Easiest shooting 9mm for small hands? Dedicated home defense application.

[Navin Johnson]

I'll try to explain more clearly. Like I wrote in the opening post, she isn't too excited about shooting anymore, and would just as soon be doing something else, but I'm still trying to make a big push to finish off her handgun training....with a bang....lots of them...but as mild as reasonably possible for 9mm....before she turns 18.

I'm trying to develop a shortlist of candidates so we can look at them. We have no place that rents guns. The gun stores around here are tiny and spread out geographically, so I'm going to have to call around to find specific pistols in stock, then drive for hours to go see them, probably in different directions to find things like a Macro, PDP-F, etc... Was trying to get some ideas in case there are good options I haven't thought of, so had this list of questions:


1) What is the short list of pistols to look at for this application in 2024?

2) How much can the weight of a large weapon mounted light and/or grip weights reduce perceived recoil? If this isn't a dumb idea, what to look at?

3) What holsters would you be looking at? I'd need to find a quality holster for the whole setup because we always work out of holsters at outdoor shooting ranges for practice, and guns without good holsters are just stupid.

Not sure how many 17-year-old daughters you’ve had in the past, but you should probably consider what she really wants not what you really want her to do.

As a side note, How many people are actually finished with their training by the age of 18?

From my experience, you’re gonna have to give her some leeway in what she wants to do in life not what you want her to do.

For shooters who are bored they buy a new gun to renew their interest so they can be gun of the week or gun rotation guy whatever but buying for somebody who’s not interested in shooting is not going to fix what you perceive as problem.

Whether you want to hear it or not, a new gun is not going to fix what’s NOT wrong with your daughter. Instead of focusing on trying to figure out what gun that you think she wants, why don’t you focus on her. It won’t be long and she will have moved out and you won’t see her much anymore as is the nature of young adults.

Good luck

[frozentundra]

Not sure how many 17-year-old daughters you’ve had in the past, but you should probably consider what she really wants not what you really want her to do.

As a side note, How many people are actually finished with their training by the age of 18?

From my experience, you’re gonna have to give her some leeway in what she wants to do in life not what you want her to do.

For shooters who are bored they buy a new gun to renew their interest so they can be gun of the week or gun rotation guy whatever but buying for somebody who’s not interested in shooting is not going to fix what you perceive as problem.

Whether you want to hear it or not, a new gun is not going to fix what’s NOT wrong with your daughter. Instead of focusing on trying to figure out what gun that you think she wants, why don’t you focus on her. It won’t be long and she will have moved out and you won’t see her much anymore as is the nature of young adults.

Good luck

If this were the case, she would never do the dishes, learn electrical theory or circuit analysis, welding, work out, carpentry, auto mechanics.....etc.

I have a policy where a certain level of participation and competence in a variety of domains are not optional. She doesn't need to be a welder, but she needs to know how to weld. She doesn't particularly enjoy it compared to socializing with other teenagers. I don't care. Specialization is for insects, right?

I'm operating under the assumption that she will look back later in life and be thankful for the experiences. I guess I could be wrong.

[JTQ]

If were in the learning to shoot stage and not looking for a gun to conceal, I'd choose a duty size gun that she can reach the trigger.

The M&P is pretty good, the Beretta APX is good, and the 1911 is also usable.

[TicTacticalTimmy]

If this were the case, she would never do the dishes, learn electrical theory or circuit analysis, welding, work out, carpentry, auto mechanics.....etc.

I have a policy where a certain level of participation and competence in a variety of domains are not optional. She doesn't need to be a welder, but she needs to know how to weld. She doesn't particularly enjoy it compared to socializing with other teenagers. I don't care. Specialization is for insects, right?

I'm operating under the assumption that she will look back later in life and be thankful for the experiences. I guess I could be wrong.

Based parenting strategy.

This may or may not apply to your daughter, but IME with women they love the ease of making hits and lower muzzle
blast of a rifle, but are ergonomically challenged in shouldering a rifle and put off by the weight and size of a typical carbine, leading them to prefer handguns even if they are sensitive to recoil/muzzle blast and have (by PF standards) poor handgun marksmanship fundamentals.

Given this I was thinking the P365XL/Macro paired with the upcoming Flux P365 chassis would be an awesome platform for the typical woman. In handgun form you have a weapon that works great with small hand sizes, adaptable to different grip modules for range or carry, great aftermarket, affordable, decent manual safety ergos, etc....

Then in rifle form you have a super lightweight and compact PDW with a minimalistic stock that won't cause ergonomic issues with shouldering, a longer barrel to reduce muzzle blast, and vastly greater hit probability and recoil control due to rifle ergos and increased weight. All in a platform that shares ammo, mags, manual of arms between the pistol and rifle. Can shoot at indoor range and up close at steel. All great attributes for the non-enthusiast.

The p365 doesn't have the lowest recoil, I imagine a TLR7sub will help a bit but not much, but it certainly is a big improvement over a Shield, at least in the Macro or XL format.

[walker2713]

Given her history and experience, I’d suggest beginning with a .22…..either a Glock 44 or an Sig P322.

The Glock is the same size (except for weight) as a G19. The Sig is light weight, no recoil and is optics ready.

I’m going to be up in Lexington KY soon for a granddaughters UK graduation……and we always plan to go to Bud’s for some shooting. I’ll have a couple of 9”s with me, but for sure will have the P322 and the G44.

Just a thought…..

George

[P30]

I have not read all 5 pages. Just in case it has not been mentioned yet:

Walther PDP F-Series - for female shooters with small hands (reduced trigger reach and slide force):



More infos: carl-walther.com/defense/products/p/2842694

Designed from the ground up to fit the contour of a woman’s hand, the F-Series grip is smaller where it needs to be giving the shooter maximum control and faster follow-up shots.

I suppose, due to the heavier slide it shoots less snappy than small guns like the Glock 43.



The man talking in the video is Walther's CEO. You can switch on an English translation in the subtitles.

[Cool Breeze]

@P30 has a good one - forgot about that one.

I've read on the forum that some competition guys put a weapons mounted light on their gun and add lead or brass weights (in the battery compartment instead of a battery) to tame recoil. You could always do that as a last resort. Of course, the light is no longer functional but it could be a good intermediate step to get her going and then slowly reduce the weight.

[gc70]

My daughter is somewhere between 6.25 and 6.375" in this format

Does anyone have numbers on PDP-F, Sig Macro, Shield Plus, Equilizer, or other guns that may be relatively heavy but fall into smaller measurement categories based on this format? Trying to stay away from 1911 style.

My S&W Equalizer and M&P 2.0 Compact (with Medium grip insert) both measure 6.5625" as defined in the chart.

[P30]

@P30 has a good one

Thank you. But note that I was mainly parroting the claims from Walther's website. Can somebody from this forum confirm that the PDP F-series really works better for small hands?

[CraigS]

RE; lights. When I researched maybe a year ago I found that the Streamlight TLR2-G was one of the heaviest. The G is the version w/ a green laser. Another advantage is that the TLR1s and 2s seem to be pretty common w/ holster makers.