HELP PLEASE --one 9mm pistol for carry, range, and HD!

[MK11]

You've already got and like a P365, so the answer is P365. This is a perfect case for.modularity---one gun, multiple setups. An XL grip/ slide gives you a little more to.hold onto while still being easily concealable. Sig now sells 10 round magazines for the Macro so you could even back your way into that, although I agree that the Macro may not make sense with a neutered capacity.

I'm in a ban state and plan on getting a regular P365 for cheap and adding XL and Macro components (I like the XL and I've got FOMO for the Macro).

[Crusader]

One do it all gun 47 or 45 take your pick.

[Duelist]

EDC and NPE may be the same problem, depending on what you do every day, or they may be two separate situations.

I won’t EDC anything bigger/heavier than a G19, and don’t even own one, though I used to have a 19X. i wasn’t carrying it hardly at all, or shooting it much either (I have other full sized guns I like better), so I swapped it out for a match .22 that I shoot a lot more.

I EDC a G26 okay, and have worked where that was a good solution, but tor the past six years, I’ve worked in a real NPE, so that isn’t actually what I carry - I carry a smaller NPE gun that is totally unobtrusive. When I can actually carry during the workday, that is all I will have, and it spends part of the day locked up and unloaded in a car vault. I’m more likely to ditch the gun entirely and go to work with a POM, small Spyderco, and a prayer. Outside the workday, sometimes that tiny gun is still all I am carrying, but I’m not about to use it as my only HD gun or range gun gun b/c it isn’t that fun to shoot and has low capacity.

All things are compromises.

Recommendations to get down to one gun depend on your actual situation: if you work on a cattle ranch and rarely see an NPE situation you have to try to navigate, a full size belt gun, even something best suited for open carry, might be perfectly reasonable. If you are a medical provider who works in an NPE in close proximity to patients and coworkers, a G42, PPS, or 2” Airweight might be the best you can do and still keep your job.

G19/G17 for HD, range, and some carry, plus a G26 for EDC and range, and a third tiny gun (G43/42, maybe a PPS) for NPE is easy to see as a real set of covering the bases. If the G26 isn’t necessary, or you just seriously want only two, then skip it.

I look at it like golf clubs: you can putt with a driver or iron, but why?

[mmc45414]

I have become very happy to have the Shield Plus, and have shot it enough to form an opinion that I would be giving up very little in a actually plausible defense situation, especially in a 10 round ban state.
And there are many solid slimline choices, the 365 is tempting to me, and if starting from scratch I would lean in that direction.
Since you live in a ban state, I would maybe be more inclined to settle on one pistol and get 2-3 examples, maybe with and without a light, maybe a laser, maybe a RDO, maybe some that are longer (I do like a 4in pistol...).
They could all take the same magazines and all fit in the same holsters.
Anyway, lots of good answers, but if I was going to limit myself to 2-3, I might just have them be the same, especially if a bigger one was not allowed to carry more ammo.

[G19Fan]

The XL/no comp model is now the base model 365 Macro.

Perfect. That imo is the best setup

[RJ]

I know the 43x is a slime line pistol, how does it shoot?

Mine sucked.

I found it very snappy, relative to all my other slim line pistols (P365, G48, PPS M2), my small or compact double stacks (P30SK, G26, G19), and the Shield Plus OR I was interested enough to shoot twice at the rental range. Even putting in a tungsten guide rod RSA (net +0.9 oz) did not take away the uncomfortable "pop" feeling with my carry ammo (GD 124+p). For 10 rounds it was awfully big in the grip (same as a G19, obviously, just thinner). I was really disappointed in the G43X. Despite being accurate and reliable, I sold it after 600 rounds and 8 months for a P365XL...

[JonInWA]

Glock G19. It's not something you need to overthink.

Best, Jon

[Noah]

OP mentioned that he has 4 pistols including a G19, and finds the G19 too big for carry.

Therefore, a 1 gun solution needs to be smaller than a 19. He already owns a 365 which seems an obvious answer, especially in say, Wilson XL or chopped Macro form.

@HammerStriker do you have any long guns for HD or anyone else in the house who might need an HD gun if you are out of the house carrying the 1 gun?

[rob_s]

When I was closer to your size I could conceal a full-size 1911 easier than I could a Glock 26.

People that have never had (or can't remember having) a 32in waist don't understand the impact overall width has on someone skinny. I theorize it has to do with the ratio of overall gut girth the overall pistol width. A guy with a 42in waist isn't going to notice an increase in thickness that a guy with a 32 in waist does.

I don't have the answer for you but given your constraints I'd be looking for a pistol as slim as possible that is designed around a 10 round flush-fitting mag with 4-4.5in barrel length.

Now that I type all that out, I kinda wanna know what that gun is too… seems like it's the Glock 48 but maybe there's something else slimmer?
https://us.glock.com/en/pistols/g48-us

Also, not being limited to 10 rounds here, I wouldn't mind something that is designed for ten but can take mags holding more…

From a “minimalist” standpoint it makes a lot of sense to me to get one MOS and one not, or two MOS and just not install the optic on one (any negative to running an MOS without the optic?), and get both with the light rail not without.

[Rex G]

All,

I'm looking for help with finding a 9mm pistol to do it all. The G19 used to be the default answer, but these days there are offerings with great capacity that carry (and maybe even shoot?) better than the G19.

If you were starting today and wanted 1 9mm pistol (no revolvers please) to serve as your range gun, HD weapon, and CCW pistol, which would you choose?

Appreciate the help!

The G17 shoots better, in my hands, than the G19*. When I wore enough clothing to conceal a G19, I could conceal a G17. So, to answer your question, exactly as asked, I would choose the Glock G17, preferably Gen4, which is the best fit, in my hands, thus far.

This is real-world. I have two Gen4 G17 pistols, and a Gen5 G17. I did have a factory-stock Gen3 G17, but I sold it to an LE colleague, after moving to Gen4. I still have a Gen3 G17, which has had a Robar grip reduction, so, fits me well.

I traded-away my Gen4 G19 pistols, in 2020. No easier to conceal than a G17. Less accurate, in my hands, than a G17. Then, as a 56th birthday “gift,” they started injuring my aging right hand, when I shot them.

So, in the form that the question was literally asked, “I” choose the Glock Gen4 G17, for range, home/self/general defense, and concealed carry. I am not attempting to apply this choice to any other person, because that is not what was asked.

I do still use “baby” Glocks, but they are too small to fit all three of the criteria.

*Any handgun that has a grip that does not make firm contact with the “heel bone” area of my hand, is unlikely to perform as well, regarding accuracy. This can be due to overall grip height/length, or can be due to a shape that curves away from that part of my hand. The G19 simply does not extend far enough to make that vital point point of contact.