Steel 9mm with least muzzle flip/recoil

are you shooting modest nrg ammo for range to make it more enjoyable .. 9mm has a wide variation

How about a Sig MPX? I gave one to an 11-year old boy to shoot and he did fine with it, but it still moved around a lot under recoil. A semi-automatic with a reciprocating bolt or slide is going to move around even if it's heavy. It won't feel "snappy" as you say in terms of a high-velocity punch to the hand, but it doesn't stay still. There's a substantial amount of mass moving back and forth even with very light recoiling cartridges. A revolver, on the other hand, is rock-solid once the hammer drops. While a revolver does not slow the recoil velocity the way a short-recoil operated semi-automatic will, if the gun's mass is sufficient to slow it, nothing else moves.

If you want a 9mm will little snappiness, look at heavy, full-sized, all-steel pistols. Nearly any 9mm pistol that weighs 35 ounces or more will have minimal recoil - the exception is the Astra 600 with a blowback action.

Mega Hi Power and CZ 75 fan here, especially given that you say you have smaller hands. Also don’t count out the Sig P225A1, Th CZ P-01 and 75 Compact for CCW for hand size and convenience to carry. There is an incredible Hi Power clone being sold by Brownells around $500. Other guns that immediately come to mind that would fit a shooter with smaller hands on the used market are the Sig P239 and the S&W 3913 series.

Oh! Forgot the Kahr K9! Great choice and fits all needs.

Guy I shot with many years ago had a nice Sig. For the life of me I cannot remember model. Thing was crazy accurate. All steel and recoil was like my Saturday night special.25 I owned. Haven't talked to him in years. Might be time to give him a call or drop by.

gc70

Nearly any 9mm pistol that weighs 35 ounces or more will have minimal recoil - the exception is the Astra 600 with a blowback action.

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I would definitely agree that the Astra Model 600 is indeed the one very painful exception to the all steel/little snappiness/little recoil in a 9mm. rule.

Straight blowback with that cartridge will never ever be a good idea!

An all steel, full size, Jericho 941 with a Zahal recoil spring. Can't beat it, unless you go down the route with a race gun.

I like my Canik TriStar S-120. All steel, lots of heft, little flip, little $!

bannockburn said:

Straight blowback with that cartridge will never ever be a good idea!

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Yes, but .... https://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/hi-point-handguns/9mm-OGYC.php

1KPerDay said:

I did an informal test of my “service sized” 9s and both I and another shooter agreed that the CZ75 and Hi Power were not among the softest feeling of the bunch we tried. In fact for me they are among the flippiest.

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My experience as well with the Hi Power, I have not shot a CZ enough to say. I like my Hi Power a lot but it is quite a bit snappier than my Steyr S9, Walther PPQ or G22 with a 9mm barrel. My Sig P365 might even be a softer shooter but I haven't shot the two side by side.

Considering what a nice soft shooter my 4 inch polymer PPQ is, I'd really like to try the 5 inch steel frame model.
https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/products2.cfm/ID/213634

Been said before but I'll say it again: Beretta 92 or 9mm 1911. I have a Springfield Range Officer 1911 in 9mm, and it makes me smile every time I shoot it.

toivo said:

Beretta 92

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The 92 is an aluminum framed gun not steel. Not saying it’s a bad shooter, just making sure we keep materials straight.

1KPerDay said:

I did an informal test of my “service sized” 9s and both I and another shooter agreed that the CZ75 and Hi Power were not among the softest feeling of the bunch we tried. In fact for me they are among the flippiest. I keep hearing people say how the “low bore axis” (usually misspoken as bore access) of the CZ makes it shoot really flat... but a thinking person will realize that simply moving the frame rails to the outside rather than the inside doesn’t actually move the bore any lower in relation to your hand. But nobody ever points that out.

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I agree on the bore axis and rail configuration part. That’s always left me a little puzzled too. It’s relatively low on a CZ, but the rail configuration doesn't really make that reality.

One thing I do want to mention is that a standard 75b and some of the heavier competition oriented CZ 75 derived guns are very different animals. The comp guns are designed specifically to shoot fast and flat, not carry all day in a holster. So on that note, I bet your assessment of the 75b is spot on.

I bought my Beretta 92 INOX back in the late 80's and still love it. It is not a great pistol for people with smaller hands though. A couple of my friends with smaller hands can not hang onto my 92 well enough to make it a fun gun to shoot.

Same friends like my CZ-75D compact a lot better than my other friends full size CZ-75.

But the best gun to shoot is the gun that fits you best and that is something that only you can deside. Shoot all the above reccomended guns that you can. If you can't shoot them then at least handle them and see how they feel. MY friend that did not like my Beretta in the least loved the smaller and much lighter CZ-75D compact and couldn't get enough of it... the smaller gun just fit him much better and was a much more enjoyable gun for him even though the lighter gun had more recoil.

If 9mm is too much pop to be enjoyable practice with a .40S&W for a while. When you go back to a 9mm it will be much mellower and more enjoyable!... seriously, I am not just being a smart axx... you get used to the extreme pop of the .40 (used to it not necessairly like it) and the 9mm will feel much tamer.

460Shooter said:

The 92 is an aluminum framed gun not steel. Not saying it’s a bad shooter, just making sure we keep materials straight.

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There was a number of 92 models with steel frames. IIRC Billenium was one. The Centennial, too. Among the current guns, the 92X Performance has a steel frame, at least according to Beretta:
http://www.beretta.com/en-us/92x-performance/

zaitcev said:

There was a number of 92 models with steel frames. IIRC Billenium was one. The Centennial, too. Among the current guns, the 92X Performance has a steel frame, at least according to Beretta:
http://www.beretta.com/en-us/92x-performance/

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Yes that’s true, but those aren’t the models that were referenced by the person I quoted.

460Shooter said:

The 92 is an aluminum framed gun not steel. Not saying it’s a bad shooter, just making sure we keep materials straight.

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You're right -- I was thinking he just wanted a "non-plastic" gun, but looking back at the OP I see that he specified steel and didn't like the 92 anyway.

Hi Power with a Sprinco recoil reducer.

Astra A70. Heaviest smaller handgun I own.

Any steel framed 9mm.....If you can find a clean SW model 39, not only soft shooting but excellent short reset. I had a 639 and kick myself for selling it.

Mosin77 said:

... I loved that hi power (just did not love the high price as it was an earlier, collectible type.)

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Take a look at the Tisas Regent BR9, which is the Browning Hi-Power clone that Brownells sells. The guns can be found for less than $500 for the blued model and less than $550 for the stainless model.

Stoeger Cougar... Aluminum with the spinny barrel.

If you have big hands, Beretta 92 and Star 30M. Both a pigs.

Small hands then CZ75 and it's clones/offspring with shout out the Jericho

The full sized Hi Power (and clones), P226 ST, 1911's, and Beretta steel models all may have a bit less muzzle flip than smaller aluminum or polymer framed guns, but the 9 isn't a hard recoiling cartridge in the first place. Large models like the Beretta 92X perf that I have are pretty heavy and if you plan on shooting a lot, they get tiresome but for overall shootability and ergonomics my HP gets my vote.

I have an STI 2011 and recently bought a Sig Legion p320 X five. The STI has a slightly nicer trigger and the Legion has less recoil. It also costs less than 1/3 the price.