I'm no fan of .380 either. Especially with as many great compact and subcompact 9mm choices as there are these days.

I love Kahrs. Carried one for three years. The composite guns are very light, and for the barrel length they are some of the most accurate guns out of the box I have ever fired.

They like good to great ammo, but I highly recommend them.

 

Good to hear. As to the .380, as I mentioned on the previous page, my Dad ditched that idea in favor of 9mm. After reading the ballistics and talking to some gun shop owners, he decided it was an inferior round.

So, for compact 9mm, Kahr and Glock?

 

Must place obligatory HK P30 comment now

 

Haha, OK, how about I pose this question a little bit more specifically: What do you consider the best compact 9mm for under $1,000?

 

There are a lot of them. You can never go wrong with the sub sized Glocks. And they are priced right too. They eat whatever ammo you throw at them, they will not break, and they will not malfunction.

 

+1 Anytime someone tells me they are not trying to impress themselves or their friends or anyone at the shooting range, and that they simply want a concealable, reliable, accurate handgun for protecting their life, I tell them to get a Glock.

 

Brian and Russ, thank you for your knowledgeable help on this, it's appreciated. I've decided to begin looking for a compact 9mm for myself as well. I need to get my hands on as many as possible, and I'll be consulting with a good friend and mentor locally who is a seasoned marksman and has a sizable collection. I'm excited to be expanding my experience beyond shotguns and rifles.

What's the going rate of a Glock G19, anyway? Also, 9mm is the round to go with for a novice shooter, who wants all around performance, correct?