[chaim]

There are a number of pocketable 9mm's out there, but I don't think any are really pocket guns.

I didn't really believe my best friend who had a Kahr PM9 when he told me that it wasn't really a pocket gun.

I now have two very pocketable 9mm's and I now believe him. I have a SIG P290. At 20.5oz unloaded it is pushing the pocket carry envelope a little, but it works. It's measurements are terrific. I also have a Kel Tec PF-9 which is very light (under 18oz loaded per Kel Tec's website), incredibly narrow for a 9mm, and overall pretty small. But they aren't really pocket guns. However, the small, light and narrow design of these guns really make them perfect for tuckable IWB holsters. I have trouble picturing a mode of dress (other than shirtless) in which these guns (and the other comparably sized guns) wouldn't completely disappear with a tuckable IWB (even with the cheapest holsters).

If you want a true pocket gun, you have to go with a lightweight snub revolver or a .380 auto or smaller. While all my 9mm's are marginal for pocket carry, my Ruger LCP completely disappears. You might think it strange for me to say these 9mm autos don't work that well (though they are workable) in a pocket, but a snub revolver is terrific. The revolver is larger, thicker, and in some cases, heavier. However, the autos print in my pocket in a way, with their squared off shape, that just screams "gun". The revolvers, with the multiple rounded shapes, look more "organic" and just look like random lumps in your pocket and thus seem more like you just have a number of things in your pocket.

All that said, if you want a pocketable 9mm, that can be pocket carried on occasion, and concealed IWB perfectly, there are many good choices these days. I haven't shot my Kel Tec yet, so I can't comment first hand on the reliability, but obviously I have read enough to trust buying one. My SIG P290 has been very good thus far, and I have shot it enough to trust it on my next trip out of state (I do not have a nearly impossible to obtain MD CCW permit, only a UT non-resident permit). It has had no issues, though I actually like the trigger on my Kel Tec better. My friend's PM9 was flawless (I personally shot about 500 rounds through his gun, no idea what he shot) and I would have no trouble trusting my life to a PM9 or CM9. I love my LCP enough that I have been considering buying a Ruger SR9c, SR40c, or an LC9. There are a number of other good options out there, though I have no experience with them so I probably shouldn't comment beyond saying that based upon what I've read, I am strongly considering, or have seriously considered: the S&W M&P Compact (and Shield), the Beretta Nano, the CZ RAMI (though I don't think it would really fit in a pocket all that well), and my experience with my Taurus PT140 Millennium Pro (a bit wide to work in a pocket) has had me considering some of their smaller (and pocketable) options from time to time. When the SIG 938 is finally approved for sale in MD I will probably consider adding one as well.

There are a lot of good options out there, so long as you are not looking for a true pocket gun and are willing to live with the limitations of the various 9mm pistols when it comes to pocket carry.