reasonable price, reliable conceal 9mm

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Personally I’d pay a little more and avoid Taurus, that’s personal bias from experience in the past but I’d consider the Ruger or something from another reliable manufacturer; S&W Shield (or plus), Sig 365, Glock 43 (or 43x or 48), Hellcat, etc.

I’ve seen some of the Shields and Glock 43s around pretty cheap with the higher capacity options being more in demand.
 
Atavar said:
If you are looking for an ultra compact check out the Beretta BU9. Less than an inch thick and very easily concealable. $400 new msrp and you should be able to find one used for less than $300.
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The APX Carry is essentially the same pistol. When the original APX Carry came out, I ordered up one of the frames from Beretta and put my Nano innards in it. (I had to talk Beretta into sending me a slide stop lever, since the Nano doesn't have one.)

There have been a few additional changes with the A1 version of the APX -- improved trigger, optics slot, etc. Personally, I wouldn't spend $400 on a Nano when you can get the APX for a little over $200. The only reason I can think of is that you might prefer the feel of the Nano in your hand -- the texturing on the APX frame is kind of aggressive. But in all other respects, the APX is a better pistol, IMO.
 
LiveLife said:
Have you "personally" shot G2C/G3/G3C recently, like within a year?

I have shot several G2Cs and would not avoid them and rather recommend them. ;)
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I’m sure they shoot fine, my issue in the past had more to do with durability than shootability, but I feel like I did note my bias.
 
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bdickens said:
1911s are some of the easiest pistols in the world to carry and conceal. If you can't do so in anything more than a speedo, then you ain't trying.
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It's not the size, it's the weight. I'm one of those without enough butt to support a gun on my hips. Shoulder holster maybe, but not in a Texas summer. For me, the only choice of those mentioned above would be the Ruger LC9s. Barely pocketable, slim and reliable. If it had night sights it would be even better.
 
bdickens said:
1911s are some of the easiest pistols in the world to carry and conceal. If you can't do so in anything more than a speedo, then you ain't trying.
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True, but the steel ones are awful heavy. If my back would tolerate it any longer I’d probably still be carrying one.

Aluminum frame 9mm or .38 super are pretty good though.
 
Rex B said:
It's not the size, it's the weight. I'm one of those without enough butt to support a gun on my hips. Shoulder holster maybe, but not in a Texas summer. For me, the only choice of those mentioned above would be the Ruger LC9s. Barely pocketable, slim and reliable. If it had night sights it would be even better.
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JR24 said:
True, but the steel ones are awful heavy. If my back would tolerate it any longer I’d probably still be carrying one.

Aluminum frame 9mm or .38 super are pretty good though.
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I can see y'all's point. They are kinda heavy; I can imagine how injury or disability can affect what is carryable. I did have to downsize from a G19 while recovering from hernia surgery.
 
Rex B said:
Barely pocketable,
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People keep saying this, and I don't understand it. Out of all my clothes I have one pair of jeans it won't go in. But for that matter, it's a squeeze getting my cell phone in those jeans.

I comfortably pocket-carried the LC9s ever since it came out in dress and casual clothes... still do, occasionally.
 
LiveLife said:
Have you "personally" shot G2C/G3/G3C recently, like within a year?

I have shot several G2Cs and would not avoid them and rather recommend them. ;)
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Have they improved the trigger? I had a Millenium PT-111 G2. The trigger reminded me of the cap guns I had when I was a kid. Sproing! Have they changed the finish the one I had was blued. It was a weak finish but the trigger was the deal breaker. About the only poly Taurus I would be interested in now would be the GX4 but I haven't seen much about them lately.
 
Mike J said:
Have they improved the trigger?
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It seems like it.

I used to hate Taurus DAO triggers but then came Mil Pro PT145 with light and smooth SA/DA trigger which allowed me to release the striker without moving the front sight.

When coworker bought a G2C for his wife 2 years ago, trigger was an improvement over my PT145 SA/DA.

Then last month, G2C/G3/GX4 triggers I tried at the store and at the range while visiting my sister's family were further improvement that were smooth and lighter with predictable striker release without moving the front sight and quicker reset for fast follow up shots. G2C triggers were best SA/DA striker triggers I tried only bested by Walther PPQ/PPS and better than factory Glock/M&P triggers.
 
LiveLife said:
It seems like it.

I used to hate Taurus DAO triggers but then came Mil Pro PT145 with light and smooth SA/DA trigger which allowed me to release the striker without moving the front sight.

When coworker bought a G2C for his wife 2 years ago, trigger was an improvement over my PT145 SA/DA.

Then last month, G2C/G3/GX4 triggers I tried at the store and at the range while visiting my sister's family were further improvement that were smooth and lighter with predictable striker release without moving the front sight and quicker reset for fast follow up shots. G2C triggers were best SA/DA striker triggers I tried only bested by Walther PPQ/PPS and better than factory Glock/M&P triggers.
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Interesting. The GX4 trigger should be better as it is SA. But the SA/DA they used in the G2 was not to my liking at all. The weight of the trigger wasn't the issue. The inconsistency was. I hope they are better.
 
Mike J said:
Have they improved the trigger? I had a Millenium PT-111 G2. The trigger reminded me of the cap guns I had when I was a kid. Sproing! Have they changed the finish the one I had was blued. It was a weak finish but the trigger was the deal breaker. About the only poly Taurus I would be interested in now would be the GX4 but I haven't seen much about them lately.
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I have an original PT111 that my stepfather gave to me because it's unreliable. I'll send it back to the factory eventually. The trigger is so bad that I haven't worked up the enthusiasm yet. I would never buy one,

I also own two more recent pistols in the series, but still kind of old. Maybe early 2000's? One is in 32acp caliber (for real) and one is 45acp. The pistols go bang and the triggers are acceptable. The triggers are meh, but where else ya gonna get pistols that size in those calibers for next to nothing? They're okay.

I owned a later-model G2C just a few years ago. I think I bought it NiB for dirt cheap. I didn't realize it would be the exact same size as my G26. They were equally accurate and fit my hand equally well. The Taurus even had nice mags, IIRC. But the Taurus trigger was still kinda mushy. It wasn't terrible at all, but I preferred the Glock trigger. I kept the Glock and let the Taurus go, but it was a pretty good pistol.

My point being that in my experience the more recent models have been improvements over the older ones.

If you're going to buy a Taurus or other inexpensive but functional pistol, pay the extra $20 for the stainless steel slide. I've owned some otherwise good pistols that had poor quality finishes. I always get stainless now if possible. As seen below:

Taurus Model PT132

Taurus Model PT132


Taurus PT145 45acp

Taurus PT145 45acp

 
Mike J said:
Have they improved the trigger? I had a Millenium PT-111 G2. The trigger reminded me of the cap guns I had when I was a kid. Sproing! Have they changed the finish the one I had was blued. It was a weak finish but the trigger was the deal breaker. About the only poly Taurus I would be interested in now would be the GX4 but I haven't seen much about them lately.
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The trigger on the Gx4 is very good, consistent with a fast reset.

Mike J said:
Interesting. The GX4 trigger should be better as it is SA. But the SA/DA they used in the G2 was not to my liking at all. The weight of the trigger wasn't the issue. The inconsistency was. I hope they are better.
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The 'double strike' triggers on the Millennium and G2 and G3 are long and mushy, but serviceable once you get used to them. The Gx4's trigger is a huge improvement.
 
Mike J said:
Have they improved the trigger? I had a Millenium PT-111 G2. The trigger reminded me of the cap guns I had when I was a kid. Sproing! Have they changed the finish the one I had was blued. It was a weak finish but the trigger was the deal breaker. About the only poly Taurus I would be interested in now would be the GX4 but I haven't seen much about them lately.
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The G3C has a better trigger than the G2C and has better all steel Glock-compatible sights. The G3C has now a more durable tenifer finish (there's also a stainless steel slide version of both the G2C and the G3C). In my opinion there's no one single reason nowadays to buy a G2C over a G3C.
 
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I agree with everyone else that price should not be your first concern. Reliability should be number one. If it malfunctions you could be screwed. Next in importance is a good fit for your hand. Then it needs to be a gun that YOU can shoot well. It needs to be concealable with your manner of dress. Then it still needs to have sufficient capacity for your situation. Then you need a good holster that will work with your preferred carry method and reliably retain your pistol, even in a tussle with someone.

You may even need to modify the gun with different sights. I'm almost ready to replace my sights with another brand. In my case I needed to make minor modifications to the handgrip, beavertail, and magazine floorplates to make it comfortable in my hands.

For maximum reliability I believe a striker fired pistol with the trigger hinged at the top and a manual trigger safety is best. Other styles of pistols can be subject to contamination issues of many kinds. For concealed carry you probably want a trigger with a heavier pull. For immediate maximum reliability you might need to do some internal polishing. I wasn't willing to wait until I had fired 5,000 rounds or more to polish the internals, so I polished the critical internal parts myself. This included polishing the stripper rail, the breech face, the left adjacent wall to the breech face, the extractor, and the trigger linkage contact points. Also consider what type of lubrication you need for your environment. I live in MinneSnowta, the land of the proud and frozen, so for me it's synthetic lubes that will work in subzero weather.

The P365X and P365XL fit MY needs better than all of the others that I have seen so far. YMMV.
 
I would say either are good budget guns, but I'd be a bit careful about the Taurus.

First, I am not a Taurus basher. My first handgun was a Taurus 82. Around 20 or so years ago, there was only one dedicated Taurus forum. The admin/management long since drifted away so it was likely a matter of time before it disappeared (being "orphaned," it was likely whomever had paid for the bandwidth and URL would eventually let it lapse). So, back in the MSN Groups days, I started a fan group (Taurus Talk) so us Taurus fans would have a place to talk. Heck, I have had quite a few guns through my hands over the intervening years (some quite nice), and I still have three Taurus handguns (and two Taurus era Rossi revolvers). Two of the Taurus actually work, and one of the Rossi works properly all the time. I will probably be adding another 856 to my lineup soon now that MD is essentially shall issue under Bruen (I have a 2" 856UL, and I want a 3" Defender with night sights).

So, when I say be careful, it is not out of hate for the brand. Test it a little more thoroughly than you would another gun and keep a close eye on it possibly developing issues in the future. I won't automatically say to get something else since 2 Taurus G2 or G3s will run about the price of one Glock or S&W M&P (and your chances of getting two bad ones are pretty low). Just keep an eye out for trouble.

The Ruger should be a good gun. Overall, they are reliable (though I have had two duds- a P89 in the 90s was reliable but not accurate, a P345 was accurate but not reliable, but the overall reputation is good, and my LCP is great).

If you can go up on the budget, a Glock, S&W or similar will probably be better than both. If you can't, but want to broaden your options, I liked my Bersa Thunder .380 I had years ago, and their 9mms seem to be relatively well liked.
 
I am a big CZ fan but have not bought one in ten years. But last week, I won a new CZ p-10 subcompact on Gunbroker for $302 and free shipping. It's as great as my P01 and others. Points perfectly, wonderful ergonomics, very accurate, great trigger, and completely reliable. (I had to do a little work on the trigger shoe safety, though). CZ is also offering a 50 dollar rebate on P-10's until september. It's, by far, the best $250 dollar pistol I expect to ever buy.
 
Otto said:
For me, that wouldn't be a big factor in choosing a gun. But I have had a pistol confiscated by a TX Game Warden. I eventually negotiated a plea with the judge and it was returned 5 months later....the Warden wasn't happy about it either.
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Looks like you know some of the same TX game wardens I have over the years.
 
JR24 said:
Personally I’d pay a little more and avoid Taurus, that’s personal bias from experience in the past but I’d consider the Ruger or something from another reliable manufacturer; S&W Shield (or plus), Sig 365, Glock 43 (or 43x or 48), Hellcat, etc.

I’ve seen some of the Shields and Glock 43s around pretty cheap with the higher capacity options being more in demand.
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I know the Sig 365 has knocked some of the luster off the Glock 43, but I really like my 43, especially with the new Shield Arms 9rd mag. It fits easily in my shorts pocket or if I'm wearing jeans I often ankle carry it as a backup. In colder weather it slips easily into a jacket pocket.
My main defensive pistol is usually a .45 acp of some variety, often a Glock 36 or 30S, but the 43 is really a great little size to put in the pocket to check the mail or go to the convenience store.
 
I was in a local gunstore+range Sunday on the day of the mass shooting at Greenwood Park Mall at around 1pm. Walked out around 2:30, delay due to NICS with a Taurus GC3. They had it on sale and there is a $25 rebate from Taurus. Final price with rebate is 239+ tax. I have great difficulty loading these, not sure if the magazine springs are stiff or I'm old. May need a speed loader or loading assistance tool. It feels good and has a side and trigger toggle safety. They won't call it SA/DA just say 'repeat strike'. No decocker. 12+1 capacity. There is no slide release. For carry it's as ground smooth as a bar of dove soap but you'll need something to cover the lower rail teeth. They're clingy.
 
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