Best Five Concealed Carry Guns of 2025

By: Joel T. Nadler

Every year numerous sources list the top five carry guns of that year. These lists may be based on local sales records, general interest, other articles, national sales figures or just personal taste and experiences. In 2024 such lists included firearms like the Staccato C, the TISAS 1911 Double Stack 9mm, the Ruger RXM, the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0, The Sig Sauer P365, the Walther PDP, Canik MC 9, Springfield Hellcat, and the Glock 49 all depending on what list you examined. If you want to know what people are actually buying each year, you are best served by looking at national sales from various distributors or from organizations like the NSSF.  Regardless of how you determine a top five or ten list, the reality stays the same: people differ in what they prefer, what they like, and what will work best for them.

Thus, though I will review my personal picks for a list of top five civilian concealed carry handguns, I wanted to more focus on how to evaluate these choices for yourself.  As such there are two main questions. 1) What factors make a great concealed handgun and 2) how do you evaluate a handgun that passes the first hurdle to determine if it is right for you?  Both of these questions will vary from person to person based on needs, dress, situations, local laws, physical differences, and personal preferences.

How to Evaluate a Concealed Carry Firearm

Before even looking at handguns it is a good idea to determine what is personally important to you in a handgun.  Factors that can be evaluated include the following:

1. How easily is the weapon concealed? The smaller the firearm, the easier it will be to conceal in a variety of different clothing options.
2. How many rounds does the firearm contain? What is the capacity of the loaded gun and are you comfortable with that capacity?  Smaller capacities range around 5 or 6 rounds and can be as many as seventeen or more depending on the size of the carry gun.
3. How easy is the gun to shoot and train with? Generally, the smaller the gun, the greater the felt recoil and the less ‘fun’ it will be to regularly shoot and train with.
4. Are there other personal factors that are important to you? This can include looks, brand loyalty, type of sights (night sights, stock sights, optics), and external or trigger-based safety.

You may have additional items on your list, but it is important to decide what are your criteria for a good concealed-carry gun.  Many of these factors are antagonistic, in other words the smaller and more concealable the firearm likely the lower capacity and less enjoyable it is to practice with.  If you choose a bigger gun with more capacity that you are more likely to train with, it likely will also be larger and harder to conceal.  Many of us are constricted in the amount of time we have to train and practice with our concealed carry handgun; thus, I personally prefer firearms that are a little larger and more enjoyable to train with.

 

How to Evaluate a Specific Handgun

I am always amused when I attend whiskey tastings the process of evaluation some people apply to each sip of whiskey they take.  I am not saying I ignore such factors, but I have been drinking and tasting whiskey long enough to know immediately if I like or dislike a particular bottling.  Firearms are the same, when I am handed a new gun, I can within seconds know if I like it or not. But let us dissect what I am evaluating in the moment in order to help you quickly evaluate a new gun.  Much like predetermining what I am looking for in a concealed carry gun discussed in the previous section, if a gun ‘looks good on paper’ the next step is to handle it at a store and hopefully get the option to at least dry fire it if not rent one for live fire.  Here are my criteria I use:

1. Does the gun fit my hands? Can I easily obtain a good firing grip and does it feel natural to do so.  If I can lock both my dominant hand and support hand into position without having to change my grip significantly the gun will pass this test.
2. Does the gun easily present to my eye line? After establishing a grip, I will raise the firearm to my eyeline (what I am currently looking at). Make sure not to flag anyone with the muzzle as you present the gun. Do the sights reasonably present into my line of sight without significant adjustment?
3. Does the gun feel overall balanced in my hands?  This is generally answered by the first two questions but can include an overall feel of the gun either being too heavy in the front or at the rear.
4. Are the controls easily reached and manipulated?  Can I easily operate the slide lock, magazine release, and if present, external safety?
5. How does my trigger finger land on the trigger? When I take my trigger finger from the slide and place it on the trigger does it naturally land in such a way I can easily press the trigger directly back without moving the muzzle of the gun?
6. Is the trigger press and then reset consistent? I am less worried about the force needed to press the trigger as I am that it consistently breaks (fires) at the same point with the same force every time.  Similarly, does the trigger reset (ready to fire again) at the same point consistently?
7. Do I like the reputation of the firearm brand?  Does it have a track history of reliable use?  Do I like the overall look of the handgun?

Using these two checklists, the first on quantifying what you are looking for in a concealed carry gun and the second to determine what gun fits you best, will hopefully allow you to quickly determine your own top 5 list.

 

Top Five Concealed Carry Guns

For me I prefer a larger capacity and medium sized gun compared to smaller options.  Though concealment is a factor I have a larger frame allowing me to conceal a firearm of moderate size. Thus, my personal top 5 list is slightly larger, with higher capacity firearms.  I am also an advocate of training with the gun you carry, so I want a gun I will enjoy training with.

All of my personal choices are striker-fired (no external hammer), polymer frame (lighter) handguns with the safety tied to the trigger (no external safety switch).  All of these pass my list of evaluative questions as there are well balanced for my hands and naturally result in a decent sight alignment and straight back trigger press.

Sig Sauger P365 Fuse in 9mm

The Sig Sauer P365 line had brought higher capacity to smaller frame subcompacts, but I really like the newer Fuse as it is a slightly larger firearm. The Fuse comes optics ready and has the capacity of a larger framed handgun (either 17 or 21 round magazines). Its dimensions are larger (7.1” long, 1.1” wide, and 5.1” tall) but it is an easy to like design and checks all the boxes for me.

Glock 43X in 9mm

The Glock 43X combines the concealability of the Glock 43 with the larger grip surface and higher capacity of the Glock 48 Slimline.  The 10 round magazines are still larger than many smaller guns and it size is an advantage to carrying (6.5” long, 1.1” wide, and 5.04” tall). The standard model is not optic ready but there is a version that is.

M&P Bodyguard 2.0 in .380 Auto

Smith and Wesson have a strong contender combining affordability, size, and capacity. The Bodyguard is a smaller gun with solid capacity.  The Bodyguard comes with 12 round magazines and is easily concealable (5.5” long, 0.88” wide, and 4” tall).  It is also one of the more affordable options on my list but does not currently have an optics ready version available.

Ruger RXM in 9mm

There is a lot to like with the collaboration between Ruger and Magpul providing an alternative to Glock’s popular Glock 19. Capacity is set at 15 rounds and the RXM is compatible with many Glock magazines and parts.  The size is manageable (7.15” long, 1” wide, and 5.31” tall).  The gun comes with night sights and is optic ready and is relatively affordable.

Walther PDP Compact 4” in 9mm

Walther has a long history of providing easily concealable handguns as part of their product line.  The Walther PDP Compact combines capacity (15 rounds) with moderate size (7.5” long, 1.34” wide, and 5.4” tall) and comes optics ready.

Conclusion

I strongly encourage you to read all you can regarding sales and personal opinions of what a good concealed-carry handgun is.  However, I also encourage you to apply your own criteria and experience to your final choice. Many smaller handguns are not on my list as I cannot get a good grip on them, and they are less pleasant for me to regularly shoot.  Do your research, decide what is important to you, and then make your own evaluations in order to form your personal “best” list.