Small reliable single stack handgun?

Dreadnought

New member
If you can wait until June, Beretta is coming out with a subcompact version of the PX4. It's not a single stack, but it is a nice package from what I hear from the guys attending SHOT. I also hear the Kahrs are excellent little guns that are fairly eas to shoot for so small a gun with larger calibers.
 

DennisE

New member
239 SAS with the new DAK trigger and a beautiful melt job for CCW. Available in .40 S&W (optional .357 SIg barrel available from SIG) and 9mm. Dennis
 

gac009

New member
I am not afraid of a large caliber in a small pistol. Its my life on the line so enjoy it or not I'm gonna be at the range shooting the damn thing. Alot.

I have been spending time on the internet looking up the specs for all the guns you guys have been listing and most seem too big, as in not much smaller than a regular size. The Glock 36 seems identical to the G30 except that its only .14 thinner.

So far the only one that seems small enough for what I have in mind is the MK40 and the G27. The others are all small but what I am looking for is the smallest thinnest shortest working pistol. I want something I can carry anyday, reguardless of the Houston heat. Id rather beat up my hands up shooting a tiny .40 than leave a comfortable side arm at home and end up needing it.

Any thoughts on the G27 and MK40 Elite? Any suggestions that are about this size?
 

dahermit

New member
small auto



This is a Star Firestar 9MM. It is almost as small as a PPK, has many "custom" features including: Ambidextrous safeties, rubber grips, checkered front strap, checkered trigger guard, beveled mag. well, extended mag. release, white dot front and rear sights. There are two things I do not like: it is heavy (all steel), it is not stainless steel. Other than that it is a good, solid, reliable piece. At one time I believe it was Guns & Ammo handgun of the year.
 

michael t

New member
my older 3913 is just a tad larger than my PPK/S . You want smaller get that $1000 9mm thats starts with a R Some one here will remember its name
Maybe you should look at S&W J frames. or a 380 Kel Tec.
Looking at specs on internet and holding and lookin in person. 2 different things I suggest you start looking in person. Might be supprised at what you like.
 

Anon

New member
joe1347 said:
Just about any handgun sold in America if you want reliability.
Fixed it for you! ;)

But seriously, any single-stack pistol chambered for a defensive round will probably be fine for reliability (with the right ammo, and the right magazines).

I find it hard to believe a Sig is more reliable than a Colt, Kahr, Glock, Detonics, Kel-tec, S&W, Taurus, Bersa, HK, Kimber or any of the other pistols mentioned in this thread.
 

gac009

New member
I have seen the Kahr in person, not the Glock 27. I saw a Kahr Mk9 in Gander the other day and I realised that I need something just like it. Thats where this thread came from. I need something small, easy to carry and with a caliber 9mm or larger. The only thing I have found close to the same size is the G27 and based off some limited expierence with a friends G26, its likely bulkier than it sounds.

I have held the Sig 239, excellent grip but a bit fatter than what I want right now. Im looking for that single stack svelt feel.

I have seen the compact Smiths, a little bigger than I was thinking.

The HK P7 is simply out of my price range.

A compact 1911 would be nice but I just dont like guns with safety levers. I can stand it on a rifle or a rimfire(where its never used) but I couldnt carry a gun that made use of a safety lever. Just a personal thing.

I had hopped that there would be something out there other than a MK9 and there are a few things. I will be taking another look at the compact XD, the RAMI and the 239 next time I go to the gunstore but a .40 the size of a MK40 is hard to beat if its reliable. Ill endure discomfort at the range if it means Ill have a thin short carry pistol.


Anon- Agreed, most modern firearms are extremely reliable.
 

rantingredneck

New member
If you're looking for something really compact take a look at the North American Arms Guardians. I've got a .32 NAA and it is a high quality "pocket" gun with a lot of punch.
 

Willy T

New member
H&K P2000SK with LEM trigger while not a SS is very concealable. I find the LEM trigger very pleasing.

709302C.jpg
 

joe1347

New member
But seriously, any single-stack pistol chambered for a defensive round will probably be fine for reliability (with the right ammo, and the right magazines).

I find it hard to believe a Sig is more reliable than a Colt, Kahr, Glock, Detonics, Kel-tec, S&W, Taurus, Bersa, HK, Kimber or any of the other pistols mentioned in this thread.

Agree. The newer semi-autos are light years ahead of semi-autos from even 10 years ago. I traded in a Colt .380 Gov't model for the Sig P239 primarily because the Colt would fail in some horrible way every few mags - while the Sig P239 never failed in thousands of rounds. My older 1911 single stack was also finicky unless kept reasonably clean - unlike the the P239 which I pretty much never cleaned and it still never failed me. I'm guessing that the newer 1911's are much more reliable like just about everything else.
 

Willy T

New member
Joel,

I'm guessing that the newer 1911's are much more reliable like just about everything else.

IMO they aren't. :(
 

Jkwas

New member
The Taurus Millenium Pro series is very good, and they are available in a wide variety of calibers. They are definately compact and very good shooters as well.
 

G-Cym

Moderator
Mil Pros aren't single stack though. But you're right that they are great pistols. I have a PT140 as my CCW, and it's amazing.


And Joel, you're probably right. As time goes on, technology does get better and more reliable. People argue all the time about which firearm is "the best". But there really isn't one. You're correct to guess that most modern designed and built guns are extremely reliable. Some will say Glocks are th most most reliable. Others will say SIGs, and other Rugers. They're all right. Modern guns are designed on computer, and this allows the designers to "test" them a million different ways, before ever even making a prototype. Some old timers will say that computer designed guns are junk and there's nothing like building a prototype in a workshop and refining it by hand. Well, when they designed the F-22 Raptor, or a modern Aegis Cruiser, they did it by computer. And these systems work very well. Computer simulated testing works. Plain and simple. So a modern computer designed Glock, P99, or USP are all going to have about the same level of reliability. And that level is very high. Some will tell you gun design peaked in 1911. Let them believe what they want, it's their choice. But don't be swayed by them too much. Gun technology is advancing every day and every year, and you're pretty much right to think that the modern guns are going to have the edge. Of course every new design will have a few kinks. But after a year or two, they get worked out, and we're left with amazing guns. In this day and age, of computer testing and design, we will probably never have another crap design like the very first M-16 or the Shosho. Those designs are weeded by computer out before ever coming into reality.
 
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