Best Single Stack 9mm Pistols: Great CCW Options

What goes better than cookies and milk? 9mm and concealed carry guns. Specifically single-stack guns. And because we like cookies and milk and CCW guns in 9mm, we’ll evaluate some of the most popular models to determine the best single stack 9mm pistols.

Single stack 9mms are so popular we have given their own category outside of the “standard” sizes: full size, compact, and subcompact dichotomy.

Many great single-stack 9mms are out there, and they dominate the market. Why are single-stack 9mms so popular?

That’s a great question. We’re going to answer it today.

WHY A SINGLE STACK?

Best Single Stack 9mm Pistols – Great CCW Options

Editor’s Choice Glock 43X		Modern and Modular with light and optics options Inherent Glock reliability Easy to handle and low recoil	Check Price
Easiest To Handle S&W Shield EZ 9		Perfect for those with low hand strength Easy to load and manipulate Accurate with a good trigger	Check Price
Best CCW Walther PPS M2		Modular magazine and grip sizes Excellent ergonomics Lightweight and compact	Check Price
Soft Shooter Springfield Armory EMP		Small, without harsh recoil Excellent single-action trigger Fabulous 1911 Ergonomics	Check Price
Best Budget Option S&W Shield		Superbly affordable Proven platform Massive aftermarket	Check Price
Best Pocket Pistol Beretta APX Carry		Superbly light and thin Multiple magazine and grip sizes Excellent Ergonomics	Check Price
The Wildcard Avidity Arms PD-10		The full grip allows for excellent control Optics Ready Superb trigger system	Check Price

Single stack 9mms are immensely popular for concealed carry due to their size. The smaller a gun is, the easier it is to carry comfortably and the easier it to conceal. Small, lightweight handguns don’t tug on your belt, sag in your pants, or cause you to constantly adjust your belt and pants.

The thin design also makes these guns less bulky. Single stack 9mms don’t stick out or cause serious bulges when hidden under a t-shirt. People of nearly any size can carry a 9mm single stick conveniently and comfortably.

Speaking of different sized shooters, single stack 9mms offer superior ergonomics for most shooters. The thin grip that envelopes the thin magazine makes it easy to fit into most shooter’s hands. Even shooters with big hands will often experience a more comfortable grip when it’s thinner.

These are the big whys when it comes to why a single stack is such a popular choice, but let’s dig into what the best single stacks are.

Best Single Stack 9mm Spec Comparison

GLOCK 43X REVIEW

I often call the Glock 43X the central A/C of the gun world. Everything about it is comfortable. It’s the G43 with a longer grip essentially. The G43X is part of Glock’s slimline series of 9mm pistols. These guns are designed for concealed carry and all four of them are exceptional guns, but the G43X is undeniably the best of all worlds for shooting, for concealed carry, and for daily use. 

The G43X offers you a full sized grip that fills your hand and offers you an excellent purchase of the gun. This makes it easy to control the gun’s recoil and easy to shoot rapidly and with ease. The gun’s short barrel makes it easy to conceal and ncarry in nearly any carry style. It’s wel lsutied for AIWB, OWB, or anything besides pocket carry.

The G43X gives you ten rounds of 9mm in a basic single stack magazine. There are some aftermarket 15 rounders available that provide you with a little more ammo, but those break our single stack rule. The G43X is just about like every Glock on the market. It’s got a decent trigger, unbeatable reliability, and the cheapest plastic iron sights on the market. 

Having a shorter slide means having a shorter sight radius, but that problem disappears with the MOS model. Toss a red dot on the gun and you don’t have sight radius problems anymore. The G43X gives you all the modern features you could ever want with that legendary Glock simplicity and reliability. 

The G43X gives you a compact, lightweight, slim, 9mm with ten rounds of ammo in a pakcage that’s fairly easy top shoot and very easy to carry. As far as handguns go the G43X gives an excellent combination of size and capability.

GLOCK 43X RAIL PROS AND CONS

S&W SHIELD EZ 9MM REVIEW

Do you have weaker hands? Issues racking the slide or loading a magazine? Well, if so, then the S&W Shield EZ 9mm might be for you.

The S&W EZ series is specifically designed to address the problems people with weaker hands have with automatic handguns.

S&W built this gun to be insanely easy to handle.

The slide features small wings, aggressive serrations, and an ultra-easy to rack slide. It glides rearward with almost no effort.

The original Shield requires 23 pounds of force to operate the slide, and the EZ series is only 13 pounds of force.

The Shield EZ is not the smallest gun, but the size also makes it lighter recoiling and easier to handle.

The Shield gives you eight rounds of 9mm in an easy to load magazine. The magazine has two nubs that can be pulled downwards to make loading each round much easier.

This means no more squeezing in rounds one at a time and fighting the spring the entire time. The EZ 9 is an easy shooting gun perfect for those with arthritis, weak hands, or other impediments.

S&W SHIELD EZ 9MM PROS AND CONS

WALTHER PPS M2 REVIEW

How can your gun be wrong if James Bond carries it? Bond carries a PPS, at least in the novels, and Walther’s little 9mm single stack is quite popular.

The Walther PPS M2 is the latest and greatest in the PPS family and is an excellent choice for concealed carry. What I appreciate most about the PPS series is the various magazines available for the gun.

The PPS M2 can accommodate 6, 7, and 8 round magazines.

The 6 round offers a flush-fitting magazine to reduce the gun’s size as much as possible.

The 7 and 8 round magazines offer slightly longer grips for improved control and capacity. These various magazine sizes allow you to tailor the size of the gun to your hand, your personal situation, and your means of concealed carry.

It can be pocket carried with the six-round magazine, or OWB carried with an 8 round magazine for maximum ammunition and control. Another option the Walther PPS M2 offers is an optically enhanced model that comes from the factory fitted with a Shield RMSc sight.

The Walther PPS M2 is an outstanding carry gun that’s thin, ultra-lightweight, and modular for various carry situations.

WALTHER PPS M2 PROS AND CONS

Springfield Armory EMP REVIEW

I often think of the Springfield 1911 EMP as the tailor-made suit of the concealed carry world. Everything about it is refined, intentional, and perfectly fitted. While most “compact” 1911s are simply chopped-down versions of the original .45 ACP design, the EMP (Enhanced Micro Pistol) was engineered from the ground up specifically around the 9mm cartridge. 

The EMP offers a shortened grip frame that reduces the fore-to-aft circumference by about 10% compared to a standard 1911. This might sound minor on paper, but in the hand, it provides a comfortable grip that allows even those with average or smaller hands to wrap their fingers completely around the controls. This reduced geometry makes the snappiness of the 9mm feel like a gentle push, allowing for rapid, flat shooting that most subcompacts simply can’t match.

You get nine rounds of 9mm in a flush-fit magazine, giving you a 9+1 capacity in a package that disappears under a light t-shirt. Unlike the polymer-framed competition, the EMP is built with a forged stainless steel slide and an aluminum alloy frame. 

It carries a bit more “heft” than a plastic gun, but that weight is exactly what makes it so comfortable to shoot at the range for those high round count days. It’s a carry gun that doesn’t punish you for practicing with it.

Being a 1911, the trigger is the star of the show. It’s a crisp, short-reset match grade trigger that puts basic striker-fired pistols to shame. While many modern carries come with plastic sights, Springfield ships the EMP with high-quality low-profile combat sights. This includes a high visibility fiber optic front sight that’s easy to track.

It retains that classic 1911 manual of arms, including the grip safety and ambidextrous thumb safety, providing an extra layer of security for those who prefer “cocked and locked” carry.

The EMP gives you a premium, all-metal, shrunk-to-fit 9mm that balances heirloom quality with modern defensive capability. It is the perfect marriage of John Browning’s legendary ergonomics and the requirements of the modern concealed carrier.

Springfield Armory EMP PROS AND CONS

S&W SHIELD REVIEW

The S&W Shield is one of the old school single stack 9mm handguns. It premiered to great applause well before the single stack 9mm became a category of firearms. The Shield is a little chunkier than most but is still an awesome carry gun that’s been serving concealed carriers for almost a decade.

Price-wise, the S&W is a name brand pistol with an MSRP of a mere $385 dollars. Guns rarely sell for MSRP, and I’ve seen the Shield sell for less than $250.

The S&W Shield is a budget pistol, but that doesn’t grant budget performance. The gun keeps up every other single stack 9mm regardless of its price.

The S&W Shield holds seven rounds of 9mm, comes with two magazines, and is ready out of the box for concealed carry.

Because the gun has been popular for so long, the aftermarket is absolutely massive and filled with quality holsters, aftermarket triggers, magazines, and more.

S&W SHIELD PROS AND CONS

BERETTA APX CARRY REVIEW

The Beretta APX Carry is the best single stack 9mm for pocket carry because of its small size and lightweight design.

The SIG 938 could take this role, but the single-action hammer pokes and prods while in the pocket. The APX is a superbly smooth gun that doesn’t dig into your body when pocket carried. The APX is ultra-thin at less than an inch thick; it’s only 4.17 inches in height.

The APX Carry slides in and out of your pocket without issue, and with the 6 round magazine, the gun is incredibly small and convenient to carry.

If six rounds aren’t enough for you, then the additional 8 round magazine gives you a longer grip and more ammo.

The APX Carry features a very ergonomic grip that conforms to your hand and provides you with an aggressive grip texture to keep the gun locked into your hand.

The distinct slide serrations make the slide easy to manipulate with both its forward and rear serrations. The trigger is a single action striker-fired design with a short trigger pull with a nice and tactile reset. The APX Carry is an outstanding firearm and is perfect for pocket carry.

BERETTA APX CARRY PROS AND CONS

Avidity Arms PD-10 REVIEW

The Avidity Arms PD-10 is a bit of a darkhorse in the concealed carry pistol world. Everything about it is built for efficiency, designed by a trainer who spent years watching people struggle with guns that didn’t quite fit. While the industry has obsessed over “micro-compacts,” the PD-10 takes a different path. It’s a full-sized shooting experience that has been put on a radical diet to make it disappear on your belt.

The PD-10 offers a full-length grip that comfortably accommodates all three fingers, yet the entire pistol is incredibly slim at just 0.9 inches wide. This isn’t just a slimmed-down Glock; it’s a purpose-built frame designed to fit the widest possible range of hand sizes. Because of its 4-inch barrel and low bore axis, it tracks like a service pistol during rapid fire, giving you the control of a much larger gun without the usual double-stack bulk.

Capacity-wise, you get 10+1 rounds of 9mm using a single-stack magazine based on the proven 1911 pattern. This choice was intentional. It keeps the grip profile uniform and flat, providing enhanced ergonomics and a better overall grip. While some might chase the 15-round polymer mags of other platforms, the PD-10 prioritizes the consistency and reliability of a metal single-stack design that’s easy to index and reload.

The “PD” in the name stands for Personal Defense, and it shows in the details. It features a “Claw” rear sight designed specifically for one-handed slide manipulations against a belt or boot, and an Ameriglo front sight that’s easy to pick up in a hurry. The trigger is a smooth, striker-fired system that feels more like a refined “rolling” break than the mushy “wall” found on many budget carries. 

The PD-10 gives you a mid-sized, ultra-slim, 18-ounce 9mm that handles like a duty gun but hides like a subcompact. It’s a specialized tool for the person who cares more about how a gun performs under stress than how many rounds they can cram into the baseplate. It’s an uncompromising defensive package that proves “thin” is still one of the most important features a carry gun can have.

Avidity Arms PD-10 PROS AND CONS

BEST SINGLE STACK 9MM PISTOL BUYERS GUIDE

Are you looking to get the most out of your new single stack 9mm? If so, you should know what to look for. Choosing the best pistol for you can be difficult. Hopefully, we can help make that decision a bit easier.

FOR NEW GUN BUYERS

If this is your first gun or perhaps just your first 9mm handgun, then there are definitely some things you should also consider so as to not only get the most out of your gun but keep it safe and those around you.

• Extra Magazines: Most of these guns are going to come with one or two magazines, but you’ll quickly find that these just aren’t enough. Unless you like spending most of your time reloading instead of actually shooting, the cool thing is that in several cases, you’ll be able to find extended magazines for your new 9mm. Just be sure that they’re legal to have in your state. Some states actually limit your gun’s capacity, so be wary.
• Gun Cleaning Kit: Responsibly owning a 9mm pistol also includes knowing how to care for it. And that means breaking it down, cleaning it, and reassembly. You’ll need to ensure you pick up a top-notch cleaning kit so you can ensure you get all the gunk out of places gunk doesn’t need to be. We recommend the Gloryfire Universal Cleaning Kit on Amazon.
• Shooting Glasses: If you’ve never shot a gun before, then you may not be aware of the reasons why you’d need safety glasses. But all it takes is one piece of hot brass in your eye, and 5you could be looking at serious injury. Check out our article on the Best Shooting Glasses to determine the right fit for you.
• Hearing Protection: It’s pretty obvious, but…guns go bang. And it doesn’t take much to start causing hearing damage. Protect your ears and hearing by picking up some premium ear pro. There are many different great options available too. Find out the best for you in our Best Shooting Hearing Protection review.
• Storage: Finally, if you’re going to be a safe gun owner, you’re going to want to properly store your pistol. Leaving it out and about where anyone can just snatch it up isn’t an option. We recommend the Vaultek Lifepod on Amazon. It’s a great safe that’s dustproof, airtight, and even waterproof. The Lifepod even floats if accidentally spilled overboard!

BEST AMMO FOR NEW GUN BUYERS

What’s the first thing you want to do when you purchase a firearm? Shoot it, obviously! So you’ll need ammo, and quality ammo is the best route to take. Good quality ammunition ensures proper reliability, keeps damage down, and doesn’t risk an exploding cartridge.

For a self-defense firearm, you’ll want to purchase two types of ammunition—one for practice and one for self-defense.

Federal 124 Grain HST

The Federal 124 grain HST loads are one of the most trusted self-defense loads out there. It’s the ammo chosen by dozens of police agencies across the country, and for a good reason, it works. The Federal HST loads shoot straight, feature expansive jacketed hollow point projectiles, and function reliably in all conditions.

Check Price

Reduced Recoil – SIG P365 115 Grain JHPs

SIG Ammo has exploded in popularity, and their self-defense ammunition is premium grade stuff. It’s superbly accurate, easy to shoot, and this 365 variant is designed for short-barreled firearms. It’s a light load with slightly reduced recoil and muzzle rise, as well as low flash powders for short barrels.

Check Price

Winchester White Box 115 grain

This brass cased load is as simple as it gets. For practice ammo, simple is good. Simple is cheap, simple is reliable, and Winchester White Box can be found in any self-respecting sporting goods store.

Check Price

WHY A 9MM SINGLE STACK?

We covered why a single stack is so great, and you stuck with us long enough that I’ll let you know why a 9mm single stack is the perfect choice for concealed carry.

The first reason is that smaller guns are harder to shoot than bigger guns. That’s just how it is. However, we can make shooting smaller guns easier by utilizing the right caliber. 9mm just so happens to work perfectly and offer projectile options that work well with small, single-stack 9mm handguns.

9mm comes in projectile weights, and velocities that range from 90 grain reduced recoil loads to 147-grain loads, to the fast and powerful 124-grain +P loads. Each offers a different level of recoil, and you can choose the right combination of power and recoil management that’s perfect for you. The 9mm round offers excellent and competent ballistics with minimal recoil.

Ballistically 9mm performs very well from short barrels, even with lighter 115-grain rounds. It penetrates deep enough to stop a threat, and with proper jacketed hollow points, the round can expand enough to create significant distress in the body.

When it comes to capacity, the 9mm is also a great compromise. Single stack means capacity is typically going to be on the tight side. With the 9mm round, you can typically squeeze in one extra round over 40 S&W or 357 SIG.

The 380 ACP and 9mm often have the same capacities, but the 9mm has a little more oomph than the 380 ACP, as well as better defensive options.

THE DOWN AND DIRTY ON SINGLE STACKS

Now there are some things you need to be aware of before you jump into the world of single-stack 9mms. I hesitate to call them downsides because they are not necessarily bad things. They are just things to be aware of.

Single stack 9mms are mostly small guns; very few reach beyond that, with the exception of guns like the Glock 48 and P239; this entire list is made up of tiny carry guns. Smaller guns can be harder to shoot due to their shorter sight radius, increase in recoil and muzzle rise, and shorter grips.

The thin grips and lightweight can cause the gun to give you a good little smack. Imagine an intense high five when the gun is fired. This isn’t universal but is more common with small, single-stack guns. Thin grips are comfortable, but they displace force in the form of recoil in a more focused manner. Wider grips spread recoil throughout the hand, and thin grips focus the recoil into one small area.

Without a doubt, small, single stack, 9mm guns require more training and practice to be fast and accurate. The investment is well worth the time to master the small gun.

LIMITED AMMO?

You may have noticed that I didn’t list limited ammo. Ammo capacity is all relative. An FN Five-Seven with a 30 round seems like a lot, but to a machine gunner carrying 500 rounds, it’s nothing. Different guns have different roles.

If you are carrying a small gun, you will have a decrease in ammunition capacity. More ammo is always nice to have, but having less isn’t always a downside. Once you focus on the gun’s size in relation to its capacity, you can determine if the ammunition capacity is efficient.

A 45 Colt Derringer is about the size of a single stack 9mm, but you only get two rounds. That’s inefficient. A 9mm holding 7 to 10 rounds in an easily concealable package is an efficient design.

The overwhelming majority of defensive shootings never go beyond a few rounds fired before the fight is over. Can more rounds be fired? Yes. Has it happened? Yep. Does that mean a single stack 9mm makes you poorly armed?

Nope. Being poorly trained in using your single stack 9mm makes you poorly armed.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A SINGLE STACK 9MM

If you are shopping beyond this list, you might be wondering about other guns not listed. Maybe you saw a screaming good deal on a different gun, and you’re not sure if it’s a good gun or not. That’s fair, and to help you decide, I’ve added a few things I look for when shopping for single stack 9mms.

Magazine options are the first thing. Can you purchase additional magazines easily? If you can’t find extra mags, you might be down a creek without a paddle should you break or lose one.

I would also ensure the gun’s likely short grips fit your hands. The more of your hand that fits in your hand, the better you’ll be able to control it. I hate a hanging pinky personally and prefer a nice full grip on my guns. Don’t fret if, at first, the gun doesn’t fit all three fingers.

Single stack guns often have varying magazine capacities that may offer you a little extra room to grip the gun. On top of that, magazines can be fitted with extended baseplates to provide a better grip on the gun with very minimal bulk. A Google search will show you companies like Pearce grip extensions make tons of low price options to make your gun a little easier to hold onto.

Reliability is a huge key in considering your handgun. Who makes the gun? Major companies like Glock, SIG, S&W, FN, CZ, and a few more all make extremely well-made guns designed to function reliably. New companies can do great things, but it’s often a good idea to let others Beta test new guns.

Aftermarket support is another important factor in firearm selection. It’s great that you got a new carry gun, but what if there is no holster for it? What if grip extensions aren’t available? Research the aftermarket for the firearm and ensure you’ll have access to good holsters, magazine accessories, magazine pouches, and heck, even mags.

Warranty, warranty, warranty is a huge factor in me purchasing a firearm. If the company stands behind the product, they’ll have a warranty. If they don’t have a good warranty or some kind of limited two-year deal, they don’t stand behind their products.

OVER AND OUT

The single stack 9mm market is massive. It provides you with near-endless options for concealed carry firearms in the world’s favorite caliber, 9mm. With such a big market, we knew we had to make it a little easier to navigate, and I hope you fine folks walk away knowing not only what the best single stack 9mms are but with a degree in single stackology.