This article will help you find your best budget 9mm full size pistol, for a variety of needs. I’ve set the price range at $400-$800, which will give most shooters several great options. Moreover, I’ve relied on my experience as a competitive and tactical shooter to narrow down this list to options that provide a lot of performance for your money. Later on in the article we will cover some of the accessories you may want to consider for your pistol, such as red dot sights, and pistol lights. Keep reading for more.
In this list of the 5 best budget 9mm full size pistols, I’ve tried to include several options that most shooters may not routinely contemplate. I have a unique perspective on shooting pistols as I have to carry one every day as a police officer.
Moreover, I’m a competitive pistol shooter in USPSA practical shooting competitions. This means I spend a great deal of time shooting and improving my performance. In fact, I would estimate that I shot around 20,000 rounds last year, and most of them actually hit the target!
Because of this I tend to view pistol shooting through a practical lens. If you’ve read any of my other 9 mm pistol articles then you know that I prize reliability greatly. If I can’t count on it to work all the time, then I don’t need it. Needless to say, the pistols on this list are quite reliable.
My next highest priority is ergonomics, both in handling and shooting. We’ve all shot a 9 mm handgun that someone absolutely loved, only to find out that it just didn’t fit your hand well, or felt “off” when shooting. Having a pistol that fits your hands, and functions well when used hard, is hard to come by. Check out the best budget 9mm full size pistol list below.
5 Best Budget 9mm Full Size Pistols: Overview
- Glock 34 Gen 5
- Heckler and Koch VP9
- Smith and Wesson M&P 9 2.0 Metal 9mm Pistol
- CZ P10C Optics Ready
- Springfield Armory Echelon
It’s worth noting that these pistols are all good options for full sized 9mm handguns. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other good option on the market. Obviously I’ve limited this list to a certain budget. I’ve also specifically excluded some popular companies for good reason. I have first hand knowledge of their safety and reliability issues.
I’ve made an effort to link to companies that are selling these pistols for competitive prices. For those of you who are police officers, or veterans, I highly recommend checking out Primary Arms. They have their Glock Blue Label Program, which saves you hundreds off of most Glock purchases. Even if you your not a LEO, you can still get a nice discount for your service.
In the interest of full disclosure, I want to point out that the links to these pistols are affiliate links. That means if you click on them, and make a purchase from these companies, then we get a small portion of the purchase for referring you. It doesn’t cost you anything extran, and none of these companies paid for this article.
I’ve also made private purchases from all of these companies, and will continue to do so because they offer great prices, and customer service. Now, let’s review a few key points to keep in mind when selecting your best budget 9mm full size pistol.
Choosing the Best Budget 9mm Full Size Pistol
If you’ve spent any time on the internet you know that it’s chock full of opinions about the best pistol caliber for self defense. These stopping power debates are often full of irrelevant details, and stories from WWII, that may or may not be particularly relevant.
If you’ve read any of my other gun related articles you know that I like to find some reliable data to inform my decisions. Thats why I wrote one of my most popular shooting articles entitled, “Analyzing 1800 Shootings: Which Caliber Has the Best Stopping Power?“
In that article I reviewed a great data set from Greg Ellifritz, a retired police officer, and noted firearms trainer. During his time as a police officer, he analyzed years worth of shooting data, from his jurisdiction, to determine which rounds had what effects. I wrote the article summarizing his findings.
Does 9mm Perform Well in Stopping Power Tests?
The short answer to this question is yes, it performs well compared to other common pistol calibers. The longer answer to this question lies within the data I summarized in the article. Here, I will touch on the important highlights. Let’s look at the first chart below.
This chart highlights the probability of one shot stopping someone in a lethal engagement. It does not include things like suicides, only police or other self defense shootings. You can see that amongst common pistol calibers, there is roughly a 30-45% chance that one shot will end the engagement.
As I mentioned in my article on the 5.56mm rifle round, there is a big difference in stopping power between handgun and rifle rounds. Handguns only cause tearing and crushing damage the size of the bullet, when they enter a body. A rifle round displaces a much higher volume of tissue around the bullet via the high pressure cavity behind the round. This is why big game hunters use rifles, and not pistols!
In the next chart we can see another interesting phenomenon with pistol rounds in general, and the 9mm round in particular.
The chart above highlights the number of assailants that were not stopped no matter how many times they were shot. You can see that the most common calibers, including 9 mm caliber, would not stop an assailant about 13% of the time.
This is an important statistic because most self defense oriented shooters are really looking to stop someones aggressive actions towards them, or their families. This data shows that there really isn’t a large difference between any handgun round. Does that mean that we should pick the 9mm?
Should You Choose the 9mm?
In my opinion the 9mm is the best pistol round you can use for several reasons. First and foremost, it is used by militaries and police agencies all over the world. This brings several good things. It means that ammo manufacturers spend a large amount of money developing good rounds for it.
The 9mm round is low recoil, which allows for more accurate shooting. Most importantly, it allows for better shot placement when you shoot longer strings of fire. Having shot a lot of 40 Caliber rounds through my previous duty gun, I can tell you without a doubt that switching to 9mm allowed me to shoot faster, and more accurately.
Financially I think the 9mm round makes the most sense as well. You can purchase a case of good quality practice ammo for less than $250, which means that you can afford to shoot more often, thus increase your shooting proficiency. Next let’s get to the particulars of the pistols. Before we do that don’t forget to join the email list to get more fitness and firearms content sent your way.
5 Best Budget 9mm Full Size Pistols
In this section we will review the top 5 best budget 9mm full size pistols that made this list. As I mentioned above, they are all currently for sale for between $400-$800. I will review some of the key details of each pistol in it’s section.
However, if you want to see more details you can follow the link to the vendors. I will also include some great Youtube reviews from some of the more knowledgeable shooters in the industry. As you’ll see, there are a few different sized options on this list.
Some of these guns are truly full sized or maybe plus sized. Others are a little closer to compact. This is important for those that may want to carry these firearms every day. It’s also worth pointing out that most companies sell different variants of each pistol, some with iron sights, others with night sights, or different color options.
After this section I will cover some common accessories that you will most likely want to include with your pistols. We’ll review some practical information on selecting a good quality red dot sight, and I will cover some great info on the best budget pistol lights as well. Now, let’s get the first pistol.
Glock 34 Gen 5
The Glock 34 Gen 5 has been a mainstay of competition shooters, who wanted the legendary Glock reliability. It’s been around for a long time. If you’re not familiar with the myriad of options from Glock, the 34 is a longer slide variant of the venerable standard model Glock 17.
Because it’s a larger firearm, with a longer sight radius, many shooters find that they can shoot it a little better than a smaller pistol. It’s also worth noting that John Wick shot a Glock 34, which makes it extra cool.
The barrel length for this 5th generation Glock 34 is 5.3 inches, which is 0.8 inches longer than the Glock G 17. As you might expect, it’s also slightly heavier. The 34 comes in at 26.21 ounces with an empty magazine, where as the Glock 17 weighs in at 22.26 ounces, with empty mag. It also comes with a nice accessory rail for lights and lasers. Check out this video for an awesome review of the Glock 34 Gen 5.
This 5th generation version of the Glock 34 features a 5.3 pound trigger from the factory. Like all Glock Modular Optic Systems (MOS) versions, you can mount the red dot pistol sight of your choice, provided you use the correct adapter plate.
It comes with a standard 17 round magazine, but can be purchased with reduced capacity variants if your local laws don’t allow for full capacity magazines. As of this writing you can pick up a brand new Glock 34 Gen 5 for a little over $700. This is a good price for a high performing, reliable, full sized pistol. Next we’ll cover one my favorite German striker-fired pistols.
Heckler and Koch VP9
The Heckler and Koch VP9 is one of my favorite 9mm pistols at any price point. It has amazing ergonomics, with an outstanding trigger pull, right from the factory. It also has a great picatinny rail to add accessories. Due to it’s low bore axis, I find that this gun is a great choice for high performance shooting.
I’ve carried this gun for several years, and put thousands of 9mm rounds through it. As you might expect from any HK gun, it’s been perfectly reliable. In fact, I’ve never had the gun malfunction on me.
This pistol is extremely comfortable to shoot because it has an incredibly well engineered side and back panel system on the grip. You can replace the complete back strap, and the sides, to fit your hand. This allows you to shoot a more standard slim grip, or included palm swells and a longer back strap, for larger hands. I run a medium rear, and large side panels. Check out this video for more detail.
The pistol variant I’ve linked above is optics ready. It features a 17 round magazine capacity, weighing 26.5 ounces. The VP9 has one unique feature that can really improve practical shooting performance. Unlike other pistols, it has an ambidextrous paddle style mag release, along the bottom of the trigger guard.
This style of mag release requires you to push it down rather than in, like most button style releases. While this does require some retraining, it is a much better design. This allows you to maintain a full firing grip on the gun, while dropping the magazine. You simply use your strong hand middle finger to push the release down. This eliminates the need to rotate your hand to reach a traditional style mag release. As you can tell, I’m a big fan.
If you want a high performing full size 9mm pistol then this is a great option. It has top notch ergonomics, a light trigger, and it doesn’t break the bank. As of this writing the VP9 is on sale for under $700. This is one of my top picks for home defense. Next we’ll cover the only metal frame pistol on this list.
Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 Metal Frame 9mm
The Smith and Wesson M&P 9 2.0 Metal 9mm Pistol is an enhanced metal framed variant of the standard M&P 2.0. Out of the box it comes with several key improvements that makes it a very high performing pistol. Some of these features include: a light flat faced trigger, customizable palm swells, and a grippy polymer front strap.
As I alluded to above, this pistol has an aluminum frame, and a steel slide. This changes the feel of the firearm, as well as increases its weight. This version of the metal framed pistol comes in at 30 ounces. Check out this video for more details.
This Smith & Wesson uses a 17 round flush fit magazine, and some aggressive texturing on the slide cuts. The trigger pull weight for this flat faced trigger comes in at 4.5 pounds, according to most reviewers.
On the aesthetics side, I really like the two tone look. The metal is Cerakoted in in grey, with the polymer portions remaining black. Smith and Wesson does make a lot of different variants of this pistol, but I think this 4.25in barrel version is the best all around size.
As of this writing you can purchase the metal framed M&P 2.0 for $799. This is a decent price point for a metal framed striker fired pistol. The M&P Metal is your best handgun if you want a little heavier pistol, with great ergos. Next we’re going to talk about a great option many people overlook.
CZ P10C Optics Ready 9mm
The CZ P10C Optics Ready is CZ’s answer to the Glock 19. It came out several years ago, and hasn’t made a huge splash until now. Recently, CZ dropped the price significantly, making it one of the best value pistols for the money. As of this writing you can purchase this great pistol for right around $400. As you might imagine, the P10C goes out of stock frequently because of this.
The P10C is has a 4 inch barrel, and is roughly equivalent in size to a Glock 19. Most reviewers tested the trigger at around 4.5 pounds, which is very shootable. It comes with 15 round magazines, and is optics ready. In fact, it might be the most economical optics ready pistol currently on the market. Check this video out.
Reviewers noted that it has a very sticky grip texture, which is important because it’s fairly light weight at 26 ounces. Like other polymer guns on this list, it is striker fired.
I think this is a great pistol for someone who wants to shoot on a budget. If you include a quality red dot and the optics plate, you’re looking at an all in price around $800. This is the best gun value for your money, and an awesome option for your first gun of this size. Next we’ll cover the last pistol on our list.
Springfield Armory Echelon
The Springfield Armory Echelon is a great gun for folks that want a do it all gun right out of the box. This isn’t a bare bones pistol, that requires you to purchase things like night sights, or ambidextrous controls to set it up according to your preferences. The Springfield Echelon is built to preform from day one.
This full-size gun is a polymer framed, striker fired firearm, with some unique features that make it a great option. From the factory it comes with tritium night sights, and a very cool fire control set up that allows for modularity.
Like other manufacturers, you can drop the Fire Control Unit into various frames. This allows for many different factory, and aftermarket frame options. Out of the box, it has a very grippy texture, and an adjustable back strap. Check this video out.
Reviewers noted that the slide has very grippy forward slide serrations, and textured contact points on the upper portion of the grip, and frame. This can create a nice ledge to rest your thumbs on when shooting, increasing ease of use.
The Echelon also features a very innovative optics mounting system. The slide is predrilled to accept bosses that fit into different areas of the slide. This allows you to mount optics from Trijicon, Holosun, and other popular manufactures, using the included bosses from Springfield. This can save you $50-$100 on purchasing a separate optics mounting plate.
The Echelon has a nice flat faced trigger which reviewers tested around the 5 pound mark. As of this writing you can pick up the Echelon for under $700. Given the money saved on the optic plate, and it’s innovative design, this is a great gun for the price.
In the next section I’m going to cover some quality accessories that you may want to consider adding to your pistol. We’ll talk about reliable red dot sights, and good pistol lights that won’t break the bank.
Best Budget 9mm Full Size Pistol Accessories
As I’ve mentioned a few times, most of you will likely end up purchasing some accessories to go with your pistol. For many shooters, you’ll choose a red dot pistol sight and a quality pistol light. I will review some great options that I’ve used extensively.
Before we get to my recommendations I do want to point out that if you don’t plan on training with these accessories, then I wouldn’t both mounting them on your gun. If you’re new to shooting with a red dot, then you need a few hours of practice to develop a natural point of aim. Otherwise you’ll end up fishing around for the dot when you shoot.
Similarly, if you plan on using a pistol light, you need to practice with it as well. It sounds silly, but I’ve trained hundreds of police officers and they regularly fail to use their lights correctly. If you’ve never had any formal training with either, I would recommend a good class. Let’s get to the gear recommendations.
Best Budget 9mm Full Size Pistol: Red Dot Sights
Red dot sights are rapidly becoming the sighting system of choice for pistol, just as they’ve been a default option for rifles for many years. There are several reasons for this. First, they allow you to remain threat focused which is aligned with where your eyes actually focus in a deadly force engagement.
There is also some solid research that demonstrates that hit percentages increase, and misses decrease when using these sighting systems. They are great options if you regularly train with them and build your natural point of aim, with your chosen red dot.
My Top 3 Red Dot Sights for Full Sized Pistols
I tend to recommend three different dots, or more generally dot manufacturers. The most reliable dot in existence is the Trijicon RMR. It’s been around for about 15 years, and still kills it on durability tests. Don’t believe me, check out this article I wrote on pistol red dot sights. It’s a great option for a duty or self defense pistol.
My next recommendation is the Leupold Deltapoint Pro. I ran this on my USPSA Carry Optics gun for about 20,000 rounds, and it worked well. Every now and again the dot would flicker once the battery started to run down, but it would always return to normal function with a battery change. It also has bigger glass than the RMR, which can make dot tracking a little easier. This could be used for competition or defensive purposes.
My last recommendation would be the Holosun 507 Comp. I have two of these dots, and in the few months I’ve owned them, I’ve put about 6000 rounds on them. They work very well, and I particularly like that you can switch reticles with a push of a button.
While this dot is purely aimed towards competition shooters, I bet you could probably use it for defensive purposes. I think you’d just have to be careful about banging it around. It’s easy to imagine that super large glass getting knocked out if you abuse the optic. Next let’s talk about pistol lights.
Best Budget 9mm Full Size Pistol: Pistol Lights
Pistol lights are a more straight forward option on full sized 9mm pistols. I recommend two different lights. The first is the Surefire X300U. I’ve shot this on my duty gun for about 6 years now, and I’ve never had any trouble with the aluminum railed version linked above. The plastic railed version would sheer screws on a 40 cal pistol after 10,000 rounds or so.
My next favorite option, which I’ve also carried on duty, is the Streamlight TLR-1HL. It has the same brightness as the Surefire, and costs less than half of the Surefire. Don’t get caught in the marketing hype. Both of these companies make great weapons lights, and I’m happy to roll with either. Next let’s cover some great 9 mm ammo options for training and self defense.
Best Budget 9mm Full Size Pistol 9mm Ammunition
The best thing about the 9mm pistol is the sheer number of options you have for training and self defense. I’ve also written extensively about the 9mm round in this article, and this one. If you really want to nerd out then check out those articles, otherwise we’ll cover some great recommendations for range training, and self defense below.
9mm Self Defense Ammo
For 9mm self defense ammo I tend to stick with Federal ammunition. This Federal Hydrashok is a great 124 grain option. It’s a nice mix between speed and bullet weight. It also has reliable performance and hollow point expansion.
Similarly, the Remington Golden Sabre 147 grain hollow point, is a great round as well. Remington self defense tends to have very good performance in ballistic gel tests, and 147 grain is a well tested bullet weight.
I do want to highlight that no matter what round you end up purchasing, you need to run a few hundred rounds through your pistol before you decide to carry it for self defense. I know those rounds are expensive, but you don’t want to find out that your pistol hates shooting the round in a fight for your life! Next let’s cover training ammo.
9mm Practice Ammo
Training ammo is much cheaper, and I’m much less choosy about which brand I shoot. At this point, I’ve shot most of the major manufacturers, and I will settle for just about any bulk ammo deal from a reputable company.
I often shoot this 115 grain AAC training ammo. As of this writing you can purchase a case of 1000, for 27 cents per round. That price has been stable for a few years now, and is reasonable for training ammo.
I’ve also shot thousands of rounds of PMC Bronze 115 grain ammo. It performs reliably and I’ve never had a bad batch. I tend to go with whichever company is running the best deal, as I go through a lot of ammo. Now let’s wrap this best budget 9mm full size pistol article up.
Final Thoughts
This has been a longer post, but I wanted to cover a little more detail than you would find in a standard list article. I find the gun industry is all too often controlled by fancy marketing, rather than more reasonable issues like user experience.
It’s important to point out that your best budget 9mm full size pistol might be different than someone else’s. That doesn’t make one pistol inherently “better” than another. For those that want an all around great pistol I would strongly recommend the VP9.
It’s small enough that you can still appendix carry if needed, and it’s large enough that you don’t feel like you’re shooting a toy. If you like that sized gun, and want a little more heft, then the Smith and Wesson is your natural choice. For those that want to spend a little less, I think you’d be crazy not consider the CZ P10c.
I always recommend trying to find a gun store / range that allows you to rent these pistols. Often times you’ll find that some pistols just feel “right” to you, and others are a little “off.” Now you have everything you need to find your best budget 9mm full size pistol. Get out there and get training, and don’t forget to join the email list below.
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