I actually did this for another forum, but figured some of the folks here might find it helpful:
I decided to write a review of the CC pistols that I have access to in order to help out those of you who are still looking for the perfect carry piece. This is not by any stretch of the imagination a comprehensive gathering of CCWs, but it does include some of the most popular choices, and should give you a good idea of what is out there and how they compare to each other, from both a size/concealability standpoint and a usability standpoint.
From left to right, the contestants are: Kel-Tec P3AT, Kel-Tec PF-9, Kel-Tec P11, Para Ordnance P10 (with Warthog slide), Para Ordnance Warthog (with P12 slide
), European American Arms EA380, Smith & Wesson SW99c (same as Walther P99c), Smith and Wesson M&P compact, and Springfield XD Micro.
(order reversed)
Most of the pistols are 9mm, with the exception of the two Paras (.45ACP) and the P3AT and EA380 (.380ACP). Action wise, they range from the quintesentially traditional SAO (Single Action Only) 1911 Para Ordnances and the EA380 (basically a Walther PPK clone), to the ultra modern LDA (Light Double Action) M&P and XD compacts. Somewhere in between are the more traditional DAO (Double Action Only) Kel-Tecs and the SA/DA SW99/Walther. The P3AT is the obvious lightweight here, tipping the scales at a platry 11.3oz fully loaded (6+1 .380ACP), as compared to the P10 (one of the two steel framed pistol here), which lives up to the "warthog" moniker, weighing in at 39.6oz fully loaded (10+1 .45ACP). Although the P3AT is both the smallest and lightest gun, the P10 is not the largest, in spite of being the heaviest.
Now that I've thoroughly confused you, lets move to the individual pistols. I've tried to include specs as best as I can figure, and my impressions on the guns themselves. I have not shot all of them, but the ones that I have shot will include a range report. So without futher ado:
Caliber: 9mm
L/H/W: 6.25/4.75/1.32
Weight empty: 23.4oz
Weight loaded: 30.6oz (12+1)
Barrel: 3"
This is, by far, the most feature rich pistol in the comparison. It has two external safeties (grip and trigger, and the grip doubles as a slide lock), it has a (optional) mag safety, it has a firing pin safety; that's like FOUR safeties! It's amazing the thing actually manages to go bang when you pull the trigger. Additionally, it has a striker indicator, so you know if it's cocked or not, and a chamber loaded indicator, so you know if it's loaded; it's got so many gadgets James Bond really should consider trading in his Walther for and XD :lol:. Seriously, though, the features are actually nice, and I can imagine that they would come in handy for checking the status of the gun in the dark. Did I mention it has an ambidexterous mag release and a light rail?
Unfortunately, all is not rosy in XD land. The trigger is light, but it is a bit vague and has a long reset. The gun is short, but tall and wide, making it harder to conceal (for me anyways) than the longer but not as tall M&P, or the longer but not as tall and skinnier Paras, or the just plain smaller Kel-Tecs. It's kinda heavy... and last, but not least, it's ugly. On the plus side, the 10 round magazine can easily be modified to hold 12 rounds (and maybe more), and that counts for a lot in my book. This is also the only gun that comes with a holster and mag holders.
Caliber: 9mm
L/H/W: 6.65/4.33/1.3
Weight empty: 22.0oz
Weight loaded:
Barrel: 3.5"
If the XD is a gadget freak's dream, then the M&P is all business. There is a safety, on the trigger. There is a chamber loaded indicator: a hole in the top of the gun. There's... um, a light rail; as far as amenities go, that's about it. The M&P does have interchangeable back straps, and there is considerable difference between the small, medium, and large sizes, which means it should fit almost every hand. The texturing on the grip is also nice: not too aggressive, but enough to enhance your grip on the gun. The trigger is a bit heavy, but it breaks crisp and the reset, although a little long, positively lets you know when it's GO time again. The gun is long but not tall, so it should print less, and it is a little lighter and slimmer than the XD, so should be more comfortable to carry. Finally, it is one NICE looking gun, which, for many people, probably makes it the perfect carry weapon... oh, yeah, and because all the other stuff, too. If you bought an M&P in the last couple of months, you can qualify for a $50 rebate and 2 free magazines, which makes for a nice little bit of lagniappe.
Caliber: 9mm
L/H/W: 6.65/4.21/1.24
Weight empty: 20.1oz
Weight loaded:
Barrel: 3.5"
The SW99 (and the almost identical Walther P99 AS) is, in all respects except two, pretty much the same as the M&P. The M&P (and the XD) has the currently in vogue LDA trigger; the SW99 has a more traditional SA/DA trigger. In double action mode, it is long and heavy and kind of gritty; much heavier than the M&P (but not as heavy as the Kel-Tec P11 and a little heavier than the PF9 and P3AT). In single action mode, it both lighter and shorter than the M&P trigger, with a clean and short reset. In other words, the DA trigger is horrible, and the SA trigger is awesome. This, in my oppnion is how a trigger should be: if you ever need to pull your gun, it should take a serious, deliberate effort to pull the trigger. Once the decision to pull the trigger has been made, however, you need to be able to put as many bullets down the pipe as accurately as possible, and the DA/SA trigger on the SW99 is ideally suited to this task. Unfortunately, unlike the M&P mags, the magazines for the SW99 only hold 10 rounds, and unlike the XD (and P11) there is no way to make them hold any more. Sure, you can use bigger mags, but then you give up concealibility, which kind of defeats the purpose. So, this would be the perfect CCW (IMHO) if it carried more ammo, but it doesn't, so it isn't.
Caliber: .380ACP
L/H/W: 6.26/4.33/1.18
Weight empty: 23.9oz
Weight loaded: 27.9oz
Barrel:
If the year wers 1970, this would make a great CCW, but it's 2008. Don't get me wrong, this is a great pistol: it's accurate as hell, the SAO trigger is sweet, it is easy to shoot, and is very comfortable in the hand. Unfortunately it only holds 7 rounds of .380 and is bigger and heavier than the PF9. It is pretty thorughly outclassed by every other gun here, but I included it for reference sake, since it is about the same size as a Walther PPK or Bersa 380. Oh, and it's not nearly as rusty as the pictures make it out to be.
Caliber: .45ACP
L/H/W: 6.3/4.5/1.4
Weight empty: 28.4oz
Weight loaded: 39.6oz (10+1)
Barrel: 3"
This is Para Ordnance's take on the 3" 1911. It is wider than a single stack 1911 (like the Springfield Micro Compact or the Kimber Ultra Compact), but shorter, and carries more ammo. Like all 1911s (except for the bastardized LDAs, but polite 1911 owners don't speak of them) it is SAO, and has the typical unparalleled 1911 trigger: short, light, with a crisp break and an even shorter reset. The grip is thicker than any of the 9mms, but the slide is thinner (except the Pf9). With an alloy frame, you can cut 8oz off the weight of this gun.
Caliber: .45ACP
L/H/W: 7.3/4.5/1.4
Weight empty: 24.2oz
Weight loaded: 33.4oz (10+1)
Barrel: 3.5"
I know it says P12 on the slide, but this is actually a Para Ordnance Warthog with a P12 slide. As you probably suspect, you won't find this in the Para Ordnance catalog. This is my personal carry weapon, and was built specifically to meet my CCW concerns. The Warthog frame is short (not tall), which means it conceals well, but still manages to carry 10+1 rounds of .45. The P12 slide is 1/2" longer than the Warthog slide, which means improved sight radius (more accuracy) better velocity (longer barrel) and improved reliability (I could write a book about this one). The 1/2" that I gain over the P10/Warthog doesn't significantly change the concealability of the gun, and the two round capacity that I give up to the XD and M&P are made up by the improved lethalality of the .45. This is a 1911, which means the trigger is SAO; it is carried cocked and locked (condition 1). For me, this is the perfect CCW.
Caliber: 9mm
L/W/H:
Weight empty:15.6oz
Weight loaded: 20.5oz (12+1)
Barrel: 3.1"
This is Kel-Tec's answer to the CCW. It is small, light, accurate, carries 12+1 rounds, and has a trigger only a gorilla could love. As far as DAO trigger go, it actually isn't that bad: it is very smooth and breaks predictably, but is very heavy and stacks at the end. Depending on what generation you get, it may or may not be very reilable, and to add insult to injury, it's kinda homely. Fortunately, it also comes with the best warranty in the gun industry: it doesn't matter if you're the first or 100th owner, Kel-Tec will take it back and fix whatever is wrong with it and send it back to you, because they warranty the gun U-N-C-O-N-D-I-T-I-O-N-A-L-L-Y (hey, Para Ordnance, are you listening?) On top of that, there's a huge owner community that is very active and helpful, so advice is only a URL away. If Kel-Tec would put a DA/SA trigger in this gun and give it a slightly longer barrel I would consider it the perfect CCW... but they don't, so it isn't (it's close, though, and I carry it when I'm not carrying the Warthog). Oh, one last thing: the P11 can use the old style S&W mags, which is a plus since my Daewoo DP51 also uses those mags.
Caliber: .9mm
L/H/W: 5.9/4.4/.9
Weight empty: 14.7oz
Weight loaded: 18.1oz (7+1)
Barrel: 3.1"
The PF9 is just like the P11, only thinner and with a better trigger. It even looks better, and it has an accessory rail. Unfortunately, it gives up 40% of the P11's ammo capacity to achieve 3.5mm of thinness, which is a piss poor deal, as far as I'm concerned. If I can hide a PF9, then it is almost certain that I can also hide a P11; if I CAN'T hide a P11, then it's unlikely that I would be able to hide a PF9. On the plus side, the PF9 is still small and light, and because of the improved trigger is easier to shoot accurately than its bigger brother.
Caliber: .380ACP
L/H/W: 5.16/3.60/.83
Weight empty: 8.0oz
Weight loaded: 11.3oz (6+1)
Barrel: 2.75"
Unless you have deep pockets and can afford the Rohrbaugh R9 (at about $1000) the P3AT is THE ultimate pocket gun. It (surprise, surprise) actually fits in your pockets (I'm talking normal pockets, the kind found on clothes worn by people born before 1989; if you were born after 1989, ignore the rest of this) and carries 6+1 (or 7+1) rounds of .380, which might get you laughed at by some of the cannon toting chairborn rangers out there, but is WAY better than a shinny rock or a pointy stick. It is amazingly accurate, and has a very nice (relatively speaking) DAO trigger, but because of it's dimunative size is (at best) unpleasant to shoot, and can be down right brutal if you're shooting +p ammo. In spite of that, this is the gun you grab when you can't carry anything bigger. If you're wearing more than a Speedo, you probably have enough clothes on to hide a P3AT (heck, I'll bet if you're creative, you could probably hide it... uh, never mind)
Mags, from left to right: P3AT, PF-9, P11, P10/Warthog, EA380, SW99, M&Pc, XDc
Whew! Well, now that I've written a thousand word essay, I'm sure everyone is asking "well, which one is the best?" That's kind of like asking what's the best ice cream; there is no correct answer. Carrying a CCW is all about compromises, and the ones I'm willing to make are not necessarily the same as the ones you're willing to make. For me, the most important thing is reliability, followed by firepower and concealability. The first one is very straight forward: if I can get 100-200 rounds through the gun without any problems, then I consider that to be pretty reliable, expecially when I'm limp wristing or holding it sideways or upside down. The second two are a little tougher, and are usually in direct conflict with each other. Firepower almost always = capacity. Unfortunately, concealability is usually inversely porportional to capacity; more bullets make the gun bigger, which makes it harder to hide.
Of course, others probably feel differently: for some people, concealability is the most important requirement, while for others it might be something complete different, like caliber, or how much their new fashion accessory will impress their friends. Additionally, different situations might call for different compromises, which means that while I carry the Warthog/P12 "Longhog" most of the time, there are times when the Kel-Tec P11 or P3AT are better suited to what I'm wearing. Finally, there's the simple fact that what works for a 5'8" 145# guy might not work for a 5"2" 110# woman.
So, what it all boils down to is that YOU have to decide what the best CCW is for YOU, based on the compromises YOU are willing to make. Hopefully, the information I posted will help you make the decision.
I decided to write a review of the CC pistols that I have access to in order to help out those of you who are still looking for the perfect carry piece. This is not by any stretch of the imagination a comprehensive gathering of CCWs, but it does include some of the most popular choices, and should give you a good idea of what is out there and how they compare to each other, from both a size/concealability standpoint and a usability standpoint.
From left to right, the contestants are: Kel-Tec P3AT, Kel-Tec PF-9, Kel-Tec P11, Para Ordnance P10 (with Warthog slide), Para Ordnance Warthog (with P12 slide
), European American Arms EA380, Smith & Wesson SW99c (same as Walther P99c), Smith and Wesson M&P compact, and Springfield XD Micro.
(order reversed)
Most of the pistols are 9mm, with the exception of the two Paras (.45ACP) and the P3AT and EA380 (.380ACP). Action wise, they range from the quintesentially traditional SAO (Single Action Only) 1911 Para Ordnances and the EA380 (basically a Walther PPK clone), to the ultra modern LDA (Light Double Action) M&P and XD compacts. Somewhere in between are the more traditional DAO (Double Action Only) Kel-Tecs and the SA/DA SW99/Walther. The P3AT is the obvious lightweight here, tipping the scales at a platry 11.3oz fully loaded (6+1 .380ACP), as compared to the P10 (one of the two steel framed pistol here), which lives up to the "warthog" moniker, weighing in at 39.6oz fully loaded (10+1 .45ACP). Although the P3AT is both the smallest and lightest gun, the P10 is not the largest, in spite of being the heaviest.
Now that I've thoroughly confused you, lets move to the individual pistols. I've tried to include specs as best as I can figure, and my impressions on the guns themselves. I have not shot all of them, but the ones that I have shot will include a range report. So without futher ado:
Caliber: 9mm
L/H/W: 6.25/4.75/1.32
Weight empty: 23.4oz
Weight loaded: 30.6oz (12+1)
Barrel: 3"
This is, by far, the most feature rich pistol in the comparison. It has two external safeties (grip and trigger, and the grip doubles as a slide lock), it has a (optional) mag safety, it has a firing pin safety; that's like FOUR safeties! It's amazing the thing actually manages to go bang when you pull the trigger
. Additionally, it has a striker indicator, so you know if it's cocked or not, and a chamber loaded indicator, so you know if it's loaded; it's got so many gadgets James Bond really should consider trading in his Walther for and XD :lol:. Seriously, though, the features are actually nice, and I can imagine that they would come in handy for checking the status of the gun in the dark. Did I mention it has an ambidexterous mag release and a light rail? Unfortunately, all is not rosy in XD land. The trigger is light, but it is a bit vague and has a long reset. The gun is short, but tall and wide, making it harder to conceal (for me anyways) than the longer but not as tall M&P, or the longer but not as tall and skinnier Paras, or the just plain smaller Kel-Tecs. It's kinda heavy... and last, but not least, it's ugly. On the plus side, the 10 round magazine can easily be modified to hold 12 rounds (and maybe more), and that counts for a lot in my book. This is also the only gun that comes with a holster and mag holders.
Caliber: 9mm
L/H/W: 6.65/4.33/1.3
Weight empty: 22.0oz
Weight loaded:
Barrel: 3.5"
If the XD is a gadget freak's dream, then the M&P is all business. There is a safety, on the trigger. There is a chamber loaded indicator: a hole in the top of the gun. There's... um, a light rail; as far as amenities go, that's about it. The M&P does have interchangeable back straps, and there is considerable difference between the small, medium, and large sizes, which means it should fit almost every hand. The texturing on the grip is also nice: not too aggressive, but enough to enhance your grip on the gun. The trigger is a bit heavy, but it breaks crisp and the reset, although a little long, positively lets you know when it's GO time again. The gun is long but not tall, so it should print less, and it is a little lighter and slimmer than the XD, so should be more comfortable to carry. Finally, it is one NICE looking gun, which, for many people, probably makes it the perfect carry weapon... oh, yeah, and because all the other stuff, too. If you bought an M&P in the last couple of months, you can qualify for a $50 rebate and 2 free magazines, which makes for a nice little bit of lagniappe.
Caliber: 9mm
L/H/W: 6.65/4.21/1.24
Weight empty: 20.1oz
Weight loaded:
Barrel: 3.5"
The SW99 (and the almost identical Walther P99 AS) is, in all respects except two, pretty much the same as the M&P. The M&P (and the XD) has the currently in vogue LDA trigger; the SW99 has a more traditional SA/DA trigger. In double action mode, it is long and heavy and kind of gritty; much heavier than the M&P (but not as heavy as the Kel-Tec P11 and a little heavier than the PF9 and P3AT). In single action mode, it both lighter and shorter than the M&P trigger, with a clean and short reset. In other words, the DA trigger is horrible, and the SA trigger is awesome. This, in my oppnion is how a trigger should be: if you ever need to pull your gun, it should take a serious, deliberate effort to pull the trigger. Once the decision to pull the trigger has been made, however, you need to be able to put as many bullets down the pipe as accurately as possible, and the DA/SA trigger on the SW99 is ideally suited to this task. Unfortunately, unlike the M&P mags, the magazines for the SW99 only hold 10 rounds, and unlike the XD (and P11) there is no way to make them hold any more. Sure, you can use bigger mags, but then you give up concealibility, which kind of defeats the purpose. So, this would be the perfect CCW (IMHO) if it carried more ammo, but it doesn't, so it isn't.
Caliber: .380ACP
L/H/W: 6.26/4.33/1.18
Weight empty: 23.9oz
Weight loaded: 27.9oz
Barrel:
If the year wers 1970, this would make a great CCW, but it's 2008. Don't get me wrong, this is a great pistol: it's accurate as hell, the SAO trigger is sweet, it is easy to shoot, and is very comfortable in the hand. Unfortunately it only holds 7 rounds of .380 and is bigger and heavier than the PF9. It is pretty thorughly outclassed by every other gun here, but I included it for reference sake, since it is about the same size as a Walther PPK or Bersa 380. Oh, and it's not nearly as rusty as the pictures make it out to be
.
Caliber: .45ACP
L/H/W: 6.3/4.5/1.4
Weight empty: 28.4oz
Weight loaded: 39.6oz (10+1)
Barrel: 3"
This is Para Ordnance's take on the 3" 1911. It is wider than a single stack 1911 (like the Springfield Micro Compact or the Kimber Ultra Compact), but shorter, and carries more ammo. Like all 1911s (except for the bastardized LDAs, but polite 1911 owners don't speak of them
) it is SAO, and has the typical unparalleled 1911 trigger: short, light, with a crisp break and an even shorter reset. The grip is thicker than any of the 9mms, but the slide is thinner (except the Pf9). With an alloy frame, you can cut 8oz off the weight of this gun.
Caliber: .45ACP
L/H/W: 7.3/4.5/1.4
Weight empty: 24.2oz
Weight loaded: 33.4oz (10+1)
Barrel: 3.5"
I know it says P12 on the slide, but this is actually a Para Ordnance Warthog with a P12 slide. As you probably suspect, you won't find this in the Para Ordnance catalog. This is my personal carry weapon, and was built specifically to meet my CCW concerns. The Warthog frame is short (not tall), which means it conceals well, but still manages to carry 10+1 rounds of .45. The P12 slide is 1/2" longer than the Warthog slide, which means improved sight radius (more accuracy) better velocity (longer barrel) and improved reliability (I could write a book about this one
). The 1/2" that I gain over the P10/Warthog doesn't significantly change the concealability of the gun, and the two round capacity that I give up to the XD and M&P are made up by the improved lethalality of the .45. This is a 1911, which means the trigger is SAO; it is carried cocked and locked (condition 1). For me, this is the perfect CCW.
Caliber: 9mm
L/W/H:
Weight empty:15.6oz
Weight loaded: 20.5oz (12+1)
Barrel: 3.1"
This is Kel-Tec's answer to the CCW. It is small, light, accurate, carries 12+1 rounds, and has a trigger only a gorilla could love. As far as DAO trigger go, it actually isn't that bad: it is very smooth and breaks predictably, but is very heavy and stacks at the end. Depending on what generation you get, it may or may not be very reilable, and to add insult to injury, it's kinda homely. Fortunately, it also comes with the best warranty in the gun industry: it doesn't matter if you're the first or 100th owner, Kel-Tec will take it back and fix whatever is wrong with it and send it back to you, because they warranty the gun U-N-C-O-N-D-I-T-I-O-N-A-L-L-Y (hey, Para Ordnance, are you listening?) On top of that, there's a huge owner community that is very active and helpful, so advice is only a URL away. If Kel-Tec would put a DA/SA trigger in this gun and give it a slightly longer barrel I would consider it the perfect CCW... but they don't, so it isn't (it's close, though, and I carry it when I'm not carrying the Warthog). Oh, one last thing: the P11 can use the old style S&W mags, which is a plus since my Daewoo DP51 also uses those mags.
Caliber: .9mm
L/H/W: 5.9/4.4/.9
Weight empty: 14.7oz
Weight loaded: 18.1oz (7+1)
Barrel: 3.1"
The PF9 is just like the P11, only thinner and with a better trigger. It even looks better, and it has an accessory rail. Unfortunately, it gives up 40% of the P11's ammo capacity to achieve 3.5mm of thinness, which is a piss poor deal, as far as I'm concerned. If I can hide a PF9, then it is almost certain that I can also hide a P11; if I CAN'T hide a P11, then it's unlikely that I would be able to hide a PF9. On the plus side, the PF9 is still small and light, and because of the improved trigger is easier to shoot accurately than its bigger brother.
Caliber: .380ACP
L/H/W: 5.16/3.60/.83
Weight empty: 8.0oz
Weight loaded: 11.3oz (6+1)
Barrel: 2.75"
Unless you have deep pockets and can afford the Rohrbaugh R9 (at about $1000) the P3AT is THE ultimate pocket gun. It (surprise, surprise) actually fits in your pockets (I'm talking normal pockets, the kind found on clothes worn by people born before 1989; if you were born after 1989, ignore the rest of this) and carries 6+1 (or 7+1) rounds of .380, which might get you laughed at by some of the cannon toting chairborn rangers out there, but is WAY better than a shinny rock or a pointy stick. It is amazingly accurate, and has a very nice (relatively speaking) DAO trigger, but because of it's dimunative size is (at best) unpleasant to shoot, and can be down right brutal if you're shooting +p ammo. In spite of that, this is the gun you grab when you can't carry anything bigger. If you're wearing more than a Speedo, you probably have enough clothes on to hide a P3AT (heck, I'll bet if you're creative, you could probably hide it... uh, never mind
)Mags, from left to right: P3AT, PF-9, P11, P10/Warthog, EA380, SW99, M&Pc, XDc
Whew! Well, now that I've written a thousand word essay, I'm sure everyone is asking "well, which one is the best?" That's kind of like asking what's the best ice cream; there is no correct answer. Carrying a CCW is all about compromises, and the ones I'm willing to make are not necessarily the same as the ones you're willing to make. For me, the most important thing is reliability, followed by firepower and concealability. The first one is very straight forward: if I can get 100-200 rounds through the gun without any problems, then I consider that to be pretty reliable, expecially when I'm limp wristing or holding it sideways or upside down. The second two are a little tougher, and are usually in direct conflict with each other. Firepower almost always = capacity. Unfortunately, concealability is usually inversely porportional to capacity; more bullets make the gun bigger, which makes it harder to hide.
Of course, others probably feel differently: for some people, concealability is the most important requirement, while for others it might be something complete different, like caliber, or how much their new fashion accessory will impress their friends
. Additionally, different situations might call for different compromises, which means that while I carry the Warthog/P12 "Longhog" most of the time, there are times when the Kel-Tec P11 or P3AT are better suited to what I'm wearing. Finally, there's the simple fact that what works for a 5'8" 145# guy might not work for a 5"2" 110# woman.So, what it all boils down to is that YOU have to decide what the best CCW is for YOU, based on the compromises YOU are willing to make. Hopefully, the information I posted will help you make the decision.
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