Sleeper Pistols: Underrated, Underpriced, and Readily Available

[42Willys]

On the single stack 9x19 idea there - I think I paid $250 all in for my Gen 1 Shield 9 when S&W was blowing them out and it was and is an entirely satisfactory pistol, especially considering the size.

If someone found a deal on one and wanted a cheap gun they could carry, and shoots like a bigger gun, I would recommend.

[Exiledviking]

The challenge with the premise, "Sleeper Pistols" - is Youtube and easily accessed gun reviews make it easy to quickly and (somewhat accurately) sort the wheat from the chaff.

So, underrated, under priced, readily available:

The Kahr CW9.

A gun that weighs in at a svelte 18oz, and shoots like a much bigger gun. Readily available for less than 4-bills, sometimes less than 3 bills, very accurate, nice trigger that has some added safety benefit of being a bit longer and heavier than a Glock, but is very smooth. The factory bar-dot sights are actually excellent (because square notch rear) allowing easy hits overall. Night sights are available and can be installed with hand tools.

Only real downsides are: comes with one magazine, slide is stiff to rack for anyone with limited strength, and plenty of sharp edges. Two of these are rectified easily - mags are $35/each and five minutes with some emory paper will knock the edges down. The slide thing - well it is what it is.

I know it's not cool kid cool. And it's only a 7+1 or 8+1 single stack. But frankly the CW9 is really an excellent gun overall and in my opinion is often overlooked for flashier things. It's extremely easy to carry and shoot well simultaneously.

I second this. I'm very fond of my Kahr P9 (the higher end version of the CW9 for those who are not familiar with Kahr pistols) and have been keeping an eye for a smoking deal on a CW9.

[LockedBreech]

The challenge with the premise, "Sleeper Pistols" - is Youtube and easily accessed gun reviews make it easy to quickly and (somewhat accurately) sort the wheat from the chaff.

So, underrated, under priced, readily available:

The Kahr CW9.

A gun that weighs in at a svelte 18oz, and shoots like a much bigger gun. Readily available for less than 4-bills, sometimes less than 3 bills, very accurate, nice trigger that has some added safety benefit of being a bit longer and heavier than a Glock, but is very smooth. The factory bar-dot sights are actually excellent (because square notch rear) allowing easy hits overall. Night sights are available and can be installed with hand tools.

Only real downsides are: comes with one magazine, slide is stiff to rack for anyone with limited strength, and plenty of sharp edges. Two of these are rectified easily - mags are $35/each and five minutes with some emory paper will knock the edges down. The slide thing - well it is what it is.

I know it's not cool kid cool. And it's only a 7+1 or 8+1 single stack. But frankly the CW9 is really an excellent gun overall and in my opinion is often overlooked for flashier things. It's extremely easy to carry and shoot well simultaneously.

You know, Kahr doesn't get a ton of love (I've never bought one though have often thought of it) but your post reminded me I bought my brother a Kahr PM9 with factory night sights as a Christmas present in December 2014 and it has been his concealed carry pistol ever since. He visited in July and I saw he still carried it and asked how it was, and apparently it has been 100% trouble free. Thought that was a nice endorsement, 8 years is a fair bit of service and he's a pretty frequent shooter and 24/7 carrier.

Now that I think of it, his on-duty backup piece is a Glock 26 Gen 4 with Ameriglo CAPs that I gave him.

But he gave me a Daniel Defense M4V1 in 2011, so I think he's still winning.

[SecondsCount]

....

So, underrated, under priced, readily available:

The Kahr CW9.

A gun that weighs in at a svelte 18oz,..

That's a good choice. I own a couple Kahr pistols and a couple friends have the CW9. They all shoot accurately and reliably. When I have been asked to do some training with a new female shooter, I bring the K9 to the range along with several other pistols...G19, 9mm 1911, M&P9c, etc. The K9 almost always gets a good response from them. It is on the heavy side for it's size but that helps with recoil, and I have never seen any issues with limp wristing that I see with some of the other choices.

[4RNR]

I'm going to go in a slightly different direction for inexpensive sleeper. Not a specific gun but police trade ins.

Many people automatically think they're worn out when usually they have more holster wear than actual wear from use. And some times they don't even have holster wear

99% of my stock, spanning most manufacturers. I never paid more than $425. All came with box and several mags. HKs, Sigs, Glocks....new in box trade in Glock 22 with night sights were $199 at my LGS. Yeah yeah it's a 40 but for the price...... Recently the 226 Kellermann cost me $425ish.

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

[octagon]

Funny take on Glock 19 v Arex Delta M sleeper mentioned previously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUBZFCfGDXE

[rayrevolver]

My LGS has Shield 40, original version, with 2 mags with the finger extensions. Asking $275 shipped.

Ping me if you are interested.

[Tannhauser]

On the single stack 9x19 idea there - I think I paid $250 all in for my Gen 1 Shield 9 when S&W was blowing them out and it was and is an entirely satisfactory pistol, especially considering the size.

If someone found a deal on one and wanted a cheap gun they could carry, and shoots like a bigger gun, I would recommend.

I agree. I purchased one of those blowout Shields and started carrying it. I upgraded the internals with Apex parts and swapped the sights to Ameriglo Hackathorns. When the Shield 2.0s were being blown out I grabbed one of those for about the same price.

I'm just now starting to transition over to the doublestack subcompacts. Of course the first P365 I purchased (new) was in my possession for 24 hours before heading back to Sig. At some point maybe I can start shooting it, and eventually it will hopefully become a carry gun.

But as great as the P365 capacity is, right now I can't argue with a Shield 1.0 that has thousands of trouble free rounds through it.

[42Willys]

I agree. I purchased one of those blowout Shields and started carrying it. I upgraded the internals with Apex parts and swapped the sights to Ameriglo Hackathorns. When the Shield 2.0s were being blown out I grabbed one of those for about the same price.

I'm just now starting to transition over to the doublestack subcompacts. Of course the first P365 I purchased (new) was in my possession for 24 hours before heading back to Sig. At some point maybe I can start shooting it, and eventually it will hopefully become a carry gun.

But as great as the P365 capacity is, right now I can't argue with a Shield 1.0 that has thousands of trouble free rounds through it.

I put a set of Tru Glos on mine and called it a day. I fee the stock trigger is crisp for a striker fired gun, but Apex’s work on the Shield is great! Never had a malfunction or issue with the 1.0 Shield, and I could obtain qualification scores equal to or better than some larger handguns.

[LockedBreech]

Funny take on Glock 19 v Arex Delta M sleeper mentioned previously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUBZFCfGDXE

I enjoyed the video and mostly thought the criteria used were fair, but I feel he's missing one large category that would have possibly tilted it in Glock's favor: track record. Lots of guns seem to run well and reliably with great triggers and accuracy but longer use shows the mold in the drywall (FNS being a "striking" example).

On balance I'd still pick the Glock, but that at least did pique some degree of interest in the Arex!