Scaling down to compact, and maybe 9mm

I absolutely wrestled with this for a long time and eventually came out the other side with a very compact 9mm.

For most of my adult life I carried full size 1911s , K to L framed revolvers , and large steel framed 9mms. This was no problem for me for all those years as I was a very large (not fat) and strong person and those were the guns I trained with, worked with, and shot well. I never had much of a problem with concealment (generally OWB) due to my wide shoulder span and concealing under untucked button down shirts or inside a suit jacket. When I did need more concealment, for some specific occasion, I had some smaller options, but I refused to use guns with DAO triggers so I never carried any of the really tiny little guys. That, and with my rather large hands I've always had a hard time getting a good hold and finger placement on little guns.

Then I started both getting older and (more importantly) having serious health issues though.. and thus the big and heavy guns were becoming problematic in different ways. Not carrying them was hard for me though. I knew I couldn't shoot the tiny guns anywhere near as well as i did full size, and..well, maybe some of it was just getting over myself and pride; to admit it was something I needed to adapt to. Perhaps much in the same way as it took me a very long time to be willing to use a cane in public, even though I really needed it. I fought it for years.

So, in the end, maybe about 5 years ago I think, I finally managed to transition almost completely to a SIg 938 9mm. It retains the 1911 SA controls I was accustomed to but the size and weight are extremely more manageable. I absolutely dont shoot it as well and likely never will, but it's a trade off that has to be made for me to keep carrying every day.
I'll still occasionally carry one of the bigger boys, but only when I know I'm going to be passing through somewhere where the chances are higher of me needing it (which does not happen often), and in such a case it's normally adding the bigger guy and keeping the little guy as a BUG.

BDinPutnam said:

my intent at some point is to go to one of the CZ 75 compacts and a P238 for many of the same reasons. Concealability and comfort but also- familiarity with the controls (I shoot my CZ 75 BD better than any other handgun I have).

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Same for me with the 75 SP-01. Being a CZ fan, I certainly considered the compacts in those lines. I may well have chosen a RAMI if it had worked out that way, but it was really more a thing of the P938 coming to me at the right time for the right price. When I was working through the transition, as health was a factor as I mentioned, so subsequently became wealth as a bigger issue (as it does).

I really do like the 938 though in any case. I haven't shot it a lot, but just enough to believe I can trust it. The finger gripped 7 round mag makes it fairly handleable; though my hands are still kind of too big for it. Trying to use the 6 round flush mag is terrible for me and I can barely keep from my ring finger pulling off of it. Not something one wants to battle with should the need arise to use it.

With my mitts, it's not a 'pinky' extension at all, just the only way I can hold onto the grip with two fingers. If I'm holding it correctly for shooting, my middle and ring fingers wrap all the way around to be pressing the swell of my thumb/palm. For the same reason, trigger finger placement is a little wonky because I have to bend it way out to get the pad of my pointer finger in the right place. So, you can see why I'd prefer to carry large framed guns.. but it is what it is.