Tiny hands

D

Dr. J

New member
I took a first-timer to the range and a gunshow Saturday. She's converted!

And now looking for a personal defense pistol. She finds that she prefers semiautos and has very definite ideas about what feels like a good fit and what doesn't.

The next step, of course, will be to try out some of those that she feels fit her hand. There is one concern...

Because her hands are so small, when shooting a semiauto, she has to shift her hand to reach the trigger, placing the back of the grip right against the base of her thumb. This is the case on almost every pistol she picked up--really tiny hands. It looks terriby uncomfortable to me, and I'm not sure what implications shifting the line of the hand might have in terms of recoil.

Surely, there are some others out there with tiny hands. Is this grip the only choice? Is it solid, safe? Any special tips for the tiny of hand?
 
Have her check out the Khar, and the Sig and Walther .380s. These are about as slim as they come in a pistol w/o dropping down to a .22. Yes, that less than satisfactory grip is just that. If those pistols don't fit, you might tactfully suggest the idea of a J-frame, or its Taurus equivalent. Heck, I'd do that anyway, since that's what I feel should be used for a beginner.
 
I'm with VictorLouis, the term "j-frame" comes to mind.

She may find that recoil with larger guns doesn't bother her all that much. If so, go with whatever she's good with.

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Jim Fox
 
Dr. J. I was in same situation several years ago with my wife. She has very small hands and she also didn't have the strength to shoot "J" frame revolver in DA with any precision. I got her a SS Colt Combat Commander in 9mm and had a friend make a "slim" profile grip. With the short standard factory trigger it fits her hand pretty well and she shot it very well. She liked it and was not bothered by the recoil so I had some work done on it such as low thumb safty, 4 pound trigger job and Novak sights, wilson beavertail grip with raised pad, extended slide stop etc. I works very well for small hand. Try it.
 
A Browning Hi-Power would be a good "fit" for her small hands. My girlfriend handles hers quite well and her hands are also small.

------------------
Son
1911 Addiction
"The tree of liberty will grow only when watered by the blood of tyrants."
 
For the money I would certainly look at the Bersa 95's and Thunder 380's. At around $200 I don't think you will find a better gun.
 
I lean toward the .38spec J frame. The trigger return spring can be replaced with a lighter one for easier double action firing without affecting the reliability. You have a nearly infinate choice of power levels and bullets. Can work with light loads and go for proficiency and then work the loads up to defence levels.

Three inch J frame is nice combination of features. Small grip, easy to hide, potent defence round, long enough sight radius for accurate 50 yd shooting, and light weight.

Sam.......follow me, I'll show you a new way to get there.
 
I don't have tiny hands, but I do have small hands. Here's what works for me:

1. The Walther P99--even using the smallest adjustable backstrap it still has a long trigger reach. She'll probably have to shift her grip to reach the trigger.

2. The Browning might work, if you use a narrow grip like Navidrex countour grips or sand down the original BHP wood grips.

3. The Kahr would work, although it has a fair amount of muzzle flip and recoil with such a short barrel.

4. The best by far is a single stack 1911 with Navidrex contoured thin grips and a short trigger. Nothing fits my small hand as well. If a .45 is too much, you can always find one in 9mm.
 
First of all, decide on a specific caliber and learn it's felt recoil. Then shop around for a pistol that fits comfortably with its felt recoil taken into account. This may sound a bit tedious(sp?), but I think it is the only way to find a suitable pistol.

Regards,

BlasterMaster :)
 
I'm with group that suggests a J-frame or equilivent revolver.. Once safety is ingrained then a transistion to an autoloader may be warranted. One advantage, The J-frame will go bang every time, where she might encounter malfunctions with an auto that could be disasterous if it malfunctioned when she was attempting to defend herself.
Should she then consider going to an auto, the Kahr line of pistols are very accomodating to those with small hands. The Kahr also has a revolver like trigger pull so she wouldn't have to relearn a different trigger stroke. Should she decide on a J-frame, go with an all steel gun. She might be scared away if shooting an alloy J-frame with defensive ammo.. Just my $0.02 Mark / FL
 
My hands are super small too. 6 1/2" from heel of palm to tip of trigger finger. When I grip a pistol the backstrap ends up right on the really meaty part of the palm just below the thumb. I don't know how you guys with bigger hands grip your pistols, but that's the only way I can get a good reach with a DA trigger. When shooting in SA I can shift my hand a little, but I don't.
 
Don't discount a revolver. Much easier to operate. Small hands and racking the slide are often problems for the female shooter. Racking the slide can be fixed by training and strengthening.

For semi-autos, I'd suggest the Lady Kahr, Sig P239, Glock 26, Beretta Type-M, a compact 1911. All of these guns are single stack except the Glock. The "problem" with the Kahr and the Sig are that the recoil spring is heavy and sometimes is harder to rack. The Glock may be a bit thick in the grip area, but trigger reach should be good like with the 1911. The Beretta is also nice, though it's trigger reach may be a bit long.

For revolvers, I'd go with a Taurus for the obvious reasons. Just make sure she tries out as many as possible so that she can see what she likes and doesn't like.
 
It all depends what caliber you are talking about and price. The Kahr, Keltec, and Sig 239 in 9mm are perfect for small hands (the Glock 19 fits good in my small hand). Actually the Sig can be had in 9mm, .357 sig, and .40. In .32 you have Keltec, Baretta, and North American for choices in affordable pistols as well as old favorites such as the Colt 1903 (my personal favorite). In .380 there are many choices, but my favorites are the Colt Mustang, Pony, and Government model. Kimber and Colt make small 1911 pistols in .45, the ultra carry and ltwt. officer model, that can accomodate small hands with a short STI trigger and Slim-tech grips or Chip McCormick slim grips. The Glock 36 would be an excellent choice also. I have very small hands and I know for a fact that all of the above are great for small hands.
 
Some of the very small pistols mentioned have a nasty bite when fired in 9mm caliber, which is the min for effective self defense. I highly recommend the Sig P225. Sig makes a short trigger especially for this situation which is simply exchanged for the normal trigger. Have her try it. The recoil is quite manageable, especially if you install a Harrts recoil rod. I have it and it really does reduce some of the jolt.
 
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