Best Choice for Small or Weaker Hands

[The Heretic]

It depends a lot on the shooter and I am in the school of thought that any person should try (by shooting) any firearm they want to buy.

I have a family member with muscle control issues who limp wrists any handgun. Interesting a G19 does not cause problems but a SIG P229 does - it misfeeds, only for her.

I am considering getting the FN Five Seven for her, but I don't care for the grips, they are IMO worse than a Glock. I will also look into the Walther CCP.

 

[Certaindeaf]

There's an old video on youtube of a guy without arms loading, racking and pinwheeling bowling pins at fifty yards.. with his feet.
Will kinda comes into it.. but you can't really will a non-existent flash hole into being.
anyway

 

[Certaindeaf]

Oh, I can't edit that.. I'll have to talk to Joe. That was with a Glock 9mm if I remember correctly. Bless his heart.

 

[308]

The other thing to consider is the saying a .22 carried is better than a .45 left at home. That being said, there are (3) Walther P22s in our family and none of them have been anything but 100%. Some people have complained about this gun but in my experience they are accurate and reliable.

Last weekend my wife was shooting her G42 at 20ft and her groups were not consistent. Some tight and others scattered because she is noise and recoil sensitive.

Then she switched to the P22 and after a couple mags she was consistently grouping ~2" at 20'

The sights are great and the slide is easy to rack.

Add some CCI stingers or velocitors in the mag and it is good to go.

 

[CHLChris]

I started with lasers on every pistol I owned (and special holsters for each one of 'em) and then decided my hands were just not happy with the extra girth they gave the grips, or made too much meat under the trigger guard.

I ended up, over time, getting rid of all my lasers and going with milled-in RMR's. That is the MUCH more expensive option, but they work for me and I can be target-focused. Red dot sights are NOT the way to go for newbies or people unwilling or unable to practice all the time. I think lasers are great for the casual self-defender.

Spend the extra money on GREEN!!

 

[NWGlockgal]

Once a person learns proper grip and technique there should be no reason for limp wristing.

 

[Zoltan]

I recently went through this with my mom. She was looking to buy a handgun. I took her down to the Barons Den in Eugene to try a few and see what she liked. We found that she couldn't rack a Glock or an LCP because of her arthritis. We probably tried a dozen different guns. The one that she really liked and was able to rack was a Sig P238 HD.

 

[Doc In UPlace]

I have a colleague who routinely carries a G43, and I borrowed it last time we were on the range together.
I found it really difficult to shoot well. I had to take extra time and care to even produce a passable group.
This was not at all what I expected, and though it's possible he's got kind of a lemon, my impression was bad enough to be wary of that model. I'd have to shoot a different one that ran better to change that poor impression.
My normal duty piece is a Glock 21 .45, so I'm pretty used to the trigger on them and recoil in a .380 is not an issue.

My hideout gun and off duty piece is a S&W 638 alloy Bodyguard, and nobody I know considers it to be a fun gun to shoot and is what I consider to be an advanced shooter's gun. Not what I'd recommend for a casual shooter, both because of the short sight radius but the almost non-existent sights and the snappy recoil which gets old really fast.

So my post is more of an un-recommendation than a recommendation.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

She ended up picking a Ruger LCR... One thing she said which she did not like was the unsupported little finger from the small, short grips.

elsie

You can buy the longer Houge grips that come with the 3" LCRx models and put it on a standard LCR.

Houge

• Nick Burkhardt
• Feb 3, 2016
• 1

 

[Ura-Ki]

+1 on the extended grips for the LCR! My Mom did that with hers and loves it! Also takes the hit out of .357 mag a little bit!

 

[CaptMarvel]

I have a lady friend who is looking into getting a home defense handgun. She is middle-aged with a few health issues that weaken her hands and arms a little. She also has smallish hands and wears glasses.

I know a lot about guns and shooting, but I don't know it all. I wanted to bring the question of smart choices to this group.

She'll be going to a range in the Hillsboro area to try various types and styles, but I have to make a few recommendations. I'm so far leaning toward a lightweight single stack 9mm pistol with a laser sight. Perhaps an LC9 or G43 type. They're small, light, easy to reload, and have low recoil.

What else do you think should be on the list?

Thanks!

Lots of good suggestions here..Have her check out a Sig P320, 9mm striker fire. My wife has small hands and usually can't manipulate most double stacks however when she held and shot a 320 she was ecstatic "I WANT ONE NOW" was her response which was unusually enthusiastic. It has the best striker action I have ever shot and is accurate as hell. At 7 yards w/o dry firing practice, I put the first two rounds in the same hole!! (ok, the hole was 1/8th of an inch bigger after the second round) A great shooter, comfortable, has three frame sizes to fit any hand (the standard worked well for my wife) and the price is right in there with the Glocks but a lot more gun and I own 3 Glocks..

 

[MikeO1948]

I have a lady friend who is looking into getting a home defense handgun. She is middle-aged with a few health issues that weaken her hands and arms a little. She also has smallish hands and wears glasses.

I know a lot about guns and shooting, but I don't know it all. I wanted to bring the question of smart choices to this group.

She'll be going to a range in the Hillsboro area to try various types and styles, but I have to make a few recommendations. I'm so far leaning toward a lightweight single stack 9mm pistol with a laser sight. Perhaps an LC9 or G43 type. They're small, light, easy to reload, and have low recoil.

What else do you think should be on the list?

Thanks!

I highly recommend the Walther PPQ M2 with a 4 inch barrel. The PPQ has the best trigger on the market.

 

[Tankistheman]

Lightweight=more felt recoil.

My wife took a class where they brought out a few dozen guns out at the end. They handled them picked out a few to shoot. She picked a 9mm 1911. That would be my suggestion. Let her handle a bunch and shoot some and pick from them.

Where was this class at? This is perfect for my wife's co-worker

Lightweight=more felt recoil.

My wife took a class where they brought out a few dozen guns out at the end. They handled them picked out a few to shoot. She picked a 9mm 1911. That would be my suggestion. Let her handle a bunch and shoot some and pick from them.

Lightweight=more felt recoil.

My wife took a class where they brought out a few dozen guns out at the end. They handled them picked out a few to shoot. She picked a 9mm 1911. That would be my suggestion. Let her handle a bunch and shoot some and pick from them.

Where was this class? This sounds perfect for my wife's co-worker, took her out this weekend to shoot her first gun ever, she loved it. But I have a limited selection of handguns. I've heard of a concealed carry class where you get to choose which handguns you would like to fire but I have no idea where to look.

 

[Robtheroofer]

Sig P238 HD. Best shooting small gun I have shot yet. The HD is 21 ounces compared to the rest if the sig P238 at 15 ounces.

The added weight reduces the recoil tremendously. It's a small cal though so tell her if she ever needs to use it pull the trigger twice.

If she can handle a 9mm the Smith and Wesson MP Shield is a great choice.

 

[slimmer13]

Where was this class at? This is perfect for my wife's co-worker


Where was this class? This sounds perfect for my wife's co-worker, took her out this weekend to shoot her first gun ever, she loved it. But I have a limited selection of handguns. I've heard of a concealed carry class where you get to choose which handguns you would like to fire but I have no idea where to look.

Sharp Shooters in Spokane. I would bet that there is something similar in your area.

 

[KEMOSABEJR1]

Try a tarts in 380. Cheap but effective.

 

[Critr Gitr]

Some will poo poo the NAA .22 magnum better than nothing. wife likes
look at the Taurus 327 revolver - it holds 6, it is smaller framed, a wheel gun and can handle any of the .32 revolver rounds including and especially the potent .327 Federal Magnum.... fun to shoot the regular .32s.... wife likes it best

 

[DedPyro]

To be fair, the NAA mini is a GTFO me gun. Not accurate and not good past 5ft, plus single action. Better than nothing but definitely more CCW than HD.

I haven't seen it mentioned yet but for home defense, I'd consider a Kel Tek Sub-2000. It can be stored folded with a mag in and the bolt locked back. Unfold it, slap the bolt handle and ready to go. Longer sight radius means it's more accurate. Plus 33 rounds of 9mm is hard to beat at 2am.

My wife is 5'1", 95lbs, has tiny hands and the 9mm Springfield EMP is her nightstand gun. Her choice. Cocked and locked. Plus they have a 4" 10+1 version now.

 

[BT BT]

I have a lady friend who is looking into getting a home defense handgun. She is middle-aged with a few health issues that weaken her hands and arms a little. She also has smallish hands and wears glasses.

I know a lot about guns and shooting, but I don't know it all. I wanted to bring the question of smart choices to this group.

She'll be going to a range in the Hillsboro area to try various types and styles, but I have to make a few recommendations. I'm so far leaning toward a lightweight single stack 9mm pistol with a laser sight. Perhaps an LC9 or G43 type. They're small, light, easy to reload, and have low recoil.

What else do you think should be on the list?

Thanks!

This solution has three parts: This response is based on providing solutions to several hundred small females with small hands and little hand strength throughout the world, with Asia being the most involved.



- The first part of these solutions has always been, and will always be the weapon. I will stick to the commercial market products, so the frame size and configuration to match the individual's hand becomes the first part of this solution. However, we should understand that because of the thin nature of the single stack frame it is typically identified as uncomfortable to shoot.



The thin frame magnifies the recoil pressure against the area between the thumb

and forefinger, and most small/weak handed people involved will avoid practice

shooting because of this pain even hesitate to fire when needed. The wider double

stack, or with one of the common rubber pistol grip covers help both the grip hold

and the added width/padding on the back side of the pistol grip to reduce the pain

of shooting.



- The second part of these solutions is typically based on the selected caliber to be used in a small handgun, especially pocket sized very small pistols. This is the most difficult solution because of the difference in what a 'Man' thinks he can handle, or a large Woman thinks she could handle compared to petite females. The small female is the only one that must be comfortable with shooting the firearm. Lets limit this review to the top three most popular calibers with the least offensive recoil:



a) The 380ACP with the right self-defense projectile is just as good as several

larger calibers with the wrong projectiles. The 380 ACP was specifically engineered to performer better than any other small center-fire cartridge in ultra short barrel semi-automatic pistols. The 380ACP also comes in both single stack and double stack configurations.







b) The 9mm is much more difficult to control, and has a more notable recoil than the 380ACP with almost no additional velocity performance from sub-compact pistols. The 9mm "Pistol Cartridge" was specifically engineered for five-inch (5") barrels or grater. Even with self-defense projectiles, the 9mm was not meant for a barrel length typically less than five inches, let alone a one and one-half (1 ½") inches in length. Most of the propellant in commercial 9mm ammunition is wasted outside the barrel having extremely little effect on the projectile velocity over a 380ACP that is designed for short barrels. Some 9mm "Pistol" cartridges are designed specifically for barrel lengths as short as four inches or longer, yet these result in an even greater recoil pain and even more shooting difficulties. The 9mm also comes in both single stack and double stack configurations.



c) The 40 S&W, surprisingly enough, has self-defense cartridges available with both less recoil than the 9mm, and better self-defense performance than both the 380 ACP and the 9mm. The 40 S&W also comes in both single stack and double stack configurations. The quality of self-defense cartridges and projectiles in the commercial market are improving significantly after the ELP released their Extremely Lethal Projectiles to civilian Law Enforcement agencies around the world (SEE THE THIRD PART, PROJECTILES BELOW):



NOTE:



1) 22LR: For self-defense applications, the 22LR was NOT considered because only a very few 22LR cartridge, with a deep hollow-point exist like the ELP projectiles, are as good as a standard 32ACP or 380ACP; however the 22LR cartridge is only effective when several shots are taken in a self-defense situation. IT MUST BE NOTED that the difficulty of hitting a target in a stressed filled and active situation by most shooters is not acceptable for this comparisons.



2) 45ACP: For self-defense applications, the 45ACP was NOT considered because the ability of small/week handed shooters to control a 45ACP recoil, let alone from a small light-weight short barreled weapon: Also the wasted propellant when fired from a 1 ½" barrel, takes the 45ACP performance from a small frame pistol to less than a 40 S&W even as bad as the 9mm.



- The third part of these solutions involve the projectiles, and applies to all self-defense applications: Extensive empirical and historical data from Law Enforcement and the Military (Worldwide) has made it clear that if the projectile is not engineered for the specific application, it makes all other efforts to have the right pistol and/or cartridge irrelevant.







Bad projectile examples:

1) A Full Metal Jacketed (FMJ) projectile will simply go through, with little affect unless a vital area is hit. You can see this on several on-line police training videos where the FMJ was fired twice and hit the bad guy by the officer during a traffic stop, yet the bad guy killed the officer by using a basic hollow-point in a lesser caliber. The projectile is more important than the cartridge or the pistol in many cases if the projectile is not matched to the application.



2) An FMJ, and even a shallow Hollow-Point will go through the target and a normal household wall; and into a family member in the next room, or rooms, or neighbors house. This is especially true with the 9mm, a 40 S&W and the 45ACP with projectiles that have no-if-any expansion and/or fragmentation from even a short 2-Inch barrel lengths.



Good Self-Defense examples:



ASSUMPTIONS: The target is basically a biological unit (Man or Beast) and basically operates on a hydraulic system (Blood Pressure); so the greater damage to the hydraulic system, by the smaller and more controllable calibers in small pistols, the better. It is easier to accurately fire several smaller caliber rounds and hit the target than larger calibers with much greater recoil, because of the increased pain and slower recovery for the next shot.



1) The 380ACP with deep Hollow-points and low velocity fragmentation projectiles have the best effect on destroying hydraulic systems, especially in higher velocities cartridges designed/loaded specifically for the highest velocity possible from very short (2-Inch) barrels.



Although hard to find, the ELP Maximum Hollow Point Fragmentation Cross

(MHPFC) projectile, no matter what cartridge it is in, achieved the lowest through penetration results in a sequence of shooting a raw side of Bacon 24" in front of a standard construction wall, yet destroys the side of Bacon.



All FMJ and 'Shallow' Hollow-Point projectiles go through both the side of Bacon and the standard house inside wall. If you consider the possibility of a child being on the other side of the wall, behind the Bad Guy, you just may have shot that child. The bad guy can now run away, and attack someone else another day; or kill you now, even come back some time later knowing your not ready but they will be.



2) The 9mm. The only non-explosive projectiles that passed this same low penetration, yet Maximum fragmentation test were the ELP MHPFC and the ELP MHPF projectile available in several cartridges; and the RIP products

specifically made, and labeled for compacts with 2" barrels.



3) The 40 S&W. The only non-explosive projectiles that passed this same low penetration, yet Maximum fragmentation test were once again the ELP MHPFC and the ELP MHPF projectile available in several cartridges; and the RIP products specifically made, and labeled for compacts with 2" barrels.







The rest is all about the projectile design so they function and/or cycle flawlessly from your specific pistol.



Other 'off-the-shelf' commercial self-defense labeled products have good

hollow-points, although the tip is too big (Flat) to feed properly on short ramp compact pistols. Buy-um and hand actuate the slide by pulling it back and letting it go under its own spring return to feed them from the magazine and see how well they feed before you shoot a box, and don't bet your life on an un-proven product.



BT, Quality Assurance Manager

SBD/ELP

 

[mjbskwim]

I never read thru any thread so sorry if I redunnded(yes I'm sure it's a word) any one's comments
A...have her shoot as many different handguns as possible
B...we sold lots of small guns...TO HUSBANDS....that wives didn't like the recoil
3....Racking the slide.
IF you can find a gun and ammo combination that works reliably,this isn't an issue. She loads the gun,has a round chambered, and heaven forbid she empties a mag in bad guys,the slide locks back and she drops the slide lock on the new mag.
No big deal.
If she wants to practice,she makes sure she has help. Plus there is lots of ways to rack the slide so she can learn what works for herself
D....A 22lr or magnum is a perfectly fine defense weapon if that's all a person can handle. Better than nothing or a 32 or 25 (IMO). Each person should decide for themselves if a revolver or pistol is better. If you afraid of misfires then get a revolver. There are some with 8-10 round cylinders
My boss back in Sequim,a woman, used to ask guys buying there wives guns if they bought their wives shoes too,lol
Anyway,good luck.....oh yeah those little berettas pop up barrels seemed to be a good option for weaker hands