Left handed pistols

Bruno2

New member
My 14 yr old daughter wants me to buy her a left handed or ambidextrious pistol for her. She has shot just about all of my pistols in the safe. Her biggest problem is she cant operate the slide on the full size auto loaders. I have tried different techniques that have seen , but , she just cant squeeze the slide tight enough to operate it w/o it sliding through their hands. So I considered buying her a mouse gun to start with. I think a 380 auto would maybe be light enough for her to operate it. I wonder though b/c she is so young that , is she legal to hold and operate a pistol at the sporting goods store?

I know 380 is hard to get ammo for now , but , I reload and I am pretty sure that I have some free range brass in 380. If I dont , I never have any trouble finding some when I go.

What do I need to watch out for when buying lefties or ambidextrious?
 
Check with the shop on their policy for gun handling. Laws and policies vary.

Then buy a single action revolver. That's as "ambi" as it gets and no slide.
 
Maybe a 9mm 1911? The hammer can be cocked prior to racking, and you can use a 10#-11# recoil spring; even a kid should be able to handle that.
 
Walther P5 kicks em out to the left. Beretta has a number of autos with tip up bbls so no slide racking. Charter Arms now has a LH revolver. Me, I've just been adapting to RH guns for the past 5 decades.
 
Hmm- SAA clones, Schofields, things on the Blackhawk lines all look highly left handed to me.

Or is the young lady set on something more modern?
 
As a lefty, I've found that you can adapt to a right handed semi auto very easily. As she continues to grow, she'll get to the point that she can adapt too. Of course that doesn't help in the short term, but if she is having issues racking the slides right now, even a left handed gun won't solve your problem.

Why not look at a revolver? No issues with adapting to a right handed version and loaded it won't be an issue.
 
380's can be really snappy and uncomfortable to fire more than a few times in a row. You are likely to make a non-shooter out of her by getting her a 380. Please go to a range where you can rent some guns and try them out with her.
 
Can you fit a slide racker to one of the semi-autos?

What the heck is that?

Snappy is not a problem. Both my wife and daughter are hardcore recoil junkies. They both love the 642 with +p 38's in it . When the +p's are all gone the gun usually gets a break.
 
Ruger Vaquero.

My fiancé is pretty weak (can't even pull the trigger on my 442) but can shoot my Vaquero and can manage to hold the slide while pushing the gun on the S&W M&P. They seem to have weaker slide springs than the Xd and Glock.
 
The HK P7 is completely ambidextrous, and as a LH, I like it. If she has issues with racking slides, have her read Pax's Thecorneredcat.com - written by a woman for women and covers techniques to help with that
 
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http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_Southpaw_93820.html

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http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_PinkLadyLH_93830.html
 
If she has an issue with the slide on a full sized semi-auto, most any smaller semi-autos I've seen have a stiffer recoil sprig than a full sized one. I bought up a LCP recently, and that pistol is the hardest one I own to rack the slide I own, and I have a Glock and a Springfield XD. It's stiffer than my son's Bersa as well. And a whole lot tougher than my 1911.

Plus the smaller sized frame and slide presents yet another problem, one of less space to grasp it to rack the slide. Maybe a revolver is the answer until she gets older and more able to manipulate a slide on a semi-auto.
 
Beretta Tomcat with the tipup barrel.It's a 32 acp.A little smaller than most would like for defence,but with Silvertips it's still pretty effective,and the fmj practice ammo isn't too hard to find.There is also a similar gun in 22lr.
 
This gun has a slide racker, on top of the slide behind the laser sight. Slide rackers are a race gun accessory. It's a little handle that sticks out the side of the slide which makes it much easier and quicker to rack the slide back.
 
You are likely to make a non-shooter out of her by getting her a 380.
meh, heh, not necessarily. A 380 that most of us own designed for carry, then yes it will be snappy, probably blowback so it will have a stiff spring, etc. One of the larger 380s not so much. Heck I think Hipoint 380s are supposed to be real easy shooters. I have never shot one though.

Sort of surprised slide rackers aren't more available.
 
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