Far from comprehensive, below is a list of ten different CCW/EDC semi-autos of varying sizes that made their debut at this year’s 2025 SHOT Show.
HK CC9
Officially announced and technically launched several weeks before SHOT Show actually kicked off, the HK CC9 has been generating some buzz. These guns have been so hard to find in person, that I didn’t even see my first until I visited the HK booth at the show proper.
The HK CC9 is a 9mm 10/12 round capacity micro-compact polymer-framed pistol. It’s also HK USA’s categorical debut into the modern “slim” carry gun genre. In other words, this isn’t another gun like the P2000SK, VP9SK, or P30SK. Sure, one could say that HK is “late to the party” as its competitors have been selling slim-carry guns for several years now.
In HK’s defense, they took their sweet time subjecting the new CC9 to the same rigorous tests that the company typically reserves for its bigger duty-size service pistols like the HK VP9 or the P30. One could argue that this is one of the most stringently tested micro-compact 9mm pistols currently on the market. It’s also one of the few (or the only slim gun, for that matter) that features an ambidextrous slide-stop.
For more information, please visit HK-USA.com.
Canik Mete MC9 Prime
Over the last year, Canik Firearms has been busy working to set up its first American production facility complete with a manufacturing line that mirrors the original in Turkey. In turn, Canik announced the new Mete MC9 Prime, a fully American-built “slim” Mete MC9 variant. This pistol has a built-in inline compensating system, including drilled ports and the corresponding slide cuts. Likewise, it uses the same trigger shoe and grip texture that’s found in the Canik TTI Combat model.
With its 3.6-inch barrel and 17-round capacity magazine, the new Canik Mete MC9 Prime is categorically in a similar place as the Springfield Hellcat Pro, the SIG-Sauer X-Macro, and the FN Reflex XL MRD listed below. At SHOT Show, the Mete MC9 Prime models on display could be seen wearing Mecanik’s newest red-dot sights, the enclosed-emitter Mecanik M04.
For more information, please visit CanikUSA.com.
Savage Stance XR
For 2025, Savage revamped its Stance micro-compact carry pistol line with the launch of the new Stance XR 9mm pistol. The Savage Stance XR follows the tried-and-true format of a Browning delayed tilting blowback pistol with striker ignition and a polymer frame. Models are available as either dedicated left or right-handed and with/without thumb safeties from the factory. Every SKU comes with Savage’s QRO (Quick Release Optics plate), which is probably one of the more novel optics mounting systems seen on the show floor this year.
Instead of relying on the final set of screws that tie the gun down to the slide, the Savage QRO instead works with a pair of dovetails that hold everything in place. These dovetails can be collapsed in order to allow easy removal of optics/dots/other plates. Savage is also going the fire-control unit route, just like the Ruger RXM mentioned below or the established SIG-Sauer P320.
For more information, please visit SavageArms.com.
Beretta 80X Cheetah 32 ACP
Beretta pulled a move that made Travis Pike very happy. This year, Beretta showcased a .32 ACP version of the modernized Beretta 80X Cheetah. The 80X Cheetah originally launched two years ago during SHOW Show 2023. That gun is chambered in the milder .380 ACP, just like the original blowback Beretta 84 BB Cheetah of yesteryear. It was well-received, and given the cross-over between the various historical blowback Cheetah models. So, adapting the new 80X to .32 ACP wasn’t a stretch.
While .32 ACP has fallen by the wayside, it still serves a niche for centerfire carry guns whose users are looking for a low-recoil cartridge that’s also more substantial than a .22 LR rimfire. Presently, the new Beretta 80X Cheetah in .32 ACP may be the only optics-ready .32-caliber semi-auto carry pistol. It even feeds off the original pattern Beretta Model 81 magazines.
For more information, please visit Beretta.com.
Taurus GX2
One of the handguns that Taurus was showcasing at their new product sub-booth inside their principal booth this year was the Taurus GX2. It is a compact and affordably priced 9mm that’s sized to be neither too big nor too small. With its updated frame and design lines, the new GX2 can also be considered the successor to Taurus’ existing G2C model, which fills the same niche.
Anyone with a keen eye will notice that the GX2 borrows similar shapes to Taurus’ GX4 or even TX-22 series—all part of the new Bainbridge era that has been on the up and up over the past three years. With an MSRP of just over $300, the Taurus GX2 aims to be a simple value proposition for 2025. Its slide isn’t cut for optics, nor does it come with any extra flair.
For more information, please visit TaurusUSA.com.
Ruger RXM
Like the HK CC9, the Ruger RXM was technically announced in the weeks preceding SHOT Show and also made waves throughout the gun world. After all, Ruger is one of the largest gun companies in the United States. The Ruger RXM is third generation Glock-pattern clone manufactured in Ruger’s Prescott, AZ facility.
Its frame not only uses a removable fire-control unit (think SIG-Sauer P250 and P320) but was also developed in collaboration with Magpul Industries. The end result is a feature-rich and optics-ready Glock-pattern pistol with a real-world price tag of around $399. Given the immensity of both companies, my prediction is that the RXM is going to rock the affordable compact 9mm market segment something fierce.
For more information, please visit Ruger.com.
Glock COA Models
While technically not a new gun, one of the most attention-grabbing announcements leading up to SHOT Show this year was Glock’s collaboration with Aimpoint on a new enclosed-emitter red-dot sight optimized for concealed carry—the Aimpoint COA. The most notable aspect of the new Aimpoint COA is that it employs the A-Cut optics footprint. It is a completely new industry-wide footprint that seeks to improve the junction between a red-dot sight and the footprint that anchors it to the slide itself.
The A-Cut accomplishes this by completely removing the traditional optics plate and screws and instead using a divot with a corresponding wedge that’s built into the external housing of the Aimpoint COA itself. The rear of the unit is secured by a combination anchor and rear sight that is screwed in place by two screws in an optimal position. By virtue of this new plateless design, the COA also sits very low, which means that taller sights aren’t needed for cowitnessing.
At launch, the most popular Glock models, like the 19, 48, 45, etc., will be available with A-Cut slides and COA sights. Due to an agreement put in place, Glock will have exclusive rights to sell guns with A-Cut slides for the remainder of 2025. Schematics won’t be released to the wider industry until 2026.
For more information, please visit us.Glock.com/en.
Shadow Systems California Trio
Though not technically new-new, like the Glock 48 mentioned above, Shadow Systems announced that they were releasing three new California-legal pistol SKUs. So, they will be available to residents behind the iron curtain of the Golden State. These new models include two models suitable for concealed carry: the Shadow Systems MR920 and XR920. These models take after the Glock 19 and Glock 45, respectively, size-wise.
While it’s not technically a “carry gun,” the third option that Shadow Systems added to the California Roster is the full-size and compensated DR920P. All three include a prominent chamber-loaded indicator, which is required to be present on a gun by California law. Shadow Systems’ new California-legal trio is worth mentioning simply because California possesses one of the largest domestic gun-buying markets in the United States. This is in spite of the fact that this state’s un-American and arguably unconstitutional gun control schemes have historically restricted regular citizens’ access to most new handgun releases.
For more information, please visit ShadowSystemsCorp.com.
FN Reflex XL MRD
This year, FN USA launched the new FN Reflex XL MRD, which is based on the micro-compact FN Reflex polymer frame striker-fired carry 9mm pistol. As the name implies, the FN Reflex XL is a larger but still thin variant of the original FN Reflex micro-compact that was first launched in 2023.
The Reflex XL joins the modern trend of those larger but still thinner and easy-to-carry pistols that was arguably set in motion in the late 2010s by the Glock 48 and further developed by models like the Springfield Hellcat Pro and SIG-Sauer P365 X-Macro. Taking advantage of its larger size, the FN Reflex MRD is naturally an optics-ready pistol using FN’s unique slide cut and optics mounting system. It’s therefore compatible with the most popular optics footprints on the market.
For more information, please visit FNAmerica.com.
Walther PDP-F Series Pro-X PMM
The Walther PDP-F series is perhaps one of the underrated compact 9mm pistols of the current era. Heading as far back as last September, Walther Arms started giving the original PDP-F a facelift with the launch of the Walther PDP-F Series Pro models. These models enjoy an even more refined and ergonomic frame over the original with the ability to feed off of 18-round magazines.
As Pro models, this new crop of PDP-F series also comes with Walther’s vaunted Dynamic Performance Trigger installed. This January, Walther was prominently displaying their latest sub-variant of the PDP-F Series Pro family, a model that featured a Parker Mountain Machine compensator. Far from the smallest or thinnest pistol in this round-up, this 4-inch compensated compact handgun is arguably one of the sportiest listed here.
For more information, please visit WaltherArms.com.
