Slimmest 9mm?

If you want a 9mm that you can shoot well, get a Shield.

I wish I had some calipers. I would like to measure the slide, frame and grips of my Sig 938 Extreme without taking the manual safety into consideration. I've never felt that a small bump like a manual safety is going to give away a concealed pistol.

I do not own a 938 (have a 238) but here are some specs someone posted online at one time which may interest you:

Chambering 9x19mm

Weight with Empty Magazine 17 oz.

Trigger Pull 8.25 lbs.

Barrel Length 3.08"

Barrel Diameter 0.495"

Overall Height 4.01"

Overall Length 5.94"

Grip Thickness 0.91"

Frame Width 0.662"

Slide Width 0.876"

Maximum Width 1.17"

Trigger Reach 2.57"

Grip Material Checkered G10

Magazine Capacity 6 and 7

Magazines Supplied 2 (not true for every model)

Accessory Rail

There are several under an inch wide now.

I would check out all the pistols that are under an inch wide and less than 4.5 inches tall. Pick the one you like the best and not the one that is the absolute smallest. I own a Pf9 because at the time it was the smallest. If I had it to do all over again, I would have chose something that shoots better, as it's really not too much more accurate than a pocket 380 for me, and I feel my little Kel-tec p32 actually shoots better.

Triggernosis said:

But your PF9 is 9mm, not .380. That's a plus.

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Not if you can't hit the broad side of a barn with it. My wife's Glock 42 is about the same size as my pf9, and I would take it any day over a my pf9.
They make 9MM pistols just about the same size as the pf9 that shoot much better as well. I was merely pointing out that buying the absolute smallest 9mm was a mistake (for me).

Bigmike79 said:

Not if you can't hit the broad side of a barn with it. My wife's Glock 42 is about the same size as my pf9, and I would take it any day over a my pf9.
They make 9MM pistols just about the same size as the pf9 that shoot much better as well. I was merely pointing out that buying the absolute smallest 9mm was a mistake (for me).

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When I bought my PF9 is was the smallest 9mm. It’s one reason I got it. I was new to shooting so I didn’t know much. What I did know was it shot decent if I used good form. If I didn’t I’d have failures. So it taugh me to hold the gun properly.

The bad is the PF9 just isn’t a fun gun to shoot. Now that wasn’t a concern when I got it. My thought was to get it, shoot it enough to be accurate with it and get something else to shoot for fun. I’ve since done that.

The good with the PF9 is it’s size and weight. But as I said earlier, there are many guns that are very close in size and weight. So I’d highly suggest people shot around. Find what they find best for them. If I was buying now, the PF9 would be on my list but so would a bunch of other guns.

Ideally, go to a range and try as many different guns as possible

The P20000SK is actually a 10+1 capacity with it's standard magazines.

jdmb03 said:

If you want a 9mm that you can shoot well, get a Shield.

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I would tend to agree. I am surprised at how accurate my little Shield is.

-Jeff

I hope I like the PF-11. This thread got me curious about thin 9mm pistols, and I stumbled across a good deal on a PF-11 soon afterwards. I'm looking foward to picking it up this weekend.

The original question was important. The issue of width is very important in concealed carry and until recently often not even noted in articles and magazines. Of course there are other important considerations regarding easy of carry and easy of concealment, and weight is right up there. I carry a Springfield Armory XDs in .45ACP because of thickness and weight. If not for the weight, I would be carrying a Springfield Armory Range Officer Compact.

I love the Glock 30 but it is too thick for a carry gun except in the colder months and I will not switch carry guns without a very good reason.

In the service pistol category the Browning BDM was a very slim pistol.

If you redefine the question to what is a very slim and compact 9mm that one can actually shoot comfortably and hit something with, my answer would be an LC9s or Glock 43.

My LC9s is absolutely lovely to shoot and very very accurate. A 12" plate at 50 yards offhand is not a big challenge. I've shot probably 2000 rounds through mine with no malfunctions and it carries extremely well in a Desantis pocket holster in my front jean pocket. It carries much smaller than the numbers suggest due to how rounded over all the edges are compared to say a S&W shield or a PF9. I feel silly saying it but I love that gun, its simply perfect.

someguy2800 said:

If you redefine the question to what is a very slim and compact 9mm that one can actually shoot comfortably and hit something with, my answer would be an LC9s or Glock 43.

My LC9s is absolutely lovely to shoot and very very accurate. A 12" plate at 50 yards offhand is not a big challenge. I've shot probably 2000 rounds through mine with no malfunctions and it carries extremely well in a Desantis pocket holster in my front jean pocket. It carries much smaller than the numbers suggest due to how rounded over all the edges are compared to say a S&W shield or a PF9. I feel silly saying it but I love that gun, its simply perfect.

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I don't like going off point in someone else's thread but the poster has the answer he was seeking.

Using your redefinition I would have to vote for the Boberg/Bond Arms Bullpup. This would be my carry gun, as it is my wife's, if it weren't for the fact it is a 9mm. I just can't bring myself to carry, as primary, anything less than a .45ACP in a semi auto. I also like hot .44 specials in revolvers, but the guns don't work well for concealed carry except in the winter, and I carry the same gun year round - a XDs which is pretty slim itself.

ChanceMcCall said:

The original question was important. The issue of width is very important in concealed carry and until recently often not even noted in articles and magazines. Of course there are other important considerations regarding easy of carry and easy of concealment, and weight is right up there. I carry a Springfield Armory XDs in .45ACP because of thickness and weight. If not for the weight, I would be carrying a Springfield Armory Range Officer Compact.

I love the Glock 30 but it is too thick for a carry gun except in the colder months and I will not switch carry guns without a very good reason.

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I’ll respectfully disagree to a point.
I also carry an XDs 45 most of the time. But I also carry a PF9 when I want/need something smaller. The XDs is a much nicer gun, but it is much heavier than the PF9. It’s also much nicer to shoot than the PF9.

It’s why I posted earlier that the smallest isn’t always the best choice as there are now many choices for small guns. If I were in the market for a conceal carry gun now, I’d look for a gun that is comfortable to shoot, has a decent magazine capacity and is easy to conceal.

Triggernosis said:

How much does your XDS weigh all loaded up?

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28 ounces with Hydro Shocks about what the Range Officer Compact weighs empty. The Range Officer Compact would come in at 34 ounces loaded up. Six ounces makes a difference when worn all day long.

Triggernosis said:

I'm beginning to believe that full-up loaded weight is going to be more important to me than thickness is. Regardless of how thin a gun is, if it is heavier than I'm comfortable with, I won't carry it. And that's not good.

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Here is a great thread started by Nom de Forum, titled "Pistol weight in ounces: When does it get heavy?"

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/pistol-weight-in-ounces-when-does-it-get-heavy.749907/

And here is a picture of the Taurus Millennium Pro G2 - PT111, the Kahr CM9 and the little Rohrbaugh R9

Years ago I had two Chinese 9mm tokarev pistols. I don't have any idea how thick they were, but they were very, very slim.

I think I payed $118 each for them and even though they were very rough, they shot as good or better than any 9mm I have ever had and never a single failure that I can recall.

I've got the Springfield XDe because it's DA/SA but I rarely carry a single stack anyway, when I do it's usually a 1911 commander.