Smallest Handguns 2022 - The world of carrier weapons has changed dramatically over the past 20 years and it's always interesting to see where we started and how far we've come over the past few decades. There were several good carry pistols like the HK USP and Glock 19, and although there were some small 9mm chambered carry pistols, small 9mm pistols didn't really start to hit the market until the 2000s. I have bought and carried almost every one. Single gun in this list. Let's take a closer look at the evolution of the micro carry gun and see where things started, progress to the present day, and what the micro carry gun market is becoming.
One of my favorite times to look at micro carry guns was the early 2000s and what was available. Things like the HK USP Compact, Glock 19 and SIG Sauer P229, 225 or P239 were pretty standard. Some companies came up with a few smaller options but overall, if you wanted a small carry pistol these were the options.
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One of the earliest carry pistols was the Glock 26, affectionately known as the "Baby Glock." This amazing nine was released in 1994 and amazes fudges with its 10-shot capacity. The resistance of this pistol was the ability to take the larger 15 round magazines from the Glock 19 or the full size 17 or 33 round magazines from the Glock 17. When the Glock 26 was released, it was unlike anything else on the market. A lot of power. It was certainly chunky but held more rounds than a traditional stock revolver or large single-stack semi-auto. One of the first guns I decided to carry was an all black Glock 26. I have fond memories of the Glock 26 and it must have a place on this list.
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Kahr Arms' original K-series dropped in 1995, but their lightweight PM series dropped in 2004. The PM9 was a high-end offering of a lightweight, polymer-framed pistol with a 6+1 capacity. It was a The first small carry pistol purpose built with lightness in mind. The overall gun weight was about 14 ounces unloaded, which was pretty incredible for a lightweight option. Equipped with a striker system and night sights, these little pocket pistols have a ton of mid-2000s features, and if you have $700+, you can have a fairly modern micro carry pistol. The biggest drawback of this little micro piece was the double action trigger. Kahr still uses a double action trigger but is not particularly easy to shoot quickly under pressure.
These small pocket pistols had fairly heavy double-action triggers with a long reset that took some getting used to. I can't tell you how many rounds it took me to get comfortable with this trigger. In most cases, people who owned this small gun but did not practice with it often took shots because they were no longer used to the trigger. There was also a slight break-in period where you had to shoot the gun enough to not malfunction. I had maybe a dozen errors in my first 300 rounds and it worked perfectly after that. In terms of weight and power, it's still a contender in today's market, but I think the double action trigger is what prompted me to find a new option.
Fast forward to 2012 and there were many smaller pistols on the market. Whether it was the SIG P290, Kahr PM9, or Glock 26, a lot of people were really looking to upgrade to a smaller 9mm platform. Smith & Wesson took the market by storm in 2012 with the debut of the original Shield. This pistol was reasonably priced and offered a 7+1 flush mount capacity with the option of an extended magazine capable of handling 8+1 loads.
I've bought and sold a few in my time and they work really well with their overall thinness and capacity. It was easy to carry in an IWB holster and offered decent enough capacity, so it's been a winner for several years. Over the years, Smith & Wesson has had numerous sales and promotions that have made them incredibly affordable. There have been a few times in the past where I've seen original shields go under $200 which was incredible value for money. They later came up with a higher-end variant of the shield with ported and updated sights before moving on to the second generation. These are great options, but if I had to nitpick, I'd say they're a bit large for the rounds you get. Still a great option regardless and a crowd favorite.
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Around 2015, companies really started seriously investing in the carry micro weapons market and some big names came out with smaller options. Glock released the Glock 42 in 2014 chambered in .380 Auto and several companies started putting money into offering something smaller with more capacity. The race was starting to heat up and this time there was real innovation on the horizon.
When the Glock 43 dropped in 2015, it took all the thunder out of the shield and really became the best option for carrying a lightweight concealed carry pistol. I remember people arguing which Glock was better for having more capacity than the 26 when the 43 was easier to conceal, with a 6+1 capacity. It wasn't a game changer, but it had Glock reliability attached to it and it worked pretty well for a long time. The aftermarket community quickly embraced the pistol and introduced aftermarket sights and magazine extensions to get the 8 or 9 round capacity people wanted, so it was a commercial success for many years. But a few years later something else would come from Glock that would really challenge the market.
Fast forward three years to SHOT Show 2018 when SIG launched their micro carry pistol, the P365. At the time, it was the smallest offering in the market with a standard capacity of 10+1. SIG previously produced 12+1 extended magazines to offer a full grip that was arguably longer than anything previously offered for the size. The P365 overnight set the benchmark for what a micro carry pistol should be and was a game changer in the market. Sadly, the P365 wasn't perfect right out of the box and had some reliability issues with the springs, but after the initial first batch, the P365s were reliable and a great choice. SIG later produced multiple variations of the P365, but the original was a game changer for the gun industry and painted a lens on what a micro carry pistol should look like in today's market.
After the general release of the P365, several variants came from different companies such as the Springfield Armory Hellcat, Smith & Wesson Plus and various options. Almost every major manufacturer has a single stack carry gun or some type of micro double stack carry gun. These styles of guns have gone from an oddity to a mainstream firearms category. New offerings are becoming more modular with a variety of factory and aftermarket options. Micro guns are now starting to follow the trend of cell phone companies where they are initially made as small as possible but grow larger over time.
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The Glock 43X and Glock 48 were modernizations of the original Glock 43. At the time of release, the Glock 43x and 48 offered a slightly larger bulk than the original 43 while still offering the 10-round capacity of the original Glock 26. Micro carries Glocks of the past and has done well for Glock in recent years. Combine that with a 15-round magazine from Shield Arms and you have an incredibly small but capable package.
With those aftermarket magazines, the Glock 43x and 48 transform into a smaller contender to take the place of the same-capacity Glock 19. It really is the best of both worlds when it comes to weight and power. Glock also offers a number of MOS options for attaching red dots and other accessories to their pistols, making it a fairly modular system. This is a winner and if you are looking for a small carry gun, I would definitely check them out.
The P365XL and XL variants are becoming the most modular carry options on the market today. With a detachable frame similar to the P320, the P365 family of pistols can use different length barrels and slides. Over the past few months, SIG has dropped the Specter series into the P365XL range, along with the Comp and other variants.
They include stock cut optics and aftermarket mounts with bezels and accessories, are heaven
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