Reader Clark W. sends me this email:
I’d like to ask for your expertise. I’m looking into buying a gun for my wife, and since her hands are about half the size mine I can’t get one I’m used to. She’s 5-1&1/2 (she insists on the 1/2 inch), but she has the strength and mass to handle a decent recoil. What would you recommend for a woman with small hands?
I was going to reply by email, but then it struck me that it’s best written as a post, most especially because Reader Clark’s dilemma is not exclusive to his wife.
Thankfully, there are all sorts of options out there nowadays — which kinda adds to the difficulty because with choice comes indecision, as we all know.
Let’s get a few parameters set before we begin the discussion. First: caliber.
I am not a fan of the 9mm Parabellum / 9mm Luger in a self-defense handgun, as any fule kno. But there are precious few calibers that are both effective stoppers and light in recoil. Newton’s various laws all apply, and are immutable. Also, the smaller size of the cartridge means that one can carry more ammo for the gun, in a magazine and its backups, if required. Finally, having small hands really dictates a smaller-framed gun, which means that carrying a more powerful chambering (like, say, .45 ACP or .357 Magnum) means that recoil is going to be massive.
When I say that I (with my big hands and stout frame) absolutely hate shooting the .357 Mag in a 2″-barreled revolver, let that be a salutary warning.
And because I insist that people practice and train with their carry piece, consider that if recoil is massive, you’re going to do less of both simply because shooting lots of rounds gets painful after a while, which means you’re not only going to do it less, you may develop a flinch when you pull the trigger.
Our second consideration is handgun action.
While a semi-auto pistol does an acceptable job in taming recoil — or at least, it does it better than a revolver — there are also some downsides to that handgun choice. For starters, pistols are more likely to fail than revolvers. Misfeeds, soft strikes of the hammer on primer, failure to eject the spent casing properly: we all know about those issues, none of which happen with a revolver. Because a revolver is like a fork: you pick it up, and it works. That said, reloading a revolver is far more difficult and time-consuming than simply pounding a loaded replacement magazine into your pistol. If you need to reload, that is — because most self-defense needs are handled with fewer than five shots, unless there happens to be more than one assailant facing you. Then things start to get increasingly fuzzy, in a bad way.
On the other hand, a pistol is less bulky than a revolver, so there’s a concealability issue (our third consideration) involved too.
Okay, that’s enough background. Let’s look at the options for our small-handed lady shooter.
Revolver:
1. Smith & Wesson Lady Smith Mod 60 in .38 Special (or .38 Spec +P, which is almost as effective as a .357 from a short barrel), and which carries 5 rounds in the cylinder:
Also available in the “snag-free” hammerless alloy Mod 642 version:
I carry a similar model, the Mod 637 Airweight as a backup, and although it almost disappears inside my fist, the same would not be true for Clark’s missus.
Oh, and it should be stressed that if you’re going this route, be sure to load your gun with decent self-defense ammo (as opposed to full metal jackets); I use Hornady Critical Defense 110-grain:
…which recoils less than the typically-heavier .38 Spec bullet, but tests at parity.
2. Ruger SP101 in .38 Special:
The SP101 is a little larger and heavier than the Smith revolvers above, and also holds only 5 rounds. But the Ruger is pretty much indestructible — not that the Smith is at all fragile — and in any event you should have a choice between revolvers, if that’s the way you’re going. And should you want a slightly longer barrel, the SP101 has a 4-inch (and 6-inch, not optimal for carry) option.
I would not recommend any brands other than the above. The budget brands (Taurus, Rossi etc.) may be cheaper, but because lower cost invariably involves compromise, they’re likely to be less reliable. Some reviews have waxed lyrical about Rock Island .38 revolvers, but I’ve fired a few and found their triggers to be absolutely dreadful — heavy, sticky and not consistent.
On the other end of the scale: of Colt revolvers we will not speak (unless you get a bonus or something) because they typically carry a 50% price premium over the Smiths and Rugers. Okay, here’s the 3″ Python:
…which is undeniably beautiful, but like I said, it’s spendy (and also considerably larger than the above two models: not recommended for the Small Hands Set). But unsurprisingly, it has the best trigger — perhaps the best out-of-the-box trigger action of any revolver.
Now let’s look at the semi-automatic pistols. Before I go there, let me say at the outset that self-defense ammo has improved considerably over the past decade or so, which makes a couple of calibers worth considering, and that will be reflected in the suggestions below. They are in no specific order.
1. S&W Bodyguard (Micro) in .380 ACP / 9mm Short:
Yeah, it’s pink. You can get it in black too, or gawd help us in cranberry. I have to say that I love shooting this little honey: the trigger is good and the recoil almost non-existent compared to the bigger 9mm Luger. My own (small-handed) Daughter has one of these, and she loves it.
2. Bersa Thunder in .380 ACP:
Don’t let the Thunder’s cheap price (< $300) fool you. If I were going to carry a .380 pistol, this budget gun would be my first choice. The trigger isn’t as good as the Smith Bodyguard, but it’s just fine. There’s a reason why the Bersa is as popular as it is, and it’s not only because of its price.
3. Ruger LCP in .380 ACP:
There are micros, and then there is the Ruger (a.k.a Kel-Tec, whose design they pretty much just copied). These guns are so small that even the Severely Small-Handed among us will find them a little difficult to handle, and their diminutive size makes them jump around in the hand when shooting, even in .380 ACP. These pistols are definitely in the “better than no gun” category, but I’d add “by not much”.
These are the only three guns I’d consider in this category.
One more time: .380 ACP FMJ 90gr ammo is useless for self-defense. Always go with the spendier and better ammo, both for practice and for carry.
(Note its size compared to the Hornady .38 Spec above… and yes, they are to scale)
Now let’s look at the 9mm Luger pistols. Oy, there are dozens, but I’m going to stick to just a couple of the micro-sized options.
1. Ruger Max-9 9mm:
Basically, this is almost identical, size-wise, to the LCP above. Be warned that the recoil is greater, in consequence.
2. Ruger American Compact 9mm:
To my mind, a better option than the Max-9.
Okay, now we come to the guns that everyone shoots, in 9mm Luger. Let’s start off with the
S&W Shield line, in Micro-Compact and Compact:
I’d get the Compact M.2.0, on the right. The larger size is still manageable in small hands, and the recoil is considerably less than with any micro-compact 9mm Luger pistol.
SIG Sauer 365 line:
We’ll leave the 320 series out of this until all the dust has settled from the “goes off when drops” fuss and has been decided whether it’s a real thing. The 365 is an excellent gun, and you can’t go too much wrong with that choice.
Springfield XD line:
Speaking honestly, if I were in the market for a striker-fired double-action pistol in 9mm, the XD would be in my top 3. It’s a proven and reliable design, and a clone of the already-proven and-reliable Croatian HS design.
Okay, I may as well bite the bullet and get it over with…
Glock Mod 43x line:
Yeah, it comes in black, and purple, and sky-blue, whatever. [sigh]
Look, a huge number of people carry Glocks by choice, and there’s a reason for that — just not one I care to explore or even contemplate. But they’re reliable and accurate, and I happen to shoot the larger Glock 19 more accurately than any other 9mm pistol, so there’s that.
And one more time: carry proper self-defense ammo.
Anyway, as Clint Eastwood always ends his movie direction: that’s enough of that. Doubtless there will be other opinions in Comments and elsewhere, but there ya go. I hope all this was helpful.
Finally, my own recommendation for Mrs. Reader Clark:
Smith & Wesson Mod 60 Lady Smith
…because it’s like a fork: you pick it up and it works, no fussing with safety catches or racking the slide or any of that jive. And if you train enough and/or have the time, you can always cock the hammer first to make Shot #1 a single-action squeeze of the trigger; that’s what I do.
It’s the original “point-and-click” instrument, and it works as well today as it ever has.
Your choice may vary, and frankly there are no horrible choices in all the above. But the Lady Smith is my recommendation.
Take your wife to the range, and have her try out all the guns they have for rent so she can get the one that feels best for her. Just set the target at about 15 feet (5 yards), because that’s most likely the maximum range you’ll ever encounter in that self-defense situation. Try to get all the bullets into a side-plate-sized ring.
Then whatever gun you pick, buy 500 rounds to get familiar with the gun, and a hundred rounds of premium ammo to carry and for occasional practice to keep the hand in, so to speak.
Give her my regards.
