The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > Hogan's Alley > Handguns: The Semi-automatic Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old March 3, 2017, 04:36 PM   #1
lawndoctor1
Member
 
Join Date: October 29, 2016
Posts: 76
Smallest 9mm Pistols?

Who makes the smallest 9mm pistol?
lawndoctor1 is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 04:38 PM   #2
Roughedge
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 24, 2011
Location: Monroe,NC
Posts: 669
Glock 43 is the smallest I own.
__________________
The man that die's with the most stuff win's!
Roughedge is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 04:46 PM   #3
lawndoctor1
Member
 
Join Date: October 29, 2016
Posts: 76
I have a 43 too. The Kel Tec PF9 is the only other one I know of.
lawndoctor1 is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 05:20 PM   #4
DubC-Hicks
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 20, 2009
Location: Backwoods, Northern MI
Posts: 1,031
The Diamondback DB9 is probably the smallest. But if you're looking to buy a small 9mm, it's one I'd probably skip.
__________________
”Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.” ~Unknown
DubC-Hicks is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 05:54 PM   #5
gilfo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 29, 2008
Posts: 307
Kahr CM or PM series is the smallest I know of. I own a CM9 and like it very much.
gilfo is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 05:59 PM   #6
Sevens
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 28, 2007
Location: Ohio
Posts: 11,755
Ahhhh, I'm getting old. Any of you whippersnappers remember when the Rohrbaugh was the smallest 9mm?
__________________
Attention Brass rats and other reloaders: I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.
Sevens is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 06:13 PM   #7
RickB
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 1, 2000
Location: Boise, ID
Posts: 8,511
SIG P938 is the smallest I've handled.
Smaller than S&W Shield, Walther PPS, Glock 26; is the 43 essentially a single stack 26? Glock's bigger.
CM9 is much bigger than the SIG.

I'd expect the modern generation of plastic-frame, point-and-squirt shooters to not necessarily like the all-metal, cocked 'n' locked SIG, but it's a great pistol.
__________________
Runs off at the mouth about anything 1911 related on this site and half the time is flat out wrong.
RickB is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 06:13 PM   #8
random guy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 28, 2017
Posts: 272
I bought the first Keltec P-11 that I saw. It is an early one so the trigger is heavy but very smooth. I was at the LGS for an Airweight .38 but this little guy changed my plans. I've deliberately kept the round count down on it but it has been 100% reliable.

There must be smaller 9mms after all these years but really it has to be a Speedo occasion before the P-11 becomes a burden.
random guy is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 06:22 PM   #9
Skans
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 20, 2008
Posts: 11,132
The smallest 9mm Semi-auto pistols are:

Diamondback DB9
Boberg XR9-S
Rohrbaugh R9S

These are the absolute smallest 9mm semi-autos that I'm aware of. The Rohrbaugh is a good gun, but not meant to be a range toy, not rated for +p and you will need to have spare recoil springs.

The Diamondback DB9 is inexpensive, doesn't like +P, and prefers ball ammo over hollow points. Some say they have had problems with theirs; mine works fine with the right ammo.

The Boberg XR9S is a well made gun, handles +P and hollow points, but doesn't like certain ammo that is not crimped - Boberg/Bond Arms has a big list of ammo that will work and a short list of ammo that will not work. With the right ammo, it is very reliable.

The Kimber Micro 9 is a tad bigger than the 3 listed above. I don't include it because it is not "the smallest".
Skans is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 06:26 PM   #10
Ricklin
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 22, 2008
Location: SW Washington state
Posts: 1,996
Shoot one

Go and rent one of the micro 9's and a box of 50 rounds of SD ammo. Shoot the entire box and then decide.
They can really be a handful. I like the P-11 Keltec, the width really helps distribute recoil.
__________________
ricklin
Freedom is not free
Ricklin is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 06:40 PM   #11
Jackson Hammersmith
Member
 
Join Date: February 10, 2017
Location: North Central Iowa
Posts: 31
Kahr CM-9 is the smallest I've held. I wouldn't want a 9 smaller than my Shield though. That or the G43 are about the smallest you can get that are still easily shootable IMO
Jackson Hammersmith is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 08:26 PM   #12
Groundhog34
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 15, 2007
Location: Alabama
Posts: 195
Rohrbaugh is the smallest 9mm made. Unfortunately they are out of business but I believe Remington uses their patent to make a 380. The Rohrbaugh was stainless steel hand made of very high quality. They are occasionally seen on gunbroker for around $1200.
Groundhog34 is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 08:33 PM   #13
OldMarksman
Staff
 
Join Date: June 8, 2008
Posts: 4,022
Quote:
Go and rent one of the micro 9's and a box of 50 rounds of SD ammo. Shoot the entire box and then decide.
They can really be a handful.
Good idea. You may then decide on a larger pistol, or on a .380.
OldMarksman is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 08:47 PM   #14
K_Mac
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 15, 2010
Posts: 1,850
OldMarksman I doubt it will take an entire box to make a man reconsider his options. 50 rounds through an LCP is more than enough.
__________________
"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Benjamin Franklin
K_Mac is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 08:57 PM   #15
walks with gun
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 20, 2014
Location: northern Mn.
Posts: 271
I was thinking along the lines of what Sevens said. It was the smallest back then, maybe still is.
walks with gun is offline  
Old March 3, 2017, 10:01 PM   #16
IMTHDUKE
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 9, 2004
Location: Sweet Home Alabama
Posts: 1,475
I carry this one often in a pocket holster. She is made like a swiss watch and smooth as silk.




This one is not much larger

__________________
http://www.treasureislandbedandbreakfast.com
Ed Brown Alpha Carry| Sig P238, P938, P232, 1911 C3 | Colt Defender, Mustang Pocketlite, 1911 | Rohrbaugh R9 | Browning, Buckmark 22LR(suppressed) | Kahr PM9 Black Rose | S&W|M&P C.O.R.E RMR Trijicon | Dan Wesson ECO
IMTHDUKE is offline  
Old March 4, 2017, 07:23 AM   #17
Rembrandt
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 10, 2002
Posts: 2,108
Boberg (no longer available) is the smallest. Have been acquired by Bond Arms.

Rembrandt is offline  
Old March 4, 2017, 08:25 AM   #18
FITASC
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 6, 2014
Posts: 6,432
I'll wager that .45 Boberg is a handful.............
__________________
"I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa
FITASC is offline  
Old March 4, 2017, 02:21 PM   #19
Cheapshooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 2, 2007
Location: Missouri
Posts: 8,306
Kahr CM9 or if you want to spend almost twice the money on unnecessary "niceties", the PM9
Of course if you are in to $1500 status symbol guns there was the Rohrbaugh. That is until Remington bought the company, and kinda, sorta turned it in to a $300 380.
There also was the odd, backward working Boberg for a grand or so. Seems the odd system of chambering a round tended to rip bullets out of the case sometimes.https://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/boberg-xr9-s/
I think Bond Arms bought the patent, maybe they can make it work for less$$$.
__________________
Cheapshooter's rules of gun ownership #1: NEVER SELL OR TRADE ANYTHING!

Last edited by Cheapshooter; March 4, 2017 at 07:31 PM.
Cheapshooter is offline  
Old March 4, 2017, 02:43 PM   #20
HistoryJunky
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 7, 2010
Location: Freeport, IL
Posts: 833
I have to admit, I have considered buying a DB9 just to see if it would work.
HistoryJunky is offline  
Old March 4, 2017, 03:10 PM   #21
SDF880
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 14, 2009
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 390
Kahr PM/CM 9 work well for me!
SDF880 is offline  
Old March 4, 2017, 03:39 PM   #22
Buckeye!
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 1, 2008
Posts: 848
I like my PT709 Slim
Buckeye! is offline  
Old March 4, 2017, 06:24 PM   #23
Hillbilly Jim
Member
 
Join Date: June 28, 2008
Location: mid missouri
Posts: 19
The KelTec PF9 weighs 12.7 ounces. Can be found used for less than 300 bucks. Accurate and dependable. My favorite small 9mm.
Its up to you to hold it.
Hillbilly Jim is offline  
Old March 4, 2017, 08:16 PM   #24
Laz
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 12, 1999
Posts: 1,278
The Sig P290rs is quite small but not nearly the lightest at 20.5 ounces. Still it is 5.5 inches long; a skosh over 4 inches tall counting the sights, and just under an inch thick. Hammer-fired true DAO with a long but smooth revolver-like trigger. Handles plus P fine. $492 MSRP, low 400s real world price. I love mine and just bought another. 2.9 inch barrel.
__________________
Laz

I’m just a nobody, trying to tell everybody, about Somebody, who can save anybody.
Laz is offline  
Old March 4, 2017, 08:54 PM   #25
PSP
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 2, 2006
Location: Bowling Green Virginia
Posts: 4,485
Kimber Micro 9 at 6.1", 15.6 ounces, 3.15" barrel. That's pretty compact and light.

PSP is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:23 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.10734 seconds with 11 queries