I'm honestly a little surprised by the lack of love for the Hellcat or Hellcat PRO. I've owned (or used) everything in the poll, and the HC is the easy winner for me.

Everyone is different, but my necessity list for a "micro" handgun is pretty simple:

REQUIREMENT A = 100% reliable
REQUIREMENT B = Max mag capacity for firearm size

"Shootablility" or "enjoyment" don't even register as every gun listed is "shootable".  If I'm shooting for pleasure then I never grab a micro when heading to the range.  Micros for me are simply tools.  

I prefer to shoot something at least as large a Glock 19 with a Glock 17 size 9mm being my favorite.  My USP9 Expert being a joy to shoot.  WAY to big for summer carry and laughable considering the 15rd standard capacity vs format size.  However, as a range gun it just makes you smile.

I've been carrying "micro 9mms" since Kahr released the CM9.  I've tried so many different options over the years and they've all excelled in one area (small and easy to carry) and failed in others (capacity, recoil mitigation, "enjoyment at the range", whatavs).  

A few colleagues have recently bought their wives P365XL Rose factory comp'd guns and have said this is the first handgun they've put in their wife's hand that the lady would actually shoot and carry.  That speaks volumes about the comp'd 365s.  I've been tempted to add one, but the standard 12 round capacity is gag worthy when a Hellcat PRO is SLIGHTLY smaller but offers 15.

FWIW my first "compact" carry gun was a nickle plated Colt Gov't Model 380 I bought in 1989.  Compared to then ... we're living in amazing gun times and are very fortunate to have so many viable options.

Give the Shadow Systems CR920 a look.  Yeah, it’s a Glock pattern gun, but they squeeze a few more rounds into a concealable double stack.  I like mine.

Interestingly I find myself looking at them on GB and watching YT reviews quite often !

Had a g43 for 3 years been great as a carry gun liked it’s size.

Just sold it Friday and picked up a Canik mc9 today. It’s just a hair wider but still small but holds 12 vs6.

Shot it today was impressed no issues very accurate and trigger is very good. I bought a tp9sf last year and been shooting it alot grea gun out of box. I held off on mc9 because early models did have issues. And to9 mag will fit into mc9 similar how g17 mags will fit the smaller guns.

G43 is still my go to for EDC, especially in the hot weather/wearing shorts. Accurate, reliable, sized perfectly,  IMO. Going on 4 years now.

I was really hoping that the Shield Z9 mags would have been worth a shit.

Capacity increase was my reasoning for picking up a Shield Plus. I'm still getting acquainted with mine, too early to judge it one way or another.

I don't like S&W in general, but the entire M&P line has been good to me.  The original Shield was my first "good" polymer "ultra compact" but the overall size is quite large compared to a P365 or Hellcat.  The Plus, more so.  It felt like a Glock 26 to me.  

They are really good guns, but just aren't the smallest for capacity option.

Still pretty new to me, so the verdict is up in the air for me. Damn near identical to G43 dimensions with additional capacity was the draw.

I was on the ledge with the P365, ergonomics just didn't suit me personally.

And the PSA Micro Dagger.

I switch back and forth between my G43X and P365X.

I carried a Kahr PM9 for over a decade as a backup when on duty, and EDC off. It was a solid pistol that never failed me. Once I handled a P365 and found that it was the same size and almost 2x the capacity, I sold of my PM9.

I also carried a Kahr (in my case a CW9) for a long time until something better came on the market. I replaced it with a gen 1 Shield before the 365 or slim Glocks existed. I've had it for over 10 years now, and I put MagGuts +2 extensions in all my mags and they've run perfectly for years and I just can't bring myself to spend money on a Shield Plus or 365 or anything else for a modest bump in capacity. I'd rather spend gun money on ammo and training.

With a reload, I have 20 rounds on my person. I'm ok with that given the use case the Shield finds itself in. I carry either a compact or my "old" duty full size m&p 2.0 most of the time and the Shield is just office carry now that I'm out of LE. Occasionally it gets carried as a summertime "I don't feel like carrying today" gun.

Attached File

I'd vote S&W shield, 1.0.

I consider those the OG of the micro world.  They weren't the first, but they were the first mass produced / known brand / exceedingly popular.