Personal Experience
Well, I have a couple of suggestions.
From our "collection" here at home, may I offer these:
*
Kahr P9 :
Lightweight, compact, and accurate. I shoot this pistol better than anything else I have in a service caliber, although the difference between this and the PT111 is the width of a fifty-cent piece at 25 yards.
*
Taurus PT111 (Millennium Pro) :
Light, compact, accurate. Nearly double the capacity of the Kahr P9, but that translates to a thicker carry piece. It's actually my wife's pistol, but I shoot it better than my two bigger guns.
* Taurus PT911 (==>
CZ 75 series) :
Compact, nearly full-sized service pistol, 15 round magazine, same size as CZ 75 P01 variant. From shooting this and handling the CZ 75, allow me to recommend the CZ 75 series pistols, including the 75B and P01. The PT911 isn't a bad gun, but if I had that purchase to do over, I would buy the P01 sitting on the shelf beside it.
*
Hi-Point C-9
Larger and clunkier than either of my favorites. Hard to conceal, poor choice for carry. Blowback action instead of locking bolt. My son has one of these. He outshoots me with it. Sadly, I shoot it better than I do my XD-40 or my PT911 (above). While his pistol has only had about a thousand rounds through it, there have been no failures. It points well, and the sights are quite usable. And I shoot it better than a pistol for which I paid nearly five times as much. So, against the impulse of my instincts and my sense of aesthetics, I will recommend the C-9, based solely on objective performance.
If you ask me for my top-of-the-list suggestion, I have to go the the
Kahr P9. The workmanship is excellent. It holds and points well. It makes a group inside a three-inch circle at 25 yards. Probably do two inches if I were a better shot. I'll bet Bob Smith (FRGC) could do it, 'cuz he nearly managed it with my PT911. Me, I can hit things. Bob, on the other hand, can actually shoot. Consistently. Accurately. Embarrassingly.