Choices of small handguns

[Tim May]

On Saturday, December 29, 2001, at 03:00 PM, Faustine wrote:
> Hm, whatever works, I guess. Sheer stealth isn't as much a factor for 
> me as is
> accuracy, reliability and being able to avoid the "woman with a 
> peashooter"
> image. All rhetoric aside (but with all that in mind) I've actually been
> thinking of getting a 9mm, something along the lines of a Glock 26, a 
> Kahr P9
> or maybe a Sig-Sauer P239. Any thoughts?

Well, I have nearly all of these. Not the MicroGlock, but the others. 
Here are my opinions:

* Kahr K40, a slightly larger .40 S&W variant of the 9mm version. I like 
this the most of all of my small handguns. Stainless steel (*), heavy 
enough to aid accuracy for follow-up shots, double action only (meaning 
nothing to think about, nothing to worry about with de-cocking). Limited 
to 6 rounds (5 in the mag, 1 in the pipe). I bought mine slightly used 
for $450, with 6 mags total. It also has night sights. The 9mm version 
is probably just as nice a version, and holds one more round. There are 
also smaller variants, with names like "Micro K9," or somesuch. Some of 
them are too small in my hand. The K40 fits my hand like a glove: small, 
but not too small, flat, and _dense_.

(* I've heard some claim that stainless steel is not a good idea, as it 
glints in the dark. Perhaps, but this seems like a second-order effect 
for any real use. It is also possible to get it in blackened stainless, 
as the SIGs are commonly in.)

* SIG P239, also in .40 S&W. Like my 229 (bigger, 15 rounds), it shoots 
very well and is flat and concealable. The operation is double action on 
the first pull, single action on subsequent pulls. After the last shot, 
the decocker must be used to lower the hammer. (I think this is a little 
confusing for newcomers, and could cause accidents.) I bought mine used 
for $450, a range rental (with mild range rental loads) with almost no 
visible wear.

* H&K P7, the famous "squeeze-cocker." I had wanted one of these since 
reading about them in 1980, so when H&K was selling a bunch of reworked 
and remarket P7s at a good price ($550 or so), I bought one. Very 
elegant, very unusual. Mine is in 9mm. Very safe, but takes a bit of 
getting used to.

* I have one Glock, a 1986-vintage Model 17, the first ones they 
imported into the U.S. 9mm, 17-18 shots. It does the job, is safe, and 
is a reliable standby. Many people swear by them. A Glock 19 is slightly 
smaller. And then there are the aforementioned Model 26s and 27s (.40, I 
recall).

The Glock 26 would probably be a good choice for a woman, due to the 
smaller hands most women have. 9mm is more than adequate, especially 
when loaded with something like Hydra-Shok or Golden Saber or the like.

I like my Kahr, followed by my H&K P7, followed by my SIGs.

(I also have a full-sized H&K USP .45, and other handguns, of course.)


--Tim May
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only 
exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from 
the Public Treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for 
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the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy 
always followed by dictatorship." --Alexander Fraser Tyler