Best Pocket Carry in 9MM ?

A friend of mine has an r9 that I have shot and it is a handful, but it is for me , the best "pocket nine" in the marketplace. I would like to see more research and development of this type of pistol from other gun makers with the ammo that will be used specifically for it , and that will result in the penetration and expansion needed.

That said, Diamondback has tried with their DB9 , and I give them credit for that. But based on what I have read, it just is not well made nor reliable enough.

CNobbe, My grandson wanted to buy a Shield for pocket carry 6 months ago because his friend raved about it. I gave him my PM9 to carry in his pocket for a week. That did it and he too bought a Kahr CW380 to carry in his pocket now. Like COuntZerO said, a few oz and a quarter inch here and there makes a big difference in pocket carry.

Kahr CM9. I'm amazed at the accuracy of this tiny pistol which has been 100% reliable through 2,000 rounds. I pocket carry it during the summer months in cargo shorts with no problem.

One problem with "pocket nines" that gets little attention is the shape of the gun itself that lends itself for proper draw from the pocket. The Rohrbaugh r9 is a perfect example of someone who designed the gun with pocket carry in mind. It has nothing to catch on clothing when it is drawn and it is angled in the slide and frame at the rear with a clean draw from the pocket. The PM9 is shaped like a block , like a Glock with a squared-up slide and frame in the rear to get hung-up with the draw. Many other so called "pocket nines" are similar in structure and do not lend to a good smooth draw from the pocket. S&W Shield, DB9, Glock 42, Kahr PM9, and others are not good pocket nines because they fail in this regard. My 2 cents, Snoop

I guess if one wants to dress with cargo pants all the time, these guns would work, but most people do not want too dress like that.

snooperman said:

One problem with "pocket nines" that gets little attention is the shape of the gun itself that lends itself for proper draw from the pocket. The Rohrbaugh r9 is a perfect example of someone who designed the gun with pocket carry in mind. It has nothing to catch on clothing when it is drawn and it is angled in the slide and frame at the rear with a clean draw from the pocket. The PM9 is shaped like a block , like a Glock with a squared-up slide and frame in the rear to get hung-up with the draw. Many other so called "pocket nines" are similar in structure and do not lend to a good smooth draw from the pocket. S&W Shield, DB9, Glock 42, Kahr PM9, and others are not good pocket nines because they fail in this regard. My 2 cents, Snoop

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I agree and that is exactly why even though I have a PM9 and an LC9, I usually carry a TCP or occasionally a P238.

I would like to see more research and development of this type of pistol from other gun makers

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Poof ! Wish Granted !

Remington Outdoors Company will now be working on the R9 and the rumor is that they will make some (minor) design tweeks to the R9.

Gun Master: I have tried several diferent Hand Guns for pocket carry over the last 10 years or so, I prefer pocket carry especialy during the Summer for I wear Cargo Shorts most of the time. And My Wife and I feel the our CW9`s are the best choice for us, She carries in Her Purse & I carry in a my pocket. We also use a Crimson Trace Lazer on both of them. In the winter I carry in the large right pocket of a field jacket type coat I wear most of the time. And 2 Mag`s in the left pocket of both to even out the weight.
ken

One good thing that I have heard about Remington and the Rohrbaugh R9 pistol, is that Eric Rohrbaugh is working with them to get it on a firm footing with production quality before the Remington launch. I hope it is coming soon. That said, like Kokapelli and others, I have several .380 pocket pistols that keep me company and believe it to be "enough gun" with proper ammo and shot placement.

Hopefully ROC learned from the R51 rollout fiasco and won't repeat it with the R9.

JRH6856 said:

Hopefully ROC learned from the R51 rollout fiasco and won't repeat it with the R9.

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That would be extremely uncharistic of Remington bordering on unprecedented

Several good choices available, Beretta Nano, Kimber Solo, Kahr PM9.

I pocket carry a sig p290rs or a S&W 340 pd almost everyday. If im not pocket carrying Im on a job site that requires jeans, so then I carry them OTW with a undershirt covering it.

I like them because they are double action, I personally wouldn't ever pocket carry a gun that wasnt double action


the p290rs is very heavy but it will tolerate a regular diet of +p. and you get 7 rounds and
light recoil but alot of muzzle flip due to the high bore axis.

the S&W 340pd only gives you 5 shots but weighs only 11 oz's and has almost no muzzle flip (if you grip it high up) but the recoil is brutal. shoot 50 rounds of full house 357 mag and your hand will be bruised for days

I know it may be pricey

But seriously, I have tried/tested a bunch of what I like to call micro-guns. If you are looking for small, solid and packs a wallop

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...g+Sauer+938-9-EQ-AMBI+P938+Equinox+6+1+9mm+3"

Pretty amazing...

If you don't mind somewhat bigger and want to save almost 1/2 of that cost, the Bersa 9mm UC - double the capacity of the sig, half the price

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...a+T9MP13+Thunder+UC+Pro+Series+13+1+9mm+3.25"

I have the sccy-2 and the trigger was horrible at first. Long pull at about 12lbs but a clean release with no staging. This is not a striker fired gun, you cock a hammer with your trigger pull. The good news is dry fire it about 200 times and then clean and lube it and it leveled out at about 6.5lbs. Not great but useable for $300. The Keltec pf9 has a much better trigger but is not nearly as shootable. Squirms in the hand and kicks about double what a 9mm should. Accuracy on the sccy ran about 4.5" at 15yds. Hope this helps.

If SCCY makes improvement on the pistol with a longer 3.8 inch barrel, it will tighten that group and produce more velocity. I handled one yesterday at the gunshow and the long heavy trigger pull with a clean break wasnt bad at all. I like the SCCY.

snooperman said:

CNobbe, My grandson wanted to buy a Shield for pocket carry 6 months ago because his friend raved about it. I gave him my PM9 to carry in his pocket for a week. That did it and he too bought a Kahr CW380 to carry in his pocket now. Like COuntZerO said, a few oz and a quarter inch here and there makes a big difference in pocket carry.

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Yep, and I tend to want to go as small as possible. My PM9 and little 380 have been great. Sad to hear there are some folks having issues with their Kahrs and the manufacturer basically turning a cold shoulder to them.

the p290rs is very heavy but it will tolerate a regular diet of +p. and you get 7 rounds and light recoil but alot of muzzle flip due to the high bore axis.

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+1 on the 290rs from Sig. It is is a tad heavy but that is due to its stainless steel sub-frame as opposed to aluminum. Still it's about the weight of a Model 36 J-frame. It's recoil is surprisingly light and it is rather easy to handle. I find it a bit easier to shoot and a bit more accurate with the supplied 8 round magazine but for pocket carry the 6 round is clearly the way to go and it handles just fine.

It is a hundred bucks, plus or minus, more than a Ruger or Smith but comes with two mags and nite sights, no external safety, no magazine disconnect, no internal lock. Everything you need and nothing you don't, IMO. And, it's only about 5.5 inches long, about 4 inches high, and 1 inch wide (1.1 at the lever).

snooperman said:

One problem with "pocket nines" that gets little attention is the shape of the gun itself that lends itself for proper draw from the pocket. The Rohrbaugh r9 is a perfect example of someone who designed the gun with pocket carry in mind. It has nothing to catch on clothing when it is drawn and it is angled in the slide and frame at the rear with a clean draw from the pocket. The PM9 is shaped like a block , like a Glock with a squared-up slide and frame in the rear to get hung-up with the draw. Many other so called "pocket nines" are similar in structure and do not lend to a good smooth draw from the pocket. S&W Shield, DB9, Glock 42, Kahr PM9, and others are not good pocket nines because they fail in this regard. My 2 cents, Snoop

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I can't agree that the PM9 doesn't make a good pocket gun.. I use a DeSantis or Alabama pocket holster that work great with the PM/CM. I practice draws all the time and cannot recall a time when my PM got caught on clothing. The holster itself aids in making the draw smooth. Also the trigger guard is angled differently than a Glock.

One problem with "pocket nines" that gets little attention is the shape of the gun itself that lends itself for proper draw from the

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I also think that another thing that gets little attention is assessing if people can see the gun in your pocket.

My R9 disappears into a regular jeans pocket and I wanted to see what the CM9 was like. Here are some comparison photos with 2 different brands of generic jeans. I didn't fiddle with the pockets or anything, I put the holstered gun in the pocket, walked down a flight of stairs, sat down , stood up, walked up a flight of stairs, and moved around slightly to actually take the photos. I did the same for each gun.

Here is the R9:



Here is the CM9:




When I say my R9 disappears into my front pocket – it really does, and I noticed that when I put the holstered CM9 in my front pocket, I could look right down and see the butt of the gun. The CM9 holds the pocket open slightly – about ¾ of an inch.

I think this is because the R9 sits 2” deep in the pocket, while the CM9 only sits in the pocket a 1/4” deep. With the CM9 there is only 1/4” of space from the top of the gun to the opening of the pocket. I think because the CM9 doesn't sit in the pocket very deep, it sort of holds the pocket open by about 3/4”.

Here is the R9 in my other pair of jeans:



And the CM9:



Here you can see side by sides:

What doesn't really show well in these pictures but is visible to the eye, is that you can look down into the pocket and see the butt plate and rear sights of the CM9, you can't see the R9 at all.

COunt, Thanks for the excellent pictures and the info. This is more evidence that the R9 has it over the other so called "pocket guns" , that to me are just nothing more than shrunken models of much larger guns , with little thought about pocket carry. These companies did not do the necessary research and development that Rohrbaugh did too make a true pocket gun to begin with. Everything about the R9 design is evidence that Karl wanted a "pocket Nine" and designed it to be just that right from the beginning. Snoop