Which CC auto 9MM and why?

Kinda of a funny story on the P365 back when they were hard to find. I've carried a PM9 for years. I was in a small gun shop talking w/ the lady behind the counter about the 365, and we talked about the comparison to the 365. I asked if they one, and she said she was carrying one, and I politely asked if I could handle it. She proceeded to reach into her shirt and pull one out from a bra holder. Still very warm, she hands it over. Ok.

So I pulled out my PM9 and we got them unloaded. I overlaid them. Not much difference in size. The weight was a bit more on the 365 with the added capacity - like 23 oz. The Kahr is 15.9. I'm still carrying the Kahr.

I have been looking over an FN Reflex which is new. Comes MRD if you like optics. 18.4 oz unloaded.

I've gotten to the age where carrying 16oz all-day gets to be a chore. I still carry the PM9 but bought a P380 which is very light.
 
I have read the entire four pages and agree with most others. The compact 9 market is flooded with good options.
MY ORDER
G26
SHIELD
365
HELLCAT
MAX9
i bought the Hellcat two years ago....it is my go-to. I'm not completely in love with it because I don't shoot it as quite well as I want to.
on separate occasions i had friends try my hellcat and then they chose to buy 365 sigs.
 
Armored farmer said:
i bought the Hellcat two years ago....it is my go-to. I'm not completely in love with it because I don't shoot it as quite well as I want to.
on separate occasions i had friends try my hellcat and then they chose to buy 365 sigs.
Click to expand...

Friend of mine out in NV bought a Hellcat... I'm not sure which version, but it was quite small. He thought it was defective, and asked me to shoot it and see what I thought. What. A. Horrible. Pistol! Part of it was the trigger pull, which was abysmal, part of it was the size of the pistol and how it fit in my hand (see my comments above about my own CM9.) The complete package was nearly an unshootable pistol... for me, and obviously my friend. I had to rest it to get any sort of group out of it on paper... which turned out quite good... so it wasn't an inherently inaccurate pistol, or some other anomaly. That pistol is one of the reasons why I harp on people looking for a compact pistol... and particularly something they intend to carry... to go test drive it, before dropping the coin on it.
 
Charlie98 said:
Friend of mine out in NV bought a Hellcat... I'm not sure which version, but it was quite small. He thought it was defective, and asked me to shoot it and see what I thought. What. A. Horrible. Pistol! Part of it was the trigger pull, which was abysmal, part of it was the size of the pistol and how it fit in my hand (see my comments above about my own CM9.) The complete package was nearly an unshootable pistol... for me, and obviously my friend. I had to rest it to get any sort of group out of it on paper... which turned out quite good... so it wasn't an inherently inaccurate pistol, or some other anomaly. That pistol is one of the reasons why I harp on people looking for a compact pistol... and particularly something they intend to carry... to go test drive it, before dropping the coin on it.
Click to expand...
Same!
The gun IS accurate.....but it's a close one eye, use both hands, stick your tongue out the corner of your mouth, and hold your breath kind of a deal....
I did shoot one before I bought mine. A friend came by my shop to show me his new Hellcat. He was talking it up (new gun syndrome) and I liked the size and U-notch sight. It has been 100% reliable.

Nothing ever shoots better for me than my old SR9C.
 
I carry a Taurus Gx4, which replaced a G2c.
There are a plethora of good subcompact 9mms out, almost hard to go wrong. I really like the Sig 365 in all it's iterations, but I was able to buy the Gx4 and the Holosun 507K X2 on it for what a base stock 365 costs. I was looking into getting a 365 SAS for a pocket gun after firing one, but happened into a lightly used Taurus TCP .380 for 1/5 of the cost of the 365 SAS. It works fine, though not fun to shoot.
Enjoy whichever small 9mm you chose, gifbohane!
 
Old school SIG P938 Micro.

Small, thin, light weight, reliable, and enough capacity for Self Defense engagements.

The "Trunks and Tuxedo" carry.

Picture-005-1024-50.jpg

​
It just requires training for the safety.
 
How much I carry any particular pistol is inversely proportional to its size and weight.

Kahr PM9/CM9 are great thin light single stacks.
SA Hellcat is about a big as I wanted to carry in any kind of frequent basis.
My Glock 27 (40 s&w) is a big as I will carry except in special cases.
 
MikeInOr said:
How much I carry any particular pistol is inversely proportional to its size and weight.

Kahr PM9/CM9 are great thin light single stacks.
SA Hellcat is about a big as I wanted to carry in any kind of frequent basis.
My Glock 27 (40 s&w) is a big as I will carry except in special cases.
Click to expand...
I will agree that size matters....at least in a ccw. My lcp sees many miles because of that very reason.
 
I carry a shileld 9 and I am happy with it. I have also shot the hellcat and the sig 365, and they are excellent handguns- but I am keeping the shield because I am used to it, I have a couple of holsters that I like and several mags, and I only paid $300 for it.
 
gifbohane said:
Thanks for all the input. I have been testing different ones at the range for a few weeks now. It is expensive but I will get what I want.

Leaning towards Shield + but just not crazy about it. To tell the truth if I fell in love with one at $ 1,500, I would buy it.

What about trying for used? and private sale? What say you?
Click to expand...
I’d be comfortable buying a used Shield or any one of several of the others listed. Private sales don’t bother me, either.
 
Armored farmer said:
Same!
The gun IS accurate.....but it's a close one eye, use both hands, stick your tongue out the corner of your mouth, and hold your breath kind of a deal....
I did shoot one before I bought mine. A friend came by my shop to show me his new Hellcat. He was talking it up (new gun syndrome) and I liked the size and U-notch sight. It has been 100% reliable.

Nothing ever shoots better for me than my old SR9C.
Click to expand...
Ameriglo makes relatively cheap night sights with the U- notch for quite a few guns. I stuck a set on my M&P for less than $80.
 
Charlie98 said:
Friend of mine out in NV bought a Hellcat... I'm not sure which version, but it was quite small. He thought it was defective, and asked me to shoot it and see what I thought. What. A. Horrible. Pistol! Part of it was the trigger pull, which was abysmal, part of it was the size of the pistol and how it fit in my hand (see my comments above about my own CM9.) The complete package was nearly an unshootable pistol... for me, and obviously my friend. I had to rest it to get any sort of group out of it on paper... which turned out quite good... so it wasn't an inherently inaccurate pistol, or some other anomaly. That pistol is one of the reasons why I harp on people looking for a compact pistol... and particularly something they intend to carry... to go test drive it, before dropping the coin on it.
Click to expand...
The trigger kit from Powder River Precision makes a big difference. I really disliked my Hellcat before the PRP trigger kit. I just measured the weight tonight and it is 3.9 - 4.6 lbs depending on where you measure on the trigger face. Factory felt like 7 lbs.

Hogue makes a good slip on grip for it.
 
Charlie98 said:
Friend of mine out in NV bought a Hellcat... I'm not sure which version, but it was quite small. He thought it was defective, and asked me to shoot it and see what I thought. What. A. Horrible. Pistol! Part of it was the trigger pull, which was abysmal, part of it was the size of the pistol and how it fit in my hand (see my comments above about my own CM9.) The complete package was nearly an unshootable pistol... for me, and obviously my friend. I had to rest it to get any sort of group out of it on paper... which turned out quite good... so it wasn't an inherently inaccurate pistol, or some other anomaly. That pistol is one of the reasons why I harp on people looking for a compact pistol... and particularly something they intend to carry... to go test drive it, before dropping the coin on it.
Click to expand...
I had this same exact experience. Loved everything about the Hellcat…but my groupings were so bad I thought the something was wrong with the gun. My friends had the same issue. I swapped it for a Canik Mete MC9 and it’s night and day. I love Canik triggers and it’s only slightly larger than the Hellcat so still comfortable for CC.
 
I carry a Glock 19.

The first reason I chose it was because it was on the authorized list for security guards in Colorado Springs.

The reason I chose it over a Smith & Wesson M&P 9 is because I prefer to have a backup gun that will accept the same magazines and in my opinion the Glock 26 makes a better backup gun than the M&P 9C.

Of the guns that you listed the closest that I would pick would be a first generation M&P Shield. I don't do grip safeties and the highest qualification scores I ever got were with an M&P Shield.

The only reason I don't own one is they weren't on the approved list when I was looking.
 
We're well into the era where it doesn't matter much. They are all roughly the same.
If a holster or mags for a specific one are on sale right now, there's a decent argument that you should go with that one over the others.
 
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