When will the single pocket sized 9mm fad die?

[Fishbed77]

Even though I typically avoid troll threads, I will say I have no problem pocketing my CM9.

 

[joneb]

I agree with post #2.

 

[GLOOB]

The fad will go away when open carry and badly concealed firearms become commonly accepted. Not everyone has a big enough gut and love handles to hide a full size duty firearm.

 

[coloradokevin]

I carry a double stack Glock 26 for CCW use. My better half carries a single stack S&W Shield (both are loaded with Speer Gold Dot 9mm ammo). She gets two rounds less than I do, but she feels that her gun conceals better with her build.

Incidentally, you can shoot just fine with either of those guns. I've shot her Shield on a 75 yard IPSC target with good success. I've shot my G26 to 100 yards on occasion (just for poops-n-grins). I actually think I might be more accurate with her Shield than I am with my Glock, but I've only done limited side-by-side testing so far. Obviously those aren't the ideal ranges for either of those CCW guns, but they will certainly do very well at normal defensive distances.

Anyway, everything is about compromise. You can go even smaller, and step down to less effective cartridges, or you can go to a single stack and stick with a more effective cartridge. Shot placement still makes more difference than anything else. My woman is 5'3" tall and 103 lbs. She doesn't have a lot of real estate on which to hide a larger gun. She likes her single stack, and she also likes her full-frame G17 she carries when camping. To each their own.

 

[Hunter2011]

The G43 is thicker than my Taurus PT709, and has one less round. That is why I love my PT709. Despite that, my Taurus still prints when you bend over or so. I wished there was an option to make the grip a bit shorter, then it would not have printed so easily.
I don't have a problem with the capacity. 8-shots of 9mm is a lot more than 5 shots out of a snubby, and a lot of people are comfortable with carrying a snubby.
I don't think I will ever carry anything bigger than my Taurus, so hopefully this is not just a fad

 

[improperlyaged]

Good trolling, OP.

That's a loaded question.

To a degree you are both right. I would like for people to see something. There have been for years small .380's that are both easier to conceal and easier to shoot. We know that it is not caliber that stops attackers but hits. So my logic is this, Why carry something that I can't shoot as well as something smaller and more concealable while also being more controllable?

There are defensive .380 loads out there that will reach 12" all day long. The small 9mm "pocket" guns typically have very short barrels and cause a fairly stout loss of velocity and energy. From my own testing I have seen 9mm go from 1090fps to 980 fps when going from a 4" to a 3" barrel. With that velocity loss most 9mm hollow points failed to expand properly and acted like a FMJ. That is with the exception of Federal HST. They always did their job. So why take the extra recoil of the 9mm if we know that it is hits on target that stop attacks and the .380's can give us more hits (that reach the required 12").

 

[OilyPablo]

All that to disguise a 380ACP vs. 9mm thread?

You win the internet today.

Of course I have 380's if I want something smaller. Stop hatin' man. It's not doing you any good.

 

[GBExpat]

I have been carrying my P3AT since 2005 and my PF9 since 2007 ... and I have no plans on taking either out of the rotation, so no "fad" at my house.

I will choose the 9x19 over the 9x17 whenever I easily can ... and I carry a spare mag with my P3AT (I modded my Uncle Mike's for this).

 

[ritepath]

Why a single stack 9?

Because all those double stacks I've owned (26, 229, M&P 9c, PT145 sold them all) are thick and still heavy in my opinion, and it when looking into the sales of SS 9's I'm not the only one that finds thin is in.

I will agree that most of the affordable ones are impossible to pocket carry, again in my opinion the LCP sized guns are the only ones light enough or small enough to fit in MY pockets.

Since I only carry OWB I find single stacks much easier to conceal... 1/10 of an inch is huge in the CC world.

Since I have a shield and LCP I can now concentrate on nice full sized 9's like the CZ 75, no more looking for a unicorn must have CC pistol.


God Bless the single stack.

 

[JohnnyBravo]

I hate these guns. They are not truly pocket-able and that means you have to carry them on your hip. Why on earth would you carry a gun on your hip that carries 3 to 5 rounds less than its double stack counter part, that is hard to control and difficult to shoot? I think it is just a fad that will eventually go away when everyone starts seeing that their "slim" 9mm is less than 1/16 inch slimmer than the double stack.

I was just thinking the same thing about snub nose revolvers! LOL

 

[DP03]

I agree with OilyPablo with the Sig P938. 7+1 rounds in a very concealable gun is something I love carrying. It may be a little heavier than it's polymer counterparts, but that's a good thing in a pocket pistol re:recoil reduction, IMO.

And ask anyone that owns one, these are accurate pistols.

 

[C0untZer0]

With that velocity loss most 9mm hollow points failed to expand properly and acted like a FMJ.

147gr Winchester Ranger "T" Series - RA9T penetrate and expand out of a 3" barrel.

115gr Hornady Critical Defense penetrate and expand out of a 3" barrel.

Check out ShootingTheBull410 tests on those cartridges and others to see a number of 9mm rounds that do well in bare gel and through 4 layers of denim.

 

[Fiv3r]

I carry one because it's the biggest gun I can carry at work. Iwb my gun must disappear under a fitted Polo shirt. For even more invisible carry I will go with a .380. However, a 6+1 9mm with an 8 round mag in my pocket will most likely keep me safe.

I like big double stacks, but unless I'm open carrying I just find find them too big, bulky, and more likely to print. If the world goes to hell in a hand basket, gimme a chunky Beretta 92 and as many mags as I can strap to my person. But for day to day a little Nano does the trick. I don't have much use for stumpy double stacks that don't hide well enough.

 

[bannockburn]

Most small double stack 9mm.s don't fit my small hand comfortably. I prefer the size, shape, and overall ergonomics of a single stack 9mm., whether it's carried in my pocket or in a IWB holster.

 

[Plan2Live]

Coloradokevin said:

everything is about compromise.

This should be the first answer posted for all Concealed Carry threads.

 

[ku4hx]

Different strokes for different folks. If you don't like 'em, don't buy 'em. I hate Kale chips. Every time we go to the grocery store I just walk right past them.

 

[TestPilot]

By improperlyaged:
There have been for years small .380's that are both easier to conceal and easier to shoot. We know that it is not caliber that stops attackers but hits. So my logic is this, Why carry something that I can't shoot as well as something smaller and more concealable while also being more controllable?

Being more controllable?

I don't see a significant difference in concealability when I put my 9mm Shield in my pocket. And, my Shield is more controllable than 380ACP pistols I've shot.

There are defensive .380 loads out there that will reach 12" all day long.

No matter what you'd like to believe, 380ACP is not as effective as 9mm.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Don't like 'em, don't buy 'em, simple as that. But don't rag on people that DO like them.

I carry what I want, what others think about it is irrelevant.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

The fad will go away when open carry and badly concealed firearms become commonly accepted.

Maybe but we've had legal open carry since 1840 and yet pocket pistols abound.

 

[JR24]

Those single stack 9's aren't for me (I prefer a J-Frame for pocket carry, YMMV) but I really, really, enjoy that there are so many varied styles and options to fit everyone out in the market right now.

It is good to have choices.

 

[Nom de Forum]

What fad? Carrying 9mm pocket pistols is not fad. Fads are short lived and carrying 9mm pocket pistols has been a common practice of many people for too long to be considered a fad.

 

[snooperman]

The only 9mm I carry in my pocket is a 380.

 

[OilyPablo]

The only 9mm I carry in my pocket is a 380.

2nd place in the Internet contest. [emoji4]

 

[jrdolall]

Since you are trolling I will bite. The DB9 fits in most of my jean pockets and is light enough that it has replaced a couple of 380s that I still use on occasion. There are several other "pocket" 9s available that also fit the bill but I don't have a Kahr any longer or a Rohrberg. Often I just prefer to drop a gun in my pocket rather than carry IWB (headed to Publix as opposed to Walmart) so the teeny tiny 9s are a good thing.
There are plenty of single stack 9s that are not suitable for MY pocket use but I still own them.
I wonder when the 22 LR fad will be over?

 

[OilyPablo]

I have a single stack 9mm and it's very difficult to pocket carry, so I agree. Does anybody know if they make thinner grips for the SIG P225

Pachmeyer will fix you right up.[emoji4]