Does my ultimate carry gun exist?

[samualt]

My ultimate carry gun would be the following semiauto pistol:

1. 9mm Parabellum (9x19).
2. Double Action (means single and double action). No DAO.
Should have a hammer on the back for true Single Action shooting.
3. Capacity: At least 10 rounds.
4. External safety switch.
5. Length: 6.5 inches or less overall.
6. Width: 1.2 inch wide or less.
7. Height: 6 inches or less.
8. Decent quality.

What I'd really like is a Walther PPK, Makarov, Browning BDA, or something like those but in 9mm and that meet the above criteria. I'm currently carrying a Kel-Tec P-11 (DAO, no external safety).
Does my ultimate carry gun exist?

 

[rbert0005]

I have a S&W PC "Shorty Nine." I think that it meets all of you're requirements.
If you can find one you will be more than satisfied.
It has another benefit, it's a great shooter.

Two tone , alloy frame, 13 rounds, perfect fit everywhere. A very nice piece indeed.

Bob

 

[Spackler]

I think it'll be difficult to find a pistol in 9mm para that will fit the both the size and capacity requirements that you have.

The little Beretta, the 9000S is pretty small at 6.6" long and 1.65" wide, and it is outside of your size criteria. It does hold 10 rounds, however, and does have an external safety.

You might be able to find a NIB S&W 6906, they hold ten rounds and twelve round magazines are plentiful and cheap, but I think that'll still be outside of your size criteria, at least in width.

Anything else I can think of with an external safety is either too large or not of sufficient magazine capacity, or both.

 

[hksw]

About ¼" wider than your spec but...Mini FireStorm 9

 

[Sean Smith]

Pretty much any 9mm made to hold 10+ rounds that I've heard of will be too wide to meet your critera. A CZ-75 PCR or P01 would be close though... 1.4" wide, 7.2" long and 5.3" high.

PCR: http://www.czusa.com/_p/pdt.php?id=7

P01: http://www.czusa.com/_p/pdt.php?id=50

IIRC 13-round magazines are available, too.

 

[Marko Kloos]

The HK USP Compact 9mm meets your criteria, it's 6.5" long and 5" high. It's less wide than your dimensions, and it's traditional DA/SA.

 

[MJRW]

That's totally the USPc.

 

[Akurat]

I second the Firestorm Mini 9. The ambidextrious safety switches make it wider than your spec but the gun as a whole is slimmer...the slide being exactly 1" and the grip being about 1¼". High caps (13+1) in the form of .40S&W mags, which yes before anyone asks, is perfectly legal

 

[care-less]

Only holds 9, but meets or exceeds all of your criteria, HK P7. Expensive, hard to find, best there is!

 

[Parke1]

How about a S&W 6906? It's just a tad longer, but it meets all of your requirements, I believe. They're 6 and 13/16ths inches long, high caps are still fairly easy to find (at least around here), and they have an external safety.

Of course, if you can manage with 8+1 rounds of 9mm, I would, as always, heartily recommend the 3913.

-Parke1

 

[DonGlock26]

My ultimate CCW is the G-26. The trigger can be changed to suit your tastes. I suggest renting one at the range.

Don

 

[New_comer]

USP9c is it

 

[David S]

I hear horror stories of USP's manual safety ENGAGING while firing. forget that. Manual safeties are overrated..............spring for a Euro version Walther P99...........comes with 16 round mags.....

 

[hksw]

I hear horror stories of USP's manual safety ENGAGING while firing.

That's a new one on me. Have never heard of that problem before on the USP. The detents for the safeties on all of my USPs, full size and compact, are very positive and definite when engaged/disengaged. Where did you get this information?

 

[care-less]

I'd kind of like to hear about that one myself. Safety can't engage during firing, unless your thumb accidentally flicks it up; like in, you wern't holding onto the pistol very tightly and pulled the trigger! I guess everything has probably happened before, usually "operator error", not pistols fault.

 

[David S]

37 USPs where shipped to my local sheriff dept. the man in charge of the depts weapons is the one i talked to and he said "JUST ABOUT ALL" of them had problems. sent most back to HK.........after several tries they got decent pistols......

his view on HK is that they should include 100 ft of rope with each gun sold so you can tie it to it and use it as an anchor because, in his opinion, thats all they are good for,

 

[Climb14er]

HK USPc 9mm

I have one, great pistol! With night sights too.

You'll love it.

 

[samualt]

Does the HK USPc 9mm have a regular hammer on the back? It doesn't look like it does. And the manual says Bobbed hammer. Can I actually thumb the hammer and cock it back? Or, is the first shot DAO and then SA after that?

The manual looks complicated. Variants, Modes, ect.... Yikes!

 

[hksw]

The bobbed hammer of the USPc is flush with the back of the slide. The hammer does, however, have a half cock notch. If you very slowly pull the trigger a little and get the hammer to engage the half cock notch, it is possible to pull thumb the hammer back to cock (in the non-DAO configurations). This is not really how it is suppose to be used but it can be done.

The different configurations of the safety lever (or even eliminating it) doesn't really have to be memorized. Just pick a configuration you like and have the gun modified by a qualified armorer to that configuration.

 

[George Hill]

Isn't there a CZ-75 variant in these size constraints?

Yup.

The 9mm HK USPc is a great handgun, but overpriced and overrated. I hate the triggers and I'm unable to fire them very well... But for some reason I fire the .40 USPC just fine. Go figure.

I like the recoil reduction device in the USP series. The 9mm feels like your popping .22's. Super hot 9mm loads are cake.

 

[samualt]

Thanks everyone, you have all been a great help! I still haven't found my perfect carry-gun but I do have a much better idea what compacts are out there. I changed my first message to add a hammer on the rear of the gun. Thats why I wanted a Traditional Double Action (SA/DA). Today they have all kinds of varients and I didn't know I needed to specify (my bad).

Guns I have rejected:
1) The S&W CS9 lacks a rear hammer, doesn't hold 10 rounds.
2) The HK USPC lacks a rear hammer.
3) The Glocks have no external switch-safety and are too fat. No external hammer.
4) The CZ's are just too large. I did find a CZ 2075 RAMI on their foreign site which barely fits my maximum criteria. But I found none for sale here in the US. And since it isn't particularly small I see no reason to pursue it.
5) SigSauer P239. Stretches max criteria. Doesn't hold 10 rounds.
6) All Beretta's are too fat.

Guns I'm considering:
1) The Mini Firestorm 9mm. But all ads say 7" long instead of their website which states 6.5" long. Hmmm. They are too fat. I think this company is owned by Bersa. Kinda middle of the road for quality. I will have to look at one and see how cheap I could pick one up just to play with it a while.
2) Still looking for some of the older S&W guns.

I'm beginning to think I may be stuck with my Kel-Tec P-11 a while (9mm, Length 5.6", Height 4.3", Width 1", Capacity 10+1, Action DAO, No external safety). I just wanted a safety switch and SA/DA! It must be hard to cram that into such a small package.

 

[Marko Kloos]

2) The HK USPC lacks a rear hammer.

The USPc does have a rear hammer, it's just almost flush with the rear of the slide. The back of the hammer is rubberized, so it's actually fairly easy to thumb-cock even if you don't assist by slowly pulling the trigger. The USPc meets all your criteria.

 

[Berg01]

Frankly, the only S&W CCW that I could recommend is the 3913, but it is 8 rd. w/ no spur hammer. I know nothing about the MiniFirestorm, other than what I have read in a recent gunrag. The Sig P239, CZ PCR or the Glock 19 I could recommend in a heartbeat, but these do not meet your restrictive criteria.

The best advice I can give is the same type of advice my firearms instructor gave me; there are many good suggestions for reliable CCW firearms on the market, and on this thread; evaluate 3 or 4 to see if one is more shootable for you, pick one, get a good holster that works for your preferred mode of carry, then train your tail off with it, so that when/if the "SHTF", you are prepared.

 

[Sean Smith]

Darn, man, you are excluding every worthwhile firearm in existence!



(Seriously, maybe you need to recognize that your ironclad requirements are a little arbitrary, and choose a weapon on its overall merits).

 

[samualt]

Sean Smith:
I agree kinda. But the fact is that there are many guns in .380 caliber that meet my criteria. Like the Walther PPK, Makarov, ect.... I just thought there might be a 9mm equivalent.
My current 9mm carry, the Kel-Tec P-11, is so small I just thought that maybe someone had something a little larger with all the features I liked in the .380's. But it doesn't look like anyone does.

Moral:
9mm with SA/DA (external hammer) and an external safety = Big Honking Gun.