[Cory2]

Alright here is the deal, my fiancee has very small hands, not just normal "small hands" but very very small, she actually has a bone deformity that caused them to stop growing when she was around 6 or 7 years old. She can't use larger caliber pistols for 2 reasons

A. she cant get her hand around the grip and reach the trigger on many firearms.

B. larger calibers cause her hands to hurt her. Much more than a normal person.

We have pretty much decided on a .22lr pistol but .380 isnt necesarily out of the question. She currently has a berreta bobcat .22lr pocket pistol but she doesnt like it because the shells eject straight up and hit her in the face so now she is scared of it and closes her eyes and looks away when she shoots .

We have narrowed it down to either a walther p22 or a sig mosquito but I do not know much about these pistols, particularly if they have side ejection or if they eject the shells upwards.

I would appreciate any input on these two pistols and any suggestions for some .380s with low recoil, the only requirements are that they need as small of a grip as possible and need to be around $400 bucks or less.

Also, her hands arent very strong, she cant even pull the trigger all the way on my s&w .380

Thanks

[cddbrowns]

Originally Posted by Cory2

Alright here is the deal, my fiancee has very small hands, not just normal "small hands" but very very small, she actually has a bone deformity that caused them to stop growing when she was around 6 or 7 years old. She can't use larger caliber pistols for 2 reasons

A. she cant get her hand around the grip and reach the trigger on many firearms.

B. larger calibers cause her hands to hurt her. Much more than a normal person.

We have pretty much decided on a .22lr pistol but .380 isnt necesarily out of the question. She currently has a berreta bobcat .22lr pocket pistol but she doesnt like it because the shells eject straight up and hit her in the face so now she is scared of it and closes her eyes and looks away when she shoots .

We have narrowed it down to either a walther p22 or a sig mosquito but I do not know much about these pistols, particularly if they have side ejection or if they eject the shells upwards.

I would appreciate any input on these two pistols and any suggestions for some .380s with low recoil, the only requirements are that they need as small of a grip as possible and need to be around $400 bucks or less.

Also, her hands arent very strong, she cant even pull the trigger all the way on my s&w .380

Thanks

Best .380 IMO is the Sig P238, but for under 400, I would recommend the LCP.

[utf59]

The P22 and Mosquito eject casings out the side. I haven't held them at the same time, but I'm pretty sure the P22 grip is smaller.

A friend of mine has a Walther P380 and a P22. Holding one is almost exactly the same as holding the other.

I got a chance to shoot a Sig P238 once, and it was remarkably soft-shooting.

The recoil on the LCP is more uncomfortable than the other .380s I have shot.

I have read good things about the Kahr .380s, but I've never shot one.

Have you checked out some revolvers? Grip size on a revolver isn't dependent on the size of the ammunition. And you might be able to find a light enough load in .38 or .32. Trigger pull might still be an issue, but it would be worth looking at.

[Cory2]

I have considered a .38 special or some other revolver, I was looking at s&w and they all seem to be very expensive. At some point, probably today, we are going to go to a few gun stores and let her handle a bunch of different pistols and see what she thinks about them

I appreciate the input as well

[JonM]

the mosquito is very ammo sensitive with a very very very stiff trigger. i would skip the mosquito. the trigger on the p22 is a little better but not much.

the browning buckmark and ruger mark 3 not the 22/45 might be the ticket both can be had in lightweight offerings.

the bersa thunder380 and thunder 22 are small reliable handguns

your best bet is to take her to a store or gun show and let her handle different models and trigger setups.

[sweeper22]

I'm going to echo a lot of what JonM just said.

The Walther is a better bet than the Sig Mosquito. There are some really good Mosquitos out there, but a great deal of them seem to be extremely picky about ammo. Many seem to have a mid of their own.

If you want a softer shooting 380, I think Bersa, and Sig P230 & P232 are good palces to start. The Sigs may be a little big and spendy for what you're after. There's also the Sig P238 and Kahr 380, but they'll require extending your budget a little.

The problem you're going to run into is that most of the softer shooting 380s are just that, because of their extra size and weight...which will be an issue. I think I'd probably start by looking into some Bersas and Walthers (both 22lr, 380acp).

It might also be worth checking out how some compact revolvers fit. A Ruger SP101 in 327mag, can also fire 3 or 4 less powerful (and very mild) calibers for example.

[sniper762]

for a "small" carry gun you cant beat the beretta 3032 tomcat .32acp.

they are small, lightweight, acurate and with corbon ammo, quite potent.

[stalkingbear]

I'd suggest you let her handle a Kahr p380 or better yet the Kahr pm9. They tend to have better triggers than most DAO and are small enough to fit her hand.

[BillM]

My wife has tiny hands. Tiny as in she shops for gloves in the kids section.

She has done a LOT of gun shopping to find the ones that "fit". Tried J
frame Smith's--OK but the trigger pull was a bit much. Had a Tomcat
for a while--eventually sold it.

Current handguns:

Kel-Tec P32 with a Crimson Trace laser. She likes it best with the
10 rd magazine. Carry gun and plinker. More accurate than you
would think. She likes it MUCH better than my Ruger LCP.

Beretta Neos 4". C-More red dot on it, she uses it for plinking and
Speed Steel competition.

Colt 1911 MkIV Series 70 9mm. Thin grips, short trigger, low pad
thumb safety, right side mag release, etc. She uses this one
to compete in USPSA Single Stack and Limited 10 divisions.

[CHLChris]

I went shooting with my mom this weekend (her first time in decades) and was very surprised to find that she was actually unable to squeeze the trigger on my S&W 642 .38spl. Also, when I looked from her perspective I realized that my LCP .380acp was really rough in the recoil department for her.

The .380 round is most common in little teeny packages. You would need a heavier gun to absorb some of that recoil. And if she were to go larger to get heavier, you might as well go with 9mm. But that's probably the wrong direction...

The Sig Sauer P238 in .380acp is really good (though about $500-600) for three reasons:

-The single action trigger is really easy to fire for weaker hands
-The steel absorbs a lot of recoil that the LCP does NOT
-The 1911-based platform is pretty narrow.

You should really consider it. Buy right the FIRST time. I wish I could justify buying one, myself.