I've carried my trusty Shield 1.0 for almost 8 years. I recently acquired a Ruger Max 9 to try out carrying with an optic and I liked my Shield 1.0 so much that I bought a Shield Plus PC. I like all three guns. I've shot my friend's Hellcat and P365 as well. I also have my G17 on my CCW and occasionally carry it but it's a bit uncomfortable when sitting down or driving, the handle digs into my side. But as far as shooting, drawing and accuracy, the G17 is soooo much easier, smoother and quicker than my subcompacts. I have medium sized hands and long fingers and my friends Hellcat and 365 would be useless to me as a carry gun, the grips are so tiny that I can barely fit it in my hand and when I do, the gun is swimming around, hard to get a good grip with the primary hand and the support palm doesn't even touch the gun, just the fingers on the primary. It's not a good grip.
I think we've reached the same point with sub compact CCW pistols that we reached with cell phones. Remember the older days when we all had flip phones and candybar phones? They reached a point where some of the models were just too small, you couldn't even manipulate or use them to make a call without almost dropping them. The earpiece and mouthpiece were so close together that your mouth was almost too far from the mouthpiece when you had the phone to your ear. I think sub compact pistol mania is at the same point, we went too small and now the trend is going back to the more compact size, rather than sub/micro compact.
I'm seriously considering adding a G19, Shadow Systems MR920 or a Walther PDP Compact with the 4.25" barrel to my CCW next time I am able to. Do you have a subcompact CCW and are coming to the realization that a compact instead of a subcompact would actually be a better carry gun? I shoot my subcompacts ok, but trying to quickly get a good grip is a three ring circus because I have to exaggerate how far into the trigger guard I must place my trigger finger in order to close the gap between my support hand palm and the side of the pistol. With the G17, I can just present the gun and my hands fall right into place, no gyrations required. The Glock grip is fat on the 17 and 19 but at least it gives your grip palm and the supporting hand palm a place to go. With the subcompacts, I have to work at it, which eats up precious time and I do not shoot them as accurately as a larger pistol, even with practice.
Thoughts? Anyone else thinking of dumping their subcompact CCW guns for something a mid size like a G19? It's all fine to have a smaller, lighter, less bulky carry gun but if you don't shoot it as well, is comfort everything?