wcwhitey
I like my CS9 just fine.
I held off on picking one up because I already had a CS45 and a 3913, and felt the CS9 didn't offer me anything the other two pistols didn't already offer in the way of off-duty weapons.
It wasn't until I borrowed another instructor's CS9 for a few range sessions and started shooting it that I discovered my mistake.
Fit my hand much better than the somewhat chunky CS45 ... and virtually equaled the accuracy of my favored 3913. It only held one round less, and was a bit smaller and lighter to the point where I could notice it.
I immediately ordered one of my own.
I carry it much more often than I do my 3913 nowadays, too.
Now, while my G26 has been a great little 9mm pistol, it's a bit chunky, being almost the same size my SW99 compact 9mm, and the CS9 offers a bit easier carrying and concealment (i.e. less printing) when I carry it in a couple of my jacket/coat pockets (in a pocket holster).
Another thing is that I've come to prefer traditional double action (DA/SA) for their SA trigger when it comes to shots requiring a bit more precision. I can shoot at longer distances, generally more accurately, more consistently, when using a TDA pistol, especially when the subsequent shots are fired in the SA mode. I achieve better practical accuracy when using my 3913, SW99c & CS9 for 'bull’s-eye' shooting at 20, 25, & 35 yards (and farther, upon occasion), than when using my G26. It's not that the G26 isn't inherently accurate, either, because it is. I just tend to shoot the TDA pistols better.
My CS9 has exhibited the same outstanding functioning and reliability as my 3913, and both of these S&W pistols were the benchmark by which I measured the reliability of my G26 for the first 5,000 rounds. The CS9 (and 3913) are both less sensitive to grip stability/locked wrist issues (in my hands) than the G26, which can still toss empty cases of the lesser recoiling rounds (115gr JHP/FMJ standard pressure & 147gr JHP loads) into my face if I relax my grip or wrist a bit, while neither the 3913 nor the CS9 have ever exhibited this tendency.
My CS9 has digested a similar mix of 115gr standard JHP/FMJ, 115gr JHP +P+, 124gr JHP, 124gr +P, 127gr JHP +P+ and 147gr JHP without any issues, although I do tend to replace the short, single, flat-wound recoil spring sooner than recommended by the factory. I suspect the little spring takes a bit of a beating in the little gun, especially with the higher pressure loads I was issued (127gr +P+), so I simply replace the recoil spring every 800-1,200 rounds, depending on what ammunition I've been primarily using for training.
The springs are inexpensive (a bit over half the cost of a magazine spring), and I think of it as cheap insurance. FWIW, I had the recoil spring assembly exhibit a 'bent', deformed edge under the rear of the larger recoil spring, on the outer metal tube, in my G26 at approx 2,500 rounds. I simply replace the recoil springs /assemblies in all of my smaller compact & subcompact pistols sooner than any recommendations I've heard discussed in the various armorer's classes I've attended.
The grip of the CS9 appears a little long when simply looking at the pistol, in comparison to the G26, for example, but it disappears in my medium-sized hand.
The current models now come with metal sights and ambidextrous safety/decocker levers (mine did), unlike the earlier models. I used a Novak Ghost rear sight on my CS9 for a few years. It's wide and fast to pick up for close range shooting.
However, I discovered that I missed being able to wring the most potential inherent accuracy out of the little pistol, and finally decided that I didn't really have any appreciable speed advantage when using the Ghost rear sight in many of our service qualification scenarios - (picture targets, Shoot/No-Shoot, shooting while moving, shooting-then-moving, barricade (strong & off-side), 2-handed/1-handed [both dominant & non-dominant], various numbers of rounds incorporated into various drills, bull’s-eye [harder, or at least a bit slower, with the Ghost rear sight, BTW], and so on) - and I switched back to the standard 3-dot factory steel Novak Low Mount sights. Makes it a lot easier to shoot bull’s-eye, and make called hits on wooden clothespins at 5-10 yards, and didn't really seem to cost me any noticeable time when it came to the regular close range defensive shooting scenarios & drills. That's just my experience, though.
I know a few other folks who also picked up CS9's at one time or another, one of them going back to the original blued model, and they've all been very satisfied with them. I can only think of one fellow who experienced a 'skip DA' issue with his NIB CS9, and a new drawbar corrected the problem. Things happen.
Here's a few other clickable comparison pictures of a CS9 ...
CS9 & 642
3913 & CS9
CS9 & CS45
CS9 & G26
