Best of the 9mm micros

The smallest 9MM I have at the moment other than my P290 is my G43X. My G43 was commandeered by my daughter.

I carry the 43X a lot. I had a P365X with a red dot and did not like it….no real reason, just didn’t like the feel.

I’ve been wanting to try a Hellcat optic but haven’t had the chance.
 
My criteria for a concealed carry pistol: MUST have a manual trigger safety. For maximum reliability under extreme conditions it must be striker fired and must have plain trigger hinged at the top WITHOUT a dongle for the least susceptibility to contamination issues. Largest possible capacity for it's size.

The Sig P365 series is one of the few that checks all of the boxes I consider important. You can get it with three different height grip modules holding 10, 12, and 17 rounds respectively. There are several aftermarket grip modules available, one made from aluminum and the other polymer with an optional 1.5 oz grip weight to give the pistol better balance when low on ammunition. Two different slide lengths and barrel lengths. Compensated or uncompensated barrel or slide. With or without manual trigger safety. Straight trigger or curved. It comes with a nearly flush magazine release button, but you can install a normal height and/or offset magazine release button. Machined for RDS. With a MagGuts spring kit you can reliably increase the capacity from 10 rds to 12 rds, and from 12 rds to 14 rds. The MagGuts 12 rd + 2 kit added 1/8" of extra grip height which made it fit my XL sized hands like a glove. It has a low bore axis which makes it fairly easy to shoot. I now have a P365 and a P365XL and I am quite happy with them and have no desire to replace them. The P365XL is my normal carry pistol and the P365 I use for pocket carry. YMMV.
 
Alllen Bundy said:
My criteria for a concealed carry pistol: MUST have a manual trigger safety. For maximum reliability under extreme conditions it must be striker fired and must have plain trigger hinged at the top WITHOUT a dongle for the least susceptibility to contamination issues. Largest possible capacity for it's size.

The Sig P365 series is one of the few that checks all of the boxes I consider important. You can get it with three different height grip modules holding 10, 12, and 17 rounds respectively. There are several aftermarket grip modules available, one made from aluminum and the other polymer with an optional 1.5 oz grip weight to give the pistol better balance when low on ammunition. Two different slide lengths and barrel lengths. Compensated or uncompensated barrel or slide. With or without manual trigger safety. Straight trigger or curved. It comes with a nearly flush magazine release button, but you can install a normal height and/or offset magazine release button. Machined for RDS. With a MagGuts spring kit you can reliably increase the capacity from 10 rds to 12 rds, and from 12 rds to 14 rds. The MagGuts 12 rd + 2 kit added 1/8" of extra grip height which made it fit my XL sized hands like a glove. It has a low bore axis which makes it fairly easy to shoot. I now have a P365 and a P365XL and I am quite happy with them and have no desire to replace them. The P365XL is my normal carry pistol and the P365 I use for pocket carry. YMMV.
Click to expand...

I think you mean thumb safety
 
The Last Outlaw said:
I think you mean thumb safety
Click to expand...

Call it what you like. But a thumb safety doesn't make your thumb safe. A thumb operated safety doesn't necessarily need to protect the trigger from accidental actuation. You could have a thumb operated manual safety that prevents the gun from firing when dropped, but still allows you to fire the gun when you pull the trigger.

Whether the manual trigger safety is engaged by using your thumb, finger, or screwdriver to flip a lever, push a button, rotate a knob, etc. is irrelevant.

When you engage the manual trigger safety on a P365 it prevents the gun from firing if the trigger is pulled.

Unlike the dongle on a Glock trigger which does NOT prevent the gun from being fired when the trigger is pulled. To call that a "trigger safety" seems like doublespeak right out of Orwells 1984. At best you could call it an inertial trigger safety.

At one time there was only one kind of "safety" on a firearm. But now there are multiple types of safeties that perform different operations. The P365 has a striker safety that prevents the gun from firing when dropped. It also has a safety that prevents you from rotating the takedown lever unless the magazine is removed. It also has an optional manually operated safety that prevents the pistol from being fired when you pull the trigger. Hence the term "manual trigger safety" to differentiate that from the other safety devices in the pistol and to differentiate it from trigger dongles.
 
Alllen Bundy said:
At one time there was only one kind of "safety" on a firearm. But now there are multiple types of safeties that perform different operations....Hence the term "manual trigger safety" to differentiate that from the other safety devices in the pistol and to differentiate it from trigger dongles.
Click to expand...
Excellent point.
 
defjon said:
Just wanted to get a general consensus on the best of these.

I've tried:
P365 with safety
Ruger ec9
Sig p938
Hellcat (x2)

I've shot a sw shield.

I don't have any of those as it stands. I'd probably rank them hellcat, ec9, 938, 365, shield.

But now there are a ton of new models...I can't keep up..

Csx looked interesting...i handled and liked

365 with the cool internal sites..

Mako...mossberg ..taurus...shield plus..

So. Many. Choices!

I am missing a smaller 9mm that my g19...where would you start looking?
Click to expand...

I picked up a Mossberg MC1SC a year ot two ago, for cheap. I found it to be a surprisingly pleasant gun to shoot. Finished metal components were nicely made. (Mossberg's been around for a long time. They know how to make stuff.)

They don't make that one anymore (guessing that Sig 365 coming out a month after it debuted took the shine right off it.). But, they have a high cap version now.

Downsides -- one year warranty, and very few holster makers support it.
 
lee n. field said:
I picked up a Mossberg MC1SC a year ot two ago, for cheap. I found it to be a surprisingly pleasant gun to shoot. Finished metal components were nicely made ...
Click to expand...
I've been very curious about the Mossberg pistols, so this is good to know. They feel good in the hand, but I haven't had the chance to shoot one.
 
cfullgraf said:
If H&K would come out with a micro version of the P30SK, I'd be all in especially if it had the LEM trigger or DS/SA trigger.
Click to expand...

Agree, give me something thin and smallish like the 365xl, hammer fired, and I’m in!

As it stands the new HK would have to be a class and a half above the rest for me to dump what I already have (365xl), much like how the VP9 is a very nice striker fired gun, but not so overwhelmingly better, to me, than my Glocks to justify replacing holsters, mags and trigger time and switch over.

HK needs to not be last to every category to catch me properly (I do still want a P2000SK in 9mm)
 
P365 gets lost in my hand, it's too small. Same with the Hellcat, grip is tiny. I carry the Shield Plus, although carried a Shield 1.0 for 8 years and also have the Ruger Max 9.
Shield Plus really is the best for me, other than it might be too thin, which makes getting an effective grip more work than it should be.
I'm actually becoming a bit unenthusiastic about Micro 9s and am adding a G19 to my rotation. Compacts are easier to shoot accurately.
It's good to have choices.

I carry the Shield Plus most of the time. I have a Shield 1.0 as my backup in case the Shield Plus breaks.
I have the Ruger Max 9 with a green dot, which I am still exploring if I want to carry a gun with an optic. I have a G17 for those times when
I have the clothing options available to hide a F/S pistol. Adding a G19 would cover that last base when I don't want to carry a Micro 9 and I
don't want to carry a F/S G17.
 
TarDevil said:
Still scratching my head why it didn't sell well.
Click to expand...

Sig P290/P290RS is missing two attributes that the market currently demands: high capacity and striker action.

Those of us who put more value in a little extra weight, an exposed hammer, and a trigger heavy enough to preclude the need for a safety are in the minority.

So, bye-bye P290 and hello P365.

However, you can’t sell a product into a flooded market. Don’t be surprised if the manufacturers eventually swing back the other way and start marketing and manufacturing small DA/SA or DAO semi-autos as the new “latest and greatest.”
 
Seems like the most shootable Micro 9’s are larger micro 9’s. … basically thin 19 like or thin 26 like

Personally I went with a GX4 & GX4 XL TORO
Well made solid pistols ..
And if I would closely consider the Mossberg
 
There is no best, we know that, just the one you can shoot accurately, carry and can afford comfortably. Hard to find a "bad" one among the current offerings.
G43, G43X and Shield plus do it for me. Can't wait to try that HK when it's
available.
 
When I was in the market for a micro 9 I settled on the hellcat. Partly because Springfield had the gear up deal going, but also it was a good price and felt the best in my hands. The only down side is to me is it’s a little more snappy than the 43x, p365, and shield plus. But even so I still shoot it very well at speed.
 
jjones45 said:
When I was in the market for a micro 9 I settled on the hellcat. Partly because Springfield had the gear up deal going, but also it was a good price and felt the best in my hands. The only down side is to me is it’s a little more snappy than the 43x, p365, and shield plus. But even so I still shoot it very well at speed.
Click to expand...

And that's what matters.
 
TarDevil said:
Still scratching my head why it didn't sell well.
Click to expand...


Simple Shooter said:
Sig P290/P290RS is missing two attributes that the market currently demands: high capacity and striker action.

Those of us who put more value in a little extra weight, an exposed hammer, and a trigger heavy enough to preclude the need for a safety are in the minority.

So, bye-bye P290 and hello P365.

However, you can’t sell a product into a flooded market. Don’t be surprised if the manufacturers eventually swing back the other way and start marketing and manufacturing small DA/SA or DAO semi-autos as the new “latest and greatest.”
Click to expand...

Like I said, I own one and while I haven't shot it in a few years, I doubt I’d sell it. Its long, heavy DAO trigger makes it a keeper for me. I could feel way better loaning it out to a non shooter than I could a Glock.

For carry, I stick with Glocks.
 
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