Help selecting an auto for a small frame female

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007txtiff

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My boyfriend and I have been looking for semi-automatic to fit me. I have no problem shooting up to a .45 ACP but have difficulty locking the slide back on many autos. I'd like to try and avoid going with a revolver if at all possible.

What, if any, autos are easiest to lock back to sufficiently allow me manipulate the action??
 
I find the FN Five-seveN to be one of the easier semis to lock back. The surplus Eastern bloc pistols that fire 9X18 Makarov ammo are usually fairly easy to rack the slide on, also. As for the more common types of semi-auto, your best bet would be to just try a few. A .40 is generally going to have a stiffer spring than a 9mm in the same model, just because of handling a stronger round. Lighter pistols will generally have stiffer springs than heavier ones, because a heavy slide needs less spring than a lighter slide. Only you can judge what works best for you, though.
 
Most semis have a stiffer spring at first but with shooting they loosen up. Also usually the really small sub-compacts have stiffer springs making them more difficult than a bigger size handgun. My girlfriend is 118lbs and has no problem locking back the slide of my Walther PPS or M&P9 compact. Check those out and they fit a female great.
 
but have difficulty locking the slide back on many autos.
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It's not about how strong you are.
It's all in the technique you use.

Instead of pulling & yanking on the slide:
Stiff arm it with your left hand holding the slide firmly, wrest straight & locked, four fingers on one side, thumb on the other.
Then Punch forward on the grip with your shooting hand until the slide locks back.

Even young kids and old-timers with crippled hands can rack any auto using this method.

rc
 
IMO without going threw a large list of guns that i think would work i can just say what to look for.
Most 9mm mid too large framed guns will be the easiest to rack the slide for anyone.
Alot can be said for technique which is point out in the post above me.
 
DON'T let some else pick a gun for you

really, don't, it will be bad.
listen, go shopping and try a lot, don't let yourself get pushed towards a particular style or type, you pick it, it could be that small autos have a slide you can't rack,
(conneredcat.com has some great info)
as the little gun have stronger (harder) springs to handle the same power with less gun, you might be a Revolver sort of person instead of an Auto, or you might get it in pink and find out you really wanted it in iridescence purple, or maybe .40 instead of .380.

the basics are, you have to pick out what is the right gun yourself, take advice, don't let yourself get pushed into something you don't really want, you are going to be the person shooting it, owning it and carrying it.

However, you can also look at this as getting in a shopping for her AND gunstore man time for him.
 
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autos, don't all have a slide lock, some only have this as last shot thing (no external controls like the KT P32) and the racking of the slide is more what you are talking about, some like the smaller berettas have a flip barrel, so you put the round in the barrel, lower it, and cock the hammer, no slide involved.

Like I said above, you really need to go shoot some to find out what you like, and if you are concerned about the slide, go 9mm and larger, as a locked breach has softer springs that a straight blowback, which most .22 to .380 are. the smaller the gun, the more spring needed to handle recoil. So go shooting and have fun, find what works for you and practice with it.
 
The easiest, I have found is the Sig P-238, the little .380.
In more or less full size guns, the H&K P-30 is easy to rack the slide.

Forget the Kahr PM-9, the hardest.
 
Glock 26 or 19 are very easy to rack their slides. The slide profile helps also, especialy with the metod that rcmodel described. But you need to shoot them - the grip is not very comfortable for small (short) hands.

Boris
 
My wife as all but commandeered my Kahr K9 to the point where I sometimes feel I might need to buy another.
It's relatively low capacity but it's compact and very well designed and built. She's quite good with it and of some 20 handguns in the same genre to choose from, it's what she's chosen.

They're something you might want to look into.
 
Some guns have extended slide releases available. If you got one, you would probably find after a while that you don't need it, it's a matter of getting used to it.

(HINT: I don't find it necessary to manually lock the slide very often, if ever. It locks open when it's empty, I reload it and leave it.)
 
My wife had the same exact issue. Even with the proper technique of holding the slide and pushing the gun.

Her problem was that her long finger nails were kind of in the way but she has to have them for work. In the end, she got an FNX-9. The Springfield XD SC-9 was also in the running but she liked the way the FNX felt in her hands.

As for her carry weapon, she loves the Sig 238.
 
Try a Beretta 92 in 9mm. The slide on the 92 is easy to rack.

Except I just realized that the OP is a "small frame" female. Hmmm......The 92 is a full-size gun. Ug.
 
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This is a legitimate consideration for many shooters. Many smaller-statured people I've taken shooting have trouble reliably racking the slide on some guns, even with proper technique. These people often lack the finger strength necessary to cock the hammer on a revolver or to steadily pull the trigger in double-action mode.

The slide on the Walther PK-380 is about the easiest of any gun I've ever tried; I can get it back with two fingers. The Glock 21 is pretty easy because of its width, as is the Bersa Thunder 9 and Beretta 92.

Some small pocket guns like the Beretta Tomcat have tip-up barrels which allow you to drop a round straight into the chamber without racking a slide, but they are usually chambered in very small calibers like .25 and .32 Auto.
 
Help selecting an auto for a small frame female

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My boyfriend and I have been looking for semi-automatic to fit me. I have no problem shooting up to a .45 ACP but have difficulty locking the slide back on many autos. I'd like to try and avoid going with a revolver if at all possible.

What, if any, autos are easiest to lock back to sufficiently allow me manipulate the action??
Click to expand...

Are you able to rack the slide?

If so, then getting the slide to lock is simply a matter of being able to push up on the slide lock with your thumb while you rack the slide back.

If you aren't able to rack the slide, follow rc's advice.
 
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Consider gloves
the issue may not be strength, but rather pain, or discomfort from the slide serrations, with gloves you get improved grip,

And really, it is about so much more than just the slide, you need to be comfortable with the whole gun, and able and practice and trained to use it effectively. Tomcat goes to .380 I thought. Go to a range that rents and try out a bunch of guns, find one you like. And don't forget revolvers, no slide to worry about.
 
Go to a gun store that has a variety of handguns on display, ask if you can handle them, and then see which ones work for you and which ones don't by actually working the slides. It is about technique -- pushing instead of pulling -- but it's also true that some handguns are easier to rack than others.

+1 on the Walther PK380; it's simple and effective. You also might want to look at the Beretta tip-up barrel models, like the Tomcat. If you like them, of course, you've still got to find one that actually works. :)
 
My boyfriend and I have been looking for semi-automatic to fit me. I have no problem shooting up to a .45 ACP but have difficulty locking the slide back on many autos. I'd like to try and avoid going with a revolver if at all possible.

What, if any, autos are easiest to lock back to sufficiently allow me manipulate the action??
Click to expand...
...

Like mentioned above, head to a good gun store, one with lots of models/makes and start the hand/grip, weight and balance, point to aim (trying on them shoes)..lol and go with the one that feels most natural IMHO.. and 9mm

9mm for most rounds per mag (cept for states like CA. 10 round max) but that's ok.

My wife likes the SA EMP 1911 9+1 9mm and her Sig P228n/r and P229R 9mm

Both passed the easy slide pull test and both offer, different, really good features such as:

The EMP is SAO, meaning same easy, light, 3.5/4lb trigger pull every time.. Comes with 2 safety's, both palm grip and thumb slide lock, as it is carried loaded/chambered locked and cocked.. Lightweight/balanced and she could, from the very get go, load the new mags with the 9 rounds they hold..

The Sig offered CTC laser grips and she really like that feature, but the mags where hard for her to load, at first, so I did that and let them sit, a couple of weeks, loaded to relax the mag springs, and now she can load them, but usually stops at 9 rounds or ask me to load them.. lol I don't mind, having 4 mags for the Sig 9mm..

Sigs have no safety, just decockers fyi

Both guns comes with 3-dot night sights (not bad if they come with gun) and help at night or in darker gun handling situations..

If I didn't shoot them as well, I'd have had her look and feel the Beretta Px4 9mm gun, as I've had the Px4 40 G model for just over 3yrs.. Easy to rack from the get go.. DA pulls are smooth and the SA breaks are clean and get better and better every 500 rounds.. Gun now has some 10k plus flawless rounds.. very accurate as is all models mentioned..

Beretta is also releasing (may be out now) the mid-size Px4 in 9mm which is smaller than the standard model, about the same size as Sig P229 or 228 and they are lightweight, bullet proof, accurate, and very forgiving in recoil because of their rotating barrel.. F-models come with safety, and decocker, in-one or G models, decocker only.

Both the Sigs or Beretta Px4's are "very simple to dissemble, inspect, clean, and reassemble, which makes them fun to inspect/clean..

Both the Sigs or the SA EMP are gonna cost, NIB, 1000.oo with taxes so if budget is tight, the Beretta Px4 is around 500.oo NIB ..

All 3 guns, makes, models mentioned are "very forgiving" in that, they can all be shot weak handed, one handed, limp-wristed, and they continue to fire/chamber without fault.. a key in our book

All offer great triggers out of the box, and as I said, both the Sigs and Beretta' Px4's in DA/SA are some of the best/smoothest triggers out of the box and just keep getting better and better with use.. You'll notice every 500 rounds or every 1000 dry-fires (with snap cap chambered IMO)..


Good luck,


Ls
 
Generally speaking, the higher you get in caliber, the harder the slide is going to be to pull back and manipulate, due to a heavier recoil spring; although .380s aren't necessarily easier to handle than 9mms.

Another general "rule" is that larger firearms (within reason) are going to be easier to get a good grip on. You'll likely have less trouble racking the slide on a full size Sig 9mm than you will on a Walther PPK .380.

Another generality is that handguns that have exposed hammers can be easier to rack than striker fired pistols (Glocks, Springfield XDs, and Smith M&Ps) because on the striker fired pistols, the recoils spring does all of the work of slowing down the slide under fire. On a pistol with an exposed hammer, the hammer mainspring helps the recoil spring to slow the slide down. The point is that on a pistol with an exposed hammer (usually have lighter recoil springs), you can always cock the hammer first, and them manipulate the slide without having to fight the hammer.

If you can find a happy medium with all of this in mind, you'll have your firearms.

Personally, I'm a small guy and have small hands. I find the Glock really easy to manipulate due to the size/shape of the slide. My 11 year old has trouble racking the slide on our Springfield XD 9mm, but has no trouble at all with a glock. The grip is another matter though.
 
starting to see this question asked so often i wonder if some company should just design a gun for a woman

didnt Ithaca design a shotgun for women?
 
check out the taurus, offers a number of pink options and a couple of model
don't for get the 'Lady Smith'
rugers 10/22 can be had with pink offering, along with some mossbergs

not an untapped market
 
The usual approach to designing guns for women has been "shrink it and pink it." Unfortunately, smaller grips and pink finishes do not always help as much as you would think :rolleyes:

I would imagine that one of the requirements for the M9 (Beretta 92) be that a female should be able to operate the slide.
 
i didnt mean shrink it and pink it

the Ithaca shotgun i mentioned had small changed made to the basic 37 design that would make it more attuned to a womans...needs

same could be done with a pistol
 
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