9mm pocket pistol

Daleo8803

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Ok guys I need a new carry gun for when I don't want to carry my G19. It needs to be small enough to fit in my front pocket of my tru spec pants. There lots of options out there now. M&p shield, sig p365, glock 43, db9, etc. What would you choose? I have had a shield and a db9. Liked them both but sold the shield and gave the db9 to my preacher.

Thought about the sig p365 but heard it has some problems. The G43x is out but can you pocket carry it?

Any others I should look into? Thanks
 
G43. Hands down. Been carrying it in the front pocket for a couple of years.

Had a P365, XDS, CW380, LC380, LC9s, LCP Custom, LCP II.

Prefer the G43.
 
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Im not a glock guy so LC9S for me. The striker trigger is among the best I have ever felt. Smallest pistol that I actually enjoy shooting more than a mag at a time out of.
 
I also carry the G43 daily in tru spec pants. It fits comfortably and I carry an extra magazine on each thigh. 19 rounds in three magazines versus 46 rounds but it fits in your pocket. I use the Sticky holster .
 
Have a Keltec PF9 I've pocket carried quite a bit since 2009. Looks awful, painful to shoot often, but it's never missed a beat, is soooo slim and flat that I simply cannot find a reason to take it out of my rotation.

I've heard all the horror stories about others who didn't like the PF9 but just count me as one satisfied owner. Mine has met all expectations I've placed upon it.
 
Im not a glock guy so LC9S for me. The striker trigger is among the best I have ever felt. Smallest pistol that I actually enjoy shooting more than a mag at a time out of.
It is a smooth trigger to be sure and I had both the LC380 and LC9s. Same frames. I love how skinny and easy to carry they were. My objection was even as smooth as the LC9s tigger was, I had no idea when the trigger was going to break. I want to know the split second before I send a jacketed hollow point downrange at 1000FPS and the wee Ruger would never tell me. I also found that several other pistols were more accurate for me. That was when I finally sold it.

All that said, I think they are rock solid reliable, and I miss how easy it was to carry.
 
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It seems like the issues have been worked out of the P365 as of July. If you get a recent mfg I think you will be fine.

I have had a 43, lc9s, Kahr CM9. Out of those only the CM9 did well for me pocket carrying. The others were just to big for me.
In the winter pocket carry is not possibile in jeans, but when I go to my shorts I think I can try pocket carrying my P365. I prefer iwb because when sitting I can access the gun faster.
 
I usually pocket carry my sig p938
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Hands down Sig 365. Been carrying mine for almost a year now, over 4000 trouble free rounds fired including 3 matches. Shoots like a much bigger gun than it is. Pocket carry in shorts in the summer, IWB in the winter. Absolutely nothing else combines the size, capacity, and shootability it has.

That said, try as many as you can and carry what you actually shoot the best.
 
I am a Glock fanboy to the core, my daily carry is a G19 and I compete with a G17 & G45.

I owned a G43 for about a year and added Tango Down +2 extended magazine bases to the mags I carried for reloads and carried the stock 6 round mag in the gun, it had Ameriglo CAP night sights, a Talon rubber grip wrap was on the gun, it had a Ghost connector and an IDP trigger shoe installed and the gun shot like a laser beam, it vanished while in an IWB holster and I had zero issues with pocket carry as well, but at the end of the day I only carried the gun maybe 2 times a month so I sold it.

My wife and daughter both carry the Shield 9mm and they as do I, love the gun. The Shield 9mm handles recoil like compact gun and all of us shoot then well, even with +P ammo, for IWB they melt away and are absurdly easy to carry, but for pocket carry I find the Shield to be a smidge too big when wearing jeans, it is doable if you’re wearing pants with larger pockets, cargo shorts is a non issue, but hell I can carry a G17 in my cargo shorts pocket lol.

I do not own a P365 but I have handled and shot one, in my opinion it “should” pocket carry exactly as well as the G43 and better than the Shield because it is just a bit smaller in all of the correct places to edge out the Shield for pocket carry.

If I were buying one of the three guns mentioned today for pocket carry it would be a P365 hands down, I think the Shield 9mm shoots the best out of the three guns and of the three I could shoot the Shield all day without any discomfort, the P356 is nearly as shootable with the G43 being just snappy enough to cause fatigue faster than the three.

With all of this said, all three of the guns I listed will all do the job extremely well but they each have a niche that they fill better than the others, so if pocket carry is your biggest concern I’d look to the P365 and the G43, again even though I’m a huge Fan of all things Glock I believe the P365 is a slightly better gun.
 
I don’t pocket carry. I do have the perfect pocket carry. And the the best ankle carry.

Colt Mustang Pocketlite. Check it out.
 
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I carried that little gun for a year and had 500 rounds through it with no issues. It's a TINY 9mm pistol. They had some issues in the beginning but they seem to have been fixed. I would buy another one.
 
kahr CM9, sig P365 or S&W442 for me.

CM9 is most comfy

P365 is a little on the heavy side with all of those extra booolits
 
Ok guys I need a new carry gun for when I don't want to carry my G19. ...
Given you carry a 19, I would think that the 43 would be the logical choice -- though I may be underthinking this. :)

An aside h/t to @BlackGun though -- I carried an OG Colt Mustang Pocketlite for years when I was in beach/pool type attire. Yeah, yeah, .380ACP blah blah blah. I wouldn't want to get shot with it.
 
kahr CM9, sig P365 or S&W442 for me.

CM9 is most comfy

P365 is a little on the heavy side with all of those extra booolits
Have you tried it with the 10 round magazine only loaded with 4? :D
 
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Conversations like this always grab my attention. I often have the need to “deep conceal” and have so far gotten away with an ankle holster and a j frame. But I have often wanted a true “pocket carry”.

But...I’ll probably see a nice model 19 or some other shooter on my list and get distracted again.


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Given you carry a 19, I would think that the 43 would be the logical choice -- though I may be underthinking this. :)

An aside h/t to @BlackGun though -- I carried an OG Colt Mustang Pocketlite for years when I was in beach/pool type attire. Yeah, yeah, .380ACP blah blah blah. I wouldn't want to get shot with it.
380 with defensive ammo is bad news for a criminal. At less than 16 ozs with loaded ammo it’s comcealable anywhere. I’ve not tried it in a g-string yet.
 
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If the criteria is 9mm in the pocket, gotta be smaller and lighter than most if you ask me.
Ruger LC9s
Kahr CM9/PM9 fit in my pockets on occasion
Beretta Nano fit in my pockets on occasion
Kimber Solo
Bondarms Bullpup
Certainly there are others, that may or may not be lighter in weight. If I was looking for something for the pockets - jackets, jeans/pants - I'd go for a small 380.
 
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The Sig p365 is the perfect size. Just note that with 10 +1 its does weight more than a G43, and if you have thin pockets or pants it can sag. I would prefer the G43 if this is a problem.

Seriously though...for pocket carry a G42 might be the trick. Its just not a 9mm.
 
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The Sig p365 is the perfect size. Just note that with 10 +1 its does weight more than a G43, and if you have thin pockets or pants it can sag. I would prefer the G43 if this is a problem.

Seriously though...for pocket carry a G42 might be the trick. Its just not a 9mm.
 
All of those you mentioned are still a little large for pocket carry. Something like the Kahr "M" series, Sig 938, Kimber Solo or the Beretta Nano will print less.
 
Low cost option is the SCCY. I had heard mixed reports and figured I would try one. Went to the range and put a couple hundred rounds through it without a hiccup. Cleaned it and went back and did it again. Same results. Accurate to the ranges it would be used at and carries 10 rounds of 9mm. Worth a look.
 
I shot a G43 and my dad's p365. Handled a kahr PM9, ruger LCP9S? and a shield 2.0. I liked the p365 the most. So I will be picking one up sometime next week. Thanks guys for all the help!
Another convert. :D
 
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When I here the term deep conceal I am reminded of when my wife has to take contraband out of vaginas before they go to jail. Damn cops always poking around where they shouldn’t.
 
I don’t pocket carry. I do have the perfect pocket carry. And the the best ankle carry.

Colt Mustang Pocketlite. Check it out.
Mine is a Colt Pony Pocketlite. For Pocket Carry, I prefer DAO, but I have no problem with a safety.

This year, I'm wearin' Duluth Firehose Pants, which fit my HK P7 in the front pocket jus' fine!
 
I carry 2 G43s every day every step outside the gates. They ride in Nemesis pocket holsters loaded with 147 Grain FMJFP.
If you want an inexpensive alternative [we finally found one all of us could agree] SCCY is good to go. $169. It Will Work.
 
Mine is a Colt Pony Pocketlite. For Pocket Carry, I prefer DAO, but I have no problem with a safety.

This year, I'm wearin' Duluth Firehose Pants, which fit my HK P7 in the front pocket jus' fine!
Nice pants but nicer HK gun. Very unique operating system.
 
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