small hands

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hermannr

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Oldest daughter is a big girl (5'9") but has very small hands. She wants a carry gun, but nothing fits her hands. She has a custom AR-15 that she loves to shoot, but she is looking for a CCW/glove box type pistol.

What carry gun has issue grips on it that are habitually "too small" for the average guy so I can give her a suggestion as to what to try?

It doesn't have to be a revolver or an automatic, that part she does not have a preference. She does not like my officers model Colt, or he husbands 1911 colt 45acp. Too heavy.. (but then,,,She is also not into a lot of recoil either.)
 
Well, she'll have to try for herself, but if it is going to be a glove box gun for small hands, maybe something like an all steel 3" barrel S&W J Frame, like a Model 60. A round butt S&W K frame might work too, assuming the stocks are compact. Load either up with 148 grain wadcutters and the recoil should be relatively low, while still offering plenty of penetrating power.
 
...

3" barreled -

SA 9mm, SAO, 1911, 9+1 single stack mags (easy to load from the get go, "easy) and they come with 3-dot low profile night sights, nice wood grips, and it's a full, yet thin grip with the same SAO, light, smooth, trigger pull every shot, being carried locked and cocked with 2 safety's.. palm grip and slide thumb-lock..

Beautiful, reliable, dependable, accurate/tack driver of a gun and worth the 1k that will defend, without fail, your daughters small hands and "life"

DSC_7933-1.jpg

emp-left-flat.jpg

Check one out


Ls
 
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a revolver guy's recommendations

For a ccw/glovebox gun with smallish grips, here are a few possibilities to look at: S&W ladysmith models 60 & 640; Ruger SP101 & 3" GP100(with old factory compact grips, not the fat new ones); Charter Arms Undercover, Mag Pug, and Police Undercover.

For someone who isn't crazy about recoil, I'd recommend against ultralight aluminum revolvers like the Smith 642, Ruger LCR, or Charter Arms Undercover Light. Same goes for ultralight 1911's.

My wife prefers revolvers over autos and likes the grips of my SP101. One of the nice things about revolvers is you can always try another grip; you're not stuck with a shape that's meant to house a magazine. Places like Hogue and Pachmayr sell compact grips for most makes & models.

The best thing to do is have your daughter shop around and go with what she likes. Recommendations on here may be a good starting point, but ultimately she may surprise you with her decision. :D
 
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Oh yes, no-one is going to tell that girl what to get. Oh, No, that just isn't going to happen. suggest, recommend work, tell doesn't work.

I/she was only asking for suggestions as to what to look AT, pick up, hold, hopefully shoot, until she finally finds what she is comfortable with.

Thanks for the suggestions, passed on (she's in TX, I'm in WA so I can't get anything for her anyway. It'll be up to her husband, he already knows, pressure does not work. She earns her own money and will spend it the way she wants don't you know...
 
Depending on caliber of course. And, I'm no help with revolvers.
I have smaller hands... mostly, shorter fingers so trigger reach is my issue. (Edit, added): Med glove fit well in the palm but the fingers are always too loong.

For 9mms
The M&P compacts fit me well. I have it.
The SR9c seemed ok when I held it. (Edit, added): the trigger dingle didnt seem to b in the way as much as the G26
The taurus millenium and 709 also fit well when I held them
The bersa 9uc seemed too long of reach in double action.
The RAMI was a little better than the bersa 9c but not as easy of a reach as the others.
(Edit, added): The G26 seemed like it was longer trigger reach to get around the trigger dingle.
(Edit,added): I like my BHP best but not for conceal.

For 380s. Theres a plethora for smaller hands.
 
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Trigger reach is almost certainly going to be the biggest issue for a small-handed person. Single action autos are probably the best choice, ergonomically speaking, for one so afflicted. My hands, overall, are not especially small, but I do have short fingers, and I find single action autos the best fit. Unfortunately, the are out of vogue, in today's legal climate, so one would have to turn either to the used gun market, or to an enduring single action design. For service caliber weapons, that pretty much means a 1911 (and particalarly, the shorter 1911A1 trigger) or Browning Hi Power. For more compact pistols, that means a single action like the Colt Model M, Remington Model 51, Colt Mustang, or one of the other single action .380s.

This isn't to say you couldn't find another type of handgun that would fit a small-handed person. But generally speaking, a small-handed shooter will find the shorter reach of the single action trigger easier to master. And since the heyday of the single action auto was yesterday, that means going to the used gun market to find the best examples of the type if you are looking for a pocket pistol.
 
Sig maybe?

If y'all like SA semi's, then for small hands and a recoil shy shooter take a look at the Sig P238. One of my students brought one to the range last week and it shot very nicely.

For a revolver, here is another vote for the S&W model 60 3" adjustable sights. It is in the same general price range as the Sig. Grip options and load options abound.

They are both a little expensive, but I'm sure your daughter is worth it!
 
You should look at a browning BDM. It has the smallest grip raduis for a double stack gun. Its in 9mm and has low recooil. 15 round magazines can still be purchased but they are on the hogher side.
 
Kahr CM9, CW9, or a J frame S&W, you can get alot of different sized grips for them. Like some others have suggested, if you get a revolver, I would get a steel one, to soak up some recoil.
 
Done to death but try Kahr, or a small single stack 1911 style pistol. P3AT and clones should also work.

Also keep in mind that usually a single action only trigger will be shorter than double action triggers on similar size handguns.

Just for laughs and giggles; go to your local gun store and lay a .22LR or .25acp Beretta Bobcat on top of the full size 1911 and see how much longer the trigger pull is on that little Beretta.
 
Trigger reach is almost certainly going to be the biggest issue for a small-handed person.

Billy Shears is correct with regard to trigger reach.

Given that your daughter is averse to 1911 (or other heavy weights) and to recoil, I am going to suggest a .380 Bersa Thunder. For her set of criteria, it could be a winner.

Has she tried one, have one available, or already ruled it out?
 
TRIGGER PULL on that P-64 is enough to make grown MEN feel like little girls, I find dryfiring to be a WORKOUT, as it's about 20#'s in DA, BUT the SA is about 2#.
 
The grip on the Sig P-239 is so small that my trigger finger would wrap all the way around over to the left grip panel and hit the grip near the mag release.
Other than that, I'll second the J frame revo.
 
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