This article compares eight pistol models introduced from 20101 to 2019 and ranks them by empty weight, using the recorded set from the rankings. In this group, empty weight spans from the Ruger Mark IV 22/45 at 975 g2 to the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 at 336 g3. That is a difference of 639 g4.
That spread matters because it is large within a set of only eight pistols introduced in the same decade. The figures place a rimfire pistol at the top of the ranking and a micro-compact .380 ACP pistol at the bottom, with several 9x19mm Parabellum models between them. The chart below shows that the set is not arranged as a smooth progression. There is a clear gap between the two heaviest entries, 975 g and 836 g5, and the lightest third of the list is much closer together.
The comparison therefore does more than list weights. It shows how pistols from the 2010s could differ markedly in mass even within a narrow time frame, and it sets up the rest of the article: the ranked order, the largest and smallest steps within it, and the design context behind those figures.
The ranked set by empty weight
By empty weight, the set ranks as follows: Ruger Mark IV 22/45, 975 g2, SIG Sauer P320 Full Size, 836 g5, Glock 19X, 625 g6, Springfield Armory Hellcat, 519 g7, SIG Sauer P365, 505 g1, Ruger LC9s, 488 g8, Kimber Micro 9, 442 g9, and Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380, 336 g3.
That order matters because the spacing is uneven. The chart below shows one clear break near the top of the list. The largest single step is from the P320 Full Size at 836 g to the Glock 19X at 625 g, a gap of 211 g4. After that, the middle of the ranking is tighter. The Hellcat at 519 g and the P365 at 505 g are separated by 14 g, the smallest gap in the set.
A compact table makes the spread easier to read:
| Model | Empty weight |
|---|---|
| Ruger Mark IV 22/45 | 975 g |
| SIG Sauer P320 Full Size | 836 g |
| Glock 19X | 625 g |
| Springfield Armory Hellcat | 519 g |
| SIG Sauer P365 | 505 g |
| Ruger LC9s | 488 g |
| Kimber Micro 9 | 442 g |
| Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 | 336 g |
Taken together, the figures show a top pair that sits well above the rest, then a denser cluster from 625 g down to 336 g.
Empty weight, compared
The data in this chart
| Firearm | Empty weight (g) |
|---|---|
| Ruger Mark IV 22/45 | 975 |
| SIG Sauer P320 Full Size | 836 |
| Glock 19X | 625 |
| Springfield Armory Hellcat | 519 |
| SIG Sauer P365 | 505 |
| Ruger LC9s | 488 |
| Kimber Micro 9 | 442 |
| Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 | 336 |
What separates the heaviest from the lightest
At the two ends of the ranking, the Ruger Mark IV 22/45 and the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 differ in more than empty weight. The Mark IV 22/45 is the heaviest pistol in this set at 975 g2, while the Bodyguard 3803 is the lightest at 336 g, a gap of 639 g4. Their dimensions move in the same direction. The Ruger is 248 mm long overall against 134 mm for the Smith & Wesson, so it is 114 mm8 longer. Its barrel is 140 mm rather than 70 mm, a difference of 70 mm.
Those figures matter because they show that the weight spread is tied to two very different pistol formats. The Mark IV 22/45 is also chambered for .22 Long Rifle and uses blowback operation, while the Bodyguard 380 is chambered for .380 ACP and also uses blowback. Even with the same operating principle, the larger pistol is markedly longer and heavier.
Capacity does not account for the whole gap. The Mark IV 22/45 holds 10 rounds1 and the Bodyguard 380 holds 6. Their recorded muzzle velocities are 350 m/s and 259 m/s, and their effective ranges are 50 m5 and 10 m. Read together, the figures show that the heaviest and lightest entries are separated by size, chambering and intended scale, not by one specification alone.
Most of the set clusters around compact 9x19mm pistols
Most of this set sits in one chambering and one broad size class. Six of the eight pistols are in 9x19mm Parabellum: the SIG Sauer P320 Full Size, Glock 19X, Springfield Armory Hellcat, SIG Sauer P365, Ruger LC9s and Kimber Micro 9. That matters because it removes one major variable for most of the ranking. Much of the weight spread is then a matter of size and configuration within the same cartridge family.
Within those six, empty weight runs from 442 g9 for the Kimber Micro 9 to 836 g5 for the P320 Full Size, a difference of 394 g4. Overall length runs from 147 mm1 for the P365 to 203 mm for the P320 Full Size. Magazine capacity runs from 7 rounds8 in the LC9s and Kimber Micro 9 to 17 rounds in the P320 Full Size and Glock 19X. Recorded muzzle velocity runs from 305 m/s for the Kimber Micro 9 to 375 m/s for the P320 Full Size.
The figures also show that the middle of the ranking is tight. The Hellcat at 519 g7, P365 at 505 g and LC9s at 488 g sit within 31 g of one another, even though their capacities are 11, 10 and 7 rounds.
Cartridge context matters to the comparison
Cartridge choice explains part of why this weight ranking is not a like for like list. Six of the eight pistols are chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum, so most of the set sits within one common service-pistol cartridge family. The two chambering outliers are the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380, which uses .380 ACP, and the Ruger Mark IV 22/45, which uses .22 Long Rifle.
The chart below gives the dimensional context. Recorded cartridge overall length is 24.99 mm10 for .380 ACP, 25.4 mm11 for .22 Long Rifle and 29.69 mm12 for 9x19mm Parabellum. That means the 9x19mm cartridge is 4.7 mm4 longer than .380 ACP and 4.29 mm longer than .22 Long Rifle. The two shorter cartridges are also close to each other, separated by 0.41 mm in recorded overall length.
Typical muzzle energy adds the second part of the comparison. The catalogue figures are 141 J for .22 Long Rifle, 261 J for .380 ACP and 481 J1 for 9x19mm Parabellum. In this set, that matters because the lightest and heaviest pistols are also the two models that fall outside the dominant 9x19mm chambering pattern, so empty weight is being compared across different cartridge classes as well as across different pistol sizes.
The cartridges, to scale
Drawn from the recorded case and bullet dimensions, all at one scale.
Source: GET /v1/calibers/22-lr, GET /v1/calibers/380-acp, GET /v1/calibers/9x19mm-parabellum
The data in this chart
| Cartridge | Overall length (mm) |
|---|---|
| .22 Long Rifle | 25.4 |
| .380 ACP | 25 |
| 9x19mm Parabellum | 29.7 |
Weight does not map neatly to velocity
The velocity figures show that empty weight and muzzle velocity do not move together in any consistent way. The Ruger Mark IV 22/45, the heaviest pistol in this set at 975 g2, records 350 m/s8. The lighter SIG Sauer P320 Full Size, at 836 g5, records the highest figure here at 375 m/s. At the other end, the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380, the lightest at 336 g3, records the lowest velocity at 259 m/s.
The middle of the set reinforces the same point. The Glock 19X and SIG Sauer P365 both record 360 m/s1 despite empty weights of 625 g6 and 505 g. The Ruger LC9s, at 488 g, records 351 m/s, slightly above the heavier Springfield Armory Hellcat at 519 g7 and 340 m/s. The Kimber Micro 9, at 442 g9, records 305 m/s.
What the chart below shows, then, is a comparison shaped by more than mass alone. Barrel length varies from 70 mm to 140 mm across the set, and chamberings include .22 Long Rifle, .380 ACP and 9x19mm Parabellum. For the full specifications behind those figures, see the rankings and each model’s catalogue page.
Muzzle velocity, compared
The data in this chart
| Firearm | Muzzle velocity (m/s) |
|---|---|
| SIG Sauer P320 Full Size | 375 |
| Glock 19X | 360 |
| SIG Sauer P365 | 360 |
| Ruger LC9s | 351 |
| Ruger Mark IV 22/45 | 350 |
| Springfield Armory Hellcat | 340 |
| Kimber Micro 9 | 305 |
| Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 | 259 |
Sources and methods
Footnotes
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GunSpec catalogue record for the SIG Sauer P365, which cites sigsauer.com, militaryfactory.com, craftholsters.com, sigsauer.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
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GunSpec catalogue record for the Ruger Mark IV 22/45, which cites ruger.com, ruger.com, thetruthaboutguns.com, tenneyindustries.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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GunSpec catalogue record for the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380, which cites bluesheepdog.com, craftholsters.com, handgunhero.com, aliengearholsters.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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Method, comparisons: a difference is one catalogue figure minus another of the same kind, in the same unit. Comparisons. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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GunSpec catalogue record for the SIG Sauer P320 Full Size, which cites sigsauer.com, sigsauer.com, craftholsters.com, pewpewtactical.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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GunSpec catalogue record for the Glock 19X, which cites us.glock.com, shootingillustrated.com, americanfirearms.org, thefirearmblog.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2
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GunSpec catalogue record for the Springfield Armory Hellcat, which cites springfield-armory.com, gritrsports.com, thearmorylife.com, inside.safariland.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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GunSpec catalogue record for the Ruger LC9s, which cites ruger.com, thetruthaboutguns.com, eaglegunrangetx.com, vedderholsters.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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GunSpec catalogue record for the Kimber Micro 9, which cites kimberamerica.com, kimberamerica.com, lynxdefense.com, gununiversity.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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GunSpec catalogue record for the .380 ACP, which cites bobp.cip-bobp.org. In the API: calibers reference and ammunition reference. ↩
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GunSpec catalogue record for the .22 Long Rifle, which cites bobp.cip-bobp.org. In the API: calibers reference and ammunition reference. ↩
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GunSpec catalogue record for the 9x19mm Parabellum, which cites bobp.cip-bobp.org. In the API: calibers reference and ammunition reference. ↩
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