The 3.8" barrel with full size (16round) grip is an excellent choice. My experience with the subcompact models is less encouraging. The subcompacts are a two finger grip, which is not enough, IMO, for the snappy .40 round. And the extended grips don't do it for me either. The SA X-tended mag I bought was wobbly and unreliable. I might have been able to get the reliability fixed, but the wobbliness was too unsettling, and without it the grip was just too short, although a Pearce mag bottom did help a bit. I finally sold that gun and now carry an XDM-45 4.5". If the XDM45 came in 3.8" with the full size grip, that would be my choice.