Alternative to LC9s

[Swissy]

Good Morning All,

My fiance purchased a LC9s for her concealed carry at a GRB show a couple of months ago, and she really does not like it. She describes it as hurting her hand.

She wants something with an external safety in the same size range. Is there anything comparable you could recommend?

She has fired her fathers M&P Shield and enjoys it, I do as well. I thought the Ruger was quite snappy, but a good firearm. I am thinking about taking it, but I am quite partial to the XD series and possibly getting the Shield.

[TVegas]

Good Morning All,

My fiance purchased a LC9s for her concealed carry at a GRB show a couple of months ago, and she really does not like it. She describes it as hurting her hand.

She wants something with an external safety in the same size range. Is there anything comparable you could recommend?

She has fired her fathers M&P Shield and enjoys it, I do as well. I thought the Ruger was quite snappy, but a good firearm. I am thinking about taking it, but I am quite partial to the XD series and possibly getting the Shield.

Shield with a thumb safety may be the best bet, but I would make sure she feels comfortable with flipping the safety on and off. It's very small and kind of in an awkward position.

[Swissy]

Luckily she has small hands and had a good experience with the Shield at the range.

She is stuck on having a thumb safety though, as she is worried about it going off in her purse. I support whatever makes her comfortable as I feel she needs to carry being in both Real Estate and Houston.

[JALLEN]

Isn't it a matter of physics that the same forces fired from a smaller lighter platform are going to be felt more?

I remember Randy Matson, the Aggie shot putter of 40+ years ago, talking about shooting 16" shells from a destroyer. This seemed to explain why the enormous Matson (6'7", ~280) could fling a shot >70' while skinny little me could barely pick one up.

I shoot a GP100 which handles .357 magnum reasonably well. The SP101 handles the same round a lot less so, and those S&W Airweights are so uncomfortable, I would rather throw the pistol at someone rather than shoot them with one.

Comfort is a luxury purchased at the cost of either a more substantial pistol, or a smaller, less powerful round. Or so it seems.

[jrs_diesel]

I'd like to suggest an XDs 9mm.

My wife carries the 3.3 inch model and she has no problems shooting it. She can handle my XD45, but it's rough on her hands after a few shots. The XDs feels much better to her and fits her hands nicely.

It does not have a thumb safety, but does have the grip safety. She is not a fan of purse carry, as she would not want to lose her gun in a purse snatching incident.

[NotRPB]

My opinion
WHERE does it hurt?
slide bite?
Thumb knuckle?
Web of hand?
Palm?

If an LC9 hurts her hand
Avoid the PF9 then ... the Keltec PF9 has a sharper squared corner on the grip at the web of the hand/thumb knuckle area where many are rounded
Keltec's P11 doesn't hurt my hand, but PF9 does

Lighter weight ammo such as Critical Defense 115gr FTX (#90250) or Speer Gold Dot Personal Protection #23614 (the 115 grain) reduces recoil too and both are good self defense loads I carry Critical Defense with the rubber plug to help expansion in Winter (theory is that winter coats may plug Speer's hollow point, ...I don't know.. I carry either in Summer)

I carry a Glock 26 with extended ported barrel, the extra weight from more ammo reduces recoil, the port reduces muzzle rise for quicker sight re-acquisition; redirects force which reduces recoil a little.

I own a Stainless Taurus PT709 Slim which does not hurt and has a thumb safety and it's a slimmer reduced capacity not double stack gun, lighter weight, It and all Glocks and XDs I have have the Advantage Tactical Sights Orange Rear, Yellow front like the top left photo here
http://www.advantagetactical.com/


My Springfield XD is good (Mine is 4" XD45 Stainless) has thumb safety doesn't hurt hand, ...here we also have double stack and more weight reducing recoil, and I changed out barrel to extended ported barrel to reduce muzzle rise, quicker sight re-acquisition/redirects force which reduces recoil a little, and Advantage Tactical sights too. but the dovetail for changing sights to the advantage tactical sights requires a sight pusher and great strength (best done by a real professional Gunsmith with the proper sight pusher, not just any old hammer and screwdriver)

http://www.advantagetactical.com/handgu ... ofessional


rounded corners
Lighter weight ammo
Heavier gun (or more ammo for more weight)

[Swissy]

It hurts her in the web of her hand and palm.

She has a XD9 sub compact that she keeps in the nightstand and enjoys shooting. I will try talking her in to the XD9s since she is so comfortable with XD series....it makes sense. I do not believe she has shot the s yet. I love the XD series and believe in it greatly!

[NotRPB]

If you are close to Marble Falls/Bertram/Lampasas areas, I'd be happy to lend the PT709/P11, etc pistols to try but I only have the xd45.
I like XD, but wish they'd get rid of that overly tight dovetail FRONT sight mounting method.
I need to lower my front sight, shoots low and to the right, costs adjust it each time, but Glock front sight adjusting, I just remove screw and added or removed shim spacers, easy.

Guess I could spend $100 for an XD sight pusher to use one time only ...

[Swissy]

If you are close to Marble Falls/Bertram/Lampasas areas, I'd be happy to lend the PT709/P11

Thanks for the offer but we are in Houston, so that would be a drive! I think next weekend we are going to try a couple of rentals at the range and see before going back to GRB Nov 14th and getting something. Hoping to possibly get a good trade value on the LC9s as I want to purchase a better concealed at the same time as well!

[Rhino1]

I have several that I carry depending on the circumstances. Among those is the Shield (mine w/o safety but available) and Sig 938 (9mm vs 238 in .380). Sig is more expensive but like a mini 1911. Love them both.

A lot of recoil issues can be mitigated by proper grip, stance, etc. You may be proficient, but my analogy of teaching your wife how to shoot is like teaching her to ski. I have a good friend who teaches at several locations in Houston. I have taken competition lessons from him before we moved away. He teaches a lot of women as well. I think he has both the Sig and a Shield and helps shooters (both women and men) make the right choice.

Send me a PM if you want his contact info. Only bad thing is he went to LSU, but sent his daughter to A&M!

[Swissy]

Oh I 100% believe she and I both could use some shooting instruction for concealed carry. You're not speaking out of line one bit!

Sounds like there is plenty of support for the XD on here!

I am an Aggie, we can all play nice!

[jrs_diesel]

There will be a tradeoff moving from an XD9sc to an XDs9.

The XDs 9 will be slimmer, but have half the capacity since it's a single stack. It's either 7+1 or 8+1 with the mid-mag extension. The XDs is also slightly shorter too.


Don't know where in Houston you are, but The Arms Room down in League City/Dickinson area has an XDs 9 for rent.

[Swissy]

There will be a tradeoff moving from an XD9sc to an XDs9.

The XDs 9 will be slimmer, but have half the capacity since it's a single stack. It's either 7+1 or 8+1 with the mid-mag extension. The XDs is also slightly shorter too.


Don't know where in Houston you are, but The Arms Room down in League City/Dickinson area has an XDs 9 for rent.

I guess that brings up another question, more for myself than her. I think I would rather purchase the .45 ACP if given the option, as I am only getting 1-2 less capacity. I just wonder if I am placed in the situation to fire, do I want more power or added capacity in the event the bad guy does not drop?

I heard good things about the Arms Room and want to check it out, I need to head down to Galveston for some sushi as I am back in Texas and haven't been in that area for years.

[Rhino1]

That my young friend, is the eternal question. You may have opened Pandora's Box with the caliber vs capacity question. I won't weigh into that other than to say that shot placement trumps caliber. I'd rather hit my threat center mass with a 9mm than wing him with a .45. Ammo improvements have largely negated the knock on 9mm from years ago. It goes back to training and regular practice. I suggest you and your wife look into one of the action pistol sports. PSC in Friendswood runs one of the best IDPA matches anywhere on 4th Saturday of every month. Don't confuse IDPA (or USPSA) with tactical training, but it does teach tactical skills. You are manipulating the gun on the clock but with heavy emphasis on accuracy. I have never shot an IDPA match anywhere that did not welcome new shooters with open arms.

[jrs_diesel]

I'd let your wife make the caliber decision

We rented our XD's before we bought. Like I said earlier, my wife can handle a 45 (XD45 4"), but did not like it after a few shots, recoil was just a hair too much for her. I imagine the smaller XDs in 45 would feel a bit worse for recoil than the full size, which would put you back to square one like you are in now with the LC9. The XDs9 felt much better for my wife, and she has no problems with it.

The Arms Room is a nice shop. What I liked is that they didn't try to push a mouse gun or small caliber on my wife at all, they showed her exactly what she asked to see. Nice range too.