15 Best Concealed
Carry Guns
By Dan Kidder |
As a firearms instructor for the past 30 years, teaching law enforcement, federal agencies, and regular old folks, as well as a gun writer and reviewer for the past 16 years, I have been able to shoot the majority of newer guns on the market. I am frequently asked, “what is the best gun for concealed carry?” My answer invariably is, “it depends.”
The best concealed carry gun is one that is going to fit your hand, have the features you desire, be comfortable, fit your budget, and have the capacity and capability you need. See my article on how to select a concealed carry gun, by clicking here.
I have compiled a list of my 15 favorite concealed carry pistols and broken it down into high-end, mid-range, and value options. Some of the information is subjective and involves what works best for me, and some has been from objective observation with students.
High-End
1. Sig Sauer P229
The Sig Sauer P229 is a compact 9mm handgun that has been the carry gun for almost every federal law enforcement agency for many years until several agencies switched to Glocks. It is the gun carried by the US Secret Service, who has to defend the President against the odd one-off crazy or teams of trained foreign nationals or terrorists and it has gone through extensive vetting and testing for performance and reliability. The P229 is a hammer fired pistol available in both double/single action and single action only configurations.
| Action | DA/SA, SAO |
| Capacity | 10+1 or 15+1 |
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Weight Unloaded | 32 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 3.9" |
| Overall Length | 7.1" |
2. Sig Sauer P320 Compact
Essentially a striker fired variant of the P229, the P320 is the gun chosen by the US military in the Army’s M17 long slide version and the Marine Corps’ M18 compact version. It also has undergone extensive testing for reliability in austere conditions. Given the average exposure to dust and lint that most concealed carriers encounter, this gun will work even with inadequate cleaning and maintenance.
Sig experienced a few hiccups early on with this gun where if it were dropped on the rear, the inertia of the trigger continuing to move after the gun stopped would allow it to fire, but Sig has fixed this issue and it is now a very reliable striker fired pistol. It is available in a variety of configurations, including versions cut for red dot optics, compacts, and competition long slide variants.
A real selling point for me is the ability to quickly change the frame by swapping the internals and magazines to create a more compact grip or a larger frame. The military versions are available to civilians and include a manual safety.
| Action | Striker Fired |
| Capacity | 10+1 or 15+1 or 9+1 (.45 ACP) |
| Caliber | 9mm or .45 ACP |
| Weight Unloaded | 25.8 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 3.9" |
| Overall Length | 7.2" |
3. HK VP9 SK
The HK VP9 is another very well-made striker fired pistol from Heckler and Koch. If it seems like the best concealed carry guns out there are German in design, it may be because some of the best made guns in the world come from that part of Europe. The VP9 has the distinction of not only having a replaceable beavertail on the grip to adjust the length of pull, but also provides grip swell inserts to adjust the width of the grip, so it is customizable to a wide variety of shooters with different hand sizes.
The SK variant is their compact offering. This smaller version is ideal for concealed carry and provides everything the full size offers but with a shorter sight radius and a couple of rounds less capacity. In return you get a smaller footprint that is very easy to conceal. The downside to this choice is that is less well known and it may be harder to find accessories, such as holsters, that will be a good fit for your style of carry.
| Action | Striker Fired |
| Capacity | 10+1, 13+1, or 15+1 |
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Weight Unloaded | 23.07 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 3.39" |
| Overall Length | 6.61" |
4. Colt King Cobra Carry DAO
No list of high-end concealed carry handguns would be complete without a revolver thrown into the mix. And any revolver that makes the list of high-end handguns would have to have a prancing horse on the side of it. The Colt King Cobra Carry DAO is a bobbed hammer version of the snubbie .357 Magnum. Since the hammer is bobbed, it is a double action only version and has that long hard trigger pull, accordingly.
However, Colt has done an amazing job of ensuring that trigger pull is supremely smooth throughout the entire pull. If you are interested in a proven track record of making some of the finest revolvers ever sold, and you want a compact pistol with little chance of snagging the hammer on the draw, then the Colt King Cobra Carry DAO is a perfect pocket companion. The diminutive integral rear sights may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and if you are unused to them, they move prove difficult to master.
The prominent brass bead front sight, however, is exceptionally easy to find, even in low light. The powerful .357 Magnum may not be for everyone, as the recoil is pretty stiff out of a lightweight gun like this. Also, that 2-inch stubbie barrel is going to bleed away a lot of unburned powder, leaving your velocity far below what you might expect from a magnum cartridge, but for its application, it is a solid choice.
| Action | DAO Revolver |
| Capacity | 6 |
| Caliber | .357 Magnum/ .38 Special |
| Weight Unloaded | 16 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 2" |
| Overall Length | 7.2" |
5. Sig Sauer P365XL
Seriously, another Sig? What can I say? After years of carrying Sigs, I can personally attest to their performance and reliability. With the advent a few years ago of the P365, Sig rocked the gun world by taking a micro-compact and giving it a 10 round capacity, and later expanded that to a 12 round capacity with new longer magazines.
A couple of years later, they upped the capacity to 15 rounds and offered a version with a longer slide and an optics cut for their new micro red dot, the Sig RomeoZero. Not only did they slightly lengthen the slide, but they also lengthened the grip to accommodate the longer 15 round magazines. This just fit my hand better than the original P365 and I also like that I can swap slides and frames between the two to create a short grip long slide and a long grip short slide.
This gun is my main concealed carry sidearm and serves me most days for a variety of purposes. It is thin enough to be unobtrusive inside the waist band for appendix carry, yet just large enough that it doesn’t disappear in my large Shrek hands.
After thousands of rounds through the gun, I have not had a single malfunction, and have even completed full multi-day combat handgun classes using just this gun. I have even shot steel competitions with it and it has performed flawlessly. The XL also features a flat faced trigger that provides improved accuracy and smoother trigger press.
| Action | Striker Fired |
| Capacity | 10+1, 12+1, 15+1 |
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Weight Unloaded | 20.7 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 3.7" |
| Overall Length | 6.6" |
Mid-Range
6. Glock 19
The Glock 19 is a compact version of the reliable and widely used Glock 9mm that is in use in over a thousand police departments nationwide. It is a proven design, though not very glamourous. It does, however, boast being one of the most widely used handguns for personal protection and is a steady and sure workhorse designed to work.
There are a wide variety of accessories, both OEM and aftermarket, including magazines, holsters, lights, and optics that will work with this gun and it is a standard in the self-defense community and in firearms schools around the world. This Austrian design has proven itself in thousands of defensive encounters to be a truly reliable handgun.
The compact size of the Glock 19 makes it easy to conceal but does not sacrifice capacity like the smaller single stack Glock 43. The wider grip of Glock 19 also makes it easier to control for those with larger hands. It features interchangeable backstraps to adjust length of pull for a variety of shooters.
| Action | Striker Fired |
| Capacity | 10+1, 15+1 (Larger non-standard magazines available) |
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Weight Unloaded | 21.52 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 4.02" |
| Overall Length | 7.82" |
7. Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Plus
This little striker-fired pistol is an upgrade to the popular Shield line of Military and Police pistols from Smith and Wesson. It uses the stack and half design of the Sig Sauer P365 to increase magazine capacity without widening the grip. The thin and very concealable Shield is one of the few micro compacts that I can shoot with any kind of control as they often have too thin of a grip for me to get good purchase on.
Not only is this pistol a great fit for most shooters, but it does offer a better trigger than early generation 1.0 versions. Aggressive stippling on the grip also helps improve purchase. The Shield Plus comes in versions with and without external safeties, as well as with and without magazine disconnects.
This means that some versions cannot fire with the magazine removed, for additional safety. One feature that I really like about the Shield is that they can be disassembled without pulling the trigger. Smith and Wesson even offers versions of this pistol that are optics ready to easily receive a red dot optic.
| Action | Striker Fired |
| Capacity | 10+1, 13+1 (9mm) 12+1 and 15+1 (30 Super Carry) |
| Caliber | 9mm, 30 Super Carry |
| Weight Unloaded | 20.2 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 3.1" |
| Overall Length | 6.1" |
8. Beretta APX Carry
This pistol is a bit a fringe gun and isn’t well known, but I have to say that I am very impressed with the performance of this little pasta blaster. It is made by the oldest gun country in the world, and the Beretta family has been perfecting their art for more than 600 years. The Beretta 92/M9 was in service with the US Military for nearly two decades.
The APX was an innovative approach to improved safety from a striker fired pistol so it could be disassembled without pulling the trigger, a frequent source of injury, by pressing a small detent into the frame to decock the gun. While this feature is a bit klugy, there is no doubt that the gun is imminently reliable, inexpensive, superbly comfortable, and just a feels good in the hand. The ergonomics of this pistol are phenomenal. I had the chance to extensively review this pistol. I really liked it and it was a heck of a shooter.
| Action | Striker Fired |
| Capacity | 6+1, 8+1 |
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Weight Unloaded | 19.8 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 3" |
| Overall Length | 5.63" |
9. Mossberg MC2 Compact
I may be a little biased, but I have probably shot this gun more than any other gun writer on the planet. I was able to provide input into its design, shooting a prototype of it at Mossberg’s headquarters in West Haven, Connecticut with their engineers, and I shot thousands of rounds through it in testing as well as a three-day class at Gunsite. What I can tell you is it is a performer.
The ergonomics are stellar. The grip angle, coupled with the design of stippling on the grip, as well as the grip contour, make it very easy to hold. I really like the indexing cuts on the frame, since I am the one who suggested them, but Mossberg really pulled it off well and made them tactile as well as convenient. The flat faced trigger with a trigger bar safety feels great under the finger.
It was this feature that took me the longest to get used to, but once I did, I found myself really liking it. The thin profile, innovative disassembly design, and excellent reliability make this a real option for concealed carry. The smooth slide operation makes it easy to cycle for those with less hand strength.
| Action | Striker Fired |
| Capacity | 10+1, 13+1, 15+1 |
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Weight Unloaded | 21 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 3.9" |
| Overall Length | 7.10" |
10. Ruger LCR 38
A mid-priced revolver built to exacting standards and ideal for pocket carry is the Ruger LCR 38. Able to handle the punchier pressure of enhanced power +P rounds and holding 5 rounds, this hybrid polymer and steel revolver is very lightweight and has a bobbed hammer design, making it ideal for pocket carry in a holster with less chance of snagging on the draw. The trigger is an interesting design, providing around 11 pounds of weight to pull it, but the unique design increases leverage and makes the pull feel much lighter. It is very smooth and easy to fire in double action.
Featuring a tried-and-true snubbie grip, it is very comfortable in the hand and has a great natural point of aim. This is important, because the sights are very minimalistic and take a bit of getting used to, but at the ranges this gun is designed to be used for self-defense encounters, it is more of a point and shoot interface, but the sights are there if you need them.
| Action | DAO Revolver |
| Capacity | 5 |
| Caliber | .38 Special +P |
| Weight Unloaded | 13.5 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 1.87" |
| Overall Length | 6.5" |
Value Priced Options
11. Stoeger STR-9
Known for inexpensive shotguns made in Turkey, the Stoeger company makes decent quality firearms at a great value. When testing the STR-9 handgun, I really wanted to hate it. It is a knock off, almost part for part, of the Glock 19, but at nearly half the price. The fit and finish were pretty good, though still a bit rougher than the Glock. What really impressed me was the reliability and how good it felt in the hand.
The ergonomics are a bit different than the Glock, and I would argue are a lot better than the blocky 2x4 feel of the Glock. It fed, fired, and extracted everything I threw at it, from weak sauce bulk loads to heavy hitting +P Hydroshocks. The striker fired pistol was very reliable, and the only downside I could find was some of the magazines wouldn’t drop free reliably and had to be pulled from the grip when empty. It seemed to be dependent on the magazine, as some would and some wouldn’t fall out when the magazine release was pressed. It came with three 15-round magazines for a total capacity of 46 rounds if all three are carried and the gun is topped off to its +1 capacity.
The slide serrations are very aggressive, making cycling easier and the grip extra grippy when your hands are clammy. The gun comes in various versions from a single magazine and medium backstrap to a version that includes three magazines and three interchangeable backstraps of small, medium, and large sizes to customize the grip. It is also available in full size, combat, and compact. The numbers I will provide are for the combat, which is closest to the Glock 19 size.
| Action | Striker Fired |
| Capacity | 15+ |
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Weight Unloaded | 24 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 1.87" |
| Overall Length | 6.5" |
12. Bersa Thunder
The Bersa Thunder is made in Argentina and is a super compact .380 pistol that looks like the love child of a Beretta 92 and a Walther PPK. While this Argentinian pistol is very inexpensive, it has proven to be a very reliable and well-made handgun for the self-defense market. The pistol is small in the hand but has a large tang over the webbing of the hand to protect the shooter from slide bite. Extended magazine floor plates help accommodate all of the fingers to provide a more positive grip.
Multiple safety features such as a firing pin block, manual external safety, magazine disconnect to prevent the gun from firing with the magazine removed, and a decocker. The gun can be fired from the longer and harder double action for the first round and then fired from single action as the motion of the slide ejecting and loading another round also cocks the pistol.
The very low bore access and prominent adjustable rear sight make this pistol very accurate to shoot. While I am not a big fan of the weaker .380 ACP cartridge for self-defense, some of the better ammo on the market, like the Barnes TAC-XPD make this a very viable choice for concealed carry. The version I tested, also included a trigger guard mounted laser, and Crimson Trace also makes laser grips for this model.
| Action | DA/SA |
| Capacity | 7+1, 8+1, 9+1, 10+1 |
| Caliber | .380 ACP |
| Weight Unloaded | 20 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 3.54" |
| Overall Length | 6.61" |
13. Ruger LCP
The Ruger LCP is a .380 ACP caliber double action only pistol that is perfect for carrying in the pocket. It is a hybrid polymer and steel design, so it is very lightweight and robust and needs very little maintenance to remain reliable. The hammer is recessed into the frame but does not lock back after each shot, instead relying on the harder and longer double action trigger pull to provide a measure of safety. Ruger has made and sold a lot of these guns, and I mean A LOT! This means that there are ample aftermarket accessories and holsters available to fit your needs and lifestyle.
The pistol is very small, so it can be difficult to hang onto for those with larger hands, but for those with smaller digits, it has a great feel in the hand, so they tell me. The slide is very easy to cycle but the slide lock is so tiny and almost completely flush to the frame that it can be difficult to lock open. One downside is that I often find the brass from this pistol flying straight into my face, but others do not report the same issue, so it may be a factor of how I have to hold it in my large hands.
In a defensive encounter, I doubt I would notice getting pelted with brass. The sights are very difficult to see, especially in low lighting, but there are aftermarket lasers available to make aiming easier. I also love that it is made in the USA in Prescott, Arizona and Ruger has about the best customer service in the firearms world.
| Action | DAO |
| Capacity | 6+1 |
| Caliber | .380 ACP |
| Weight Unloaded | 9.6 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 2.75" |
| Overall Length | 5.16" |
14. Canik TP9 Elite Subcompact
The nation of Turkey likes to rip off Glock and, in some cases, they make a better Glock than Gaston. The Canik TP9 Elite Subcompact may arguably be one of those cases. While the machining is a bit rough and the trigger is a little gritty, the reliability of this pistol is superb. It also feels much better in the hand than the Glock. There is also some alluding to the Walther P99, in that the striker has a rear button that moves visibly when the trigger is pulled and there is also a loaded trigger indicator that is both visible and tactile for feeling it in the dark.
The pistol also comes with a lot of features in the box, including a 12-round flush fit magazine, a replaceable floor plate with finger extensions, and a 15-round extended capacity magazine. They also include a holster with a reversible belt clip for both inside and outside the waist band carry. There is also a magazine loader and a spare magazine pouch. For all that is included, this alone makes the pistol a great value as all of the needed accessories are there to start carrying your new gun immediately.
I also really like the huge slide stop that is present on both sides of the gun for ambidextrous carry, The magazine release is also reversible for this purpose. The top of the gun is cut for the Shield optic and has a removable plate to allow it to be carried with a red dot or without. This pistol is very comfortable in the hand and has a low bore access for quick follow-up shots, but the fit and finish can cause malfunctions if it is fired too quickly, as I had several partial ejections in testing. The metal sights that come standard on the Canik are far superior to anything Glock has ever included, and they also feature a flat cocking ledge on the rear sight for easy single-handed cocking against a table.
| Action | Striker |
| Capacity | 12+1 and 15+1 |
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Weight Unloaded | 24.8 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 3.6" |
| Overall Length | 6.7" |
15. Ruger EC9s
Very similar to size and capacity of the Ruger LCP, the EC9s offers the same footprint and similar weight in a striker fired variant. Featuring an external safety, internal trigger safety, and a loaded chamber indicator peep hole, this gun provides assurance that it will be protected from unintentional discharge, making it a good choice for less experienced shooters.
It comes with a very comfortable polymer frame and grip, that runs a bit small for those with larger hands but includes a Hogue molded rubber grip sleeve to increase the surface area. The sights are more prominent than on the LCP and they are machined right into the gun. To me, the best feature is that instead of the anemic .380 ACP cartridge, this gun is chambered in full 9mm, and sacrifices nothing in capacity. Ruger has become a bit stingy with their magazines, and this pistol only comes with a single 7-round magazine.
| Action | Striker |
| Capacity | 7+1 |
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Weight Unloaded | 17.2 oz. |
| Barrel Length | 3.12" |
| Overall Length | 6" |