Hello.. was wondering if anyone could suggest smaller gripped pistol for me to try when I attend the the shooting center.. also.. I'm looking for a pistol that can be used either Right or Left handed. I shot a Glock today Gen 3 and found it was a bit big for me.. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..
Small Hands
- Thread starter ryanleeis
- Start date
- Location
- West Quebec
Try a CZ Shadow if available
Still alive
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Rainy mosquito infested part of BC
What caliber are you looking at? The size ( length) of the round has a factor in the size of the grip.
A Ruger Mk. 2-3 or Browning Buckmark have nice slender grips but is a .22.
A single stack 9mm 1911 is also quite comfortable. Any of the polymer 9mm that come with interchangeable backstraps are worth a look, like the above mentioned Glock 17 Gen 4, the S&W M&P series and the Walther etc.
Older K frame S&W revolvers can be had with the narrow service grips also. I, however, find these grips too narrow!
A Ruger Mk. 2-3 or Browning Buckmark have nice slender grips but is a .22.
A single stack 9mm 1911 is also quite comfortable. Any of the polymer 9mm that come with interchangeable backstraps are worth a look, like the above mentioned Glock 17 Gen 4, the S&W M&P series and the Walther etc.
Older K frame S&W revolvers can be had with the narrow service grips also. I, however, find these grips too narrow!
Walther P99 or PPQ with small grip insert.
Gen 4 glock with no grip backstrap on.
1911. Use thin grips and short trigger as needed. Make sure it has flat mainspring housing.
Sig P239 (slim and super accurate).
HK P30 or SF9. Grip is adjustable.
Browning Hipower
Or, if you have time and $$$ have Bowie Tactical modify the grip of the Glock 19.
Gen 4 glock with no grip backstrap on.
1911. Use thin grips and short trigger as needed. Make sure it has flat mainspring housing.
Sig P239 (slim and super accurate).
HK P30 or SF9. Grip is adjustable.
Browning Hipower
Or, if you have time and $$$ have Bowie Tactical modify the grip of the Glock 19.
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
M&P, cz 85 are worth holding and shooting.
Sig 239 (single stack, one of the few pistols I wish I never sold 
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or SP2022 have a smaller grip size and they are fantastic pistols. Sig 226 w/E2 grip is also a good choice, along with the CZ75 or 1911 platform.
Just be warned that when you go to a smaller and lighter pistol, you'll have more felt recoil.
Here are my big hands and my compact Sig SP2022... fits the GF pretty good too. Yes, it has more recoil than my P226 due to being lighter.
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or SP2022 have a smaller grip size and they are fantastic pistols. Sig 226 w/E2 grip is also a good choice, along with the CZ75 or 1911 platform.
Just be warned that when you go to a smaller and lighter pistol, you'll have more felt recoil.
Here are my big hands and my compact Sig SP2022... fits the GF pretty good too. Yes, it has more recoil than my P226 due to being lighter.
Last edited:
- Location
- Southwestern Ontario
I agree with all of these. And I would add the CZ-75 series to the list as well as the PX4. If you do get a HiPower, make sure it has the black grips, not the military style brown ones (too wide).
For small hands try the M&P FS or Pro using the Small grip panel. The issue you might find with the CZ and 226 models is the trigger reach. The M&P's are relatively inexpensive and are accurate reliable pistols.
Take Care
Bob
Take Care
Bob
The CZ seems to fit smaller hands well due to the egg like shape of the grips cross section with the narrow portion to the rear. It SEEMS bulky but the shape just works with small fingers Single stack 1911's fit small hands very nicely too. And another semi auto that I found fits small hands well is the Ruger SR9
On all of these other than the 1911 if fitted with a short reach trigger you're going to find that the trigger reach is a bear. But if you learn to reach out and get the first shot in then you can learn to ride the reset motion and not have to let go fully of the trigger. On a lot of guns there's a lot of pre-travel that is used by the DA mode shots. If you don't let them reset all the way forward the trigger reach can be kept pretty short.
Even the new GLocks feel big to my hands. And I've got BIG hands. Another which simply isn't going to fit small hands well is the Beretta 92fs. That thing is HUGE. I know there's a few mentions of it above in the other replies but those people are adapting to the gun instead of the other way around. The reach around size of the 92FS makes it feel like a 2x4 plain and simple. I'm not a 92fs hater either. Quite like them in fact. It's just that I don't mind calling it what it obviously is.
On all of these other than the 1911 if fitted with a short reach trigger you're going to find that the trigger reach is a bear. But if you learn to reach out and get the first shot in then you can learn to ride the reset motion and not have to let go fully of the trigger. On a lot of guns there's a lot of pre-travel that is used by the DA mode shots. If you don't let them reset all the way forward the trigger reach can be kept pretty short.
Even the new GLocks feel big to my hands. And I've got BIG hands. Another which simply isn't going to fit small hands well is the Beretta 92fs. That thing is HUGE. I know there's a few mentions of it above in the other replies but those people are adapting to the gun instead of the other way around. The reach around size of the 92FS makes it feel like a 2x4 plain and simple. I'm not a 92fs hater either. Quite like them in fact. It's just that I don't mind calling it what it obviously is.
You don't have small hands if the 92FS fits you well... Small is relative, so I can't say how small the OP's hands are. I wear an XL glove and going between the large and compact guns isn't much of a problem for me. When I had a 1911 and CZ75 I bought thicker grips as it felt better with a beefier grip.
Sig 226 fit me perfectly so I got rid of almost everything else I had other than my H&K USP/Beretta 92FS which I definitely wouldn't recommend for any small handed person.
