Best 9mm Carry Gun Under $400? Ruger LC9 in my book.

[Grantness]

How bout a used .40 Walther PPQ? Probably hard to find for $400 :laugh: That's one of the nicest, smallest .40's I've seen that isn't ridiculously priced. The Kar PM .40 is another nice little carry pistol, but its too expensive as well... its also got crammed together, tiny little parts with tight tolerances. I guess for the purposes of this thread I won't even bring up compact XD's and go with the more affordable Glock 29 (or 27 depending on which caliber you like). I've got a Glock 27 and I wish everyday I'd gotten the 29 instead... So much more bang for your buck :wall: I'd say G29SF but I think they cost a little more.

Yes there are a lot of very fine, smaller 9mm's out there, but I think a gun the size of a G29 is plenty small enough for concealment and the extra power makes that moderate excess in size/weight much more palatable. Not to get into a caliber war, but you want every shot to count in a CCW SD situation.

[seraphim]

Just picked a nice, new Tanfoglio Force for $358. The thin design, rounded internal slide makes it enter and leave the holster smoothly. Price just went up $80. They're made in a full size, carry and compact. The Force 99 comes in 9mm and .40. The regular Force comes in .38 Super, .45 and 10mm. There are conversion kits (slide, barrel and magazine) so one can swap between calibers. A very nice Italian weapon based on the CZ-75.

Addendum: the R version has a decock mechanism. The F version is cocked and locked, though it does have a DA trigger - just no decock.

[ShockedNKansas]

I have a Ruger LCP. IMO it is the perfect CCW piece. The LC9 is almost twice the size, and with that short barrel, really is not much more powerful than the LC9 is.

The LC9 is nice too, but i like the LCP better.

I have a top end Kahr PM9 california, which is probably even smaller than an LC9, and all it does is sit in my vault and collect dust. The LCP is just so much smaller and more handy.

I'm probably gonna sell the Kahr.

For me, the LCP is very uncomfortable to shoot. I just don't have anything to hold onto and it really bangs my hand up. How is the LCR in comparison?

Interesting. I was going to get an LCP this weekend and am on the fence between it the Kel-tec and the Taurus TLP 380. I am really no fan of the 380 and have only shot one a handful of times in my life but can see having one when other guns are just too big.

People mentioned accuracy a lot in this thread. I for one don't think accuracy for a CCW pistol is as important as reliability. Some 380s don't really have sights and you'd be hard pressed to shoot paper plates at 7 yards with most 380s. Besides, if you are shooting at people from farther than about 5 yards in a defensive situation you better have a good defense attorney if you kill a perp.

Don't dis the .380. There are several rounds that offer ample penetration and even a little expansion. As far as accuracy, the LCP personifies the phrase "the gun is more accurate than you". The sights are basically non-existent so you will have to adjust how you aim. At first I couldn't hit ****, but eventually I learned how to shoot it. You definitely want to practice with your LCP if you carry it. Don't think you can just buy it and carry it and hope to hit anything if you get into trouble. It's diminutive size, hefty recoil, DAO trigger, and unnatural point of aim (for me), necessitates frequent practice - and that practice won't be comfortable. I suspect there are a lot of LCP owners that don't shoot their guns for that very reason. If you want to carry a tiny pistol, there will be some drawbacks.

[IrishRedneck86]

Now after reading through this thread Im surprised no one has brought it up but what about the Beretta Nano I just had the pleasure of shooting one yesterday and I instantly fell in love with it and went home to my LGS and had them order one for me now you may or may not be able to find it for under $400. For me having shot both the LC9 and the Nano, I have to say I much prefer the Nano. First they are both about the same weight the Nano being slightly heavier. But the reason for that is partially because the Nano design was initially for 40cal but they decided to release the 9mm first as it is usually a more popular caliber.
As for me the Nano just felt much more comfortable even though my pinky does just dangle with the stock flush mount mags as for the LC9 it has the pinky rest but it just didn't feel right in the hands. Also the recoil felt more harsh with the LC9 where as with the Nano it felt much softer.
Not to mention I really love the smooth rounded/soft lines of the no snag design with the Nano where the LC9 has the external safety and slide release. Also for shooters like me its a plus that the Nano is much more lefty friendly being that the slide lock and safety's are internal, along with the nice ambi mag release on the Nano.

Another thing is that the Nano is a bit easier/user friendly to field strip and takedown for cleaning and what not all ya need is a Pen and a dime/flathead. You just use the pen tip to hit the striker deactivation button then use the dime/flathead to twist the disassembly cam a 1/4 turn and the slide already pushes itself off slightly but comes right off. With the LC9 you have to use a flathead to push down the takedown pin block then use the ruger key to push out the takedown pin, and god forbid you lose that takedown pin cause then you have a nice 9mm paperweight until you get a replacement as opposed to the self-contained style of the Nano.

I also really love the fact that with the Beretta in a SHTF and I have to actually use it situation I don't have to have a magazine in the gun to fire that first round if I have one in the chamber as you should with your carry gun. So like I was getting at if SHTF and I some how dropped the mag out of the Nano I still can fire off that single shot in the chamber to give me more time to get to my other mags. Where as with the LC9 if I lost the mag I'd have to fumble and scramble to get one of my spare mags into the gun before I could shoot my first round. Lets face it I don't know about ya'll but I'd rather have at least that one round to fire off and make my assailant at least hesitate so I can get my other mag into the gun versus oh crap I have a knife in my gut or been shot already because I lost the mag in the gun.

[Reverend Herc]

This thread is over a year old. Does anyone have any updates or anything new to add?

[c1demo]

What about S&W Shield. My local store sold 20 in three days last week.

[Rapier1772]

What about S&W Shield. My local store sold 20 in three days last week.

Shields have an MSRP of ~$450 but are selling for more in some places, thread title says under $400.

Personally, I still want the Shield :laugh:

[blueorison]

What about S&W Shield. My local store sold 20 in three days last week.

S&W finally fixed (probably) the multitude of flaws and QC crappiness with their M&Ps. I would recommend the shield, sans the manual safety. I would take that out.

[Reverend Herc]

What about S&W Shield. My local store sold 20 in three days last week.

Shields have an MSRP of ~$450 but are selling for more in some places, thread title says under $400.

Personally, I still want the Shield :laugh:

I want one too! I called the shop by my house, they want $495. I laughed and then hung up on him.
I would be more than happy to pay $400 or about. I am not in a rush....

[c1demo]

I paid $395, they had one with a laser for $ 475.

[Rapier1772]

I paid $395, they had one with a laser for $ 475.

If I found one for that price, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

[Reverend Herc]

I paid $395, they had one with a laser for $ 475.

If I found one for that price, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Where?

[Beecher Tool]

I can't help but scowl....I own a Sig P229 Plat Elite 9MM..Master Shop...dealer price my guess is $1300..any less all I can do is giggle...bunch of new polymer 45s and hard 1911s...and the point is..???

[SpaceCoyote]

Best 9mm Carry Gun Under $400?

What a requisite. And since "carry gun" apparently really means single stack, that pretty much narrows you down to:

1. Ruger LC
2. Keltec PF
3. Taurus PT
(maybe 1-2 more I'm not thinking of)

whereas, above $400 you have:

1. Beretta Nano
2. S&W M&P Shield
3. Springfield XDs (9mm version hitting the shelves now)
4. Sig 938 & 290
5. Kahr PM, MK, CM, etc..
6. Various 9mm 1911's
7. Kimber Solo (plagued by problems early on, don't know if they fixed by now)
8. Rohrbaugh (A gun the factory recommends you don't shoot, just stupid....)

So with exception of Kimber & Rohrbaugh I would pick something on "list B" for an extra $100-200.

Anyone welcome to add to list I'm sure I forgot a few.