The Glock 19X has served as Glock’s first “crossover” pistol. It combines the grip length of the G17 with the frame and slide length of the G19, creating a pistol that can flex into multiple duty roles. It comes with a coyote brown frame and nPVD corrosion-resistant slide coating, ambidextrous slide stop levers, a lanyard loop, the Glock Marskman Barrel, and a flared magazine well. Those features, combined with a standard set of night sights and 3 magazines, make this Glock ready to go right out of the box.
The Sig P365XL has quickly established itself as one of the most popular concealed carry pistols on the market today. Excellent ergonomics, great capacity for the size, factory night sights, and an optics-ready slide make this a feature-rich gun at an affordable price point.
Glocks do a lot of things right and G43x is one of them. This gun is very comfortable to conceal carry, easy to shoot, and great for defensive shooting. With its straightforward Glock platform and thin profile, this gun is a great choice for CCW. The Glock 43x has a short slide with a barrel length of 3.41 inches and a total length of 6.5 inches. It weighs only 18.7oz, is 5.04 inches tall, and is 1.06 inches wide. It has a trigger pull weight of approximately 5.5 lbs, consistent with other Glock models. Out of the box, this gun comes with standard 10-round mags which isn’t as efficient when compared to a similar-sized Sig P365.
The Ruger LCP is a .380 chambered semi-auto pistol that offers a convenient concealed carry gun to those looking for a slim pistol. Perfect for pocket carry, this tiny pistol also works well as a backup gun. It can hold 6+1 rounds in a standard mag and 7+1 in the extended mag.
“This is a great CCW pistol for the price point. It’s incredibly reliable and has very few flaws. Taurus has been around for a while, and its reputation is…spotty. But the G2C is designed from the ground up to be a highly affordable compact CCW pistol – and it nails it.”
The Stoeger STR-9C is an extremely affordable entry into the world of optics-ready striker-fired polymer handguns. A 13+1 capacity, sub 5-lb crisp trigger, optics-ready slide, accessory rail, and interchangeable backstraps ensure that the STR-9C isn’t lagging behind the competition. At under $350, this compact pistol is tough to beat when it comes to performance per dollar.
Kimber scaled up their micro-compact R7 Mako and added some new features with their new Mako Carbon Compact. An aggressive trigger guard undercut, extended magwell, optics-ready slide, and improved ergonomics make this gun an outstanding entry into the ultra-thin carry gun market. Excellent reliability and accuracy help the Mako Carbon Compact further compete with guns like the Sig P365 X-Macro and the Springfield Hellcat Pro.
The Arex Delta Gen 2 M offers great features at a great price. This striker-fired pistol features fully ambidextrous controls out of the box that require no swapping, four backstraps, and a standard Picatinny accessory rail. Great ergonomics, an optics-ready slide, and a short reset trigger round things out. While it may seem similar to much of the competition, Arex is offering all of this at a price that beats many of its peers.
The Glock 30 is a .45 ACP that punches above its class when it comes to concealed carry. While it still features those Glock ergonomics, which you either love or hate, it shoots well and is extremely reliable. A shorter grip area might prove difficult for some shooters to get a full firing grip. If you can deal with a loose pinky, though, it’s a soft shooting .45 ACP that is perfect for those who want to CCW something other than 9mm.
Smith & Wesson’s Bodyguard 2.0 is a nice upgrade to the original Bodyguard, offering some nice features and an improved trigger. It’s super concealable, and .380 ACP is generally easy to source. While those with bigger hands might struggle to get a good grip, it does offer a design that is perfect for concealment.
The Glock 48 takes the universal standard Glock 19 and slims it down into a more concealable but still easy-to-shoot platform. A barrel length of 4.17 inches, a standard capacity of 10 rounds, and an overall width of only 1.1 inches. An overall weight of 20.7 ounces helps keep things relatively light, further improving the ease of carry. Although the trigger is the standard mediocre 5.5-pound Glock affair and the capacity is lower than some of the competition, it makes up for that in reliability and aftermarket.
