It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Well…sort of. At the moment of writing this article, we’re actually closer to Halloween than Christmas. However, as a gun writer, when you get the chance to receive and review 11 of the hottest compact pistols on the market all at one time, it tends to feel a little like Christmas—if not a lot. That’s right. It’s that time of year once again for our Ballistic’s Best edition, but things are just a little different this time around for the Compact Handguns category.

With the micro-compact part of the market being fully fleshed out by now, we saw fewer new pistols introduced in that segment while more pistols that fit into the compact and sub-compact categories were released during the past year. 

Ballistic’s Best Compact Handguns 2024

Yeah, I know. It’s a little confusing at times. With the pendulum swinging back to slightly larger pistol sizes, even a couple of the “micro-compacts” that hit the market this year are actually just thin compacts at this point because of barrel length and frame height. At least that’s my opinion. I suppose it doesn’t matter. They all fit under the umbrella of “Compacts” for this testing and evaluation.

Evaluators 

I pulled together three other knowledgeable shooters to help with the testing for the Compact Pistols category. Our cadre of evaluators included Jonathan, who is a custom knifemaker and a gun enthusiast for many years. New to the mix are Jerry, a local LEO with years of firearms experience, and Jordan, who is an avid competitive shooter and recently won top production for his regional match in the Precision Rimfire category. 

All 11 pistols for the Compacts category were evaluated on nine different criteria such as Aesthetics, Ergonomics, Sights, Trigger Control, Recoil Control, etc. Each pistol was given a rating from 1 to 5 for each criterion. We used one-tenth increments such as “4.6” to try and avoid any ties. A rating of “3” is basically the starting point. It’s neither bad nor particularly good. It means the pistol got an average rating for the specific criteria or that the evaluator feels the user is basically getting what they paid for and what you would normally expect at that price point.

Something to Shoot

Just about everyone is aware of how much ammunition is these days. Even though the prices have come down since the COVID fiasco, it’s still pretty pricey, especially if you’re planning on shooting thousands of rounds in a short period of time. If we had to pay out of pocket for the ammunition needed for a round-up evaluation of this size, then there’d be no way we could get this done for our audience.

Fortunately, we had several ammunition manufacturers step up in a big way to assist us with this endeavor. In no particular order, we start off with Federal Premium that sent us a healthy supply of ammo with a nice diversity of calibers and load types. There was 135-grain and 90-grain Hydra-Shok Deep, 124-grain HST and an excellent variety of their range loads, including their lead-free stuff in .380 ACP, 9mm and .45 ACP. Additionally, there was a good volume of Federal’s Syntech range ammunition that has the same point of impact as their HST loads but at a lower price for training purposes. 

From the same parent company, The Kinetic Group, we also got a metric ton of Blazer and Remington Ammunition as well. On the Blazer side, we received the 115-grain ball ammunition that’s been used around ranges all over the country for years. The Remington stuff included lots of their 115-grain ball ammo from its Range line and a bunch of their 147-grain FMJs from the UMC series. They even threw in a slew of their 9mm Range Clean loads as well. Remington also added a side of their excellent 147-grain Golden Saber Bonded load as a little bonus.

More Ammo

Wilson Combat stepped up as well with a beefy amount of their 135-grain remanufactured range loads in addition to a good helping of their XTP line in 9mm, .380 ACP and .45 ACP. Also now owned by Bill Wilson, a good chunk of Lehigh Defense’s product line ended up in our lap, including (but not limited to) their 115-grain 10mm XP load, the 170-grain .45 ACP CF load and the 115-grain 9mm XP offering. As a nice supplement, they threw in a good amount of their .380 ACP XP load as well.

Both Hornady and Black Hills stepped up in fine fashion as well. Hornady sent out an awesome suite of their American Gunner ammo in 9mm XTP and .45 ACP XTP as well as some of their 230-grain +P Critical Duty ammo and their 115-grain Critical Defense rounds. Black hills shipped some of their superb 185-grain JHPs for .45 ACP and a nice helping of their Honey Badger rounds for .380 ACP and 9mm. All told, we ended up with close to 12,000 rounds, about 40% of which was used for this article, and the rest was used for the Full-Size article. That gave us plenty of elbow room to shoot what we needed to do our testing thoroughly and pass the notes on to you.

Budget Blasters

The first batch of Compacts we’ll take a look at are the more budget-friendly models with an MSRP under $650. The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 is the least expensive pistol in this roundup for review. With an MSRP of just $449, the Bodyguard 2.0 looks essentially like an M&P 2.0 except it is much, much smaller and it is chambered in .380 ACP. Boasting a capacity of 10 or 12 rounds depending on the magazine choice, the pint-sized heater offers a good amount of features for added value, including a flat-faced trigger, a high-visibility front sight with a tritium insert, and extremely well done slide serrations on both ends of the slide for excellent traction and easy manipulation of the slide.

Weighing in at only 9.8 ounces, the Bodyguard 2.0 integrates a polymer frame coupled with a stainless-steel slide and barrel, both of which are given the company’s Armornite finish for robust protection against the elements and perspiration. While approximately the same size as a Ruger LCP, the Bodyguard 2.0 boasts a significantly higher capacity and it has a striker-fired operating system that has the relatively crisp trigger break seen in recent M&P 2.0 pistols.

The next step up the price ladder is the Taurus GX4 Carry T.O.R.O. edition. The GX4 is a striker-fired design with a polymer frame and the Carry model in particular puts it squarely in the “compact” realm with its taller frame and its 15-round magazines. For its MSRP of $515, the GX4 Carry T.O.R.O also offers a nice suite of features, including a Picatinny rail and a reversible magazine release for southpaws. Additionally, the T.O.R.O. version includes a slide cut to mount your favorite optic from the Holosun K-series or other companies’ optics with a similar footprint.

Ergonomic Features

The GX4 Carry has a sweet ergonomic design replete with lots of curves and generous texturing that pretty much covers the entirety of the grip. That texturing is also found at index points above the trigger guard as well. To tailor the fit of the grip to the individual user, the GX4 Carry includes three interchangeable backstraps, and it ships with two of the 15-round magazines that I already mentioned. The sights are fairly rudimentary with a simple dot up front, but still serviceable. This is redeemed by the ample fore and aft slide serrations that offer up solid traction points for the user.

Rounding out the Budget category with an MSRP of $647 is a pistol known more for its reliability and power than for its price point. That pistol is the Glock G30 Gen5. One of my favorite carry pistols of all time, the G30 is chambered in .45 ACP and offers up a capacity of 10+1 rounds with its chonky form factor. Yet another polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol, the G30 Gen5 tips the scales at 23.81 ounces and has a width of 1.38 inches due to the extra frame and slide size for the venerable .45 ACP payload.

The new Gen5 version brings a few enhancements like the Glock Marksman Barrel that features polygonal rifling and an improved barrel crown for better accuracy. The Gen5 model does away with finger grooves on the grip but it adds an ambidextrous slide release. Another nice addition is the forward slide serrations that are a little plain in appearance but very functional. The sights, though, are the same typical polymer, white-outline arrangement, and that’s something you’ll want to replace the moment you purchase the pistol.

Middle-Class Compacts

For the somewhat discriminating buyer, this next batch of pistols is a little more spendy, in the $650 to $999 range. This bump in price is often because of materials involved in their construction and/or additional or better features, though the prices aren’t really all that exorbitant in most instances for what you get in the box. 

Micro-Compact aficionados need no introduction to the Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro Comp OSP. One of the first companies on the micro-compact scene, Springfield has continued to innovate with its line of Hellcat pistols and the Hellcat Pro Comp OSP is currently the pinnacle of the line. Like most other micros on the market, the Hellcat Pro Comp OSP is a striker-fired, polymer-framed pistol, and it offers a full suite of features you’d expect in an effective fighting pistol. 

All Hellcats include such things as front and rear slide serrations, a reversible magazine release, an accessory rail, a hammer-forged barrel, a loaded-chamber indicator, a high-visibility U-Dot sight package, and an extremely robust Melonite slide treatment for excellent corrosion-resistance. With our review pistol, the company takes it up a notch with the Pro configuration using native 15-round magazines and the ability to accept an extended 17-round magazine.

The OSP designation means the Hellcat Pro is optics ready with a slide milled to accept any optic with a Shield RMSc footprint. And on top of that, this Comp model includes a single port in the barrel and slide to help mitigate muzzle flip, which is normally more pronounced with pistols in the micro-compact sector. While the Hellcat Pro Comp’s MSRP is a tick higher at $699, you get a very comprehensive package that’s action-packed with value.

HK CC9

At the same $699 price point is the brand new HK CC9 micro-compact. The smallest HK firearm ever made, the CC9 is a little late to the micro game but offers up solid features to appease fans of the German manufacturer’s products. Despite its heritage, the CC9 is manufactured entirely in the U.S., and development involved over 750,000 rounds being fired in the process. The CC9 incorporates top-of-the-line components such as the 3.32-inch, cold-hammer-forged barrel, and it wears a hearty nitride finish for protection against the elements. 

Featuring full ambidextrous controls such as the slide stop and push-button magazine release, the CC9 also integrates a fully pre-cocked striker system for a clean and smooth take-up and crisp trigger break at under 5 pounds of pressure. A Picatinny rail in the dust-cover region allows for a weapon light or laser to be mounted as well. Other amenities include front and rear cocking serrations on the slide and the inclusion of two interchangeable backstraps to adjust the fit of the grip to the user. 

At the front of the slide is a high-visibility front sight with a tritium insert and at the rear resides a blacked out and serrated rear sight. The slide is also cut to mount any optic with an RMSc footprint for those that want to rock a red dot. The CC9 ships with a 10-round, flush-fit magazine and a slightly extended 12-round magazine. The package includes a pinky extension plate for the 10-round magazine as well.

Beretta 80X Cheetah Urban Tactical

The next shooter on deck at an MSRP of $749 is the new Beretta 80X Cheetah Urban Tactical. A slight enhancement of the 80X Cheetah released last year, the Urban Tactical model includes extended 15-round magazines (instead of 13 rounds) and a threaded barrel (1/2 x 28) for those that want to run a can for stealthier operations with the .380 ACP pistol. While suppressor-ready, the UT model does not include suppressor-height sights, though it does have a slide cut for mounting various optics on the market with the use of adapter plates.

The 80X Cheetah Urban Tactical employs Beretta’s X-Treme S Double/Single-Action trigger system that features an adjustable overtravel stop to shorten the reset to just 1mm. Adorning the 80X Cheetah is a skeletonized hammer, an ambidextrous thumb safety, as well as a Picatinny rail for augmenting the pistol with your favorite weapon light. The 80X Cheetah’s styling includes the company’s Vertec-style frame for a more ergonomic grip as well as a black AquaTech Shield coating for the slide. It’s a pistol that you didn’t know you wanted, but it’s a sexy-sleek package that ticks all the right boxes.

Shadow Systems CR920X

The final contender in this section is the Shadow Systems CR920X with an MSRP coming in under the wire at $940. Essentially a Glock pistol re-imagined, the CR920X is billed as a sub-compact pistol but has approximately the same frame height as a Glock 19 with its native 15-round magazine capacity. The barrel, on the other hand, measures just 3.41 inches, lending it to easier concealed carry. Speaking of the barrel, it is machined with attractive spiral fluting for a more custom flair and given the same Nitride finish as the slide.

The slide has even more extensive machining than the barrel with its stylish serrations at the front and the rear, and with the intricate serrations on top of the slide. Part of that machining includes the Elite slide cut with its multi-optic footprint to mount a wide variety of red dots to the pistol. To live up to the price tag, the CR920X includes a stainless-steel guide rod as well as a high-visibility front sight with a tritium insert. The grip of the CR920X sports extensive stippling and the magazine release features aggressive texturing as well. Despite its hefty MSRP, the CR920X does not include ambidextrous controls but it does include a rail to mount your favorite accessory. 

Classy Gats

For the well-heeled pros and enthusiasts, we’ve got several compacts above the $1,000 price point that just might tickle your fancy for an EDC piece. The first one over the high-water mark is the Sig Sauer P365 AXG Legion with an MSRP of $1,199. As indicated by the “AXG” designation, this striker-fired pistol starts off with an aluminum frame instead of a polymer one, sporting checkering on the front and backstraps. However, there’s so much more to the P365 AXG Legion like the X-Ray3 Day/Night sights, Picatinny rail, and the front and rear cocking serrations.

While not really a micro-compact like its other P365 siblings, the Legion version has a taller frame that accommodates the three 17-round magazines that ship with each pistol. Despite its height, the P365 AXG Legion still remains very slender and easily concealed, but the removable magazine well adds a bit of width to the package despite its utility in speeding up reloads. The slide cut for mounting a favorite micro-optic such as the new Romeo-X Enclosed Compact adds even more utility to the arrangement.

With the Legion Series known for styling and visual appeal, the P365 AXG carries on that tradition with the traditional Legion Gray finish, grippy G-10 side panels and the trademark Legion Chevron to denote the user’s status as a Legion member. Even better, this pistol also includes a two-port expansion chamber up front to help mitigate recoil, though the reduced barrel length does penalize the user with a slightly lower velocity. And while there’s no ambi slide stop, the magazine release is reversible and there’s plenty of other bells and whistles to keep the user happy.

CZ Shadow 2 Compact

Next up the price ladder is a pistol that drew a lot of attention with its introduction, and that’s the CZ Shadow 2 Compact at an MSRP of $1,299. It seems the entire world loves CZ’s competition pistols like the Shadow 2, so why not turn it into a more compact carry gun? That’s what CZ did with its DA/SA competition pistol by shortening the barrel to 4 inches, reducing the frame height to use 15-round magazines, and utilizing an aluminum frame instead of steel to reduce weight for all-day carry. Other than that, the compact variant offers pretty much everything thing the competition model brings to shooters.

The Shadow 2 Compact incorporates the traditional slide-in-frame design of the CZ 75, allowing the slide to ride inside of the frame rails to reduce the size of the slide and the reciprocating mass for reduced muzzle flip. Of course, the svelte form factor still includes the cold-hammer-forged barrel and the excellent ergonomics, including the higher beaver tail and undercut trigger guard for a higher and more comfortable purchase on the pistol.

Optics-Ready Design

The Shadow 2 Compact is ready out of the box to mount an optic thanks to a slide cut and available adapter plates for popular red dots on the market. The accompanying sight package includes a fiber-optic front sight and a drift-adjustable rear sight that fine tunes for elevation. And since the Compact model serves more carry and defensive purposes, a Picatinny rail, machined into the frame, helps reduce weight further while providing a space to mount your favorite weapon light.

A set of aqua-blue Duralumin grip slabs provide a bit of visual styling, while the slide features a Nitride treatment. The frame includes a Polycoat over an iron-phosphate treatment to help with the bead-blast finish. I’d be remiss if I didn’t’ mention the hallmark component of the Shadow 2 Compact and that’s the superb trigger package that offers a clean and buttery smooth double-action pull with an exceptionally crisp break. Rounding out the offering are front and rear cocking serrations on the slide, an adjustable and reversible magazine release, and ample checkering on the grip frame to ensure solid recoil control.

Langdon Tactical LTT PX4 Compact Carry

Our third offering in this section is the new Langdon Tactical LTT PX4 Compact Carry. A lot of the work done with this pistol begins at the Beretta factory where designers collaborated with Ernest Langdon before releasing the enhanced PX4 Compact Carry 2 with a number of design tweaks. These include a Type-G decocker for easier carry, a bobbed hammer to reduce snagging while drawing from concealment, and a D hammer spring for improved trigger control.

Once the folks at Langon Tactical get the pistol in their hands, they take the PX4 Compact Carry 2 to a whole new level with even more refinements chosen by the customer. The first option is the LTT trigger job which includes a DLC-coated trigger bar, an 11-pound chrome-silicon trigger spring, and custom tuning of the trigger-engagement surfaces by a gunsmith. From there, the customer has can opt to include a custom flat trigger from Gray Guns and/or a custom NP3 package that includes a cut and crowned barrel along with coating components such as the barrel, hammer, trigger group internals, and the magazines with an NP3 finish.

Custom Touches

Not custom enough for you? Well, Langdon Tactical also offers the installation of a rail-mounted compensator, a Springer Precision magazine well and baseplate extensions, and they can even do an optics cut and go ahead and ship it to you with your selected optic.  Naturally, there’s a lot of variance in the price depending on what the user chooses to have done. The pistol we received had the RDO cut, trigger job, Gray Guns trigger, and the NP3 package.

As near as I can figure, the price for all of this is $1,623 without an optic. If you trick out the LTT PX4 Compact Carry with every option available including an optic and rail-mounted compensator with light, the price would be approximately $2,600.

Wilson Combat SFX9 3.25 Comp

When it comes to building outstanding custom pistols from scratch, the folks at Wilson Combat are at the top of the heap, and the new Wilson Combat SFX9 3.25 Comp is a prime example why. Starting off at a base price of $3,044, the sub-compact system enables multiple configurations by the user. But the standard build and components all exhibit the top-tier quality expected from a shop like Wilson Combat.

The SFX9 3.25 Comp is a Single-Action-Only 9mm pistol which has a grip that is integral to the frame to reduce the width. This particular model has a shortened frame height and natively hosts Wilson’s 10-round magazines, though it can accept the longer 15-round magazines. Standard features found on this model include the company’s Enhanced-Reliability rails, X-Tac front/backstrap treatment, fluted barrel, fluted chamber, and a stainless steel Tri-Top slide incorporating an external extractor.

More Custom Influences

This particular version came with Wilson’s barrel comp made from 416R steel, billed to reduce muzzle flip by up to 20% for sub-compact models. When you dig even deeper, you’ll find a bevy of custom parts made in-house to Wilson’s exacting specifications. These include components from the company’s Bullet-Proof line such as the hammer, thumb safety, and magazine release. The pistol includes Wilson’s Concealment Battlesight and fiber-optic front sight, along with a 3.25-inch stainless-steel cone barrel with its flush-cut reverse crown.

There’s plenty of other detailing that’s either functional or cosmetic—or both. They include the 30-LPI top serrations on the slide, carry cuts, deep machine chamfer at the bottom of the slide, and the X-Tac cocking serrations at the front and rear of the slide. From there, the slide is given Wilson’s Armor-Tuff finish. There’s even more to this pistol from the custom hand-fitting and tuning to the exacting work done on parts like the magazines designed specifically for this model. Too much to even cover, delving deeper into the SFX9 impresses with every aspect of what this pistol offers the sophisticated shooter.

Trial by Fire

The beginning was a bit of a free-for-all since the guys had free reign to shoot whichever pistols they wanted to try first, and after that, we got down to business. Just to get the not-so-great observations right out of the way, we had more issues with malfunctions of one type or another than we’ve had with any previous Ballistic’s Best testing for the Compacts pistol category.

The first pistol that had issues was the CR920X, and those occurred with two shooters. There were a few failures to feed and a couple of failures to extract. We changed out ammunition to see if that was a problem and still had similar results. A couple of the testers really liked the look and feel of this gun along with its feature set, so that was a bit of a gut punch. Likewise, the Langdon TTI PX Compact Carry had a couple of failures to feed and several failures to go completely into battery. 

We pulled these pistols out, making sure they exhibited proper lubrication as we tried different ammunition. This helped with the PX4 Compact Carry, and we had no further issues with it and it ran like a champ for the rest of our testing period. The CR920X appeared amply lubed, but we touched it up, still exhibiting the occasional bobble after that process completed.

Hiccups & Highlights

Another pistol that had a couple of failure-to-feed issues with one type of ammunition was the Wilson Combat SFX9 3.25 Comp. After checking lubrication, we tried it with a few other ammo types and had no problems after that. Reports from a couple of guys came in about the HK CC9’s and the CR920X’s slides not locking back on the last round, but this was sporadic and we couldn’t rule out user error with riding the slide stop. In fact, I did some deliberate testing with both slow and fast fire out of both pistols with four types of ammunition and had no slide-stop issues with either pistol.

On the positive side, there were a few pistols that really stood out through the testing. The first of these was the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0. Jonathan said it should get an honorable mention for the day since it had such good ergos for a small pistol, was a vast improvement over the original Bodyguard, and he felt the shooting experience was much better than the even larger Beretta 80X Cheetah. He felt the recoil impulse was softer and there weren’t as many sharp edges to gouge his hand. Jordan also like the Bodyguard 2.0 quite a bit, noting that it performed fantastically and was at a great price point.

Once the LTT PX4 Compact Carry was up and running again, it received praise in the area of trigger control with its silky-smooth double-action pull and with superb recoil control despite its smaller size. Less slide mass because of its form factor and the rotating barrel system went a long way to making it a pistol that was very easy to shoot well.

Ergonomics & Value

Similarly, while not bringing anything radical or new to the micro-compact table, the HK CC9 also got several mentions about its ergonomics, robust construction and the fairly clean and nice trigger pull for a pistol designed for concealed carry. The CC9 was one of my favorites while testing the compact pistols, and I became more impressed when I received more background info about the development and testing of the pistol.

One pistol turned out to be quite the surprise with a couple of the testers was the Taurus GX4 Carry T.O.R.O. model. The GX4 blew the guys away by performing solidly and offering a good set of features for a relatively low MSRP. The Glock G30 Gen5 turned a couple of heads as well. Despite its pedestrian looks and lack of certain features (like decent sights), Jonathan and Jerry both liked it a lot for its outstanding recoil control for its size, its decent price point and its incredible accuracy.

One pistol got rave reviews and high praise and that was the Sig Sauer P365 AXG Legion, and it came in as a very close second place with our overall scoring. Comments ranged from “easy to control” to “fantastic ergos and a great feel” to “looks good and feels great in the hand.” The best overall criteria scores for the P365 AXG Legion included reliability, recoil control, aesthetics and ergonomics. The AXG Legion tallied an average score of 38.11 points for all criteria, just about three-fourths of a point lower than the compact pistol that achieved the top score.

Shop Talk

Before we get to that, though, I talked to the guys over dinner later one evening and asked a few questions to get a more unfiltered perspective of their opinions without the scoresheets in sight. When asked which of the contenders they’d buy and use as their every day carry piece, Jordan and Jerry opted for the P365 AXG Legion while Jonathan went with the CR920X with the proviso that the reliability issues needed to be ironed out. 

While I loved the look and performance of the Shadow 2 Compact and even the P365 AXG Legion, I’m a little more practical with my carry guns. I would opt for either the CC9 or the Hellcat Pro Comp OSP for their capacity to size and feature set, and I’d go with the Bodyguard 2.0 for deep carry or as a backup.

We then got into the discussion about which of the pistols were the best value. Jerry was ardent about his belief that the Shadow 2, with all of its features and near-custom touches, was the best value of the bunch. He felt like it looked and shot like a custom gun without a full-blown custom price. Both Jonathan and Jordan felt like the Hellcat Pro Comp OSP was the best value thanks to all the features like the comp, optic cut, top-notch sights, grip texturing and accessory rail for just $699. In my opinion, I’d have to agree with Jonathan and Jordan on the Hellcat’s value proposition.

And The Winner Is…

When it came to tabulating the actual scores for all nine criteria for all 11 pistols, the winner of the day came as no surprise since the guys had been regaling me with its praise all day each time they shot it. That pistol was the CZ Shadow 2 Compact with a final average score of 38.89 point, about three-quarters of a point higher than the Sig P365 AXG Legion. The criteria where the Shadow 2 Compact performed the best was aesthetics, trigger control, reliability, accuracy and recoil control. In short, the evaluators felt like the Shadow 2 Compact had it all for a relatively reasonable price.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to testing and scoring pistols, there’s a lot of subjectivity involved and there’s a bunch of variables that are nearly impossible to control. What feels good in the hand of one shooter might feel like a two-by-four in another shooter’s grip. One person might like the sights of the Hellcat Pro. Another might prefer the subdued take of the HK CC9 better.

And how do you judge or quantify recoil or ergonomics? There’s no machine we can use to measure that experience. That’s subjective from one shooter to another. Even if it’s the same shooter, maybe it’s later in the day and they are just getting tired. Don’t get me started on accuracy testing. Each gun, even a pistol, has its own preference as to what type of ammunition it shoots most accurately. 

For that matter, the same could be said for feed reliability, though I’d venture that all modern pistols should reliably be able to feed all quality ammunition found on the market today. But for accuracy, is it fair to any of the pistols in the test that we might not have the exact ammunition that it performs the best with at our disposal for the testing? Maybe not, but we went with what we had and tried to make the best of it.

Tough Choices & Great Guns

All of this is to say that trying to make a choice about the next compact pistol you want to carry doesn’t easily come down to which one is at the top of someone else’s scoring sheet on a given day. We don’t know what your likes or dislikes are, and we certainly don’t know how much your budget will allow. We might be able to point you in a general direction, but a lot of it comes down to personal preferences and even more subjectivity on your part, not to mention sorting out just how much you can swing with the budget. 

But, hopefully, we’ve provided you with enough information to get you started down the path and maybe we’ve narrowed down the field enough so that you don’t have to spend quite as much time with the endeavor. As you can see, there are plenty of top-quality compacts available right now and you should easily find one that meets your needs and does everything you want it to do.

But as with all contests, there’s always has to be a winner whether it results from subjective scoring or even straight metrics and data analytics. In our case, for the testing we did during that cool and sunny weekend in early October, our winner for the Compacts category of the Ballistic’s Best edition for 2024 is the CZ Shadow 2 Compact, and it was a victory that was well deserved.

READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS

For our 2024 Ballistic’s Best, our experts evaluated over 90 firearms, firing literally thousands of rounds downrange. They used our scoring system, drilling down on features such as accuracy, reliability, and more. Then the experts picked the very best performer from each and every group. 
Our readers, that’s you, get to vote on the very same groups our pros tested out on the range.

Check out our poll and CLICK HERE to cast your vote.

Test Scoring

Pistol Specs