Asking this here because I like personal thoughts and experiences.

I currently carry a glock 26, and would like something that is even smaller. My main needs are reliability, and the ability to pocket carry whenever it's not being carried iwb.

I would most likely carry it iwb, but want the ability to throw it in my pocket when I feel like it.
The main contenders right now are the Kahr cw380 and S&W 642.

I really like the sig p365 but even that is just too close to the glock.
Also thinking a walther ppk but that is just for the cool factor, and I shoot my friends very well.

What are your thoughts and suggestions?
Thanks!

Edit, I am not at all a fan of the LCP or bodyguard.

No contest, for pocket carry the S&W 642 is a winner.

https://images.app.goo.gl/XBxxnpdsr5opdE566

Hopefully this link works showing a j frame laying on a g26 . Shape is different yes , but the j isn’t smaller .

LCP easily disappears in a pocket

J-frame vs G26 is not issue of size but weight and resistance to lint and dust in pockets. Clearly DAO revolver with light alloy frame and titanium cylinder is a clear winner. The revolver can be fired from inside of jacket pocket and does not even need a pocket holster.

Kahr P380 has been a good gun for me, but also the SW with a hip grip

Take a look at the Glock 43. Same operating system that you are already used to. Fits in a pocket holster perfectly.

Sig P365

The 642.

The Sig P365 is to bendy and the trigger guard is lame.

PPK on a G26. The PPK is what I call my house gun. It’s always on me at home.



PPK next to a G26. The PPK is only 3 oz lighter, but slips into a pocket real nice.

Both the LCP and 442/642 are excellent choices, but you might want to stick with Glock and get their Model 42, which is in .380 ACP. It's bigger than the LCP, but worlds more shootable, and can fit in a pants pocket. It would make a more logical companion to your Model 26, I think.

As handy as the S&W 642 is I've grown very fond of Ruger's LCR. Way better trigger.
It also fits in the same holster as the 642. Slightly larger grip. Give it a try.

Can't say anything negative about the 642/442/38/638. I have the 442 and 38, and often carry one of them in a coat of bathrobe pocket.

This is a big advantage to the tiny double action revolver, i.e., safe to carry loose in a pocket.

LCP II has worked like a charm for me.

I agree with this having both a G26 Gen 4 and a G42 380 on hand.

Mark in GA

PPK/S

Exactly why I kept the PPK , first shot double action after that single. If you get used to flipping the decocker up on the draw it’s even safer.

Can't stand the damn things. I was issued one when I worked dope back in the mid-90's. Supposedly if I got caught with it by the meth heads I was working it wouldn't scream "cop!" It was heavy, had a terrible trigger, tiny sights and the worst issue was that it jammed very consistently. Even with FMJ it was rare to go through a couple magazines with out the thing choking and puking. My backup when in uniform patrol was a S&W M38 Airweight Bodyguard and I began packing that against regulations. Five 158 gr. SWC-HP was a better bet than the stove piping Walther.

Hmm...

Polished the feed ramp with 400/800. Never gave me any problems.

Rigid barrel blowback design makes the gun feel really manageable and is accurate.

Likes grease...avoids galling of the slide which could lead to fail-to-feed.

Trigger is fine on mine, taken it completely apart so many times that it must have acquired a little "polish".

Fiocchi 95gr XTP and Underwood 65 gr XDs...no issues.

Sights are tiny, but feel you have to train with whatever the firearm offers.

Well-earned street rep. Goombahs always act surprised.

BS I have both and the 365 is light years ahead of a jframe

Have both of your top choices, the 642 and P380, and much prefer the P380.

DA trigger pull is MUCH better

Sights are MUCH better

The P380 is just as safe in a pocket with or without a holster as the 642

P380 holds more rounds

P380 lays MUCH flatter in the pocket than the 642

Have run no less than 6 different types of factory and reloads through the P380 with zero problems except one time when I had failed to properly clean and lube the gun between range sessions...


Have had the P380 (with the optional night sights) since about 2012. Was looking for something to carry when the Commander was not viable. Was fortunate enough to have a lot of friends with "pocket" guns from the KelTec 32 to Walthers and the P380 was the easiest to shoot, recoiled less and was more accurate than the rest. It is a lot smaller than a PPK or G43. Have two Walter PPs now and have had just about every variety of the line in the past. They have by far the heaviest DA trigger pull I have ever experienced on a semi-auto firearm.

Good luck in your quest...Bob

Ruger LCR for pocket carry.

I prefer the P365 for waist and it can do double duty in a front pocket....but a small revolver seems to work better for me in a front pocket.

I like the Glock 42 in an Alabama pocket holster for pocket carry.



The Boraii Eagle also can work as a minimalist rig.

Those pocket holsters look perfect for the 42.

PS I have exactly the same Gerber on my key chain. In fact, it's been on my key chain since the early 1980s. I use it constantly, and it holds a sharp edge for a long time, and takes a new razor sharp edge very easily, with a few swipes on a stone.

S&W 642 is the king of pocket carry. The thing most people miss is that the 642 draws MUCH smoother from a pocket holster than any autoloader. The slide of small autos tends to snag when drawing from a pocket, especially in jeans. The 642, on the other hand, draws like butter from a pocket.

I have both choices here. Haven't carried the Kahr for years. Prefer the 642 for its smooth draw and reliability.

Any J frame S&W. Hasbeen

I am really satisfied with my Colt Pocket lite 380. I can slip it in my pocket and forget it is there. I also don't have to adjust it for sitting in my vehicles. Also, I have no use for a pocket holster.

I feel that any semi auto I have is going to be a hammer gun, and the Colt design is still my favorite.

I do like the J-Frame Smiths also.


Ken

Sig 938

If you're just sticking the Pocket Lite in a pocket, I hope that it's hammer down on an empty chamber rather than cocked and locked. Those thumb safeties can be easily swept off by inadvertent contact.

I pocket carry a Beretta Nano, but if I had other Glock pistols I would go with the Glock 43 for pocket carry.

https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/mp-340-no-internal-lock

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1001595335?pid=121256

Yep, they offer "no-lock" versions of all their J-Frames featuring internal hammers, which models cannot be manually cocked. The inability to manually cock them makes them inherently "safe" sufficient to convince their lawyers that it will shield them from lawsuits.

Thanks for all of the thoughts and advice. Someday I will have all three for sure. My old man had a ppk/s and it never failed us at the range with any ammo.

I like the idea of the colt pocket lite and sig p238, I have an M45a1 so know the manual of arms fine. But dont think I could carry those little guns cocked and locked in a pocket.

I think I'm going to try and shoot both the kahr and glock 42 whenever I am able, when ranges open back up. I've shot the 642 and did pretty well with it.
Just want to be able to carry something and not know it's there because of the clunkiness and weight.

Your ranges are closed for COVID? Mine stayed open. They just put on their website that, during the outbreak, all members should maintain social distancing while at the range. It's an outdoor club, so that's not difficult. If you see someone, you just wave, say hello, and mind your own business. Only once did someone insist on coming right over to me for a conversation while I was shooting, as if he didn't know anything about what was going on, but I kept stepping backwards, keeping six feet between us, and he eventually got the hint.

S&W J frame and it derivatives, wife has one. Mine is a Sig 238.

I've got a Sig P238. Cool little mini 1911. Rarely if ever gets carried, though. Sometime, just for fun.

Back in the 1980s, though, I frequently carried the gun that started the whole mini 1911 (in .380 ACP) trend, i.e., the Colt Government .380. I wish I never sold that gun. I carried it often in my back pocket in condition 3.

Ruger LCP 380 for the win. The old model. Not the LCP II.

^^^This^^^

Every PPK/S I’ve ever owned was a jammamatic!

Barely reliable with hardball.

Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result...

Unless it was an S&W version---

Try:


Feed ramp maintenance and adjustment.

Proper slide maintenance.

Stop using ball.

Have a gunsmith correct your failures. The weapon is one of the most simple designs ever made.

Have both 40 and 380 in the small Kahr, maybe a P and a PM. I like kahrs triggers, and surprised how well they shoot. Not sensitive to ammo. 40 is for winter carry when lots more clothes to hide/shoot through. Sometimes I just tuck the old army in the waistband...

Not a wise crack here but my backup is a Bond arms 45 Colt. My main squeeze is a SIG P-220. Took a bit of ruminations to try the hammer drop safety. But I like the years spent shooting a revolver and this became my go to gun. I have it on along with the Bond in a pocket. Be Well, Rustyzipper.

My gun was an issue gun that I wasn't allowed to tinker with. In today's market there is no need for any of that since the gun doesn't do enough to keep it around. There is no need to pack the extra weight, deal with the crappy trigger, tiny sights and sketchy reliability. There are plenty of modern designs that don't suffer from all those issues.

I always carry it hammer down on an empty chamber. I hope that I never find myself in a predicament where that will make a difference. If I find myself in an area where I think I may be threatened, I carry the pistol in my hand ready to go and it is still hidden. Hopefully, I will never need to use my Colt for any situation other than pleasure.
Thanks for the reminder though!

if you read the original post , the guy wants to mostly IWB carry , with the option to slip it in the pocket at times


thus the sig 365 fills the bill perfectly , with something like the Kahr CM 9 a good second choice


no need to go to a 380 if you are usually doing IWB carry , IMO

I too like my stainless Colt Government .380, but it weighs 22 ounces and my J-frame 337 PD only weighs 12 ounces loaded. Why would a guy carry a 1911 style Colt .380 with an empty chamber? I wouldn't carry that one loaded, cocked and locked either because it doesn't have a palm safety, but it does have a half cock safety position and wouldn't that be okay for a faster shot than needing to rack the slide?

I'm not a big framed guy and I live in a hot climate, so my true "pocket gun" is a Ruger LCP .380ACP. I can shoot it better than my DAO J-frame, so I gave that one to my mother. My kids even laugh at the little Ruger, saying it looks like a toy and weighs nothing. That's part of why it makes a good pocket gun. Even when I'm not practiced up, a standard B27 target gets good kill hits at reasonable ranges.

Exactly^^^^^^^^^^^^^




Agree the j-frame is more difficult to shoot accurate and holds less ammo VS the semi auto

The Sig P365 excels in the roll laid out by the opening post

That's a valid point that I missed on the front end, and I heartily concur with you and jwp475. I pocket carry the P365 occasionally, in another Boraii Eagle. It is thicker, weighs more, and is slightly more difficult to get a firing grip and draw, but it can get by in a pinch. Shown here with the 42 for comparison.

That’s funny, I wasn’t comparing the two but I was stating my opinion on the 365. My opinion really only matters to me. I don’t like how it fits and it’s soft AF.

Soft?

Two things I don’t like about the 365: 1) the angle on the trigger guard is to shallow and I can’t get a good purchase. 2) the grip frame flexes more than I am comfortable with. I squeeze the $hit out my handguns and I am not ok with that sort of flex on the magwell. The 365 has great capacity and dimensions albeit the grip is just about out of room with my hand. I love the M&P Shield on ergos, but it’s bigger and has less capacity.

You must be strong as a Terminator

Not really. I am surprised more people haven’t mentioned it. Really the trigger guard my biggest beef. Stellar pistol for most I guess. As for the 642... great pocket gun. I have a bucket full of jframes and they are just awesome.

I'm no weakling and I don't feel any softness

I have both P365 and S&W 642 (with great trigger job and $300 set of Crimson Trace laser grips). P365 actually has usable sights. Like them both but P365 is in an Alabama holster in my pocket every day. Jeans, not baggy pants pocket. Don't even know it's there. Best answer to most of the questions on the market currently. IMHO

M7

100% in agreement

My Kimber micro is my all time pocket pistol. It goes everywhere I go.