Thanks, and you're welcome.

I've never owned a G26, but I've got a G19, and I think that the Shield 9 has it beat. The G19 packs a bunch more rounds, but it's a bit too big for me to use as a concealed carry weapon. Thus, it sits in my gun safe most of the time.

Maybe I've become lazy, but I like to carry small and light so I won't carry anything much bigger than a Makarov. That tended to limit me to 9x17 or 9x18. I think that both rounds are effective for self defense, but I'd rather have the extra power afforded by the 9x19 round. SCCY puts out a decent enough 9mm gun in a size that I'll carry, but it's a bit too thick and I don't really care much for the feel of the grip.

The Shield 9 is the first subcompact/single stack 9mm pistol that I really like. A guy at my local gun range let me fire his a few months ago - like back in January - and I knew I was hooked. I knew I was gonna like when I saw it, but firing it really sold me and I started saving my pennies for one. For me, it hits that sweet spot where size, power, reliability, build quality, ease of carry, comfortable feel, reasonable price, and accuracy all meet-up - and I find that most of the subcompact/single stack 9mm's just can't cover all of those points. The Glock 43 came close, but it just didn't feel as good in my hand and it ran about $100 more.

Glock's really are ugly, and the Shield 9mm isn't much better looking. But I like that. It's black, it's ugly, and it's all bidniss. It's no bar-b-que gun - it's a fighting pistol.