

Mechanically speaking, putting the same engine (caliber) in a smaller frame (size of the gun) will translate into more felt recoil.

The best 9mm pistol, for your scenario, will then be determined by lifestyle considerations, combined with the environment. Since no two people are alike, having options when it comes to carrying is ideal. This means being able to sort through how one intends to carry it. Ideal handguns are ones established enough in the market that you can find good holsters for them at a reasonable price. Selecting a best concealed carry pistol, really, is about choosing a handgun that best fits your daily routine. Then you must grasp the pin and pull it out.So we're looking now for the best 9mm pistol, for personal protection. This is accomplished by locking the slide back, and moving the takedown lever sideways, which also blocks the mag well, meaning it can’t be done while a mag is inserted. Unlike its larger namesake, the Masada Slim requires you to remove a pin from the slide before it comes loose. I know it’s rare, but it does happen and that’s a nice touch.Īside from the lack of an accessory rail, the thing I like least about the Masada Slim is the disassembly process. This gives the shooter positive purchase on the magazine should there be ejection problems. Sure, they look cool, but they serve no purpose, and a rail would have been much better.Ī small feature I like very much is the magazine cutout on the grip. There’s enough room for a 3-slot rail, but the only features are inexplicable extensions of the forward slide serrations. I don’t really understand that design choice since it’s kind of expected these days.

There appears to be room, but IWI chose not to include one.Ī real downside is the lack of a forward accessory rail. The lack of an accessory rail is disappointing. I would have no reservations whatsoever about employing the Masada Slim in an everyday carry role. I ran the same two factory mags the whole time. I purposely ran dirty ammo, though I did not seek to induce failures with crazy stuff like pouring dirt in the mags. That reliability showed through measured, deliberate shooting, as well as transition drills that included quick mag changes. There were no failures to feed or eject and the gun ran with 100 percent reliability, even though I purposely didn’t clean it beyond an initial lube. I ran a variety of 115 and 124-grain ammo through the Masada Slim, including some 124-grain defensive rounds. Reliability-wise, I had no issues at all. The standard Masada Slim does not have night sights, unlike the P365XL. They’re easy enough to pick up, though there’s a little more daylight than I prefer. They feature a blacked-out U-notch and a white dot front blade. The sights are fine, but nothing special. The groups expanded a bit as I moved out, but that’s more on us than it is on the gun. Accuracy was good, with consistent 1-2-inch groups at 7 yards. Recoil was very manageable, with both 115 and 124-grain ammo and I transitioned well, whether shooting at paper or steel. Honestly, I like the trigger just a little better than the 365XL. The flat-faced trigger has a longer take-up than I’d like, but the break is crisp and clean with a short reset. IWI Masada 9S Subcompact Pistol: P365 Killer?Īt the range, I found that the Masada Slim shot every bit as well as the Sig P365XL. The IWI gun’s 13-round magazine capacity is actually one round better than the Sig. With its 3.4-inch barrel and 6.25-inch overall length, the Masada Slim is more analogous to the P365XL than the base P365.
MASADA 9MM VS GLOCK 19 SERIES
We all know that Sig started this trend with the excellent P365 series and other companies haven’t wasted any time throwing their own offerings into the ring. We no longer have to sacrifice capacity for concealability, or not as much, anyway. These mighty mites routinely provide the slimness and concealability of single-stack guns like the Walther PPS or Springfield XDS, while delivering 12 or 13-round magazine capacities for 9mm. Slim double-stack subcompact pistols are all the rage these days, and with good reason.
