“Compact” and “Subcompact” Handguns are a Marketing Scam

by Chris Black

Gun manufacturers love to sell you these gimmicky guns on the basis that they’re “more concealable,” but if that’s the selling point then why the reduced barrel length?

When you conceal a handgun, the barrel is going straight down inside your waistband; there’s basically no difference between a 5″ barrel and a 3″ barrel in this situation.

The drawback, however, is that a shorter barrel means a shorter sight radius and less mass to absorb recoil with, which makes it harder to stay on target and produces snappier recoil.

In other words, by using a “compact” or “subcompact” handgun, you’re handicapping yourself with a gun that’s inherently more difficult to shoot.

The only thing that really affects concealment is the vertical length of the handgrip, but again, shortening this means sacrificing capacity.

My CCW is a full-size Beretta 92X, which has nearly a 5″ barrel and 18+1 capacity.

I’ve never had any issue concealing it and it’s much more comfortable to shoot than my Glock 19 or M&P Compact.