Are Micro Compact 9mm Pistols the Best for Concealed Carry?

Semiautomatic 9mm pistols usually fit into four different categories. Standard-size guns, such as the Walther PDP and Glock 17, are best suited for open carry and competitive shooting. Most have barrels measuring in the neighborhood of 5.0 inches. Compact pistols, such as the Walther PDP Compact and Glock 19, have slightly shorter grips and barrels, making them noticeably smaller and a bit lighter weight without greatly reducing magazine capacity. Barrel length for those is usually 4.0 inches or close to it. All things considered, many citizens find a compact hard to beat for concealed carry. A subcompact, such as the Glock G26, is the same thickness as the larger G17, but a shorter barrel and a short, two-finger grip make it lighter and quite a bit smaller. Barrel lengths of the various brands and models of subcompact pistols usually range from 3.0 to 3.5 inches. While the magazine capacities of compact and subcompact guns are reduced, they often accept the magazines of their larger siblings. This is why the firepower of the stubby little Glock 26, which comes with a 10-round magazine, can be greatly increased by having a Glock 17-round or 33-round magazine on hand. Latest on the scene is the micro-compact, with the Springfield Armory Hellcat seemingly leading the race in popularity. Quite a bit thinner and lighter and with slightly shorter barrels than some subcompact pistols, micro-compacts are ideal for deep concealment, while those with double-stack magazines offer an abundance of firepower. As a bonus, the grips of those I have shot are long enough for a three-finger hold. Some are small and light enough for comfortable pocket carry. According to the owners or managers of eight gunshops within a 25-mile radius of my home, micro-compact pistols from various manufacturers rank among the best-selling 9mm handguns designed for personal-defense carry. Two shops currently rate them as the most popular among their customers. One shop owner said micro-compacts move out so fast that keeping them in stock is difficult.

The Trend

Kahr Arms is usually credited with starting the micro-compact trend in 1998 by introducing the K9 of locked-breech design. Weighing 18 ounces, it was large enough to be carried in a holster and small enough for pocket carry. Shortly after its introduction, the little pistol was approved by the NYPD for off-duty and backup carry. Civilians bought them by the thousands, and with the exception of minor improvements, the K9 is the same today as it was almost three decades ago. It was, and still is, a great little pistol, but on the very day it was introduced its seven-round magazine capacity made it outdated in light of the high-capacity trend in 9mm pistols. I believe the G43 introduced by Glock in 2014 was the first micro-compact 9mm pistol to have a polymer frame. To those of us who carried Glock pistols, the G43 was good news. The early-production sample I shot was accurate, had a decent trigger, felt good in my hand, and like all Glocks was totally reliable. But the sleek little pistol wilted on the vine due to a magazine that held no more rounds than the Kahr K9. From a practical point of view, the G43 was, and still is, capable of handling most serious personal-defense confrontations, but among most who buy guns today, single-stack magazines have been shoved aside by a demand for those capable of holding more shots between reloads. It is far better to have more rounds than needed than to not have enough. I will add that magazine capacity for the newer Glock G43X is 10 rounds, and while it is only an ounce or so heavier than the G43, it is larger and a bit thicker.

SIG SAUER showed Glock what could be done with a polymer-frame micro-compact pistol in 2017 by introducing the P365. A wonderful little handgun, it went on to become extremely successful and is what later guns of its type are often compared to today. When introduced, the P365 came with two 10-round magazines, and that was it. It still arrives with those same magazines, but SIG SAUER now offers extended versions that hold 12 and 15 rounds. The latter magazine increases pistol height from 4.3 inches to 5.5 inches and is most often carried as backup. For those who wish to carry even more rounds for backup, the 17-round magazine of the larger P365 XMacro works just fine in the standard P365. My wife carried a Glock 26 for quite a few years, but upon shooting a P365, she immediately switched because it is lighter, more compact, and more accurate in her hands. A lefty, she also appreciates its reversible magazine catch. She mostly carries the little pistol in a Del handbag from Galco, which has a separate, easily accessed zippered pocket containing a holster. When hiking or during other activities where a purse is not practical, a DeSantis Mini Scabbard belt holster keeps the P365 quite secure while weighing only 2.2 ounces. Phyllis practices drawing and firing from both.

I also have switched to a micro-compact for most of my carry. The Glock 19 used to be my favorite, but I was won over by the then-new Springfield Hellcat while putting it through its paces for a 2020 report in Shooting Times, so I bought the little gun. The Shield RMSc red-dot sight it wore during those tests is still going strong and is only on its second battery. The holsters I mostly use are a CrossBreed MiniTuck for IWB carry and a Wright Leather Works Predator for OWB carry. The Hellcat comes with 11-round and 13-round magazines, with 15- and 17-rounders available from Springfield. Most of today’s micro-compact pistols are available with an optic-ready slide. Some offer the option of having one already attached. Wearing its Shield RMSc red-dot sight, my Springfield Hellcat is only slightly taller than my Glock 19 with its factory sights. Light weight combined with a short sight radius along with a bit more recoil can make a micro-compact more challenging to shoot accurately, but if trigger quality equals that of the SIG SAUER P365 and Springfield Hellcat, shooter accuracy at typical defense distances can be equal to that of a larger and heavier gun. This assumes the owner of a micro-compact is willing to head to the range and become accustomed to shooting it.

Shootability

To compare the “shootabilibty” of our Springfield Hellcat and SIG SAUER P365 with the larger Glock 19, I first rapid-fired 10-shot groups at the 5.5-inch bulls of Dirty Bird targets placed 15 yards away. All shots from the three guns were in the bull, but average group size was smaller with the Hellcat due to its red-dot sight. A good supply of Wilson Combat ammo loaded with a 147-grain FMJ at 900 fps was on hand, so I used it. I then ran each gun through several IDPA classifier stages at multiple target distances, ranging from eight to 20 yards. Round counts per stage ranged from 10 to 21. The center “A” zone of an IDPA target is eight inches in diameter, so all shots were kept there. Shooting protocol included two-hand hold; strong hand only; weak hand only; head shots; and shooting around, under, and over various barricade designs from the standing and kneeling positions. A few steel plates and Pepper poppers got knocked over. All draws were from concealment. When my overall scores were compared, the Glock edged out the SIG by a small margin, not because I was more accurate with it but because my times were a bit slower with the smaller pistol. The Hellcat won the match simply because its red-dot sight made me both quicker and more accurate than with the other two guns. The slide of the P365 is machined for quick and easy installation of a red-dot sight, and if it had worn one during the IDPA shootout, my scores with it would surely have been as good with it as with the Hellcat.

When occasionally offering shooting instructions to relatives and close friends, one thing I always emphasize is the lighter a recoil-operated pistol is, the firmer the grip must be in order for the gun to function reliably. Holding it with a limp wrist is out. When grasping a lightweight gun with a two-hand hold, a firm rearward pull by the front hand resisted by an equal forward push by the strong hand prevents gun malfunctions. It also steadies the sights and reduces the effect of slight flinching. Each practice session should also include gripping the gun firmly and shooting both strong hand only and weak hand only. Trigger quality varies considerably among 9mm handguns of all sizes, so before deciding on a micro-compact, visit as many gunshops as possible and do a comparison of various brands. The owner of the gunshop where we purchased Phyllis’s P365 placed five different guns on the counter and allowed her to dry fire them until she decided which felt best to her. And while its trigger was the main reason Phyllis chose the SIG over the others, balance, fit, and feel also are important, and she was quite happy there as well. Depending on the 9mm Luger ammunition used, velocity differences between 3.0- and 4.0-inch barrels can vary as much as 75 to 100 fps, so choosing ammunition that delivers the desired bullet expansion and penetration for personal defense from a short barrel is important. As an example, Hornady 115-grain Critical Defense is a better choice than Hornady 135-grain Critical Duty because bullet expansion is much better from a 3.0-inch barrel. Given a choice between Federal ammo loaded with the 135-grain Hydra-Shok Deep and the 124-grain HST, I would go with the latter.

I should mention that the Ammo Quest guy used a pistol with a 3.0-inch barrel to fire dozens of 9mm Luger factory loads into 10-percent calibrated ordnance gelatin clad in four layers of 16-ounce denim material. The FBI test protocol for such requires 12 to 18 inches of penetration along with acceptable bullet expansion. Top performers in those tests were Hornady Critical Defense with the 115-grain FTX, Federal Premium with the 124-grain HSTHP, and Speer Gold Dot with the 124-grain GDHP. He did not test Wilson Combat +P ammo with the 124-grain GDHP bullet that I have on hand, but velocities are the same for it and the Speer ammo, so performance should be the same. At any rate, in the Ammo Quest tests, penetration for the three loads ranged from 13 to 17 inches, and expansion and weight retention of the three bullets was picture-book perfect. A friend who performed the same test with Federal Punch ammo loaded with a 124-grain JHP found that it pretty much duplicated Federal 124-grain HST performance from the 3.0-inch barrel of his SCCY DVG-1RD. Respective muzzle velocities of the Hornady, Wilson Combat, and the two Federal loads in our SIG P365 pistol are 1,067 fps, 1,103 fps, 1,079 fps, and 1,086 fps. I will close by mentioning that some companies are offering new versions of their original micro-compact pistols, but they typically are larger and heavier. We have shot the Springfield Hellcat Pro and the SIG SAUER P365 XMacro, and while they are very nice guns, we prefer the original versions for concealed carry. Is a 9mm micro-compact pistol for you? The answer to that question can likely be found at gunshops that have adjacent indoor ranges. Two of those in my area have rental handguns of various sizes and calibers so customers can give several a try prior to purchasing.

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