My list of small guns that work reliably

[papa61]

1 hour ago, Quavodus said:

It's a Sccy Cpx2. Actually a nice little gun. I bought a Pro Mag 15 round mag and a butt extension for it. Feeds and shoots good. Hollow points too. Some hotter handloads are a little rough in it though.

Same engineers that designed the Kel Tec started SCCY. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. It's on my list.

[gregintenn]

3 hours ago, Quavodus said:

It's a Sccy Cpx2. Actually a nice little gun. I bought a Pro Mag 15 round mag and a butt extension for it. Feeds and shoots good. Hollow points too. Some hotter handloads are a little rough in it though.

I meant to pick up one of those back when they were nearly giving them away, but never did. I’ve heard others brag about them.

[billmeek]

Tried dry firing a SCCY CPX-2 at the local gun shop and hated the trigger.  Hoping to get my hands on one of the SCCY DVG-1RD (striker w/ red dot) to try out. 

[Quavodus]

Yeah, they got a long double action pull. Takes a little getting used to.  I've always liked DA revolvers, so it never bothered me.

[tercel89]

On 5/26/2021 at 5:53 PM, gregintenn said:

Winchester makes a fmj with a wide, flat nose. I figure those would be a good compromise between penetration and leaving a significant hole.

Yeah , on my .380 lcp I just use FMJ . I use the round nose to try to give it a little more easier way to make it up yhe feed ramp. But mine has ran a whole box of the flat nosed ones just fine. 

[tercel89]

23 hours ago, Moped said:

When I carry the XDs, I have extra 7 round mags that I carry in a mag holster.  The bases on those mags, have a bad tendency to dig into my side.  Other than that, I really like the little pistol!

 

However... my Favorite LGS, has the new Springfield 9mm XDs with the CT reddot on it for $499... and the . 45ACP XDs might get traded... Haven't decided yet. Might trade the S&W 442 instead...

Keep your 442. Don't get rid of it. Thats the perfect small revolver in my.opinion. 

[1gewehr]

I carried a Star PD .45 for many years.  The XDs .45 is the first pistol that came along that was worth retiring the Star.  I've carried the XDs for a couple of years now and the more I use it, the more I like it.

I also have a KelTec P3AT I use when it's too hot to carry the XDs.  As long as I use nice, hot ammo, it is 100% reliable.

I also like the original Remington model 51 in .380.  Mostly just because it fits my hand so nicely!  But it's also 100% reliable.

[Mowgli Terry]

22 hours ago, Quavodus said:

It's a Sccy Cpx2. Actually a nice little gun. I bought a Pro Mag 15 round mag and a butt extension for it. Feeds and shoots good. Hollow points too. Some hotter handloads are a little rough in it though.

I had gotten a  SCCY Cpx2 in a trade. A quick inspection showed clever gun with decent finish. The gun did not work. I called  the company. I found there had been two upgrade since my gun was made. Got the gun updated. I have fired a hundred handloaded rounds made up with Lyman 356402 cast bullets. The last 46 rounds were PC'ed +15 rounds of Hornady 147 gr. defense loads. I had two malfunctions with the reloaded ammo. Right, these guns do not digest high pressure loads very well. For a small  gun his SCCY will do very well for me.  I'm going to stick with factory hollow points for carry.

Edited May 28, 2021 by Mowgli-Terry
Old age and run down condition

[gregintenn]

6 hours ago, 1gewehr said:

I carried a Star PD .45 for many years.  The XDs .45 is the first pistol that came along that was worth retiring the Star.  I've carried the XDs for a couple of years now and the more I use it, the more I like it.

I also have a KelTec P3AT I use when it's too hot to carry the XDs.  As long as I use nice, hot ammo, it is 100% reliable.

I also like the original Remington model 51 in .380.  Mostly just because it fits my hand so nicely!  But it's also 100% reliable.

Ain't much in the way of sights on the old 51 Remingtons, but they were the best, most ergonomic handgun ever designed in my opinion. They point like a finger, they are thin, and the way the action works reduces recoil. Way ahead of their time. I like them so well I have a pair.

[Quavodus]

3 hours ago, Mowgli-Terry said:

I had gotten a  SCCY Cpx2 in a trade. A quick inspection showed clever gun with decent finish. The gun did not work. I called  the company. I found there had been two upgrade since my gun was made. Got the gun updated. I have fired a hundred handloaded rounds made up with Lyman 356402 cast bullets. The last 46 rounds were PC'ed +15 rounds of Hornady 147 gr. defense loads. I had two malfunctions with the reloaded ammo. Right, these guns do not digest high pressure loads very well. For a small  gun his SCCY will do very well for me.  I'm going to stick with factory hollow points for carry.

What I meant by hotter handloads being a little rough, was hurts your hand some. It fed them just fine.

[DWARREN123]

I have 2, not as small as some. Sig 365XL and Glock 48 with the Shield Arms 15 round mags. Both are reliable and accurate for me.

[1fast4by]

Ive carried my LCP 1 for nearly a decade.. Probably put a few thousand rounds through it with no failures in memory. Ive put a few recoil springs in it, not failure related just as upkeep.

[A.J. Holst]

100% confident with my Kimber Micro .380 

Daily BUG carry.

It has been flawless in 2 or 3 subcompact / pocket pistol classes.

[Mowgli Terry]

On 5/28/2021 at 6:39 PM, Quavodus said:

What I meant by hotter handloads being a little rough, was hurts your hand some. It fed them just fine.

This had do with the way cartridges were ejected. On my top end loads the primers were flattened. Those were signs, to me, that the load needed to be reduced.

I have not fired many factory rounds but on the recovered  brass the primers were not flattened. Ejection was not violent. That's what I was talking about.  The updated SCCY was reliable with malfunctions related to reload problems.  I shoot full size guns so the recoil of the SCCY went unnoticed.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Mowgli-Terry

[bersaguy]

I have been looking for another one of these ever since I let my last one get away in a trade and finally found this one a friend of mine was willing to part with. He said it has been a safe queen since he got it and has had 1 mag fired through it to make sure everything worked properly. He has the box for it also and will dig it out and bring it to me. BT got my last one in a trade for his Model 60 Bersa he knew I wanted and he wanted my Body Guard so we just traded. 

 

[xsubsailor]

 I guess I'm the odd man out, My absolute favorite small carry weapons are the Sig P230 and my Ruger LCR in 38 spec. I actually have several more small ones that never get carried and should be gotten rid of. Several have never been fired.

[Quavodus]

7 hours ago, bersaguy said:

I have been looking for another one of these ever since I let my last one get away in a trade and finally found this one a friend of mine was willing to part with. He said it has been a safe queen since he got it and has had 1 mag fired through it to make sure everything worked properly. He has the box for it also and will dig it out and bring it to me. BT got my last one in a trade for his Model 60 Bersa he knew I wanted and he wanted my Body Guard so we just traded. 

 

What's the mag. capacity on it? 6 or 7?

[tnhawk]

On 5/26/2021 at 3:32 PM, gregintenn said:

I wouldn't mind giving one of those XDS 45s a try. You've intrigued me.

Mine has been reliable for years,  I usually practice with the XDS 9 but carry the 45.

[kwe45919]

+100 on the Keltec P32.  

I've daily carried a Block 26 for almost 20 years now

[bersaguy]

17 hours ago, Quavodus said:

What's the mag. capacity on it? 6 or 7?

6 +1 in the tube.

[Will Carry]

To the original poster: Those are 4 fine weapons! I agree totally with your assessment.   I presently do not owned any of those pistols but I have in the past.  Thanks for posting that.