Why aren't there better sub-compact DA/SA options?

[Navin Johnson]

Couldn't empty my wallet fast enough if S&W made and supported the 39xx guns again.

[Duelist]

Is that a Beretta in the avatar?

You know it is!!

[Guerrero]

Tda sucks and the die hard sub compact guy isn’t going to train enough to master it


And tda sucks.

Wow... tell us how you *really* feel, Mr. "I earned a FAST coin with a TDA pistol."

[MolonLabe416]

SiG P225a1. Which is of course now discontinued.

[MattyD380]

I've never actually shot a PPK, but I keep hearing about how the DA trigger is absurdly heavy and the slide will slice open your hand, plus .380 is the biggest caliber they come in, so overall not a great option IMO. YMMV of course.

I found my PPK to be very accurate (i.e., I found it easy to shoot really tight groups). But it was quirky... dropped mags when shooting. Had a FTF when firing from a topped-off mag. And yes, the DA was horrible on my 1973 example... and it hurt to shoot. I sold it. Don't miss it. My guess is the new ones assembled in Forth Smith are better. But still... I think a PPK is probably just better suited to 7.65. And of course they're not offering that.

In my opinion, the Makarov PM is the best of the DA/SA blowbacks. My 1962 EG is every bit as accurate as my PPK, more reliable, more powerful and more comfortable to shoot. It's a little bigger than a PPK... but still very slender and concealable.

[RJ]

I no longer see a lot of point in subcompacts if we are talking about appendix carry, not to say there isn't value in overall small guns and thin guns though.

Yep.

There isn't a perceived, significant demand that would induce the manufacturers to pursue the engineering and marketing.

Yep.

Not sure I would agree with @Duke that TDA sucks. But the point about training with it, I’d agree with. At some higher than average skill level (above mine, that’s for sure) one can probably run one well. But few shooters are (say) A class or better, and there are fewer still Ernest Langdons out there.

There was a novice next to me at my last class shooting a TDA of some kind, Sig maybe. He was very proud of it. He could not get a first hit on target for nothing. At lunch he asked the instructor, what should I do? He was told ‘sell it and buy a modern pistol.”

Lastly, in the spirit of ‘lighting a candle’ I got a lot of good info out of this older thread from 2016:

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....-Trigger-Pulls

[Duelist]

I found my PPK to be very accurate (i.e., I found it easy to shoot really tight groups). But it was quirky... dropped mags when shooting. Had a FTF when firing from a topped-off mag. And yes, the DA was horrible on my 1973 example... and it hurt to shoot. I sold it. Don't miss it. My guess is the new ones assembled in Forth Smith are better. But still... I think a PPK is probably just better suited to 7.65. And of course they're not offering that.

In my opinion, the Makarov PM is the best of the DA/SA blowbacks. My 1962 EG is every bit as accurate as my PPK, more reliable, more powerful and more comfortable to shoot. It's a little bigger than a PPK... but still very slender and concealable.

A 3913 is every bit as thin and concealable as a PM, and has a much nicer trigger, and is more powerful.

[Cory]

Tda sucks and the die hard sub compact guy isn’t going to train enough to master it


And tda sucks.

Dude, I love you.

I'm over here thinking deep thoughts about my 92s, people management triggers, and exactly how to get the absolute most out of my guns...

And then you bring reality. Work fuckin' harder. Regardless of gun, I think the "train enough to master it" is the bigger part of that sentence. If you train enough to acheive mastery, I think the tool becomes largely irrelevant. I'm gonna keep working on it with my 92s cause they're what I have, what I like, and it's just financially smarter. But I need to be more honest with myself about what the goal is (mastery) and what training enough to get there actually looks like.

[MattyD380]

A 3913 is every bit as thin and concealable as a PM, and has a much nicer trigger, and is more powerful.

I wanted to love my 3913TSW. It carried great. Reliable. I just didn't shoot it that well. I've kinda wanted to get another one, to give it another shot. But... the P239 works well for me. Though it is slightly fatter.

Still, I think the blowback/"spring-around-the-barrel" architecture of Maks and PPKs gives them an inherent dimensional advantage. In a Kahr holster, my PM is great to carry. And... so is the Kahr. But we're talking DA/SA...

[Zincwarrior]

A 3913 is every bit as thin and concealable as a PM, and has a much nicer trigger, and is more powerful.

Are these made and imported to the US?