Reader Question: Big Guns for Small People
I got an email from a reader named Mike:;
I found your site about three months ago. I love your articles. They are funny and very informative and I look forward to reading every new one. I recently started to get more involved and interested in shooting and my fiancé has taken an interest in it as well. She is a petite woman with small hands and short fingers. She has fired a ruger sr22 that we rented at our local range and loved it. She tried to move up in caliber the last time we took a range trip but my s&w 6946 has a thick frame and grips. I was wondering if you could suggest some pistols with a short trigger reach and thinner frame or slimmer grips that she may be able to try out before I purchase her one. As of right now she doesn’t like the kick of a compact but that could be because my buddy’s khar polymer .40 is a little much. I guess I’m asking if you have a list that is within a reasonable price because when I think single stack it leads my mind to the 1911a1 which I’ve heard has a short reach but they tend to run a little high. Thanks for taking your time to read this I figure you’re a busy person and I look forward to reading more of your interesting articles even if you can’t help me out.
First off, thanks for reading and thanks for sending in the question!
This actually hits pretty close to home. As I’ve mentioned a couple of times, Mrs. Noob is 4’11” and about 100 pounds on a bad day. She’s tiny. We’ve found many guns that are just too big for her hands and others that we thought were going to be too big but turned out to be great fits.
Caliber-wise, a .40 is a pretty snappy round. I don’t even like shooting that one. I would suggest sticking with my beloved 9mm but I’ve found that with the right pistol and technique, a .45 has surprisingly low felt recoil.
So what does Mrs. Noob shoot? Her favorite gun is the Taurus PT92 (my old one, which I reviewed here) which is essentially a Beretta 92. This is actually quite surprising as it seems like a big gun. To be honest, if I was a salesman this probably wouldn’t have been the first gun I would have put in her hand. That’s probably why I don’t sell guns, mind you. It seems to fit perfect in her hands and she can shoot the heck out of that thing. I shoot a Glock 19 and I’ve endured no small amount of ridicule over her having a much bigger gun than me. Even more ridicule when she out shoots me too, I might add.
(As a side note, she doesn’t like my Glock at all but I suspect that’s because she’s used to the Double/Single trigger on the 92 as opposed to the striker on the Glock. Or maybe she just doesn’t like Glocks.)
You did mention a 1911 and yes, those can be VERY pricey but there are some great yet inexpensive options. Look into Rock Island Armory as they make some great, no frills 1911 pistols that usually run $450 and under and they even make some in 9mm. They make some 1911s in the $500+ range as well that have some great options. I should note that Mrs. Noob loves shooting 1911s so that is a great option.
Other guns that come to mind: The SIG P238 that I reviewed a short time ago has amazingly low recoil and is a tiny gun I could shoot all day at the range. I’m still geeking out over that thing and so is Mrs. Noob. The Springfield XD is another great option. The XD and XDm pistols are the pistols that make people who hate polymer pistols love polymer pistols.
As far as picking one out, try to find a local range that rents guns. Even if you have to drive an hour or so to get to one, it’ll be worth it. Being able to actually try out the guns helps tremendously. If that’s not an option, a lot of gun stores don’t mind you doing some dry fire in the store as long as you ask first. It’s VERY important to ask. Find yourself a place that doesn’t pay their clerks on commissions (like Academy Sports or Gander Mountain, or just a local place) and spend some time playing with various models. Try everything. Just because it looks huge in the case doesn’t mean it will feel huge in the hands (Am I right, ladies?). Larger guns will, for the most part, have lower recoil so if you can, stick with a full size frame. Make sure she can rack the slide as well as pull the trigger.
Something to keep in mind is that the trigger and slide will loosen up as the gun gets broken in. At the same time, her finger strength is going to increase. If she’s able to pull the trigger, even if it’s with a small amount of difficulty, she’ll “grow into it” so to speak. One thing I would highly recommend, as it worked very well for me, is to get one of those hand exerciser thingies that allow you to work on individual fingers. If you get one in the 5-8 pound range, she’ll be able to pull any trigger out there if she works out on that thing.
A lot of guns have replaceable grips and you can can find thinner grips online. Many newer polymer pistols have swappable back straps that will allow you to alter the size of the handle. This way you can customize a gun to fit her hands. I actually highly recommend this for every gun. No two hands are the same so customizing the gun to fit yours can never hurt.I hope that gives you a couple of options and things to think about. One final note, and this applies to everyone: I welcome and read every email I get and I reply to all of them. Sometimes my reply may be a bit less wordy than others but I will ALWAYS reply. Heck, I might even use it in an article!
So a big thanks to Mike for sending in your email and for everyone else, feel free to send in your questions and comments via the contact us link above or via Facebook and Twitter.
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