CCW Gun for Left-Handed Wife w/Small Hands

SouldustPro

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Hello everyone-
Thanks for letting me post here. I'm looking for a carry gun for my wife. She is left-handed, a beginning shooter, and has small hands. Any suggestions???
She shot my Glock 19, but had a little trouble controlling the recoil. She also noted that the trigger reach was too far for her hands, citing the length of the grip from backstrap to frontstrap (the same applies to the Glock 26). She shot the CZ 83 and Sig P232 and did alright with them. She liked the Kahr CW9 because of the slimmer grip, but it may not fit her purse very well. Would any of you guys let your wife carry a Kel-Tec .380? What about the the new Ruger LCP coming out next month? I kind of like the Sig P232 for her because of two very important factors: 1) the magazine release on the bottom (thus ambi), and 2) the slide releases by racking it anyway, rather than a slide release lever (thus also ambi).
I haven't considered a revolver (hammerless?) because the .38 may be a little too much for her, and also the low round count. I did find out about a company called Charter Arms that makes a Left Handed .38 that will accommodate 38+P.
Any other opinions or suggestions you folks have would be much appreciated, especially any left-handed female shooters out there. Thanks and God bless.
 

the kel-tec 380 is a nice gun put only good at close range. You may try the S&W M&P Compact in the 9mm. it can be set up for ether right or left handed shooters. and the grip can be set up to fit the hand. I have one am left handed with small hands. This gun fits my very well. And right now you can get extra clips and a $50 rebait from S&W. just a thought.
 
My wife

really liked the small, .32 cal revolver. So I suggest you not discount the revolver idea. 5-6 shots may seem light compared to a 15-shot 9mm but, as you say, she doesn't have large hands and isn't sure about control. You might have her try one out. 5 shots from a .32 at close range is gonna discourage a BG pretty quickly. As she gains control and confidence with the .32 then consider moving her up to a .380 or .38. Look at the Ladysmith S&W's in .32 and .38. Again, don't push the caliber thing too hard if she is worried about control and grip. Solid training in the early stages avoids problems later.

Good Luck!
 
Just buy one of each. Let her take the one she likes then you get the rest!

If recoil is an issue I'd stay away from a revolver. A small light revolver is going to feel more recoil then the same size auto. I'd look at single stack pistols like the karh, kel-tec, ect. The single stack will have a slimmer hand grip a will probably feel better to your wife. The best bet is to shop around. Take her to several gun shops and gun shows. Let her feel each make and model until she finds one that fits her. One of my instructors once said there are two things you never buy for a woman....... shoes and her gun.

Also they make purses that have a hidden compartment with a holster inside. A buddies wife carries her CZ in one. When she walks out to her car at night she unzips the compartment and has her hand on it ready go and you would not have clue she was ready to defend herself.
 
Beretta tends to make "ambidextrous" guns....they're built for either/or, with only requiring a magazine-drop button switch. The PX4 has recently been introduced in a sub-compact. There's also their small ones like the Tomcat .380.
 
I am not left handed, but do have small hands and quite a few (read "MOST") handguns are too large for my hands. I would not recommend a double stack type auto- I have yet to find one I can get my hands around comfortably including the Glocks and the S&W M&P even with the smallest grip on it (I held the .40 cal, but won't be a whole lot different in other cals). I carry a colt mustang .380 and love it, it fits my grip and is controllable. I have been looking at getting a .40 for more stopping power, just haven't decided which one and need to come up with the money as my hubby said I'm not allowed to sell the colt (he likes it also). But for now, I figure .380 beats nothing by a lot.

Fitting in the purse is not too difficult to solve. As was said, there are purses made with holstered compartments (you don't want your gun in with all your other stuff anyway). They come in lots of sizes and styles, so if she's serious about carrying she can probably find one that will work for her.

May also look into other methods of carry for her. Just a note--holsters fit different on women and waist carry is especially difficult/uncomfortable if she carries kids around a lot :)

Best advice is to take her with you to lots of gun counters/ranges and try different guns out until she finds the one she likes the feel of, then go from there.
 
I always recommend carrying your firearm on your person. (That includes the ladies!) When you need your firearm you'll be staring at your purse across the table. :( For the ladies, a good SOB (small of back) holster might work best, especially if you have children that you'll be carrying around all day. I've personally carried a 1, then 2 year old for many hours with my IWB (inside waist band) holster and didn't experience any difficulties. For the record, my IWB holster is for my Glock 23, and sometimes a Glock 27.

For folks with small hands, Lone Wolf Distributors does an excellent job of reducing the size of the grip on Glock pistols.

(http://www.lonewolfdist.com/Products.aspx?CAT=66)

Something to consider if you want a fairly inexpensive yet dependable firearm.

Only issue here is the fact that the lady is left handed. Glock has come out with a new pistol (Glock 21SF). This pistol has an ambidextrous magazine release. Adding the extended slide stop will make it easy for the left handed shooter to learn to operate. Though the .45ACP round is rather large, there are various bullet weights that would make it comfortable to shoot for most shooters.

Another option would be the Sig 239 is another option. The gun is well balanced and ergonomically designed. The magazine release is easy to find when I shoot "off hand" (I'm right handed), and the slide release is easy to manipulate with practice.

Good luck in finding the right gun.


gf
 
Have to say I'm with Glock Fan on the on-body-carry being best. I don't like the purse carry for the very reason he stated besides that what the criminal goes for first most times is the purse, but I do have one and occasionally do carry in it. The purse carry works if nothing else does, you just have to be a lot more careful about not letting your purse off your person!

Just wanted to note that your favorite holster may not work on your wife at all (especially if she's small). She may need a variety of carry options depending on what she wears on a given day also. I have pants that work with IWB carry, others that don't. Some that work with an ankle holster, others are too tight at the bottom of the leg. I know that same placement of the gun on you every day is best, but haven't figured out how to carry IWB in a dress yet :)
 
Have to say I'm with Glock Fan on the on-body-carry being best. I don't like the purse carry for the very reason he stated besides that what the criminal goes for first most times is the purse, but I do have one and occasionally do carry in it. The purse carry works if nothing else does, you just have to be a lot more careful about not letting your purse off your person!

Just wanted to note that your favorite holster may not work on your wife at all (especially if she's small). She may need a variety of carry options depending on what she wears on a given day also. I have pants that work with IWB carry, others that don't. Some that work with an ankle holster, others are too tight at the bottom of the leg. I know that same placement of the gun on you every day is best, but haven't figured out how to carry IWB in a dress yet :)

While wearing a dress, a "belly band" might work, but I'd go with an inner thigh rig. As long as your dress isn't too revealing, you should have no problem concealing with the thigh rig.


gf
 
My wife is a small handed lefty. We spent quite a bit of time searching for the right handgun for her. She isn't even interested in firing my P3at. It has a pretty big recoil for a little gun. We looked for a Charter Arms (now Charter 2000). They are making a left handed 38 snub nose. She was new to firearms at the time and I thought the simplicity of the revolver would be better for her. I also thought she would have difficulty with a right handed revolver. We couldn't find one of the leftys. She ended up with a Taurus 38 snub nose. She can manipulate the revolver quite well considering it is designed for right handed people. She then decided she needed a pistol too. We spent a lot of time in the gun store as I stood back and watched. She would ask "what do you think about this one?" I would say it doesn't matter what I think. She ended up with a Springfield XD9 subcompact. It has an ambidextrous magazine release which helped sway her decision. She also has a little trouble racking the slide on some pistols, so make sure your wife is comfortable with the handgun of her choice.
 
While wearing a dress, a "belly band" might work, but I'd go with an inner thigh rig. As long as your dress isn't too revealing, you should have no problem concealing with the thigh rig.


gf

I just had all sorts of sexy thoughts at that one....short dress, with the muzzle of a 1911 showing through......

Ahem...anyway, Bersa makes a very affordable, yet quite reliable, .380 Thunder.
 
Remember though

that, as DrDavidM pointed out, a smaller auto has heavier felt recoil due to the shorter travel distance of the slide. I still suggest a small, alloy metal revolver is a strong candidate. The grip will be easier and you can drop down to .32 and still have a decent chance to stop someone while she is learning. I did notice that you can't get the Ladysmith in .32, thought they made that model/caliber combination. Try a S&W Model 31, Charter Arms and Taurus. Also, Bersa and CZ made some automatics in .32 ACP as well.
 
Lefty pistols

Unfortunately southpaw pistols are few and far between. Even on pistols that have ambi controls, the brass still ejects to up and to the right. My dad is a lefty and that's his biggest complaint when shooting pistol is the brass ejects towards his head, not away from him. The only pistols you can feasibly modify to be 100% lefty are 1911s. Best choice is a revolver.
 
keltec makes a lanyard for the 380 and 32 that allows purse carry .Gun will come out of bag if bag is pulled away. It will be hanging on your arm ready to deploy I have been told that 1911 was build for leftys
 
Thanks so much to everyone for your input, especially the ladies. I've found a Charter Arms South Paw on Gunbroker.com for less than $350. I think I'll get one just for her to have anyway. I also found that the Smith & Wesson M&P Subcompact 9 has an ambi mag release and more importantly, an ambi slide release, along with the changeable backstrap. She liked the feel of the HK P2000 SK. It also has an ambi slide release, but a funky magazine release in the trigger guard. And at their selling price, she's going to have to help out with the bill. :-) If Sig made a DAO P232, that might be ideal. I may get one for me and let her have it if she wants it. ;)
 

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