Best Selling Pistols of 2024

Gun Broker, arguably the world’s biggest online retailer of firearms published their list of the 10 most purchased semi-auto pistols in 2024. Now they are just one sample, and I never bothered to take any statistics classes in college, but I still think this is a pretty good snapshot of what the gun buying American public has spent their money on – for whatever their intended purpose or reasons.

There were a couple of surprises to me on the top 10 list, but if you are in the market for a semi-auto pistol you might start with these in mind. Many other consumers have already sorted out the competition, and this is what they bought. Are they better or worse than the competition? The consumers thought so.  But every gun “enthusiast” is entitled to their opinion and odd variants. Go bananas.

The #1 best selling pistol comes as no surprise to me. It is the Sig Sauer P365. This very slim and compact single stack type, striker fired pistol developed on the lines of the P320 modular pistol has been the best selling pistol in America every year since 2018. It is extremely slim (1″ wide) and very compact in it’s original model which came with 10 rd and 15 rd magazines. The design team at Sig seems to introduce different variants of the P365 about every six months and they now can be had in longer slide and grip lengths and accept 17 rd and 21 rd magazines and precut for optics. Americans voted with their wallets with the P365 and showed they wanted a compact and slim carry pistol. Glock tried something similar about the same time frame with the G43 but missed the mark when their micro compact pistol only held 6+1 cartridges. They changed that quickly to add the G43 X which can hold 10 or more rounds. My current carry favorite is a Sig Sauer P365 XL (it’s just a bit longer than the original) and goes outdoors with a 12 rd mag with a 15 rd spare mag in a vertical pouch. Works for me.

If you are looking for a new small carry pistol do at least lay hands on a couple of Sig P365 variants to compare against every thing else in the market. One size does not fit all, but it currently is the one others are judged against.

#2 was a surprise- the Sig Sauer P320, the big brother to the P365. The P320 came up in the modular design chain and became quite popular with replaceable grip modules and tunable Fire Control Unit (FCU). This is a double stack pistol that went head to head against the venerable Glock 19. They had a lot of variants added including the Legion treatment (Think of it as the Silverado or King Ranch package on a pick up truck.)

I would have thought with the popularity of the much more compact P365 the P320 would have not been a big seller but Gun Broker said it is #2 in 2024.

#3 Is the venerable Glock 19, a mid size double stack 9mm pistol which has been around since 1988 and may be the most popular Every Day Carry Pistol in America since they were introduced. They are extremely dependable and start out with 15 round mags and overall is a bit smaller than the original Glock the G17 which holds 17 rds. Despite the passing of the last 36 years the G19 remains largely unchanged. Argue if you want about Gen 3, Gen 4, Gen 5 series, but it is still the same size, and functions the same as the original. Glock has recently added larger magazines and a Gen 19X pistol but the plain jane G19 still sells.

#4 are the Ruger American pistols. This line is a budget priced series of 9mm’s in medium to small frames. Being a Ruger product they are well known for durability and backed by an excellent warranty and parts system. They there are a lot of variants, and Ruger was the first to make them really small- probably too small- when the competition was turning out smaller and smaller frames- then added larger versions which sold like hot cakes.

#5 is the Glock 43, as cited above, a micro compact 9mm pistol which comes from the factory with 6 rd mags. You can get extended 10 round mags too. I have a hunch when Gun Broker lists the G43 they are including the G43X which starts with 10 rd mags and you can get larger capacity also. When the Sigs, Springfields and S&W’s all started with 10 or more rounds in the same sized package Glock had to bump it up. Maybe people do buy up the G43 6 rd version- I am not sure. When it hit the market the G43 became a slim pocket sized replacement for the 2″ 5 shot revolvers. One more bullet, easy to conceal and easy to reload.

#6 is the CZ-USA-1975. I was glad to see this is a big seller. The CZ company has been building CZ-75 metal frame, double stack 9mm’s since 1975. They have been a staple in USPSA competitions but not well known by the rest of the U.S. gun buying crowd. If you don’t know CZ you should. The CZ-75 is daresay an iconic piece of firearms heritage akin to the Browning P-35 Hi-Power. They have been around longer than Glocks and have an excellent reputation for a well made firearm. The grip and grip angle are very ergonomic and the slide is not as tall as those we are used to. It can be had in a huge number of calibers and variants with many cloned copies also in the market on this basic design.

#7 the Ruger Mark IV .22 lr pistol. This latest version of the old Ruger Standard .22 is just a refined touch of the old Bill Ruger design first sold in 1949. Many adults and kids began their marksmanship training with Ruger Standards, and Mark I’s through IV. If you want a solid and proven .22 it is hard to argue against the Ruger. Over on the rifle side the Ruger 10/22 remains the #1 seller in 2024- not much of a surprise there either.

#8 is the S+W M&P 9mm. These are double stack polymer frame pistols and can be had in other calibers and several lengths and upgraded treatments. The M&P brand has been around for about 80 or 90 years and S+W has developed this pistol line into a very refined product with many off shoots like the EZ, Equalizer, Shield and Bodyguard variants. Price wise they come in significantly lower than Sig’s and Glocks and come with the Smith & Wesson reputation and service. Their custom shop pistols are outstanding.

#9 the Springfield Hellcat is a polymer framed, striker fired, 9mm micro compact introduced in 2019. It hit the market with one more round than the Sig P365. It has now branched out into almost yearly upgrades the latest of which includes a compensator and pre-cut for optics. First seen in 2019, it was named as the American Handgunner magazine pistol of the year in 2020. It can be had with mags from 10 rd all the way through 17 rds. They are direct competition to the Sig P365 and Glock 43X.

#10. This is another surprising find. Armscor/Rock Island Armory (RIA) pistols. Again many variants and calibers are available but RIA built it’s business building .45 ACP 1911 variants at reasonable prices. Early detractors decried some foreign construction, but in the end the RIA pistols are solid 1911 styles for MSRP around $600 and can be had for less on the shelf. This is about half the price of bigger name brand models Parts are interchangeable with almost 1911s and they can be had in .45, .10mm, 9mm and a .22 TCR (very interesting ballistics there.)

I have a penchant for 10mm’s, and when RIA came out with a Commander length 10mm…well shut up and take my money! It’s just cool. I have worn it in Wyoming in bear country and felt well armed. Have not shown it to any bears. They are poor judges of quality firearms anyway.