Carry for woman with small hands

[jgradyc]

First, I'm a guy who is trying to help my 60-year-old sister find a suitable carry weapon. She's a minister's wife and often at the church at late hours. Over the years, crime has gotten worse in the vicinity. After a cousin was murdered a few miles away a couple years ago, she got her HCP. We grew up with guns, so she can handle a gun, but here are the problems. She is really tiny and her hands are about the size of a 10-year-old girl's hand. The Bersa Thunder and Walther PK380 are too big for her. She has arthritis so her hands are weak and she cannot pull the trigger on most double action revolvers or semiautomatics. I've tried a small-handled Taurus 85 in 38 special, but it bruised her hand so badly it was purple the next day. It was too big for her hand so it was hard to grip. Plus, she had to put both her left and right forefinger on the trigger to pull it. My KelTec P3-AT was too big and too hard for her to pull the trigger. Plus, the little KelTec kicks too hard, which is why I thought she'd like Bersa or the Walther, but they were too big. I've bought a Jennings J-22 and a Beretta Bobcat in 25ACP for her to try on my next visit this summer. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Jonnin]

Try a sig p238. I do not know what it is about that gun but it really tames the recoil and the trigger pull is quite short and easy (single action). It has much less felt recoil than the kel tec.

If that does not work, what about a 22 mag revolver? Could she pull the hammer back to shoot one in single action mode? My wife loves her taurus 941 --- but we did have an action job done on it as they are fairly gritty out of the box. An oddball but the kel tec 22 mag 30 round pistol might be a good pick too.

The berettas have a pretty harsh trigger. Not recommended.

If she can jockey that 38 special, that may still be the way to go. Load some 380 bullets in it to whatever power she is comfortable with --- it can be as weak as a 380 or even less, all the way up to full bore 38sp. Its easy to load this caliber to fit your needs.

What about a quality .25 single action pistol? They are not all junk, but you have to pick and choose carefully. You also have to be careful about recoil and bite, some of these are harsh. Shoot the ones you have, you will know right away.

the ruger or walther p22 type guns have a short grip to trigger reach. They do pretty well, but its a .22 LR which means misfires/duds and that aggravation.

But I would say the p238 is the first thing to look at. Really need more feedback as to what she can and cannot do. Can she rack a slide? Can she operate a hammer on a SA or DA /SA revolver? Is it just the long grip to trigger that is a problem?

Edited April 23, 2012 by Jonnin

[peejman]

If a P3AT was too big... my only suggestion is pepper spray.

Convince her that the recoil or bruising her hand is worth the trade-off. I'd much rather get home to my kids with a sore hand than not get home at all.

[PackinMama]

How about an NAA mini revolver? She would have to cock the hammer back before each shot, but they're pretty easy to cock. You can get them in .22 short, LR, and mag. The short grips wouldn't be good (they're too hard to hold onto) but the larger grips should be just right. I would look at the Black Widow in .22lr.

http://www.north-american-arms.com/category/1507-22_Black_Widow.aspx

Edited April 24, 2012 by PackinMama

[jgradyc]

The is the OP. When she holds my Taurus 85 Ultralite in 38 Special, she can't reach the trigger with the back of the grip in the webbing of her hand between thumb and forefinger. She has to move it so it's on the first joint of the thumb. I wasn't at the range when she fired it in her HCP course, but I'm guessing this is what caused the bruising. She wound up qualifying with a 22LR target pistol.

She could handle my P3-AT, but I think the recoil of the P3-AT is about the same as the 85 Ultralite, so I didn't even suggest that she try it. She was able to rack the slide of a Walther PK380 once I showed her proper technique, but that's a very easy gun to rack. She could not pull the trigger.

I like the idea of a mini revolver.

I had not considered the Sig P238. I'll have to check one out. Whether she could reach the trigger would be the main issue.

[Jonnin]

The is the OP. When she holds my Taurus 85 Ultralite in 38 Special, she can't reach the trigger with the back of the grip in the webbing of her hand between thumb and forefinger. She has to move it so it's on the first joint of the thumb. I wasn't at the range when she fired it in her HCP course, but I'm guessing this is what caused the bruising. She wound up qualifying with a 22LR target pistol.

She could handle my P3-AT, but I think the recoil of the P3-AT is about the same as the 85 Ultralite, so I didn't even suggest that she try it. She was able to rack the slide of a Walther PK380 once I showed her proper technique, but that's a very easy gun to rack. She could not pull the trigger.

I like the idea of a mini revolver.

I had not considered the Sig P238. I'll have to check one out. Whether she could reach the trigger would be the main issue.

Its a single action, and the trigger is in the back of the trigger guard (1911 style) rather than the front or middle like a double action. If she cannot reach that, she is in trouble. Mine has about a 4-5 pound pull and the travel is 1/8 inch or so, roughly. The safety is thumb operated and while not difficult to move, it has a firm ball and socket type fit so initial movement takes a reasonable amount of force. I would say it has 2/3 the recoil of the "other" pocket 380s like the p3at and clones.

I dunno what to tell you. It is not a cheap gun --- price has dropped so you might find one for under $500 with a little luck --- so its not the sort of thing to just buy as part of an assorted pile for testing purposes. But if you can borrow one to check out, you can at least make an educated guess as to whether or not it will do for her.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Jonnin

[Mark@Sea]

If you ever make it over toward Morristown, give me a shout. I've got a P238 she could try, and a couple of other candidates - M1903 and 1907 Colts.

[PackinMama]

The NAA mini revolvers have an extremely short trigger pull.....almost non existent. From everything you've told us, I think they're just what she needs. I used to have one and the quality is excellent. Lifetime warranty.

[Caster]

Think older revolvers. There are some .32 caliber revolvers out there made many moons ago that are quite diminutive.

Be a sweet deal for her too if she can chisel out a cavity in an old bible to keep it in there. Unassuming is the ministers wife with a King James bible in her hand. "..And I heard as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying......Eat hot lead, filthy sinner!"

Edited April 25, 2012 by Caster

[A.J. Holst]

Maybe a new issue CZ82/83? .32 or .380

Can be carried cocked and locked like a 1911

Bill's outpost has pink and purple in stock

[Ropin4gold]

What about the Kel-tec .32? Or a beretta .32 tomcat. The Beretta has a safety and the tip up barrel so she wouldn't have to rack the slide. Other than that I would have to recommend the Sig P238 or older Colt Mustang.

[RichardR]

I took a couple of wimminfolk to the LGS this afternoon, both have small hands and we browsed through the display a bit trying to find something that fit them really well prior to me taking them to take their permit class, anyway the Sig P238 & the Ruger LCP seemed to be the two top contenders with regards to how they fit their hands, they did have a Colt Mustang in the case but the $900 price tag on it was just so silly-high that I didn't even bother to ask if they could try it.

[BLACKVANDRIVER]

Beretta tomcat comes in 22,32,and 380 don't have to rack the slide. Just load the mag and pop the barrel and chamber then double action ready to go! I have sold this to several that had problems with hand strength with good feedback!

Edited June 1, 2012 by BLACKVANDRIVER

[Guest nowheretobefound]

First I would never get a semi-auto for any woman 60 years old who is not proficient with firearms. She needs something very simple...thus a revolver, pull the trigger and it goes bank. If she physically cannot handle a small frame hammerless .38 using light loads that a good pistolsmith can slick up and lighten the pull she just needs to forgo the handgun all together, and get her some seriously strong bear spray.

Let me add to this that over the years I've worked with hundreds of women that wanted to increase their knowledge and skills with handguns. Unless each individual woman (or man for that matter) is willing and wants to train as necessary in order to get some mental and muscle memory going semi-auto are just not a good choice. I've sadly read and been involved with way too many incident reports where the intruder/attacker badly injured or killed people that because of stress and fear (because most all people do not have their pistol ready at Condition 0 no matter the pistol type or configuration ), couldn’t get a magazine into the pistol, or forgot to rack the slide, or kept trying to pull the trigger with the safety on, no round in the chamber, etc. People like to think they are going to be able to function in a stressful incident, unfortunately the odds are against them.

Edited June 8, 2012 by nowheretobefound

[viscero]

My wife's hands are in this same category and started out with a S&W airweight .38spl and HATED it. She can't bring herself to sell it though . She moved on to the Sig P238 and loves it so far but has trouble hitting with it if we skip too much practice with it. Her biggest problem with finding a good fitting pistol has been grip size and the length of her index finger being able to reach and really control the trigger; especially on most DA style pistols. I've shot her Sig plenty and it's a nice gun but it lacks some features I wish she had. The #1 of which is round capacity. Oddly enough I've found that the CZ82/83 fits her hand and trigger pull perfectly. So I'm on the lookout for an 83 so she can have a larger, higher-capacity, gun for whatever and the sig will still be her CCW as it is by far smaller and less printing than the CZ's.

[Guest swordsister]

As a 65 year old woman, I want to weigh in on this topic. When I was a kid in Texas, my dad taught me to shoot a 22 caliber lever-action rifle at the proverbial tin can out in the pasture. Then there was a long hiatus until I went to Sword Camp (hence my screen name) with my older daughter and had the opportunity to shoot a 9mm CZ. in Michigan. Hot brass makes interesting and distinctive holes in the snow.

Then in 2008 here in East Tennessee there was a shooting at my church where 2 were killed and 6 injured. I realized that we are not safe anywhere. Soon thereafter I took a handgun carry class and got my permit.

Without going into all the details, I want to recommend the Shooting for Women Alliance in Knoxville (mysfwa.com) which teaches carry classes for women (and a few good men) and also has a "show and tell" course where women (and their men) can try out a number of handguns to see what fits, what works, what makes sense for an individual as a carry gun.

I have fairly large hands and long fingers. However, I am 5'6" and 120 pounds and do not have great strength in my hands. I own and carry a Glock 26 and a Kel Tec 32. Do not give up on semi-autos for small women. Try everything you can get your hands on, both revolvers and semi-autos, before you make a purchase.

Last weekend I hand the opportunity to shoot a S&W 1911 .45 cal without a problem. Any women on this board need to talk to other women who have a little more experience.. Revolvers are great, but there is something very special about having a 33 round magazine. We women are perfectly capable of understanding how a semi-auto functions, And cleaning it and carrying it. Or a revolver, for that matter. Remember that light handguns have more kick than heavier ones. Believe me, age is NOT a factor.

Thanks to you all for your desire to help your women and keep them safe, Swordsister

Edited June 7, 2012 by swordsister