Advise needed for small pistol

C

Civilian

New member
I am about to buy my first small semi for concealed carrying. I am looking at the following models:

Kahr P9 - Looks great, slim, and good reviews. I have held one, but not fired one. Seemed very nice. I do not know anyone who owns one.

Sig 232 - Sig has a great rep and the pisol is small. Is a .380 enough?

Glock 19 - I used to hate glocks until I fired this one. Is it a little too large for Concealed Carry? Seems larger and slightly heavier than the rest. I will definitely get one eventually (best handgun I ever fired), but I want a conceallable one as my next purchase. I do not want a handgun that I cannot get all my fingers on, so the mini version is a no-go.

I am having a hard time finding people who have experience with these handguns and are used to carrying concealed. Also, the Kahr and Sig are available in Stainless Steel - does the extra weight help/hinder it's abilities? Is the extra weight noticable when carried ( I am 6' and 210lbs)?
Finally, how much should I expect to pay? I have not started bargaining, but from what I have seen I expect about $550 for the Glock and $600 for the SIG or Kahr. Is that about right?

Comments and suggestions are appreciated on any or all of the above handguns, or any truly great handgun under 20 oz.
 
You can probably find the Kahr for close to $500 or even less. The steel K9 would weigh a lot more, which you might not like to carry around... but its all personal preference.
 
I carry a Kahr P9 each and every day. Before I bought it I carried a Kahr K9 and before that a Glock 19. I love my P9. It just seems to fit me.

In the end it is a personal choice that you and no one else can make, so handle each gun as much as possible before you buy.

I paid $439 for a new P9 but it is carbon steel and not the SS model. I think the SS P9 was about 20 bucks more.

Good luck!
 
I have three "small" pistols in 32 acp: Sig P230, Beretta Inox Tomcat, and Seecamp. Of the three, the Seecamp is the best. I understand they now make a .380. The Seecamp is a great gun. The worst is the P230. I'd love to get rid of it. It's the only gun I can intentionally jam when firing.
Dennis D. Carter
 
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First let me state that while many a man has fallen to calibers smaller than the 9mm and the .38 Special, I personally believe that they should be considered a minimum for serious self defense use. That being said, I believe the Kahr series is one of the best things going. I have a K9 Elite 98 9mm and think it is a superb weapon. As far as weight, it depends on you and how you intend to carry it. I can carry a full-size government model 1911 .45 ACP on my right hip, with a spare mag on my left hip and a S&W J-frame on my left ankle with a second spare mag in my left jacket pocket and two speedloaders in my right jacket pocket ALL DAY LONG. I am pretty much exactly your size (6'1", 215 lbs.) If you carry on your belt or in a waist pack, weight is not a real factor. If you carry in a shoulder holster or on your ankle, weight becomes a factor. I have not tried the P series of Kahrs but if they are half as good as the K series, they are great guns.
 
I have discovered the selection of a sub compact, concealed carry piece is not as easy as it may seem...Physical size, weight loaded, construction, reliabity and durability are but a few things you have to consider. Add to that actual firepower...caliber, number of rounds, available defensive rounds. Daunting task :eek: to say the least.
 
To me the Glock is lighter but bulkier the Kahr rode better - it was flatter but heavier. Kahr has come out with a polymer framed gun- could be the best of both worlds. whatever price you find locally make sure you have enough left to get breaking in ammo.
 
I've never owned a Glock, but have shot a G-19, 23, and 26. The Glock grip is a little too big, and the gun too thick for my taste, but they're good guns if you like them (a truly profound statement ;-), and lots of people do.

The K9 is the best fit to my hand of any gun I have shot (smooth wood grips on mine), conceals easily, shoots great, but is a tad heavy for it's size. The P9 is thinner than the K9 in the grip and conceals even better, but the grip tends to twist a little in my hand when shooting. Despite shooting marginally better groups with the K9, I prefer the P9 for CCW.

Sig P232. I've shot them, and they aren't bad, but I can think of a few reasons to put it at the bottom of your list. Felt recoil in a blowback 380 like the Sig will be no less than a locked breach 9mm like the Kahr or Glock, so don't look to the 380 for less recoil. The DA trigger in the Sig will be stiff compared to the 7# DAO Kahr trigger, or even lighter Glock "safe-action" trigger. The Sig is no smaller or lighter than the P9, shoots lower stopping power ammo than the Kahr or Glock, holds no more rounds than the Kahr and fewer than the Glock. If memory serves, the Sig has a European mag release (slower reloads), and more controls to fiddle with and catch on things.
 
Hey Civilian,

If you are considering a .380 for a small concealed carry pistol, why are you thinking in the $500 range? Heck, for not much more than $100 you can get a Makarov 9X18 that is actually a fair amount more powerful than the .380. The Makarovs only hold eight or nine rounds (depending on which type you buy), but there are some mag extensions available that allow you to add two additional rounds. With the standard mag, however, you can carry a Makarov in your jeans or jacket pocket. You can also get an inexpensive nylon shoulder holster if you really want one. If you wear cowboy or similar open top boots, you can even carry one or two in your boots. Makarovs are good guns. Take a look at them and try shooting one. They are powerful enough to surprise you when you touch one off and your hand jumps in recoil.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile
 
I think that anyone that's carrying a Mak in a jeans pocket looks mighty happey to see you! :) They are not a pocket pistol, and they're pretty heavy to boot. If you want to put it in a jeans pocket, why not go for the Keltec P-11, lighter, smaller, and more rounds of a more potent cartridge?
 
Advise needed for small pistol
I am about to buy my first small semi for concealed carrying. I am looking at the following models:

Kahr P9 - Looks great, slim, and good reviews. I have held one, but not fired one. Seemed very nice. I do not know anyone who owns one.
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They're very small and lightweight, very easy to conceal, and high quality. I had a P40 which was actually too slim for my hand, so it didn't make a comfortable shooter, but people with smaller hands may find it an ideal CCW gun.

Sig 232 - Sig has a great rep and the pisol is small. Is a .380 enough?
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The .380 gets bad-mouthed a lot, but it's a plenty destructive little cartridge at close range. You can get premium HP ammo for it, and that particular launch platform is a very high quality pistol. It has a decent grip, shoots comfortably, and has a very slim slide which makes for easy IWB carry. It's a bit big for a .380 these days, but you want some grip to hold on to with a fixed-barrel blowback gun. The P232 is kind of like a .380 PPK that works. Also, one of the best-looking handguns on the market.

Glock 19 - I used to hate glocks until I fired this one. Is it a little too large for Concealed Carry? Seems larger and slightly heavier than the rest. I will definitely get one eventually (best handgun I ever fired), but I want a conceallable one as my next purchase. I do not want a handgun that I cannot get all my fingers on, so the mini version is a no-go.
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A G19 is my primary CCW autoloader. It's a very good gun for concealed carry: extremely reliable, robust, light, and holding a lot of bullets. I think it's very hard to beat as a 9mm carry pistol...it is small enough to conceal easily, yet big enough to make a useful and effective do-everything pistol.

I am having a hard time finding people who have experience with these handguns and are used to carrying concealed. Also, the Kahr and Sig are available in Stainless Steel - does the extra weight help/hinder it's abilities? Is the extra weight noticable when carried ( I am 6' and 210lbs)?
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We're the same size and weight, and the polymer framed Kahrs just disappear on me when carried IWB. The extra weight is not that noticeable, but the ploymer ones are so light you forget the gun is there. The steel versions are a little heavy for pocket carry, though, so if you want to carry the pistol in the jacket pocket, the polymer variant will pull you jacket down less. All of the pistols you listed are great for CCW, and I can hide any of them inside the waistband under an untucked t-shirt if I want.

Finally, how much should I expect to pay? I have not started bargaining, but from what I have seen I expect about $550 for the Glock and $600 for the SIG or Kahr. Is that about right?
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For comparison, around here (East TN), the Glock would be $480-550 new, the SIG would be around $500, and the Kahr P9 would run you around $550, all depending on the store.

Comments and suggestions are appreciated on any or all of the above handguns, or any truly great handgun under 20 oz.
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If you're not totally against revolvers, Taurus makes a great line of ultra-light revolvers that are great lightweight CCW guns. I have a 731UL as a backup carry, and it holds six rounds of .32 H&R Magnum, weighs in at 16 ounces. It also comes in .38 Special holding five rounds. There are plenty of autoloaders in the category you describe, but you're limiting yourself a little if you don't like a three-finger grip.

Of all the ones you describe, the Kahr would be the eaiest to carry, and the Glock 19 would be the most versatile.
 
Glock 19 - I used to hate glocks until I fired this one. Is it a little too large for Concealed Carry?
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IMHO it is too large by just a smidgin unless you're wearing dockers type jeans. I learned something yesterday which might make it a little more "normal" double action however. I talked to a guy at a gun show who was selling retrofit trigger springs and he said there is an 8 pound trigger spring on the market.
 
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