Pistols for the Ladies

Ganderite

Ganderite

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 99.7%
355   1   0
Location
Farm south of North Bay
My wife is a rifle shooter. 100's of thousands of rounds with a 223 or 308 up to 1200 yards. Iron sights and with a scope.

She has shot trap once in her life and a handgun only a few times.

A few years ago she fell and broker her wrist (right hand) and now that hand is weaker than the left.

I had her try a few handguns (20 or so) for size today. She has small hands.

The J frame revolvers all fit her hand OK, but she did not have the strength to pull the trigger double action, or to #### the hammer for SA.

Almost all the semi-auto pistols were too big. ( I did not try the Baby Browning and other 25s) But the 32s and 380s were too big for her hands.

But, when she picked up the Glock 48 she said "That's not heavy." and she could reach the trigger ok.

Next time we go shooting, she will, try shooting the Glock 9mm. The last time we did this, (25 years ago) she was shooting a 44 Spl Charter Arms snubby. Today we found she can no longer #### it. And if she did manage to fire it, I have no doubt the stout recoil would rip it from her hands,
 
My wife has small hands as well. She had no issue with the 48. She also got herself a Ruger SR 22 pistol which she really enjoys. Not sure if your wife like 22 cal but I would have a look at it.
Hope she finds something that she fits her comfortably .
 
I love my g48 and my Browning 1911-380 .
I’ve always had problems finding something small enough for my hand and those two are my favourites .
 
CZ Shadow with slim alu grips and lightened springs might be a good option. Being full steel, it is heavy, and absorbs recoil well. Shadow 2 is even better, although its grip circumference is larger - may or may not work for her. Still worth a try
 
Last edited:
My old lady started shooting pistol with my old P2000. The interchangeable back strap meant I could throw on the Small for her and the XL for myself.
 
As mentioned try the Browning 1911-380. Small and easier to ####. Recoil is not too bad either.
 
The Uberti Stallion is a shrunk Colt SAA and could be good for smaller hands, especially with light .38 Special loads. Trick might be thumb strength for the hammer. Apparently they're available in .22LR as well.
 
The G48 is really hard to beat when it comes to grip size and trigger reach. The grip circumference is likely the smallest you can get in Canada and the trigger reach is on par with the shortest single action pulls of most pistols in SA mode other than a m1911.

The High Power has a short trigger reach but the grip is quite chunky even with slim grips on.

I’m kinda curious about the Beretta 51, it’s single action with a single stack magazine so it should be good for small hands. I’ve never seen one in person though.
 
My beautiful wife has small hands, she has a 48, and shoots it well.

Following your posts Ganderite, I bet you have some nice light 9mm loads that would make the 48 enjoyable for your bride. Best of luck, and let us know what the final choice is!
 
She does not have the ability to #### a single action then she likely can't run the slide of a centerfire auto. I think a Browning 1911-22 or Browning 1911-380. The slide is easy to rack and low recoil.

Cheers
Moe
 
Tudenom said:
The G48 is really hard to beat when it comes to grip size and trigger reach. The grip circumference is likely the smallest you can get in Canada and the trigger reach is on par with the shortest single action pulls of most pistols in SA mode other than a m1911.

The High Power has a short trigger reach but the grip is quite chunky even with slim grips on.

I’m kinda curious about the Beretta 51, it’s single action with a single stack magazine so it should be good for small hands. I’ve never seen one in person though.
Click to expand...

I have a 51. It is fairly large. Not small.
 
Another vote for CZ shadow 1 slim grips and a single action only trigger.
my wife is 5 foot, She shoots IPSC and 3 gun with it.
When we were looking for pistols she always went back to the Shadow 1.
 
Recently a shooter friend told me his mom was coming from Ontario to visit. He told her he had taken up handgun shooting here in BC. She said she has, on her bucket list, a wish to shoot a Glock. She had never fired a handgun in her life. Well, she struck that off her bucket list recently. She is a petite lady with small hands. She shot my Glock 35 (9mm barrel) and the Shadow 2, both without issues. Her hands seemed to fit both guns well. She certainly had no problems hitting the IPSC target with mostly A's. She also tried the Glock 21. I warned her that she might have some issues with more recoil and a larger gun but she shot that equally as well as the 9mm's. Bottom line for her was she preferred the Glock 35 to the Shadow 2 but not by much. I think it was more the mystique, to her, of the Glock.

2JnxRTxl.jpg


3u2hdfZl.png
 
With a bad right wrist, she might actually do well learning to shoot handgun left-handed, using the right hand for support or not. Being ambidextrous shows up in a few disciplines so it's not an unknown craft.

I've also seen a one-handed shooter push the slide against the side of a shooting bench, not that I recommend that! But creative folk find ways around a lot of different difficulties.
 
She is 80. She has always shot right hand, right eye. A bit late to try to re-train.

And she is no longer inclined to do much training, so I just want to make sure she has a gun that fits that she can work.
 
Ganderite said:
She is 80. She has always shot right hand, right eye. A bit late to try to re-train.

And she is no longer inclined to do much training, so I just want to make sure she has a gun that fits that she can work.
Click to expand...

At 80 I would also be doing everything in my power to keep her shooting comfortably, without trying to change a thing.

Just before the general lock down, I escorted three ladies, who had kept themselves very fit, to our local range because they wll wanted to "shoot a handgun".

Two were in their mid seventies and the oldest was 81. The oldest passed away a few weeks ago from advanced Cancer.

Even though all were quite physically fit and strong, they found several of the handguns I brought with me to be ''heavy''

I had brought along a dozen different pistols/revolvers for them to shoot.

The one winner, they all really liked and shot well was the Model 39 S&W Double Action Only, with the Aluminum/Titanium frame

The trigger pull on that pistol is smooth as oiled glass and breaks very clean.

They also liked the light weight S&W Mod 63, 22LR and the "Baby Luger" Erma Werke 68A which I rebarreled for 380acp.

They also liked the Stoeger "Luger" chambered for 22LR

They found the S&W MP10s awkward to #### and the triggers on them were to heavy for double action

None of them wanted to attempt a 1911 or P38 and it was the oldest lady, Evelynn, that really wanted to shoot the in her words "beautiful Swiss 1906/29"

She couldn't #### it and had to shoot with her arms supported on the platform, but she loved it. Said it looked like something out of the old Buck Rogers Comic books.

Good on you John, for keeping your wife active. From the sounds of things, it doesn't take much to get her motivated.
 
The one auto I have that all my daughters love to shoot is my Colt Match Target Woodsman, with the 4.5" barrel. Deadly accurate, comfortable to hold, good sights, .22 LR recoil (none), and easy to rack the slide. Such a quality piece. They like my 6" one as well, but that 4.5" is the one they all prefer. That's it with my model 41 (which they also like but the grips are on the big size for them).

IMG_20200525_1443358.jpg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20200525_1443358.jpg
    IMG_20200525_1443358.jpg
    36.4 KB · Views: 123
Perhaps one of the previous posters was actually referring to the Beretta model 71 in .22 LR. That is single stack, very easy to rack and fits small hands. Mossad seemed to be keen on these in the 1970's.

I have one and it is one of my favourites. The sights are quite small, so takes a bit of getting used to, but shoots well once sorted out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom