9mm for wife, with very small hands

What ever happened to the "Ladysmith" line from S&W? They're probably al prohib due to barrel size tho, huh?

I've got a wife at home that I want to eventually buy a 9mm for as well. I'd really like to see her shoot the CZ 75b, the Glock 17 and the M&P.
 
Contondant said:
I'd go with a CZ. Every woman I've ever brought to the range has liked the CZ a lot more than the M&P9, mostly because it absorbes recoil a lot more.
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My wife could not reach any of the controls on the CZ75.

The XD9 fit her pretty well, so I suspect that an M&P with the smaller backstrap option might be good, too... or, maybe a G17 (Shudder!), but my beloved hated the grip angle.

As with all things in marriage, it is best if you let HER pick what she likes!

;)
 
I bought a P7 and found it way too small for my hands. I had the wife ask about shooting one day and this pistol fit her hand great. Definitely on the high end of the cost range but it's compact, 9mm and reliable. Oh yeah, they look good too.
 
nelly said:
My wife could not reach any of the controls on the CZ75.

The XD9 fit her pretty well, so I suspect that an M&P with the smaller backstrap option might be good, too... or, maybe a G17 (Shudder!), but my beloved hated the grip angle.

As with all things in marriage, it is best if you let HER pick what she likes!

;)
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If you get a SP-01 Shadow CZ, it has an extended magazine release. Plus, you can make the grips slightly smaller by changing the rubber grips with thin aluminium grips available online from an excellent source and VERY easy to install (two screws). As for the slide release, she should be reaching for that with her support hand, so I assume you just mean the magazine release.
 
The Ruger SR-9 might be good choice both economically and fact you can swap out the back-straps to adjust the grip. My missus has small hands, but she would sooner shoot my Beretta 92FS than the Sig SP 2022 that is more suited for her, go figure.
 
I had a ruger for about a year and loved it. Adjustable sights are a bonus. I really loved how it felt and looked. Reliable as any glock in my books. Not 1 jam not ammo related. Go check one out. For the price it can't be beat. New its about 500-550. I only sold it cause I had to have a glock. I always wanted one and don't regret it for a second. I can't say enough good about it. My girlfriend doesn't like shooting it half as much as the ruger.
 
I've been discussing this with my wife. She finds my 22/45 a little boring, but the recoil on my 1911 a little much. We're about decided on a GP-100 with a 6" barrel, and she can shoot .38 spl out of it. The weight would dampen the recoil, and she just plain likes the look of the gun :).
 
My Fiancee has the same small hand issue. I bought an M&P for us to share and she didn't like it because of the polymer frame, she says it was too "whippy".

So she ended up buying a Baby Desert Eagle in 9mm. The grip size was functional for her as well as the full steel dust cover was a bit heavier to absorb some of the recoil. She loves it.
 
What about a revolver? A .38 with the slim "police" style grips makes for a very compact grip that is much too small for my large to X-large glove sized hands. I had to switch over to the target grips.
 
mlehtovaara said:
Have her try to hold the GP 100 up for more than a few seconds. My girlfriend coudnt. It is one heavy gun. I wouldn't recommend it unless your wife is pretty strong.
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Well, she can hold up an M-14 pretty well (and yes, she knows to lean into the gun now :) ).

She didn't have any trouble supporting the weight of the 1911 either,so I'm pretty confident that she'll be able to heft the GP-100.
 
CZ Shadow recoils very little and handles wonderfully. Steyr M9A1 is also comfy for small hands. M&P is a good choice too. Beretta PX4 has a rotating barrel assembly that reduces recoil. Also comes with back straps that can be changed.

If you're willing to consider something other than 9mm a S&W 686 shooting .38 Special recoils like a .22 and revolvers are fun too. You can borrow it from her and shoot .357 from it.
 
For someone with small hands I would suggest the Browning BDM. No polymer frame here.

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Ruger SR9-wife got one for her birthday in August-just loves it.
She has quite small hands and the reversible backstrap is great.
She has only shot about 150 rounds through it but everything works smooth.
It takes her about 90 seconds to strip it for cleaning.
The only thing that is wrong is that at 15-20 yards she can get 2-3 inch groupings and I can only get 4-5 inch with my 1911??? What's up with that?
SR9 is a really good choice for a lady with small hands. She thought the son-in-laws CZ was a little to big for her. Later
 
A Browning Hi Power would probably be the smallest from what I have tried.

But I would definitely say get a 1911 (this won't work with a Norinco unfortunately), and buy some thin/slim profile NON-wraparound grips for it. That will get rid of any unnecessary width in the grip, and will allow her fingers even greater reach. You'll have to replace the grip screw bushings with slim grip bushings, but they are cheap. The 1911 is an awesome gun for people with small hands (like me) to begin with..... this will make it even better.

If she has small hands/short fingers and you get a double stack handgun (thicker grip) with a longger DA type trigger pull like the Glock or M&P she might be cursed with Low-Left Syndrome. I can't for the life of me shoot a Glock dead center. I have owned a few G17's, and after 500 rounds of working on it, it was still the same story. First time I picked up a 1911, I hit dead center without even trying, and my accuracy went up quite noticeably. The 1911 is both thin, AND has a wicked single action trigger. Not to mention the weight of the all steel 1911 soaks up tons of recoil.... after shooting my 1911 .45ACP for a while, I shot a club member's G17 and found it very snappy, due to the Glocks light weight (like EvilDezel said about his gf and the M&P). In addition, I reload .45ACP (about $6.50 per 50 rounds) for cheaper than I could reload 9mm for my Glock, since you cannot should lead bullets through the Glock barrel.... aaaand lol .45ACP brass lasts insanely long since it is such a low pressure cartidge.

Maybe I am biased towards the 1911 chambered in .45ACP...... slightly lol



PS - Both the bushings, and the slim grips can be bought from Fusion Firearms in the states. They ship up here, and they don't charge very much at all.
 
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