CS9 I love this pistol.

Ive been spending the last three months carrying, shooting, training, teaching and qualifying with my little black CS9. I love this pistol. So does everyone who has shot it.

My pre rail 4513TSW has not left the safe in three weeks. My 39XX series guns have been placed in long term storage. Yea, the CS9 is that good.

Bet your life reliable. Not one bobble in 1200 rounds using all different types of ammo and different weight rounds. The round it likes best is my favorite carry load. 147 grain Winchester RA9T. I am well armed with this combination. More so given the little CS9s inherent accuracy. Gunrag writers claimed the CS9 was not an accurate pistol? Well.......they also claim the m&p to be a fine gun.

And the CS9 looks good doing all that too. Great trigger! Great pistol! Buy one! You will be glad you did. Regards 18DAI

It seems that every time the CS9 is mentioned in this Forum, it gets great reviews (well, except for the grips being a bit too fat for some hands). And some folks seem to be chasing one but can't find one to buy. Nice to hear that you are having such success with yours.

Yea I've read complaints about the OEM rubber grips, but Im just not seeing it. I carryvit OWB in a Don Hume JIT slide. The grips do not grab on the cover garment be it a jacket sweatshirt or untucked button up shirt.

I have also used a DeSantis Nemesis for IWB carry. Gun and holster work and carry fine. My friend TercGen is sending me some Delrin grips he made for me. Im going to put them on and give them a try. But not because I find any problems with the OEM Hogues. I am just exploring the pocket carry options this little 9 may posess. Regards 18DAI

I have not shot a single or double stacked smith and wesson 9mm that i have liked yet. They are way to small for my hands. Also it is always funny to see people who do love compare them to the better Smiths. Maybe a chief special 40 but with the way third gens are you probably could buy a new Sig 238 or the like. It is a dam shame that the chief specials probably are selling for as much or more than I paid for my Shorty 40 just a few years ago.

Are you really going to make me pull mine out of the safe to play? Now??? It's cold out in PA!

I always thought it would make the perfect carry semi, but after getting one, I found that it didn't offer me any advantages over my 3914.

Maybe I'll change my mind if I find a blued one!

I bought my CS9 in 2002. I ended up buying a CS40 and a CS45 later. All 3 are the stainless versions.

I tend to agree that the CS9 was highly underrated in its production years. I also got the CS45 (Never got into 40 ammo).

Yep, the little CS9 is a great little subcompact 3rd gen.

What it sort of lacks in the muzzle-forward heft and weight of its larger cousin, the 3913 (3913TSW, 908S, etc), it makes up for in the brisk cycling and abrupt forward-snap of the muzzle getting back on-target very quickly. It has a lively balance, and the fat little Hogues fit my hand as if they'd been molded for me.

I've been toying with the idea of pulling one of the original cutaway 313TSW grips from one of my boxes of grips, and seeing how I might modify them to fit over the Hogue mainspring base. That was just in reaction to catching myself thinking about buying a G43, though. It might make the CS9 a bit more pocket-holster friendly, but the grips would still be tall.

Also, as 18DAI pointed out, the Hogue stocks "grabbing" cover garment clothing isn't something that's troubled me overly much over the years. Minimal trouble for me, and they enhance the controllability of that little 9mm to an excellent degree.

I've drifted to the conservative side of frequency of periodically replacing the recoil spring in mine, but that's because our issued ammo changed from standard pressure 147gr JHP's to 127gr +P+ and 124gr +P many years ago, and I want to try and avoid excessive wear & tear on the little gun.

It wasn't until about a year ago that our qual/training ammo became 123gr standard pressure ball (availability issues with JHP's), although the next issue load up is a 147gr standard pressure load, again (HST, because it's currently available quickly, and costs less than some of the other premium LE offerings).

The accuracy of the CS9 was a very pleasant surprise. I'd initially not considered getting one, simply because my 3913 was such a great single stack compact.

Then, one day the former head instructor talked me into trying his CS9 on the range. I was very surprised that I could shoot it every bit as accurately as my 3913. It was a hoot. I ordered one right away, and started kicking myself for having ignored it for so long. It fit my hand in a way my older CS45 never could. I could use my 8-rd 3913 mags as spares.

Dandy little 3rd gen.

The Shield 9 may be a bit thinner, but the CS9 was the culmination of everything the 3rd gen singe stack 9's could ever offer. Boringly monotonous reliability, without any noticeably apparent "sensitivity" to shooter grip, nor any erratic ejection issues due to ammo power levels (unlike another major maker plastic 9mm I owned and used), and surprisingly accurate.




A little larger than my 642.



A bit less of a blocky profile when soft pocket-holstered carried in a thin jacket pocket.


But the grip height is taller than the G26.

Like mine with the "Big Dog" grips

Well, if I do get a round to trying to modify the older factory grips for the 3913TSW, I hope I can make them look as nice as those in your pic.

Dparker said:

Like mine with the "Big Dog" grips

Click to expand...

Very nice!
That's what those suckers shoulda looked like when they shipped from the factory!

You guys are making me want a CS9 or CS45 now. I'm running out of room in the gun safe to keep these all of these 3rd Gens, and I'm afraid to tell my wife that. I've bought more pistols in the last two years since I joined this forum than I have in my entire life, and they are almost all 3rd Gens! I acquired a 3953 last month, told her it was from Santa (justification), and she confiscated it so she could put it under the tree for Christmas!

I carry mine sometimes because it is just too darn cute to leave at home.

Sharing the love

What's not to like about a Blk CS9? Sporting original Big Dogs which I find perfect. Sadly living in L.A. DemoLiboCommieFornia carrying anything other than your wallet and keys is a crime.

Given I could my 6906 would step up...

HYPURR said:

What's not to like about a Blk CS9? Sporting original Big Dogs which I find perfect. Sadly living in L.A. DemoLiboCommieFornia carrying anything other than your wallet and keys is a crime.

Given I could my 6906 would step up...

Click to expand...

Well, scuttlebutt says the Donald will sign a
National CC Reciprocity, if they can get it thru both houses...
so the thing those Cali jokers are worried about then,
is folks getting residence (cabin) in NV or other states,
getting a permit there, and then Cali's forced to
recognize it due to National CC Reciprocity.

Of course, people already get out of state residences
so they can avoid certain Cali taxes, so it'll sting 'em
even more

Oh, the OTHER thing you can do to AUTOMATICALLY
get a CC permit in Cali, is to become a sworn LEO.
Here's the kicker, you can be Auxilliary and still get it
So if ya ain't to ancient or outta shape...check it out!!

I have also been carrying my CS40 quite a good bit lately and agree with you in a lot of aspects. The only two challenges I've had with mine has been a sticky plastic guide rod in which the detent did not hold in the takedown lever. Sometime it would take a few adjustments to make the detent functional allowing the take down lever to stay in place and not bind up the slide.

I ordered a new guide rod and the problem rarely shows its head anymore. The other qualm I have is the plastic sights. I will most likely spring for some trijicons or big dot XS sights after Christmas. Have you upgraded your sights?

SVT28

SVT28 said:

I have also been carrying my CS40 quite a good bit lately and agree with you in a lot of aspects. The only two challenges I've had with mine has been a sticky plastic guide rod in which the detent did not hold in the takedown lever. Sometime it would take a few adjustments to make the detent functional allowing the take down lever to stay in place and not bind up the slide.

I ordered a new guide rod and the problem rarely shows its head anymore. The other qualm I have is the plastic sights. I will most likely spring for some trijicons or big dot XS sights after Christmas. Have you upgraded your sights?

SVT28

Click to expand...

Big dots on the CS9.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

UPDATE

I have now spent over a year with the CS9. Round count sits just below 2000 rounds. With zero malfunctions and zero parts breakage.

I just put a new recoil spring in it and put the Hogue OEM grips back on for the fall/winter carry season. I have used the fine cut down TercGen Delrin grips for most of the past year. They are excellent for hot/humid weather carry. TercGen, my friend Big Dog would be proud of the nice job you did making those grips for those of us who were wanting them.

While I carry the CS9 mostly on the belt in a Don Hume JIT slide, I did aquire a very nice IWB holster for it. It is a DeSantis Cozy partner. And aptly named it is. Very comfortable to wear all day. Well constructed and durable as well. After much use mine looks brand new. It holds the CS9 securely and still allows a fast presentation. The Cozy Partner is 18DAI approved.

I will still use my DeSantis Nemesis "pocket holster" as well. While I am not an advocate for pocket carry, I did try it several times during the past year. The Nemesis worked very well with the CS9 in that mode of carry. The flat mag baseplate is a necessity though. Otherwise the tip of the finger rest baseplate sticks out of your pocket.

I primarily use the Nemesis holster as an IWB holster. It stays put when you draw and keeps moisture off the gun during hot weather. Unlike my experience with other black finished "value line pistols", I experienced no issues with rust while using the CS9 over the last year. Once a week I wipe it down with a silicone rag. It gets cleaned every two weeks unless I'm shooting it.

Lube used is TW25b. And after almost 2000 rounds the rails show very little wear. The exterior finish does show quite abit of wear. Silvering on the high edges of the slide and wear around the trigger guard and at the muzzle on the frame. This is to be expected and is not a concern. But a Melonite refinish of the slide is mighty tempting.

Anyways, I still love this little 9mm. It is still my gun choice for those times I "can't have a gun" and it is still accurate, reliable and looks good doing all that. If you get a chance to try one, by all means do so. Regards 18DAI

Thanks for the Update

Love hearing about long-term carry pieces!

James&theGiant1911 said:

I have not shot a single or double stacked smith and wesson 9mm that i have liked yet. They are way to small for my hands. Also it is always funny to see people who do love compare them to the better Smiths. Maybe a chief special 40 but with the way third gens are you probably could buy a new Sig 238 or the like. It is a dam shame that the chief specials probably are selling for as much or more than I paid for my Shorty 40 just a few years ago.

Click to expand...

A Model 59 grip is too small for your hands?

If a model 59 grip is too small for you, then you must not be James - you must be theGiant - or at least you have the hands of one.