Know any good ladies size .40 cal?

mom of 3 angels

mom of 3 angels

New member
I currently carry a colt .380 mustang and bought it a number of years ago because it fit my grip nicely (I am 5'2, 105 lbs and don't have large hands). Now looking to upgrade to a .40 and was wondering if anyone knew of a smaller gripped .40 semi auto. One I have picked up and liked the feel of was the Kahr, and I saw that S&W made their M&P with interchangable grips that may work. Any experience with either of those? Or any others?
Thanks for any help!
 
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compact .40

Before I finished reading your post, I was thinking of a Kahr cw40. It's a well made flat gun. Flat equals concealable. If considering a double-stack weapon, might I suggest a Glock 27. There are many more aftermarket accessories for it and full size Glock mags (15 rds.) are cheap and plentiful. -my $.02
 
You might look for a nice Beretta 9000S, they can be found for <$400 in many places and are great little weapons.

jw
 
I'll chime in on this one and the various responses thusfar.

Kahr .40 - I'd try firing this before you buy one because I hear their lighter weight can make recoil with this weapon a bear.

Glock - no response

Beretta 9000s - This is my carry weapon, and I can say that it's not for the small of hands. It's got a pretty fat grip, and my wife has a hard time holding it. She is slightly larger in stature than your description, so drawing the parallel, I'd say the 9000s is out.

Now, my suggestion to add to the pile. The Bersa Thunder series of autos is known to be pretty reliable and a good carry piece, despite the deceptively low price. This is an inexpensive gun (rather than CHEAP). They have a little more weight, so I think their recoil is slightly less than maybe that of a Kahr. Plus, they're probably much more affordable. If price isn't much of an issue, I think you'd be VERY hard-pressed to find anyone with bad comments on a SIG. I think they have a compact .40.
 
I carry a HK P2000SK LEM in 9mm. I believe you can also get it in 40. It has two different back straps that you can change out. With the smaller one it might work for you. It is not cheap for sure but a great hand gun.
 
I'll chime in with the CZ PO-1.... not the SP-O1. very sweet reliable pistol

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Kahr PM40 is a great weapon for anyone. Great knock down power in a little piece. Glock 27 also great gun and more accurate. The Kahr takes a little more shooting to break in to make it reliable. Stay away from night sights. What are the chances that you are going to aim if you have to shoot in the dark to defend yourself? It would most likely be point and click. crimson trace is the way to go for night time sight aquisition
hope this helps
 
The Glock 27 comes to mind. When I'm working and depending on where I'm working (some states restrict the number of firearms you can carry), I'll carry 2 in addition to my primary firearm (Glock 23). I like the fact that the maintenance is really simple, minimal parts (34) and the interchangeable magazines. Add the fact that they don't require much maintenance and extremely good rust resistance, and you'll have an extremely dependable and affordable firearm.

Contrary to popular belief, the Glock 27 isn't much more difficult to shoot than your Colt .380 Mustang. Some folks like the night sights, some don't . I like them because it's easier to find my Glock in the dark. :) The Crimson Trace laser sight is a great idea for the average citizen for personal protection. The "little red dot" will often be a good signal to the "BG" to move on. ;) There are many carry methods and numerous products out there. Comfort and concealment are the two primary factors in choosing a carry method. My suggestion though would be to choose a method where your firearm will be "on you". Those "holster purses" for women are nice, but it separates you from your firearm. Mr. Murphy usually hits when he's least desired. When your personal safety is at issue, you want to do what you can to eliminate him from the equation. Whatever method you choose, please be sure to practice, practice and practice. If you can't afford a "blue gun", then you can use the actual firearm. Be sure that it's unloaded and there is no ammunition in the firearm AND no magazine in the firearm. I know a bunch of ladies that get together once a month and have an evening together where they have a potluck dinner and practice their "self-defense" skills. Along with "hand to hand" techniques, they also practice their carry methods and responding to an aggressor.

Hope this helps. Be safe!


gf
 
I have a Kahr CW9. I like it a lot. My wife does not. I am not sure why. I like my Taurus pt140pro. My wife has a good opinion of it. I have a Springfield XD40 service. My wife likes it. She spent hours looking at different handguns before she chose hers. She chose an XD9 subcompact. The same gun is available in 40sw. This is her opinion of course. Look around for what's good for you.
 
Wow, Ektarr....I'd have to say that's the best laugh I've had all morning.

SWM, seeking ladies, size .40 cal, non-smoker, outdoorsy, active.....
 
If you are set in getting a 40 cal then I would recommend a compact and not a sub-compact. I have several in the sub category and the recoil is fairly abusive. Compacts that fit your hand will be much more comfortable to shoot and will give you more confidence in shooting it. For times you might need a sub-compact something like the Kahr PM9 or the Kel-Tech PF9, both 9mm, are easy to carry and fun to shoot. Sometimes smaller is not necessarily better.
 
My wife loves the XD service pistol and she's thinking about trying out the sub-compact version. She also likes the Kahr CW9, but hasn't tried it in .40 S&W yet.
 
My choices in single stack .40s...

Since the original poster has acknowledged she has smaller hands, we're obviously looking for single stack compact .40 S&W pistols. Some of these are only available on the auction or classifieds such as auctionarms.com, gunsamerica.com and gunbroker.com;

  • S&W CS40 (I have a pair of them blued)
  • S&W 4013, 4014 (13 is stainless, 14 is blued) or 4040PD (scandium light weight version of the 4013).
  • SIG-Sauer P-239
You might get lucky and find one of the S&W pistols new or slightly used sitting on a shelf or in a display case at a local gun shop. My advice before looking to buy one of the S&Ws I recommended would be to see if you can find a rental 908, 391x or 401x at local range. You probably won't find a rental S&W CS40 as they are discountinued and are going for a premium, you might find a CS9 or CS45 as they are still in production. The CS or Chief's Special pistols have a 3" barrel and a shorter grip length. The closest thing in production dimension wise to a CS40 is the Kahr MK40. I did look at the Kahr booth at the NRA 2007 annual meeting. I wasn't too impressed the product for the price. I didn't look into seeing how much of a CCW instructor discount I would get buying directly from Kahr.

If you can't find a rental 401x but you can find a rental 908 or 391x, try that. If it fits your hand well and it works for you in 9mm then chances are the 401x will work for you as well in .40 S&W as it's the same design and general dimensions. The 4040PD is the scandium light weight version of the 401x.

The SIG P-239 is the only one currently in production. You can also find 9mm and .357 SIG barrels or conversion kits for the SIG P-239 which is an added bene of getting a .40 S&W chambered SIG. Finding a single stack SIG available for rental shouldn't be much of an issue.

I am not fond of Glocks because of the grip angle. I have to pivot my wrist down to shoot it accurately which causes it to point unnaturally when held. This aggreviates my carpal tunnel from spraining my wrist and fracturing my arm near the elbow joint in a near fatal motorcycle accident back in late 1989. Every other handgun I've handled points more naturally in my hand and I don't have these issues with my old wrist injury even after long range sessions.
 
Gun sources in Salt Lake

mom of 3 angels said:
I'll be putting these on my list for the next trip to town :) Thanks!
Click to expand...

Wow, you got some great advice on gun possibilities. I noticed you're in rural Utah - you may already know about these stores (all in Salt Lake):
"Get Some Guns", 6651 S. State - 562-1222, very clean with a nice range and good selection of guns to shoot.
"Doug's", 4926 S. Redwood - 966-1802, also has a range with guns available.
"Gallenson's", 166 E. 2nd S. - 328-2016.
"Cabela's", Lehi - 766-2500, they're on the web - if you go in ask for John R. (he's short - very knowledgeable).
"Sportsman's Warehouse", four locations in SL
I carry a Glock 27 - on a same-day shoot with a variety of different weapons, my wife commented she liked it least of all because of the kick.
Good luck Angel's Mom.
 
Wow, I have to say thank you all for the great input. Still haven't gotten to town ("town" with a gun shop is at least 2 hours away), but am taking notes for when I do get there. My husband just got the Smith&Wesson M&P .40 compact and even with the narrow grips on it is too big around for me as are glocks, so I'm also leaning toward single stack on this one. Was looking at .40 for more stopping power, but I love my little colt, so will have to just try a few out and see what I like I guess--I've got a great list going here :)
 
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