I wondered if the advent of guns such as the Springfield Hellcat, SIG P365, and S&W Shield Plus had made some of my older carry guns obsolete. I’m talking specifically about guns with steel and alloy frames rather than polymer. I decided to conduct a test. My metal guns include the Beretta M9, SIG P226, Walther Q4SF, and the all metal S&W M&P 2.0. I figured to carry each one of these guns for 3–5 days to see how they fared compared to the SIG P365 or Shield Plus I’ve been carrying lately. On board with me so far?
Loading Up
When I loaded my M9, it tipped the scales at 38.9 ounces. Compare that with the Shield Plus fully loaded at 25.8 ounces and you get a 13.1-ounce difference. The Shield carries 18 rounds of .30 Super Carry and the M9 carries 16 rounds of 9mm. Not too much difference there. Would I notice the weight difference on my hip? There’s only one way to know.
Using a Bullard Leather Company IWB holster, I donned the M9 in the three o’clock position. It felt pretty good, but I’d have to give it some wearing time to make a quality judgement. One thing I’d have to remember was that the Shield has no thumb safety but the M9 does.
Day one of carrying the M9 was not uncomfortable at all, but I found I was more aware of my gun than I was when carrying something such as the Shield or the SIG P365. The lighter, smaller guns seem to disappear from my awareness, because I’m not feeling it when I wear one of them. I was definitely feeling the heavier gun, but not in a bad way. I found myself wanting to go shoot it.
The day I replaced the M9 in my holster with a SIG P226, it felt like old home week. Seriously, the P226 was one of the first guns I carried when starting out my concealed carry days. That one was a .40 caliber, and somewhere along the way, I sold it. The replacement was a Legion P226 9mm.
The SIG is even heavier than the Beretta, weighing in at 40 ounces loaded. That’s twice the 20 ounces of my SIG P365. Although I do enjoy the lighter weight of the P365, I don’t find the P226 uncomfortable at all.
Next was the Walther Q4 SF. ‘Steel Frame’ is even part of the name on this one. It has the best trigger of any gun I own and is dead-on accurate, which makes it fun to own. However, I was about to find out whether it was fun to carry. Tipping the scales at two ounces less than three pounds (46 ounces) this gun was heavy to hold, and it was going to be heavy to wear.
I’ve got one of those Nexus belts that you slide through the buckle to tighten. I gave it an extra umph to ensure my pants weren’t going to slide down on me with the Walther tugging at them. Fifteen minutes into the Q4’s allotted time, I was ready to throw in the towel and admit there is such thing as a gun that’s too heavy to carry concealed all day. This is where the alloy frame may reign supreme, the steel is just too heavy.
Maybe this is what some of you feel about carrying a 30-ounce gun. I do have a PDP that’s a very similar gun but with a polymer frame. I’m thinking that would be my Walther choice. For now, this one doesn’t fit all-metal parameters.
I gave up on the Walther Q4SF as a carry gun the first day. I moved on to the next gun on my list, the Smith and Wesson Metal M&P 2.0. Fully loaded, it weighs 30 ounces, which is a whole pound less than the Walther Q4 SF. I’ve owned and carried M&Ps through the years and having this one in all metal is kind of a novelty. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a serious gun.
I switched to a N8 Tactical IWB holster, because the M&P grip texture is rough and the N8 holster has a backing to protect me from the uncomfortable rubbing of the grip against my skin. After several days of carrying the M&P, I switched back to the lighter weight of the SIG P365. I knew instantly why the smaller guns were developed.
Even for a serious, carry every day, kinda guy like me, I must admit some of my ‘admired and trusted’ guns are a little too uncomfortable to carry compared to guns such as the Hellcat, SIG P365, and Shield Plus — all of which give you enough gun to hold onto and significant capacity. However, they aren’t so heavy that they pull on you all day.
How did they shoot?
I promised my steel guns when I started this project that I would take them shooting before it was all done, and I did. I had a couple of other shooting projects on my plate but made room in the shooting bag for the M9, P226, Walther Q4SF, and Metal M&P 2.0. At the last minute, I swapped the M9 for my Girsan Regard, a clone that matches the M9 in size and weight.
I have not shot the Regard much and felt this would be good use of my range time while still fulfilling the original purpose I had set. As part of my shooting outing, I put up a target sheet with six individual targets. My plan was to use the top four for the steel guns, one target for each.
There’s a picture of those targets posted here. Top left was the Girsan Regard, top right was the SIG P226. On the second row, the left target was the Walther Q4SF. Normally, it’s a great shooter, but I let two rounds get away (flyers). To me it was a simple matter of not properly exercising the sighting, breathing, and trigger control fundamentals properly.
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The righthand target on that row was the S&W M&P. All four of those guns are great shooters and will fare well as home defense guns or vehicle console guns. I’ve given some thought, also, to their role as carry guns and it boils down to this. If I have time to dress properly and a special place to go, one of those guns (except for the Walther), will more than likely make the trip.
However, if I leave the house unexpectedly wearing my everyday clothes, I’m more than likely going to pick up the holster and belt combination that I have loaded, as my carry gun for the day. Does that make sense? Sometimes I leave the house with such short warning, I simply stick one of the smaller carry guns in my pocket.
Final Thoughts
I know why the smaller guns were produced, and I’m on board with it. My caution to all who will listen. A smaller gun needs more practice, more range time, more overall consideration, and investment of time than a full-size gun does to be proficient. Remember, we don’t carry a gun because it’s comfortable to carry. We carry it because we might be forced to use it.
Now it’s time to consider larger handguns that don’t weigh much more. I have several guns in the Glock 19 size and weight category that are not a problem to carry. The Glock 19 is one, and it is joined by the Walther PDP, Beretta PX4, CZ P07, and a few others. Also, I’ve always been able to carry and shoot Commander-size 1911s.
Where do you fall on the all-steel carry gun debate? What size carry gun you are comfortable with? Share your answers in the comment section.