What is your "ideal" carry firearm and why?

3 Factors:

Compact Size

Round Size

Capacity Size

With those 3 factors in mind, I choose the TAURUS PT145, the low price helps a lot too!

I'm not sure that there's one ideal CCW sidearm for me for all occasions. Ideally I'd always have a sidearm on me and that firearm would always be a full sized duty-style weapon but that's probably not realistic for me. There are a few guns though that I consider ideal for different circumstances.

Beretta Nano: I took my Nano to the range again today, and the gun still runs flawlessly, no failures of any kind. With the 8 round mag I carry 9 in the gun. It's easy to shoot well and accurate. With the 6 round mag I get 7 in the gun, and this makes it so compact I can easily conceal it under a T-shirt.

Browning Hi-Power: The BHP is a large gun but still pretty easy to CCW due to the thin slide and frame. It's about the smallest sidearm that I'd consider a true gunfighter's pistol. It could be a little lighter, though, and nearly all the modern 9mm duty guns hold more ammo. Still, it's supremely accurate with great ergonomics.

HK USP: The USP is a bit blockier than the BHP but it would be hard to imagine a better combat pistol. It takes a little bit more care to conceal but there's probably not a more reliable gun out there unless it's maybe the HK45. I'd certainly trust my life to the HK.

I think that maybe a USPc or HK45C might be the sweet spot for CCW. Both are pretty compact yet still large enough to shoot well. I haven't had a chance to shoot either one though, so I can't say for sure. I can say though that my ideal gun has to be "death-and-taxes" reliable. Either 9mm or .45 is okay in my book, but I wouldn't want to go under 9mm. Right now my ideal gun must be suitable for Condition One carry, although I've been contemplating making a change in training to move to system without any external safety levers or catches. The ideal carry gun for me will probably be polymer to cut down on weight and minimize recoil (perhaps poly "flexes" to some degree, but most of the poly guns seem to have less felt recoil than a steel gun despite being lighter- maybe poly just spreads the recoil impulse out over a longer time interval). Tritium sights are mandatory on any gun that I intend to use primarily for CCW.