Crucially, the width should not be greater than a few thousandths over one inch at its widest point. Weight should be around 21 ounces or less unloaded, the length should be around 6” or less (for the smallest “core models”), with an overall height of 4.5” or less. The pistol needs to hold at least 10 rounds of 9mm Parabellum ammunition, and more is better. Generally, to qualify as a “micro-compact” high-capacity 9mm carry pistol, a gun needs to be very small for its capacity. What is the best micro-compact 9mm CCW pistol?įirst, let’s define some common characteristics among this new category of a defensive carry pistol. In this article, we’re going to go over the different makes and models among the new breed of micro-nine pistols, tell you what we like, and what we don’t like, and hopefully help you make the best CCW pistol choice for you in this increasingly crowded market. Sales skyrocketed, and every major pistol manufacturer started scrambling to develop something to compete with SIG’s pocket rocket.

It wasn’t until SIG SAUER blew the doors of the CCW market with its groundbreaking and excellent P365 in 2018 that people realized how truly small and shootable a small 9mm pistol could be. While the micro-compact, lightweight polymer-framed 9mm pistol could be said to have its roots in the now-defunct Kel-Tec P-11 (1995) or the Glock 26 (1994), the P-11 suffered from a truly horrible, staple-gun-like DAO trigger and questionable build quality, while the Glock 26 is pretty chunky for a “pocket” gun, since it’s just as thick as a Glock 19 service pistol. 380 pocket pistol craze, the late 2010s saw the birth of an entirely new species of concealed carry pistol: The “micro-compact” high-capacity (for its size) 9mm. If the late 2000s (or “noughties,” if you’re hip) spawned a.

Compact 9mm pistol