Best 9mm Pistols For Defense, Competition And Beyond

Whether you need a handgun for the nightstand, competition or just plinking, here are our picks for the best 9mm pistols.

Our 9mm Pistol Picks:

While the best handgun caliber is still an often-debated question, it’s far less heated than it used to be. Fans of .45 ACP, 10mm Auto and 5.7x28mm all have their arguments, but today even their most dedicated users will usually begrudgingly admit that 9x19mm Parabellum is a very good round as well.

There’s a reason why it’s become the de facto standard of handgun cartridges around the globe, and for most shooters in the market for a new pistol, 9mm is the most logical choice outside of specific use cases like bear defense. When it comes to defense against humans, participating in shooting sports or just plinking at the range, for most people, a 9mm pistol remains the all-around best option.

Why A 9mm Pistol?

There are a lot of reasons. First is ubiquity. The handgun world has standardized so widely on 9mm that those who shoot it are spoiled for choice across the board. Ammo availability, ammo variety, handgun options, holsters and aftermarket accessories, the list goes on. Whatever your handgun needs are (outside of rimfires), you’ll have the most options, the highest availability and the best ammo prices with a 9mm pistol.

Of course, 9mm wouldn’t have reached this dominant position in the marketplace if it didn’t shoot and perform well, too. While it may not be “the best” at a singular task like some other handgun cartridges, 9mm shines as a Goldilocks, do-it-all cartridge.

It’s small enough to allow for relatively large magazine capacities while still being powerful enough (with the right ammo) to effectively stop human attackers, and it does all this without having too much kick. With the right gun, 9mm can actually be incredibly soft shooting, and this makes it a popular choice for competition as well. With the exception of individuals with hand strength issues or other handicaps, just about everyone can handle a 9mm pistol.

How We Chose The Best 9mm Pistols

Due to just how common 9mm pistols are, it’s certainly the handgun cartridge that we Gun Digest editors have collectively spent the most time shooting. We have wheelgun aficionados and .45 freaks among our ranks as well, but given that they review new guns too, we have all spent a lot of time behind many different nines.

Based on our combined experience shooting these 9mm pistols as well as each of their general reputations, we weighed the most popular models against each other using factors like reliability, shootability, ergonomics, features, accessory support and price. In the end, these are what we agreed were the best 9mm pistols for each respective category.

The Best 9mm Pistols

Specs Comparison Of The Best 9mm Pistols

Best Full-Size Defensive 9mm Pistol: Glock 17

Glock 17 Gen5 Specs:
Action: Striker-fired
Capacity: 17+1
Barrel Length: 4.49 Inches
Overall Length: 7.95 Inches
Width: 1.34 Inches
Height: 5.47 Inches
Weight: 24.97 Ounces
Safety: Glock Safe Action trigger
Optics-Ready?: No
MSRP: $600

This pick is probably a bit predictable, but that’s a good thing. The Glock 17 has become practically as ubiquitous of a handgun as the 9mm cartridge itself, and it needs no introduction let alone an essay espousing its virtues, so we’ll keep things short.

Used and loved by police forces, militaries and regular Joes since its introduction in 1982, the Glock 17 is essentially the gold standard for full-size self-defense 9mm pistols. You simply can’t go wrong with one. We love the current newest model is the Gen5 that features some nice improvements, especially the customizable backstrap system to custom if it to your hand. But we find older and/or used model will serve you just fine. Check out LEO trade-ins to find some great deals.

The gun is boringly reliable, shoots great and boasts the widest aftermarket support for any handgun model out there. One of the thing we love most about the G17 is finding the right holster, spare parts, extra mags and accessories isn’t a problem at all.

Perhaps the only downside to the Glock 17 we found is that new-production Gen5 MOS (optics-ready) models are presently only available to law enforcement, but that’s easily solved by getting a G47 MOS instead if you want to mount a red dot. The G47 is basically a G17 with a shorter dust cover. It could also be easily remedied by getting an aftermarket slide. Another point worth mentioning is that the Glock 17’s qualities are true of basically every other Glock model, so don’t read this as solely an endorsement of the 17. The Austrian company offers both larger and smaller 9mm pistols that are equally excellent.

Glock 17 Review

Glock 17 Gen5 Deals

Guns.com	Starts at $539.11
Cabela’s	$540

Best Compact Defensive 9mm Pistol: Sig Sauer P365XL

Sig P365XL Specs:
Action: Striker-fired
Capacity: 12+1
Barrel Length: 3.7 Inches
Overall Length: 6.6 Inches
Width: 1.1 Inches
Height: 4.8 Inches
Weight: 20.7 Ounces
Safety: With or without manual thumb safety
Optics-Ready?: Yes
MSRP: $685

The Sig P365 is probably the most popular concealed carry gun currently on the market, and it’s easy for us to see why to see why. Its small, slim profile combined with its relatively high capacity made it an instant sweetheart amongst concealed carriers. Our editor’s have carried the pistol extensively and overall find it among the most concealable and comfortable 9mm to have on person. We also found it the pistol as easy to shoot as it is to carry comfortably carry. Impressive, because that’s a hard balance to strike.

Sig offers a few different model variants, but our pick for the best is the P365XL as we believe it strikes the best balance between concealability, shootability and capacity, but the standard model is great too if you want something a bit smaller. Holster and accessory support is nearly as good for the P365 as it is for Glocks at this point, and all versions come optics-ready out of the box as well.

Our only real complaint is both minor and understandable, and that’s the P365XL’s capacity of 12 rounds with flush-fit mags (two included). That’s not bad, and a necessary concession for the gun’s small size, but some people like having a few more rounds on tap. Those individuals will simply need to settle for a larger compact 9mm pistol like the Glock 19.

Sig P365 Review

Sig P365XL Deals

Guns.com	Starts at $599.99
Palmetto State Armory	$619.99

Best Budget 9mm Pistol For Competition: Canik SFx Rival

Canik SFx Rival Specs:
Action: Striker-fired
Capacity: 18+1
Barrel Length: 5 Inches
Overall Length: 8.1 Inches
Width: 1.41 Inches
Height: 5.7 Inches
Weight: 29.5 Ounces
Safety: Trigger safety
Optics-Ready?: Yes
MSRP: $680

There are plenty of good competition 9mm pistols available these days, and many of those are affordably priced as well, but none offer the same great value as the Canik SFx Rival. We believe this is an excellent first competition handgun for those looking for as little setup or fuss as possible. In this niche, we think the Rival is without rival.

Out of the box, besides the pistol, you get two 18-round mags, a holster, a few optic plates, three backstraps, three magazine release extensions and plenty of other goodies, and it all comes in a plastic hard case. Of course, none of that matters unless the gun is good. And it is.

We love the feel of Rival SFx especially flat-face trigger, which does it’s part in making the break feel lighter than what it is and facilitating good finger placement quickly. Additionally, it feels good in the hand thanks to its double undercut trigger guard, interchangeable backstraps and aggressive texturing, and the external magwell makes speed reloads a breeze. The slide is optics-ready too, of course, and its dimensions allow it to compete in IDPA, IPSC, and USPSA without restrictions. Plus the pistol is lights-out accurate, extremely feature-rich and modular.

Of course, what we like best about this Canik is you get all of these assets for less than $700. Impressive.

To us, the biggest downside of the SFx Rival is its relatively lightweight polymer frame. It’s not a snappy shooter by any means, but some extra weight to absorb recoil would definitely be appreciated for a competition gun. A lot of people agree, which is why Canik also makes the all-steel SFx Rival-S. Frankly, if you can swing the extra $200 or so bucks, we suggest the steel version. But for those on a budget, the polymer model is still a great value budget competition gun.

Though we didn’t run into any trouble with our SFx, we have seen a small number of owners report having issues that had to be sent in to be fixed. Frankly, this is a budget gun at the end of the day, so less-than-perfect QC is to be expected. As long as you’re the original purchaser Canik’s warranty should have you covered.

It’s available in either gray with gold accents or in solid black.

Canik SFx Rival Deals

Guns.com	Starts at $607.99
Bass Pro Shops	$629.99

Best High-End 9mm Pistol For Competition: CZ Shadow 2 OR

CZ Shadow 2 OR Specs:
Action: DA/SA
Capacity: 19+1
Barrel Length: 4.89 Inches
Overall Length: 8.53 Inches
Width: 1.4 Inches
Height: 5.75 Inches
Weight: 46.5 Ounces
Safety: Ambidextrous thumb safety
Optics-Ready?: Yes
MSRP: $1,479

Many people consider the CZ Shadow 2 to be the gold standard of modern competition pistols. In the days of yesteryear, it was tricked-out 1911s, but today if you go to any shooting match involving handguns you’re bound to see a lot of CZ Shadows 2s sitting in holsters. And that’s for good reason, this gun is great at its job.

An evolution of the classic Cold War military sidearm, the CZ-75, the Shadow 2 is simply the bigger, more athletic younger brother of the Czech Wonder Nine. The 75 was already known for its exceptionally low bore-axis, but it’s even lower on the Shadow 2 thanks to the addition of an undercut trigger guard and a redesigned beavertail. We found these features makes the pistol incredibly easy to shoot quickly and accurately. The hefty steel frame helps with that too given its ability to eat up recoil and ask for seconds. This entry specifically outlines the optics-ready model because we like red dots, but if you’re dedicated to irons, you could save a few bucks by getting the standard model instead.

The trigger is awesome, but it’s also this gun’s one potential downside. That’s because like the CZ-75 the Shadow 2 is a double-action/single-action pistol. Some shooters love DA/SA, and when you feel the crisp single-action pull of a Shadow 2 you’ll understand why. But there are also a lot of shooters today who grew up on striker-fired pistols and get thrown off by DA/SA guns’ two distinct trigger weights. If you hate DA/SA, there are some very nice striker-fired competition pistols to consider instead, but we think that the Shadow 2 is one of the best-shooting out-of-the-box competition pistols you can buy.

CZ Shadow 2 OR Deals

Guns.com	$1,417.99
Sportsmans Warehouse	$1,269.99

Best 9mm Pistol For Range Fun: Tisas 1911 Tank Commander

Tisas 1911 Tank Commander Specs:
Action: SAO
Capacity: 9+1
Barrel Length: 4.25 Inches
Overall Length: 7.75 Inches
Width: 1.3 Inches
Height: 5.4 Inches
Weight: 34 Ounces
Safety: Thumb safety
Optics-Ready?: No
MSRP: $490

Some say that a 1911 chambered in anything besides .45 ACP is heresy, but we love shooting 1911s so much that we even like them in 9mm. In fact, it’s not historically inaccurate either, as the Colt Commander was originally offered in 9mm and this Tisas is commander-sized as well.

With self-defense and competition covered by the other entries, we wanted this slot to go to a gun that’s fun to shoot, affordable and something that would add a bit of wood, history and class to a list otherwise dominated by modern designs and plastic fantastics.

We estimate that of the many new shooters who have standardized on 9mm as their handgun cartridge, most of them don’t own a 1911, and it’s probably because they don’t want to stock up on .45 ACP too. The obvious remedy to that is to simply get a 1911 in 9mm, and we think the Tisas 1911 Tank Commander is the best option for the price.

It’s a no-frills, commander-length 1911 chambered for 9mm with a ring hammer and Colt Series 70-pattern internals, and each pistol ships with two 9-round magazines, a hard case and a cleaning kit. It shoots as you’d expect of a 9mm 1911—nice—but there’s nothing special about the Tisas that will blow your socks off. However, in our experience, these have very good reliability and are well built for their price. The sights are slightly larger than original GI-pattern irons, an improvement, but they’re still black and pretty small.

If you’re dedicated to 9mm but don’t have any classic or classy handguns in your safe, we think this Tisas would make for a very fine addition.

Tisas 1911 Tank Commander Deals

Palmetto State Armory	$429.99
Guns.com	$462.99

9mm Pistol FAQ

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