user can put it in their pocket and carry safely.
In the past I have carried a lot of other pistols. The all have pros and cons but the CW9 seems to cover all the bases for me. It is very reliable, if I do everything right it is VERY accurate, not too heavy, small enough to conceal in almost any circumstance. I do not pocket carry but the Kahr also has a long trigger pull similar to other small pistols so the user can put it in their pocket and carry safely.
For those of you that went with the S&W Shield can you tell me if you compared the 9c can you tell me what got you to go with the Shield? Its a bit narrower, with the Mag extension is not shorter handled as compared to the 9c.
I cant currently get the Shield however I am interested in what convinced you over the 9c.
Thanks....
I cant currently get the Shield however I am interested in what convinced you over the 9c.
Thanks....
Drpends on how you like to carry. For me I like IWB and thickness is more of a concern than handle length and to a certain extent barrel length. Im a stringbean at 6' 165# so the thinner guns help IWB. Now OWB the handle length is a concern as thats what seems to print on me as my waist is onky 31".
So short answer, depends on how you want to carry and your size.
I have been carrying the little Sig's for 4 years now, and love them. I started with a P238SAS, until my grandmother decided she liked it, and moved to the P938 and haven't looked back. Until I bit the bullet so to speak and bought the SIG, I carried a Kel Tec, a Taurus TCP, and Ruger LCP, they were all decent pistols, but the Sig is head a shoulders above the rest especially in 9mm. With all the controls being the same as my full size carry gun (Kimber Elite Carry), it makes the transition easy.
If you carry a g26 with mag extension, why wouldn't you just carry a g19? Its only 1 more inch to conceal and that 1 inch sure helps with MV and accuracy. Just my opinion though. The one thing I would recommend to the OP is to at least find a pistol you can get a full grip with. Losing that pinky on a grip (for me) was detrimental to my accuracy and recoil control.
I've had the Glock 26, Kahr pm9, Springfield Armory EMP (which I really like) Kel-tech, and the S&W Shield.... the Shield is my daily carry.. it is the most comfortable of them all for carry.
Get a good holster and a good gun belt, it makes all the difference.
Get a good holster and a good gun belt, it makes all the difference.
I have the LC9 with the Galloway Precision hammer and trigger bar mods. Pistol runs flawlessly and very accurate too. I carry it IWB or in my pocket. No complaints!
Its a huge difference. I can put a g26 in almost any pocket I own and carry it if I want. I have G19's, they are my go to pistol, but a 26 conceals MUCH better. Hell I used to think my G19 was small next to a G17. Now after shooting a fair amount through the 26, the 19 feels like a full size gun. G26 is the perfect size, its the smallest you can go yet still get a good grip and handle like a real gun.
The ballistics difference is negligble, Were talking 25 yards or less.......most likely less than 7 yards if you need it. The finger extension is non intrusive.
I just picked up a shield 9, and I would definitely go this route over the m&p compact if you are going to carry IWB. The shield is definitely thinner, but still comfortable to shoot.
My vote would be either a Rorhbaugh R9 of a Kimber solo. I like the Rorhbaugh for pocket because its a lot smaller but the mag release is on the bottom which is both good and bad. I have been carrying my Rorhbaugh for over 5 years as a backup gun and have no complaints.
Another vote for the Sig 938, if you want a 9, if you do not feel under gunned with a .380 then a Sig 238. Great fit, feel and function
I prefer the M&P 9c. The Shield is definitely smaller, but the round count is comparatively low when compared with with 9c. I live in bloody hot Central FL and the 9c conceals well with just about any clothing.
I have to agree with this. I own both and once novelty of the Shield wore off I was back to carrying the M&P 9c. I think the size diffrence with a quality IWB holster is minimal. I prefer the thicker grip of the 9c and will take the rounds every day of the week. As said before alot comes down to how you carry. I typically use a Kingtuk holster, but occationally carry at 1 oclock and I find the Shield to be more comfortable in this position. To each their own. Fwiw im also a thinner build.
Being a fairly large build, I carry a Beretta PX-4 Storm. I chose this because it fit my hand, and my budget, in that order. I carry IWB, and find that this is for me, still a comfortable way to carry. I had a devil of a time trying to find a holster, and ended up modifying a cheap leather trapezoidal shaped sleeve. I had to stitch the top together a little more so that the muzzle would not protrude through far enough for my laser to get caught on the bottom of the holster.
My wife just bought a Kimber Solo, and I can't wait to try shooting it. I will need to get the extended mag---large hands again. If it passes muster, I may consider getting one with the laser built in.
My wife just bought a Kimber Solo, and I can't wait to try shooting it. I will need to get the extended mag---large hands again. If it passes muster, I may consider getting one with the laser built in.
Shield is thin, smooth and reliable and easy to shoot.
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Glock guy but for compactness, Shield gets my vote.
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Glock guy but for compactness, Shield gets my vote.
After much discussion and debate, my wife and I went out to buy a cc handgun for her yesterday. I was steering her towards a SW 637/638 J-Frame, but she wanted a pistol. We spent the day handling almost every gun mentioned above...KT PF9, Kahr, Shield, etc. She came back every time to the Glock 26. Walked into one last store @ about 1630 and they had a Gen 4, G26 in stock. Somehow the rascal managed to sneak home with us.
She liked that it has no external safeties, and is big enough to shoot comfortable. In her words: "What good is a gun if it's so small I can't shoot it well and don't want to train with it? This is cool and I want to shoot it." What can I say? She has good taste and more common sense than most, I guess.
She liked that it has no external safeties, and is big enough to shoot comfortable. In her words: "What good is a gun if it's so small I can't shoot it well and don't want to train with it? This is cool and I want to shoot it." What can I say? She has good taste and more common sense than most, I guess.
That's the way, man!! Good Luck to her on training with it! I am very blessed to have a wife who loves to shoot almost as much as myself. What a nice way to have fun together----at the range!
I got a chance to play with a Beretta Nano and I do like the feel of it. The Sheild is hard to find right now, and that keeps the price really high, right along with the Springfield XD9s - $649! at one of the shops - The Ruger LC 9 is starting to become readily available so I might give that a look as well.
Excellent choice! She may need more than just the pistol to be good to go though. Tell her she may like the pinkie finger extension, try 'em (one adds a couple 9mm rounds too I think, another one doesn't). I have these on both my CC .40 G27 and 10mm G29. Only way my wife will fire either. I use 2 full size 15rd. G22 or G20 mags for reloads; more rounds plus it extends the grip (they make covers that make it feel like a full grip, but I just use the bare mag). I'd get tritium sights no matter what --all my pistols have 'em. I think XS Big Dots would be nice on a small carry pistol, but I didn't know of 'em when I got my carry pistols. Either a handheld Surefire (my wife has a 2 batt. E series, non-mil looking purplish anodize color she's had for YEARS, I have an E1, a grey 1 cell light for just as long) or a small, weapon mounted one if she carries in her purse and can get away with it. Someone makes a really compact light. Still keep a handheld in the bag though. A good light is a must.
A good holster is key, if she goes for the purse, look at the Coronado Leather, my wife loves her leather purse. Very well made, made in US. Lots of designs. There is one holster maker, a decent quality one, and I forget the name... They make IWB (and OWB?) holsters for women that fit their hips.
I'd also try to find the mags at the right price and stock up on what you perceive to be the number of mags you'll need for the lifetime of that weapon. Possibly some spare parts and springs, particularly those that wear. Stock Glock stuff. This way your high cap 9mm doesn't turn into a 7 or 10 round paperweight. Got my first Glock, a G21 in 98 during the ban. Mags were $120 each and not built as well as todays. Also, Glock mags can wear out over time with use.
Good luck and good choice, proud of her, she made a great decision I think. Make sure she understands how the Glock is meant to be carried, trigger covered, nothing else inside of carry pocket if she uses a purse. Wish my wife had picked a G26, she ALMOST did at the PX recently, but still just favors her old, stainless, .357 S&W 5-shot concealed hammer J-Frame w/ speedloaders and those long Crimson Trace laser grips (don't look at me, she still knows the basics, and the off hand out, revolver close to her belly/hip for very close encounters). I think the grip helps her with her point shooting, but to keep her from being dependent on it, we disabled it from time to time.
A good holster is key, if she goes for the purse, look at the Coronado Leather, my wife loves her leather purse. Very well made, made in US. Lots of designs. There is one holster maker, a decent quality one, and I forget the name... They make IWB (and OWB?) holsters for women that fit their hips.
I'd also try to find the mags at the right price and stock up on what you perceive to be the number of mags you'll need for the lifetime of that weapon. Possibly some spare parts and springs, particularly those that wear. Stock Glock stuff. This way your high cap 9mm doesn't turn into a 7 or 10 round paperweight. Got my first Glock, a G21 in 98 during the ban. Mags were $120 each and not built as well as todays. Also, Glock mags can wear out over time with use.
Good luck and good choice, proud of her, she made a great decision I think. Make sure she understands how the Glock is meant to be carried, trigger covered, nothing else inside of carry pocket if she uses a purse. Wish my wife had picked a G26, she ALMOST did at the PX recently, but still just favors her old, stainless, .357 S&W 5-shot concealed hammer J-Frame w/ speedloaders and those long Crimson Trace laser grips (don't look at me, she still knows the basics, and the off hand out, revolver close to her belly/hip for very close encounters). I think the grip helps her with her point shooting, but to keep her from being dependent on it, we disabled it from time to time.
I bounce back and forth between the LCP and Kimber Solo for pocket carry depending on the activities of the day. I won't mind dunking the LCP in the river whereas I'd like to keep the solo dry. Anything above pocket carry I go to the Kimber Pro Crimson Carry IWB. The LCP was my go to pocket gun for a good while but it's a crap shoot on accuracy. We've got 3 of them in the family and mine will shoot to POA consistently but neither of the others will. It's not terribly important at the distance it's likely to be used but I just won't carry a pistol I cant hit an 8" plate at 30yds with using the sights.. Now the wife swears by her Shield in 40s&w for all of her carry situations so that clears it up like mud, right?
M&P 9 compact or the Sheild, nothing else comes close to the feel IMO. A Kahr P9 was my carry pistol for a while, it is a great size for CCW but full 9mm loads are a little tough on the hands and it didn't hold many rounds. Once I played with the M&P compact, then installed a Apex trigger kit, I was in love.
I appreciate the advice! She'll be taking a concealed carry course in the next few weeks. She was surprised by how much it recoiled and will take some training to realy be good with it.
We bought a Kimber Solo in 9mm for my wife a few weeks back. As we bought it out of state, we had is shipped to FFL for paperwork, which I just got done. I took it to the range, and it is definitely a biter. I hope she doesn't dislike it as much as her S&W Bodyguard in 380. I did learn a new hand grip method which helped a lot, and we will get the extended mag which will allow for the pinky to join the other two fingers on the grip. Hope that one isn't a bust. (But if it is, I may inherit a nice small carry piece.)
I have the G27 for a small CC pistol. If that is too heavy or too much and I just wanna pocket carry something to go to the store, I throw a Smith and Wesson 340PD in the pocket. Hammerless and doesn't jam (provided you have empty, clean pockets). I guarantee you won't find another pistol that light with that much power and be that reliable to boot. You also likely won't find one with more recoil; it kicks harder than the scandium .44 does. But it is worth keeping in mind when looking for light, full power CC weapons. BTW, 125gr. Gold Dots work great in 'em --they don't unseat due to the recoil easy and the velocity is just the tits in this little revolver.
Rorbaugh? makes a tiny lightweight 9mm, but I've heard the manufacturer recommends you "carry but don't shoot" it? Only good for 500 or so rounds? Just what I've heard, but it is supposed to be pretty small and light, and despite this, it is still considered a quality pistol. It's about the same weight as the 340PD.
Now I suspect you'll be wanting a holster for the R9, but the 340PD can be carried a number of ways including plain pocket carry.
Then there are those ultralight, I mean DAMN light .45 (ACP, LC, I forget, may have even been in .410) titanium derringers with the ported barrels. Very expensive for two rounds, but there, THAT would be the lightest and smallest full caliber CC piece. Saw 'em in NRA's rag, forget who makes them.
Those are about the smallest, lightest I know of. And for what it's worth, I bought that 340PD when it first came out nearly ten years ago and I'd never sell it and I carry it damn near everywhere. Makes a good backup too.
Rorbaugh? makes a tiny lightweight 9mm, but I've heard the manufacturer recommends you "carry but don't shoot" it? Only good for 500 or so rounds? Just what I've heard, but it is supposed to be pretty small and light, and despite this, it is still considered a quality pistol. It's about the same weight as the 340PD.
Now I suspect you'll be wanting a holster for the R9, but the 340PD can be carried a number of ways including plain pocket carry.
Then there are those ultralight, I mean DAMN light .45 (ACP, LC, I forget, may have even been in .410) titanium derringers with the ported barrels. Very expensive for two rounds, but there, THAT would be the lightest and smallest full caliber CC piece. Saw 'em in NRA's rag, forget who makes them.
Those are about the smallest, lightest I know of. And for what it's worth, I bought that 340PD when it first came out nearly ten years ago and I'd never sell it and I carry it damn near everywhere. Makes a good backup too.
I bought the M&P compact in .357 Sig. Nice gun, but lots of recoil. I had also purchased a M&P9 Fullsize. After shooting Sig 226 for a while, the M&Ps were a rude awakening. The ergonomics were great, but I was definitely spoiled by the soft shooting 226. Also the Sig is easier to field strip.
I sold both M&Ps, and bought a Sig P239 in 9mm. Not as much capacity as the M&P Compact, but heavier for less recoil. Next I plan on buying the Sig P238 as a pocket pistol. Only .380, but recoil is reported to be very moderate.
-s
I have the S&W M&P Shield 9mm and the Kahr PM9. Both are great guns and are easy to carry. Some people pocket carry the PM9 but I find it a bit heavy for pocket carry. I have a Hidden Hybrid Holster that I bought for the Shield and the PM9 fits nicely in it as well
I looked at all pocket 9s. Sig was nice (I'm a Sig man_ but was actually too small for me to run a lot of rounds thru. Rorbaugh is small, but the sights are shit and it's like shooting a derringer, the trigger sucked as well. After looking at all of them, I bought the Beretta Nano which I loved until I shot it. the NAN trigger was wayyy tooo lonngg, reset as long, and the the trigger was too heavy. I like the way the Springfield XDS .45 shot but the capacity didn;t make it any better than a wheel gun. I sold the Nano and bought one of the first Springfield XDs 9mms in the area. I cannot be happier. I like it better than a S&W Shield I shot. JMO.
I didn't "get" either but have shot both. The Shield is VERY thin. That's nice for the CC. The 9C is very nice but as thick as the G26 (or at least close) that the OP was wanting to switch from.
OP, take a hard look at the Baretta Nano. Same concept as Shield, and better trigger out of the box. I personally shoot an M&P full size and so will get a Shield and put an Apex kit in it.
The Nano as I said requires no trigger work and is actually closer to the Glock grip angle it sounds like you're used to. The Nano is also just a bit wider, but not nearly so much as the G26. Both are great.
Let me clarify Shanks, to keep your heartburn down.
The Nano trigger was better out of the box than the Shield. As I said, I don't own either but shot both 2 weeks ago in the same range session. M&P's are known to have shitty triggers, which is why most people put in the the APEX kit. Once that's done I love the M&P. Even without that mod it's a good gun, but is much better with the APEX.
With the Nano, it wasn't a great trigger, but it was livable. I was able to make hits and the trigger didn't stand out (for crappiness) like the Shield.
Also note that the Shield's trigger was wearing in and got better as the day progressed (200 rds give or take). Very gritty brand new though.
No worries. I was shooting my Nano at distance and couldn;t hold it on target with the trigger pull. Mine must have had one of the stiffer trigger pulls. Cheers.
The XDs in 9mm is a pretty nifty little pistol. I love the XDs in 45 and so I decided to pick up a 9mm as well. It is a blast to shoot and surely can be concealed. Although it isn't in my every day rotation, I'm sure it could be eventually. I am a bigger fan of carrying 45s (my daily is a Kimber Crimson) but I am sure my lady would carry the 9mm with no issue. She loves it and thinks it is small and "cute". Plus, I bought it, had it shipped, and paid a transfer fee all for under $550. Great price for a great little pistol.
No worries brother, as with most things the trigger is relative to the person shooting it. Say hi to the 208 state for me, I miss it! Cheers.
