Small hands, handgun suggestions?

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Requiem

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I really wanted to get a CZ Shadow as my 1st handgun. I keep hearing good things about it, it's liked by widely different crowds and it would cover everything I'd like to get into: paper targets, casual silhouette, maybe PPC further down the line. I also like the look.

BUT. That thing is large. I have fairly small hands so I simply can't reach the slide lock without having to aggressively shift my grip, forcing me to turn my shoulders right to avoid pointing the gun left. I can also obviously point it down, so I'm able to operate it np, but I look like a dummy and it's a huge hassle.

So I'm now in search of something smaller. Hopefully something with the slide lock closer to the grip, so that I could reach with my (short :p) thumb without having to move my hand. Money is not really a problem. The P226 looks promising in pictures but I've yet to hold one to confirm. I'm also slightly worried that I wouldn't get as much millage from it compared to a Shadow.

What do you guys think? Any pistol suggestion that might fit the bill? Or should I just suck it up, give up and buy a gun that I look clumsy handling?
 
I trained with the 226 at the Academy on the Island, they were all DAO though so trigger pull might be a problem with smaller hands, your shots would tend to drift towards your strong side. I certainly wouldnt worry about it lasting, those things are beasts. I would worry about cost. Sigs arent cheap. A single action on though would be alot easier to handle. Not sure about the CZ 75s, never bought or shot one.
 
RacoonBlue said:
I trained with the 226 at the Academy on the Island, they were all DAO though so trigger pull might be a problem with smaller hands, your shots would tend to drift towards your strong side. I certainly wouldnt worry about it lasting, those things are beasts. I would worry about cost. Sigs arent cheap. A single action on though would be alot easier to handle. Not sure about the CZ 75s, never bought or shot one.
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Thx for the reply. As I said, price is not a concern, it could be $2000+ and I couldn't care less. I'm not to worried about the DAO either, my reach is limited but strength wise I was able to shoot all double actions I got my hands on without thinking about the pull. But I hear you, I'd better try and find one to shoot before I buy in.
 
For smaller hands my wife bought a M&P 9 it has three sizes of back straps so you can make it fit. The trigger on the M&P is pretty good for a dao pistol. The 1911 with thin grips would be good also, being single action it has an awesome trigger. Can't go wrong with a 1911, it was my choice and her second. You can also get them in 9mm if thats what you like. What ever you do make sure you are comfortable with what ever you buy. The more you like it, the more you will shoot it, and you'll shoot better. Which could be another matter (cost of ammo), which could lead to reloading!! Another hobby to spend money on.
Seriously they are both good pistols, the M&P now comes in a Pro model which is supposed to be better than the regular. My two cents
 
The only real way to find out what pistol fits you is to shoot them. There are ranges that have range rentals or friends of friends. I settled on a Ruger SR9 for my small hands.
 
the slide stop on cz 75 pistols is meant to be operated with the thumb on the weak hand. i have large hands and long fingers and its a reach for me

it is also placed so far forward to facilitate a proper grip on the pistol and still hold the slide open on the last shot
 
I just got a Glock 17 Gen 4. The way I chose it was that I went to a shooting range( The Shooting Edge) and tested a bunch out. It really helped my decision! It will help you decide what fit, sight, trigger squeeze etc is best for you. Good luck!
 
broncoo said:
the slide stop on cz 75 pistols is meant to be operated with the thumb on the weak hand. i have large hands and long fingers and its a reach for me.
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Yeah, that's what I've been doing, grabbing the front of the slide where ribbing is right? That's ok but I feel more awkward that being able to simply pull the rear end of the slide back. But I really like the cz75 as a package, the price is right, nice trigger and accuracy is supposed to be great (I'm quite green at shooting so I couldn't really differentiate that by shooting them).

Thx to everyone else for the comments. I'll try to get my hand around (if not shoot) these: Ruger SR9, M&P 9, p220, 1911.

Thinking forward, I guess a follow up question would be: Are any of these poorer / "not serious" choices for competitive PPC shooting? I'm probably getting ahead of myself, but since I plan on investing considerable time and ammo in getting to know whatever handgun I buy, I'd like to be able to keep that comfort & familiarity going forward...

Many thanks. Very helpful so far.
 
Try Glocks, and Springfield XD or XDM. Glocks were issued to women in the NYPD because their standard handguns' grip was too large for the average female cop to hold properly for full repeatable accuracy.

Also try any 1911, they are pretty decent for average size hands
 
I have small man hands, but like the 1911, so i got hold of some old wooden grips and sanded them down between the screw holds, noy i have a good grip for me. Very simple soluation and it worked. When one can touch your tip of the middle finger to your thumb, than the gun fits.
 
If the CZ is too big, the 226 will be way to big.

Small hands here too and the sig DA trigger is a very long reach. My wife's CZ fits my hands OK thou.
 
daveg01 said:
If the CZ is too big, the 226 will be way to big.

Small hands here too and the sig DA trigger is a very long reach. My wife's CZ fits my hands OK thou.
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I have small hands like OP. I have 4 handguns (G17 Gen4, G21 Gen4, Sig P226 Elite (9mm) and a full size Kimber Custom TLE/RL II. I have ZERO problems with either of the Glocks or the Sig P226. On the 1911 I do have to change my grip to use both the slide release and the magazine release. I suggest that you try the P226 to see if YOU have any problems with your grip, it's a fantastic handgun.

If you decide to go with a 1911 definitely try one first, but I suspect that the full size model will be too large for your hands. One of the smaller model 1911's may be a better fit for you if that's the direction you want to go.
 
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Requiem said:
I really wanted to get a CZ Shadow as my 1st handgun. I keep hearing good things about it, it's liked by widely different crowds and it would cover everything I'd like to get into: paper targets, casual silhouette, maybe PPC further down the line. I also like the look.

BUT. That thing is large. I have fairly small hands so I simply can't reach the slide lock without having to aggressively shift my grip, forcing me to turn my shoulders right to avoid pointing the gun left. I can also obviously point it down, so I'm able to operate it np, but I look like a dummy and it's a huge hassle.

So I'm now in search of something smaller. Hopefully something with the slide lock closer to the grip, so that I could reach with my (short :p) thumb without having to move my hand. Money is not really a problem. The P226 looks promising in pictures but I've yet to hold one to confirm. I'm also slightly worried that I wouldn't get as much millage from it compared to a Shadow.

What do you guys think? Any pistol suggestion that might fit the bill? Or should I just suck it up, give up and buy a gun that I look clumsy handling?
Click to expand...

9mm for wife, with very small hands
<http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=399464>

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<http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=522916>

Petite female friend looking to buy a pistol...now with pic of size
<http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=433448>

Suggestions for a Girl
<http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=621743>

Looking for a pistol with small grips
<http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=615149>
 
I would put my money on a M And P, the grip is thinner and more ergonomic then glock, springfield or sig, (i have shot all four) and I have used it in 3 gun ect with 0 hiccups. cleaned it once in a bout 2k rounds. I really like the grip, I have medium hands, but I like to be able to easily reach slide rel, mag rel, saftey ect without haveing to move my hand at all. get one with some fibre optik sights and it is an excellent piece of equiptment.
 
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