Looking for a conceal and carry 9mm for a lefty

[Moondoggy]

I'm a left hand shooter and a few years ago I purchased a Walter PPQ because this pistol allowed me to swap the clip release from one side to the other and the fact that the slide had releases on both sides as well that benefited me as a lefty. I love my PPQ but it seems a bit large and heavy for a conceal and carry weapon so I'm looking for some recommendations for a 9mm pistol that is smaller, lighter and has a smaller capacity clip then my PPQ but has a reversible clip release and slide release on both sides like my PPQ. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Bio]

I'm a left hand shooter and a few years ago I purchased a Walter PPQ because this pistol allowed me to swap the clip release from one side to the other and the fact that the slide had releases on both sides as well that benefited me as a lefty. I love my PPQ but it seems a bit large and heavy for a conceal and carry weapon so I'm looking for some recommendations for a 9mm pistol that is smaller, lighter and has a smaller capacity clip then my PPQ but has a reversible clip release and slide release on both sides like my PPQ. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Almost everyone here knows more than me, but it sounds like a 5th gen Glock (possibly other generations) would suit you. The G19 is about the same size as your ppq, I think, so maybe the Glock 26 or 48.

[JCN]

Unfortunately the 48 is single sided slide release.
When I injured my right wrist and was shooting lefty, I converted a number of guns to left sided magazine releases. But there are very few guns with ambi slide releases.

I found that if there was an extended slide release lever and I smoothed the engagement with a small file for easier release I could drop it pretty easily with my left trigger finger when I shifted the grip to drop the mag.

Seemed to open up a number of additional gun choices for me.

[omega9]

I'm a left hand shooter and a few years ago I purchased a Walter PPQ because this pistol allowed me to swap the clip release from one side to the other and the fact that the slide had releases on both sides as well that benefited me as a lefty. I love my PPQ but it seems a bit large and heavy for a conceal and carry weapon so I'm looking for some recommendations for a 9mm pistol that is smaller, lighter and has a smaller capacity clip then my PPQ but has a reversible clip release and slide release on both sides like my PPQ. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I am in no way a top tier shooter but I am a lefty as well.

Have you looked at the VP9SK with the paddle release? It is a truly ambidextrous gun, slide release on both sides and mag release on both sides.

Do you have to break your grip to release the mag with your thumb? I do, so I find using my pointer finger to drop the mag when the release is on the left side isn’t much different than breaking my grip to use my thumb when the release is on the right side. Even when I shoot my VP9 with ambi levers I use my pointer finger. It also makes it easier when I switch to a pistol that doesn’t have an ambi release since I am already use to using my pointer finger.

Again, I’m not a top tier shooter, just a lefty with short thumbs.

[EPF]

Sig P365 seems to meet your criteria

[RJ]

Welcome to p-f from a fellow lefty.

I've been learning here since 2014. I got a lot of feedback on options for a carry gun in my Training Journal. I got used to right handed features on guns a while ago; I don't think it has any effect on my shooting.

Couple questions?

How do you conceal carry the Walther now? What holster and belt do you use? You put a lot of emphasis on the magazine release being moved. How does it work out if you have to use a normal, right handed gun? Is it a complete no go due to your circumstances, or can you manage?

Same for the slide release; I get that you prefer the slide release/lock on the other side. Is that to enable you to release the slide to charge a round? Or is that to lock the slide back as a first step in clearing the gun for a field strip? I ask because if you can get past these things (using your strong hand to eject the mag, slingshoting to rack the slide, and an over hand method to lock the slide back) you will open up more possibilities to include "all" guns, not just those that are lefty-friendly.


Out of the guns I've personally owned and shot (a lot), in the search for the "Perfect" carry gun, I would suggest looking at:

Glock 19 Gen 5
Glock 43X
Glock 48
Sig Sauer P365
Sig Sauer P365XL

I did not have much luck with stubby double stack guns, for carry. The two I owned were a Glock 26 Gen 5 and an HK P30SK. I believe there are much better options for carry guns these days than these two, nowadays. One other gun that did not work well for me as a lefty in particular, was a Walther PPS M2. It was very heavy for the round capacity, and the non-reversible mag release meant It ejected the mag while I was carrying it, twice. No bueno for a lefty.

Anyway, after 14 gun transactions over 7 years, I currently carry a Glock 48. It is reliable and accurate. It has no lefty friendly features. I rack the slide overhand, and swap mags using my strong hand middle finger. I have to lock the slide back using a reverse hand placement. It is skinny and lightweight, easly concealing AIWB in a Dark Star Gear Hitchhiker. I have only put on decent sights and a Tau Industries Striker Control Device. I can place rounds in a 1" square at 5 yards, and score above 95 with 10 rounds in an NRA B-8 at 10 yards in 10 seconds with it. I am hugely satisfied with it as a carry gun.

Good luck!

[Blades]

Have you seen the Handgun Hero (https://www.handgunhero.com/compare/walther-ppq-m1-vs-glock-g26-gen5) website?

[Rex G]

Welcome, to a fellow left-hander. :)

My favorite lefty auto-pistol experience has been with my SIG P229 pistols, both de-cockers and DAKs. I have aged-out of wanting to shoot .40 S&W, so, my one remaining P229 may become a 9mm, someday, or, I may buy a 9mm P229 or P226. (I was mandated to use .40 S&W, as a duty cartridge, for a number of years.) I find it very easy, for my personal left index finger, to use the magazine release. Others’ personal left index fingers may have different experiences. I preferred that the slide stop be out of my left thumb’s way. I found the P229 to be a “best lefty pistol.” (I would rather have used a P226, but, for a number of years, the P229 was the only SIG approved for duty use.) A problem with long-term commitment to “classic” SIGs, however, is future customer support.

When my chief OK’ed 9mm duty pistols, in 2015, I switched to Gen4 Glocks. Excellent lefty pistols, for me, except that the mag release button is not quite as accessible to my personal left index finger, as is the case with SIGs. With my recently-acquired Gen5 Glocks, I do not switch the mag release buttons around, and that darned ambidextrous slide release gets in my left thumb’s way. I may grind the protruding part, after I am certain I want to keep the pistols. (The pandemic situation has been keeping me away from shooting ranges, so I have not fully vetted these newer Glocks.)

Conceptually, the Walther paddle magazine release is appealing. The original version of the Walther PPS checked plenty of boxes, but, I never got around to buying one, before the version 2 arrived, with the push-button mag release. When pre-owned early ones appear at the local gun store, they tend to be chambered for the .40 S&W. I may yet find my well-preserved first-version PPS 9mm.

FWIW, I am left-handed, but right-armed, meaning that I throw righty, and the way I was trained to draw then-mandated heavy duty revolvers, from then-mandated low-slung duty rigs, was not unlike throwing underhanded, so a right-handed draw felt natural. The right hip being more accessible when seated in patrol vehicles, as well as personal vehicles, it made sense to carry at 0300, all the time. Of course, it made sense, and still makes sense, to train each hand to shoot well, if defensive shooting is the goal. I carried “primary” on my right hip, and carried the second gun for lefty access. Age has not been as kind to my right hand as my left hand, so, in retirement, I am becoming more of a left-hand shooter, firing relatively much less right-handed.

[fly out]

It depends on how big is still small enough for you. If you get into the compact form factor, you can look at Beretta PX4 compacts and APX compacts, numerous HKs, M&P9 2.0, lots of options.

[Moondoggy]

Right now I don't have a Florida conceal and carry permit but I've been thinking about going thru the training and if I do I would want to go through the range portion with a firearm that's more compact than my PPQ.

I was looking at some video's yesterday and was wondering if the Springfield Arms HellCat would meet my needs?

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Had Glocks and 1911s for years. For the former, manipulating the controls with my trigger finger was no problem and now ingrained. Locking the slide back is not a problem with my right hand. I slingshot the slide with no problems. With the 1911s, I just installed ambi safeties but used the trigger finger for everything else.

[farscott]

HK P30SK might fit the bill. The dual paddle magazine releases are very nice as are the dual slide releases.

[RJ]

Right now I don't have a Florida conceal and carry permit but I've been thinking about going thru the training and if I do I would want to go through the range portion with a firearm that's more compact than my PPQ.

I was looking at some video's yesterday and was wondering if the Springfield Arms HellCat would meet my needs?

Maybe, maybe not:

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?38968-Springfield-Hellcat

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?45115-HELLCAT-returned-Warranty-issue-still-unclear-to-me https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?38968-Springfield-Hellcat&highlight=Hellcat

[Moondoggy]

Have you seen the Handgun Hero (https://www.handgunhero.com/compare/walther-ppq-m1-vs-glock-g26-gen5) website?

Thanks for point me to the HandgunHero site. I put a bunch of handguns mentioned in this thread and the Helcat, the Sig P365 and the Glock 43 are pretty close to the size I'm thinking about. All 3 of them have reversible releases but non of them have a release on the side for a lefty. Most of the video's i looked at though never used the release and were just racking the slide. There's an indoor range that has different guns that you can try out and I'm going to see if they have any of these in stock that I can try out. Interesting that the Hellcat can be purchased with a red dot sight for only $30. Lots of features on this model so I'm leaning in that direction now.

[alamo5000]

I'm a left hand shooter and a few years ago I purchased a Walter PPQ because this pistol allowed me to swap the clip release from one side to the other and the fact that the slide had releases on both sides as well that benefited me as a lefty. I love my PPQ but it seems a bit large and heavy for a conceal and carry weapon so I'm looking for some recommendations for a 9mm pistol that is smaller, lighter and has a smaller capacity clip then my PPQ but has a reversible clip release and slide release on both sides like my PPQ. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I don't know any particular ambi pistols that are verified GTG. I would though recommend watching a lot of Aaron Cowan's videos on Youtube. His channel is called Sage Dynamics. He's left handed and goes into that from time to time.

That said it is not something that I have to deal with myself but I know several left handed shooters that are way better than the 99% of the rest of us. I think if you talk to them though typically you won't get much sympathy. I'm not saying that to be rude but every time it comes up that I've seen they tell people how to adapt and overcome and then they don't accept excuses for failure.

Tough yes. Effective, yes also. They do have some training techniques for left handers which in my opinion is a better way than trying to adapt the totality of the gun for being left handed. It's sort of like trying to teach someone how to shoot with a red dot on a rifle for the first time. They always want to squint and close one eye. It feels awkward at first but then becomes second nature as you practice.

[Blades]

Thanks for point me to the HandgunHero site. I put a bunch of handguns mentioned in this thread and the Helcat, the Sig P365 and the Glock 43 are pretty close to the size I'm thinking about. All 3 of them have reversible releases but non of them have a release on the side for a lefty. Most of the video's i looked at though never used the release and were just racking the slide. There's an indoor range that has different guns that you can try out and I'm going to see if they have any of these in stock that I can try out. Interesting that the Hellcat can be purchased with a red dot sight for only $30. Lots of features on this model so I'm leaning in that direction now.

Glad to hear the website was useful. Keep reading pistol-forum and you'll find others who have vetted the handguns you are considering.

[pangloss]

Definitely give the Beretta APX a close look. I bought a Centurion (15 rounds) and replaced the grip module with a compact one to make it a 13-round gun. It's about midway between a Glock 26 and a Glock 19. The slide release is ambi, and the mag release is easy to swap from one side to the other. I have a holster on order from JMCK. I'm a pretty dedicated Glock shooter, but if I were going to carry another brand of striker pistol, it'd definitely be the APX. For whatever reason, the APX sells for a good bit less than pistols from other top brands. They are the best values on the market right now.

[orionz06]

What holster and belt are you using?

[Mark D]

I'm a left hand shooter and a few years ago I purchased a Walter PPQ because this pistol allowed me to swap the clip release from one side to the other....

What's a clip?

I kid, we know what you mean. But seriously, it's a magazine. Not trying to be snarky, but if you are a student of the pistol, using correct terminology is a good place to start.

That said, welcome to the forum. You may want to look at the HK P2000 or P2000SK. Similar to the P30 mentioned above, they're fully ambi.

[psalms144.1]

As others have pointed out, neither the P365, G43 (43X/48) or Hellcat have ambi slide releases. If that is a must have for you, I'd look hard at the Gen5 G26 - both for ambi controls and general shootability. Yes, it's quite a bit thicker than the 365 or 43, but it will give you the controls you're looking for.

The P30sk is another great option, fully ambi slide, but good luck finding one, and they're even larger/heavier than the G26. Add to that the fact that the decocking lever is not ambi, and you get into a whole different set of issues.

[Fendter]

I’m a lefty and carry a P365 SAS. I also enjoy my G19 and VP9. Have owned many guns over the past 30 years and everything I have is left hand friendly. I don’t care if the slide release is only on the left side. It’s a non-issue for me.

[jamautry]

I am a lefty. Like you, I started out looking for ambi guns. It turns out that with a little practice I can run any gun by using my left index finger to activate the mag release and slide release.

The setup I have used for years now is a gen 4 glock 19 with Dave Spaulding's bullet forward slide release. I can work the gun as fast, if not faster than a right hander can.

For an ambi specific gun, I would take a look at S&W M&P.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk