perdurabo93
Member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2006
- Messages
- 121
Recently, my girlfriend was in the market for a good auto pistol for range shooting. She's fairly petite (5'1") and has quite small hands with short fingers (BTW shes also left handed/left eye dominant). She liked the feel of my Para single stack 1911, but didn't like the recoil of 45ACP. After a good bit of comparison shopping pistols, she finally decided on a Walther P99 AS in 9mm, based mostly on how she felt it fit her hand and the very nice "anti-stress" trigger pull and the fact that 9mm is not only easier to shoot in terms of recoil but cheaper to shoot as well.
Well, after taking a defensive pistol course from KR training near Elgin, TX they told her that despite the fact that she has the smallest of the interchangeable backstraps installed in the P99, that the pistol is still too large for her hands and that she doesn't have the reach to get a proper "90 degree" trigger finger approach that they recommend... and something also about her trigger finger rubbing up directly against the frame instead of making a proper "gap". All of which means she apparently needs a smaller pistol. They recommended that if she wanted to stay with a full size pistol that she get a 1911 single stack in 9mm, but that just seems silly to me. She even tried her P99 with the backstrap completely removed and there just wasn't enough room in the top of the grip where the web of her hand goes to properly reach the trigger and she still has to wrench her hand around to the left to reach he trigger properly.
She has stated flat out that she doesn't want to shoot a smaller "concealed carry" style smaller pistol just because her hands are small. She wants a full size pistol with a 4"-6" barrel, but also one with a small enough grip to get her hands around well enough to properly reach the trigger. Plus many DAO carry guns have atrociously heavy triggers that would not be appropriate for a range gun. She likes the fit of a single stack 1911, but doesn't want one in 45ACP. A single stack 9mm 1911 seems just silly, though, so there has to be other options. She liked the feel of the Kahr PM9, but hated the trigger pull and the fact it had a 3" barrel. Both the Glock 17 and XD9 are too large for her hands in stock configuration. I know you can get grip reductions for Glocks, but what about XDs? She says she prefers the feel of the XD over the Glock, but I don't know if XDs can have their grip shape altered. What other options are there for a fullsize 9mm pistol (preferably double stack) with a smaller grip?
Is there anything published out there on the net that gives objective measurements of the trigger reach of various auto pistols? You can only paw on so many pistols, even with going to various gun stores and gun shows. Eventually you need to objectively pare down the list of what might fit a small handed person.
Here's what she's tried so far:
-Glock 17/19 - Too big
-Browning Hi-Power - Too big
-CZ-75/EAA Witness - Too big
-S&W M&P - Too big
-Springfield XD-9 - Too big
-Taurus 24/7 Pro - *almost* just the right size, but since it has the manual safety on the left and she's left-handed, it wont do.
-Para Ordnance 1911 SSP - Fits well, but she doesn't want 45 ACP, she wants 9mm
-Sig 225 - Too big
-Beretta PX4 Storm - Too big
-Walther P22 - Just right, but is a .22, not a 9mm
-Kahr PM9 - Just about right, but its too small and the trigger is crappy
We haven't seen any 1911s in 9mm except for a Para Warthog 9 and that was definitely too big. Were holding out hope for the Springfield EMP, but were afraid it'll be too expensive and she ideally wants a non-carry pistol with a 4"-6" barrel. In any case nobody seems to have one in stock she can handle. If she HAS to go with a small framed CCW pistol she wants one with a nice trigger since this will be primarily a range gun, not a carry gun... she just wants something that fits her hand, shoots 9mm, and isn't crippled by a short barrel.
Or is this whole business of proper trigger reach not nearly as big a deal as Karl Rehn makes it out to be? She shoots alright with a pistol thats theoretically too big for her hands, but shes wondering if a properly sized pistol would allow her to shoot even better.
Well, after taking a defensive pistol course from KR training near Elgin, TX they told her that despite the fact that she has the smallest of the interchangeable backstraps installed in the P99, that the pistol is still too large for her hands and that she doesn't have the reach to get a proper "90 degree" trigger finger approach that they recommend... and something also about her trigger finger rubbing up directly against the frame instead of making a proper "gap". All of which means she apparently needs a smaller pistol. They recommended that if she wanted to stay with a full size pistol that she get a 1911 single stack in 9mm, but that just seems silly to me. She even tried her P99 with the backstrap completely removed and there just wasn't enough room in the top of the grip where the web of her hand goes to properly reach the trigger and she still has to wrench her hand around to the left to reach he trigger properly.
She has stated flat out that she doesn't want to shoot a smaller "concealed carry" style smaller pistol just because her hands are small. She wants a full size pistol with a 4"-6" barrel, but also one with a small enough grip to get her hands around well enough to properly reach the trigger. Plus many DAO carry guns have atrociously heavy triggers that would not be appropriate for a range gun. She likes the fit of a single stack 1911, but doesn't want one in 45ACP. A single stack 9mm 1911 seems just silly, though, so there has to be other options. She liked the feel of the Kahr PM9, but hated the trigger pull and the fact it had a 3" barrel. Both the Glock 17 and XD9 are too large for her hands in stock configuration. I know you can get grip reductions for Glocks, but what about XDs? She says she prefers the feel of the XD over the Glock, but I don't know if XDs can have their grip shape altered. What other options are there for a fullsize 9mm pistol (preferably double stack) with a smaller grip?
Is there anything published out there on the net that gives objective measurements of the trigger reach of various auto pistols? You can only paw on so many pistols, even with going to various gun stores and gun shows. Eventually you need to objectively pare down the list of what might fit a small handed person.
Here's what she's tried so far:
-Glock 17/19 - Too big
-Browning Hi-Power - Too big
-CZ-75/EAA Witness - Too big
-S&W M&P - Too big
-Springfield XD-9 - Too big
-Taurus 24/7 Pro - *almost* just the right size, but since it has the manual safety on the left and she's left-handed, it wont do.
-Para Ordnance 1911 SSP - Fits well, but she doesn't want 45 ACP, she wants 9mm
-Sig 225 - Too big
-Beretta PX4 Storm - Too big
-Walther P22 - Just right, but is a .22, not a 9mm
-Kahr PM9 - Just about right, but its too small and the trigger is crappy
We haven't seen any 1911s in 9mm except for a Para Warthog 9 and that was definitely too big. Were holding out hope for the Springfield EMP, but were afraid it'll be too expensive and she ideally wants a non-carry pistol with a 4"-6" barrel. In any case nobody seems to have one in stock she can handle. If she HAS to go with a small framed CCW pistol she wants one with a nice trigger since this will be primarily a range gun, not a carry gun... she just wants something that fits her hand, shoots 9mm, and isn't crippled by a short barrel.
Or is this whole business of proper trigger reach not nearly as big a deal as Karl Rehn makes it out to be? She shoots alright with a pistol thats theoretically too big for her hands, but shes wondering if a properly sized pistol would allow her to shoot even better.
