Staggered Mini-9 Discussion

[gato naranja]

I have a 43X and a P365. Both are, so far, proving to be reliable and accurate "summer carry" guns.

It's great to have so many options now. Years ago, finding something small and reliable was a bit of a challenge.

The above is the way I should feel, but "reliable" is sort of a relative term- at least at the local level. (Awkward range moment #1: a shooter claims their "X" never malfunctions... after I see them clearing a malfunction.)

The Shield Plus is the only one of the current offerings I have even remotely enjoyed shooting, and "enjoyed" is also a relative term. I can see one replacing my NanX, but frankly, I am about burnt out trying to find a mini-9 I actually like better than a S&W 640.

[D-der]

I guess my only complaint with the P365XL is that the grip length is ever slightly too small for me with a 12 round mag. The G43x/G48 grip length is perfect imo. Just a personal preference there that is very, very subjective. I prefer everything else about the P365XL though.

Is the Hellcat even worth mentioning? I've heard so many mixed reviews but LTT selling an upgraded model has caught my attention.

I've found a Magguts +2 kit in my XL adds maybe 1/8 - 1/4,
just noticeable in grip but not enough to impact concealment,
especially AIWB.
I was apprehensive about carrying with the mag but, I've run
hundred's of mixed ball and 150 rds of 124gr HST (current
carry rd), fast, slow, mag dump, limp wrist etc and all have
fed, functioned 100% to proper slide lock with this mag, plus
14rds load easier than 12 with the original spring.
I've read that MG has tested the kit's to 6000 cycles,
which would eguate to 84,000rds
After yesterday's shooting, I see no obvious reason, that it
would be more likely to fail in the next 14rds than original equipment.
I have it in the gun for edc and will order a couple more and vet them
in similar fashion.
I guess time, and more ammo will tell.

[HeavyDuty]

This is a size pistol that is of great interest to me since I generally carry a small 9mm and just plain like little guns.

Back in the day it was first (briefly) an ASP, and then when the 3913 came out I grabbed the first one I saw. That was replaced with an early Shield which was my main carry gun until the 43 came out - that (along with the reduced gripframe on the 41) and the availability of SCDs were the events that lured me back to Glock after a ten year dalliance with M&Ps.

My main mini these days is still a 43, I actually picked up a second which currently has a Mepro Bullseye sight like the SIG P365 SAS as an experiment. I fully expect that second will end up getting milled for a RMRcc. I also recently picked up a P365 to see what the fuss is about, and am currently vetting it for carry - I may pick up a 12 round magazine for a reload. I do have a 43x (and a 48,) but to be honest I really don’t like the grip on the 10 round Glock slimlines - they pinch my palm. I never carry the 43x, I’ll always grab a 26 when I want something with more capacity than the 43.

A good friend is very slowly shopping for his first carry pistol. He shot my 43, 48 and 26, and also rented a Hellcat and a P365 (this was before I got mine.) I have to say the Hellcat was really impressive - reliable over the 200 rounds we shot and accurate. He may well end up with one, he’s balancing the smaller size against how well he shot my 26.

I don’t have an issue with the 6+1 provided by the 43, and I see one being my main carry for a long time to come.

[4RNR]

I tried the 43X, 365 & XL, and Hellcat.

This was an attempt to replace my 43, which I never warmed up to. I rented the 43X and thought it was great. Unfortunately after buying one I couldn't hit the broad side of the barn. That gun and I just didn't get along but the 15rd mags worked fine.
Replaced the 43X with the 365 but I hate little guns with little grips. I can't ever get good grip on one when it matters..... drawing from holster. But the 365 shot well so I kept it and added the XL.

I rented the Hellcat but don't remember much about it aside from the sight picture.

Also having owned the Walther PPS M1 and S&W Shield 1.0. the two smallest guns with full size grip feel were the PPS and 43X. 365XL is close behind. All others were a too much of a compromise and ultimately sold/traded off. Did I mention I hate little grips

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

[lwt16]

The above is the way I should feel, but "reliable" is sort of a relative term- at least at the local level. (Awkward range moment #1: a shooter claims their "X" never malfunctions... after I see them clearing a malfunction.)

The Shield Plus is the only one of the current offerings I have even remotely enjoyed shooting, and "enjoyed" is also a relative term. I can see one replacing my NanX, but frankly, I am about burnt out trying to find a mini-9 I actually like better than a S&W 640.

Keep in mind that tiny guns are super easy to induce malfunctions by those that are a bit on the amateur side of the shooting coin. I've had a lot of folks come to me with small guns with the "this gun jams" complaint. Lots of riding the slide with a thumb, thumbing up the slide lock during firing, etc. From what I've seen, it's typically solved with grip changes on the shooter's part.

I had a student in a class once that couldn't get his 92FS to run.....a pistol well known for reliability with OEM magazines which is all he possessed. I assumed a bad recoil spring and went to change it out and in doing so, figured out that the pistol hadn't been oiled since it left Maryland. A drop or two of oil solved it and his malfunctions never returned.

Then there's the "this gun shoots low/left" but that is another story altogether.

We have two copies of the 365 at the house and neither have malfunctioned to date. Even my son has been able to run that gun without inducing malfunctions like he has with other pistols. He called me in a panic once because his brand new Glock 19X was stovepiping. When I got home, I told him to show me his grip during a dry fire session and he was digging his support thumb into the slide so hard I was surprised his live fire session hadn't transferred the coyote color to his thumbprint. He went back to the range, stopped slowing the slide with that thumb and like magic, the problems went away.

Regards.

[gato naranja]

Keep in mind that tiny guns are super easy to induce malfunctions by those that are a bit on the amateur side of the shooting coin. I've had a lot of folks come to me with small guns with the "this gun jams" complaint. Lots of riding the slide with a thumb, thumbing up the slide lock during firing, etc. From what I've seen, it's typically solved with grip changes on the shooter's part.

Therein lies one of the rubs- there are people who think they absolutely HAVE to have a particular gun (SIG 365, I am currently looking at you) or they won't be cool. Or their genitalia will alter size, or... or something. Then the new hotness becomes a bad partner, be it due to grip-to-hand interface, amount of training, mindset, whatever. These things are touchy, and there is no getting around it; I am amazed they work as well as they do for so many people.

If there is one mini-9 to rule them all, I am just not seeing it with my own eyes yet.

[lwt16]

Therein lies one of the rubs- there are people who think they absolutely HAVE to have a particular gun (SIG 365, I am currently looking at you) or they won't be cool. Or their genitalia will alter size, or... or something. Then the new hotness becomes a bad partner, be it due to grip-to-hand interface, amount of training, mindset, whatever. These things are touchy, and there is no getting around it; I am amazed they work as well as they do for so many people.

If there is one mini-9 to rule them all, I am just not seeing it with my own eyes yet.

Yeah, I see a lot of that too. Something new drops and credit cards get pulled out.

Since I have a lot of folks in my social circle, I get to see a good bit of new pieces and try them out prior to buying. The P365 when it came out was no exception. I was assisting a class and one of the students had one. I asked if I could check it out while they were in PowerPoint hades and I took it down to our range. After seeing what it could do at 25 yards, I was definitely intrigued......when I figured out it fit my Galco Ankle glove that was for my G42, I decided that I'd probably get one eventually. Eventually turned into months of waiting until the striker breakage was addressed and it had more "street" time. Shot different copies and finally purchased one from a police supply house.

I'm the type that instead of deciding which one rules I'll just buy them all. With ammo being double the price, that has slowed significantly.

Regards.

[HCM]

Sure, but the 48 may run better with a longer RSA, though obviously it would no longer share parts or be slide swappable with the 43/43X.

Reliability is THE most important quality for a defensive handgun.

Without reliability the rest is irrelevant.

[pastaslinger]

I hate how the G43x/48 shoot relative to their size, I find the G26 far more pleasant.

I have not shot a p365 in a while but have nearly bought a p365xl multiple times.... I am still considering one but worry about Sig's quality. I do like the idea of direct mounting a holosun 507k to it without a plate.

The m&p shield plus performance center really impressed me. A friend got one of the ported ones and it is very pleasant to shoot. I would love to get a ported one that's optic ready but it seems they make you buy the crimson trace optic as well as the, in my opinion, horrible triple fiber optic sights, which adds a lot to the cost for things I will remove anyways.

I have no experience with the Ruger max9, Springfield Hellcat, nor Kimber Mako.


As a last note, I highly recommend checking out the LCP max even though it's .380 and not 9mm. It's a very small gun with a lot of performance and I think it's ready to go out of the box, sights included. You just need more mags.

[frozentundra]

I would like to transition to an optic ready, long barreled version of these guns for all of my carry purposes, BUT:

Shield Plus 4" Optic Ready-
Great ergonomics and size. However, no provision for a frame rail to attach a TLR-7 sub or equivalent light. Also, they will not sell me one without CT RDS installed like a more annoying/expensive version of Glock plastic sights, and the footprint still requires modification to install a Holosun "K" footprint RDS as I understand it.


Sig P365XL-
Nice little gun. I've carried one a bit. However, the grip frame is just a tad bit too small for me to replace a larger gun in terms of draw index and shootabillity. So close. Very concealable, but I don't personally need it to be quite that concealable.


Glock 48 MOS-
I just don't like what they did with the recoil spring assembly. I don't trust it to feed defensive hollowpoint ammo reliably over time because of this. Perhaps I'm being silly, but I can't shake the impression. It's a pity.



I think an optic ready Shield Plus 4" with a decent red dot and frame rail would do 95% of anything I need a pistol to do. Based on how long it took S&W to produce a 15 round grip frame for the M&P, I will not be expecting this any time soon.

A railed, optic ready, 4" Shield Plus with an extended grip frame that only accepted 13 round mags without spacer would make an interesting hybrid of a duty/carry pistol. It's my dream gun. We will never see one.