by Gila Hayes
I Like It, but Does it Fit?
The buyer next needs to assure the proper fit of the gun in her hand. The index finger’s last joint must contact the center of the trigger when the grip tang is centered in the hand’s web. It’s nearly impossible to shoot a double action gun accurately with only the tip of the finger touching the trigger.
Don’t be fooled by gun salesclerks who say, “Slide your hand down on the grips,” or “just move your hand around until your finger reaches the trigger.” The web of your hand must be on the backstrap of the gun so the trigger finger can make a natural, straight-back pull for accurate shooting. A bad fit that lets the grip tang ride against the thumb’s base knuckle will transfer the recoil into the bony joint with every shot fired, resulting in poor recoil control, shooting discomfort, and eventual joint injury.
A .380 North American Arms Guardian worn in an ankle holster requires more frequent cleaning than a revolver carried in the same place, due to the demands of its mechanical function. Still, most women can conceal the thin little semi-auto, where a small revolver would bulge on the ankle.
After assuring that the gun’s backstrap-to-trigger dimension fits your hand, you may find that certain design features make some guns easier, or harder, to shoot than others. The relationship of the bore (barrel) to the shooter’s wrist can make a gun easy to fire accurately—or it can add hours of training to overcome the gun’s upward recoil.
Handgun designs that closely align the barrel with the wrist and arm transfer the recoil directly into the shooter’s palm and web of the hand, fleshy areas that can absorb the impact painlessly. Because the low barrel aligns with skeletal support of the wrist and arm, the muzzle rises less during shooting. With increased recoil control, the shooter can quickly get the sights back on target for rapid consecutive shots, an important consideration in self defense against multiple assailants or a single assailant who is not stopped by the first few shots.
Sometimes women struggle to lock open the semi-auto’s action. One tried-and-proven technique is punching the gun forward with a dynamic twist of the hips while the non-dominant hand pulls the slide to the rear.
A related technique to maximize strength for semi-auto slide manipulation is locking the dominant side arm tight against the rib cage, then racking the slide.
If attempting to lock the action open, it is critical that the thumb be in position beneath the slide stop lever ready to push up when you have the slide pulled all the way to the rear. This is a simultaneous motion that new shooters sometimes fail to understand. Many shooters twist their hand slightly around the gun to get the thumb into position to push up on the lever.
In addition, the low bore axis takes advantage of the human ability to raise the arm and accurately point the index finger at the center of an object. When a gun fits the hand perfectly, the sights are nearly lined up when you point the gun at the target, due to the good ergonomic relationship of the gun to the hand and arm.
Examples of low-bore-axis semi-automatics include pistols from Kahr Arms, Glock and the Heckler & Koch P7M8. The Smith and Wesson Centennial revolver has an unusually high backstrap that results in a low bore axis for an extremely pointable .357 Magnum or .38 Special caliber revolver.
Proper handgun fit: with the gun’s backstrap centered on the web of the hand, the crease of the trigger finger’s first joint contacts the trigger face.
This large Glock Model 29 is a wonderful handgun, but not for someone with this size of hand.
If I Can Only Have One, Which Should I Choose?
Most first-time gun owners buy their weapon thinking it will be the only handgun they’ll ever own. Later, many shooters find they need to refine their selection after experience introduces them to better fitting or functioning guns; others graduate from a gun bought for in-house defense to a smaller gun that they can carry with them everywhere. If, at the outset, the buyer is looking for an all-around gun, a moderately compact handgun is the best choice.
A number of .38 Special revolvers fit that description. Good choices include the premium Smith & Wesson Centennial line, which features a completely shrouded hammer, or the bobbed hammer Taurus Model 85CH or their CIA line of affordable revolvers. Both are good revolver choices for concealment beneath clothing that could catch on the hammer when drawing the gun.
Small five-shot revolvers fit small hands well and are comfortable to conceal. Holstered inside the waistband, the revolver’s round cylinder can be uncomfortable without a well-made holster. Six-shot revolvers, allowing room for that extra cartridge, have larger cylinders that may poke the wearer’s tummy or hip.
Revolvers with exposed hammers can be entrusted to a gunsmith to bob the hammer, with results similar to the Taurus M85CH. I would consider the Ruger SP101 for such an operation. Because the .357 Magnum is chambered in the same SP101 frame as the .38 Special, I would buy this heavy-hitting .357, then practice primarily with lighter .38 Special ammunition. Since the .357 Magnum case is only slightly longer than the .38 Special’s, a .357 Magnum revolver can fire .38 Special ammunition for reduced recoil or for economical practice. The same is applicable to the lighter, more slightly built Smith & Wesson revolvers, but the lighter the gun, the more recoil is felt when shooting. This becomes truly unpleasant with the lightest-weight alloy-framed revolvers.
New or Used? Stock or Custom?
When money is really, really tight, budget revolvers are generally a safer choice than cheap semi-automatics because of the simpler design of the revolver. In 2008, off-brand .38 Special revolvers were marketed for around $350—considerably less than the $700 price on the smoother and more widely recognized Smith & Wesson brand, $570 for a Ruger, or $400 for a good Taurus Model 605. Used revolvers should be even more affordable. Novice buyers should not overlook the savings of buying a used revolver. Have a gunsmith look it over, checking for damage, like a bulged barrel or excessive play in a locked cylinder, and cracks and wear on the frame and topstrap. There’s simply less to go wrong on a used revolver than on a secondhand semi-automatic, which is trickier to buy used.
Revolver selection requires the buyer to think about concealability, frame size, fit in the hand, and possibly about after-market replacement grips, too. A revolver’s backstrap-to-trigger dimension can be adjusted by replacing the factory-installed grips with after-market grips or different grips may be chosen to increase or decrease the circumference of the grips and to fill in the void between the back of the trigger guard and the frontstrap. Large rubbery grips provide more material to absorb the recoil and make it easier to maintain a strong hold under recoil.
Chris Cunningham custom crafted this woman’s holster to go with the custom gunsmithing her husband Grant did on the S&W Model 60 5-shot revolver it carries.
Combination of .357 Magnum ammunition in snubby revolver creates more recoil than will prove practical for many. Although the author is exaggerating for the camera a little bit, this combination is truly unpleasant to shoot, and most will do better choosing a gun and caliber that produce less recoil.
Control of the muzzle rise during recoil improves here due to strong stance and grip, but more than a dozen shots is sure to cause sore, aching hands!
Semi-automatic features give the buyer nearly endless choices in magazine capacity, trigger action, frame size and location of safeties, slide locks and magazine releases, but fewer choices of how the gun fits in your hand, because replacement grips are less common than for revolvers. Many semi-automatic grips are integral to the frame and cannot be changed, so the original fit of the weapon is crucial. The polymer-framed Glock pistol is an example of a gun that needs to fit right the first time, since the grip is composed of the same molded polymer as the frame. Of course, for several hundred dollars that grip can be reduced by one of several gunsmiths specializing in this aftermarket alteration.
You may find certain semi-automatic pistols easier to shoot effectively than others. Several compact semi-autos that are easy to carry, conceal and shoot include
the 9mm Kahr Arms line of pistols, Glock subcompacts, Smith & Wesson’s 3913 or 3953, a 9mm with 8-round capacity magazines; Heckler & Koch’s P7M8, a unique 9mm with 8+1 round capacity; and single action semi-autos of the 1911 variety, now made by several manufacturers in smaller calibers than the original .45 ACP.
Women often appreciate the short trigger reach of the high-capacity Glock handguns, and those with really small hands are very enthusiastic about the small pistols in Kahr Arms’ product line. Caliber choices include 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP calibers.
Glocks, like many guns introduced in the 1980s and 1990s, use a “double-stack” high-capacity magazine. Instead of positioning the bullets one atop another, as in a single-stack, low capacity magazine, the bullets are staggered zigzag. A double-stack magazine results in a slightly wider grip that may compromise the gun’s fit in your hand and make it a little harder to conceal under clothing. The Kahr pistol, using a single stack magazine, is much smaller in grip size and ammunition capacity. Both are striker-fired and have no thumb safety.
Compared to high-capacity semi-autos, a 1911 Officer’s model, the HK P7M8 and S&W 3913 or Chief’s Special 9mm are extremely flat and easy to carry. For concealed carry by a trained individual, the advantage of high capacity handguns over their smaller, more easily concealed six- or 8-round counterparts is all but obliterated. I don’t believe high capacity is as important as concealability in handgun choice for the armed citizen, for whom accuracy with several initial rounds is far more important than 12 to 17 cartridges in one magazine. Remember, how well the gun fits your hand is translated directly into shooting accuracy.
Right between the 9mm and the big-bore .45 ACP caliber is the .40 S&W caliber. Developed by Smith & Wesson, this caliber of ammunition is correctly referred to as .40 S&W, to give credit to the developer, although all the major manufacturers sell handguns in this caliber. Ballistically, the .40 has shown stopping power that is better than the 9mm, and it is estimated that +P .40 ammunition should approach the optimum results of the .357 Magnum based on documented shootings by police. Examples of .40 caliber handguns include the Glock Models 22 and 23, Smith & Wesson Models 4013 and 411, Heckler & Koch USP, Kahr K40, Ruger P91, several models of SIG-Sauer pistols and others including the EAA Witness.
This Glock Model 26 has had its grip reduced by Dane Burns and now fits small hands better.
Pistol smith Dane Burns2contours the grip reduction work he has performed on a Glock Model 27.
When our students shoot guns provided for live-fire demonstration, they are excited to discover they can manage the .45 ACPs recoil. With the development of high performance .45 hollowpoint ammunition, the venerable .45 has become an even better self-defense handgun. Reacting to the call for lighter, faster bullets, several major manufacturers load a 185-grain .45 caliber bullet that leaves the barrel at around 1150 feet per second.
Good choices for concealable .45s include SIG Arms’ P245, Kimber’s Ultra Carry, Colt’s Lightweight Commander, Officer’s Model or the even smaller Defender, subcompacts from Para Ordnance and Springfield’s Ultra Compact .45. A full-sized .45 with a 4 1/2 inch or 5 inch barrel will be a better choice for competitive shooting, training or to serve solely as a home-defense gun since the compact .45s recoil viciously.
An individual’s ability to shoot well with a particular handgun and caliber is influenced by upper body strength plus hand size and strength as well as the caliber and dimensions of the gun. Buying a gun recommended by a large number of men may yield a man-sized gun, but one you can’t shoot effectively. A fit of machismo when buying a gun is dangerous!
While the gun’s fit in your hand can be determined in the sterile atmosphere of a gun store, your reaction to the gun’s recoil can be judged only during shooting. Fortunately, good training can help shooters of any physique learn to handle even heavy-hitting calibers accurately. Even then, there is a cutoff after which the time between shots is too long for reliable self defense, because too much time elapses while the shooter overcomes recoil and reacquires the sight picture to make another accurate shot.
Most indoor gun ranges rent a variety of the popular model handguns. This is an excellent way for new shooters to gauge their own reaction to the recoil of .38 Special, 9mm, .357 SIG, .40 S&W and .45 ACP guns and ammunition before investing hundred dollars in a handgun. After choosing a suitable self-defense caliber, the most important decision is the shooter’s willingness to practice with the handgun. A gun that causes discomfort during shooting is a gun that will not be shot very much. Weapon unfamiliarity is a recipe for disaster in self-defense situations.
Reliability Comes
First Many different factors affect handgun reliability. Nonetheless, before one adopts a handgun for self defense, the reliability of that weapon must be determined. Beginning shooters can broadly assume that revolvers are more reliable than semi-automatics, in the sense that there’s less to malfunction in the revolver’s simpler operating cycle.
A store clerk explains different pistol choices.
Springfeld Armory’s EMP single-action pistol fits this hand well.
Also, revolvers will genreally fire any kind of ammunition, hollowpoint or otherwise, without fear of failure.
Those who favor the semi-automatic owe it to themselves to make an even more intensive study of the handgun they are considering buying. Look for reviews in gun magazines, especially seeking out information on reliability, gun malfunctions, and brands of ammunition tested in the weapon. A semi-automatic’s reliability, while first a question of design and production standards, is also greatly affected by cleaning and maintenance, and by the particular model’s ability to feed specific kinds of ammunition. A self-defense handgun must cycle high performance hollowpoint ammunition 100% of the time.
After buying a self-defense handgun, the buyer must test that weapon with the ammunition she plans to carry. Semi-automatic owners need to fire about 200 rounds of their defense ammunition through their handgun to guarantee flawless feeding of the ammunition into the chamber and reliable ejection of the empty case after the round is fired. If the testing produces multiple malfunctions, repeat the process with different ammunition, until you have found hollowpoint ammunition that always functions in your self-defense gun.
While this sounds expensive, in reality a well-designed semi-automatic loaded with high quality ammunition will nearly always function properly. The testing will in all likelihood go smoothly, and if it does not, problems should show up within the first 50 rounds, so the ammunition can be switched before 200 rounds of expensive ammunition has been fired. If nothing cycles reliably in the gun, you may need to visit the gunsmith for a bit of fine-tuning or trade it in on one that works flawlessly.
Revolver shooters should also test and occasionally practice with their defense ammunition to remain accustomed to its recoil and to be sure the firing pin strikes the primers with sufficient force to discharge the round.
Many serviceable handguns are available for purchase. The buyer’s responsibility is to select one with which she can safely train and practice. The gun needs to be concealable (if the owner intends to carry it outside the home) and must have adequate safety features to assure it will not be unintentionally discharged. Very low-budget semi-autos often lack firing pin blocks to prevent the hammer from striking the firing pin unless the trigger is pulled. These guns may discharge if an impact bounces the firing pin forward to strike the ammunition. Read up on the gun you intend to buy, and ask the gun store clerk about the internal safeties in the model you are considering. If a cheap gun that is not drop-safe is all you can afford, you are better off buying a less expensive used revolver.
This double feed malfunction occurred after the gun failed to extract the empty case and tried to feed a loaded cartridge into the chamber.
These are serious questions. One of the easiest ways to find the answers is to postpone a handgun purchase until after you have completed at least a basic handgun training course. Your basic training sho
uld put you in touch with qualified professionals who can help you solve gun selection puzzles. Study first, buy later.
Getting to Know Your Gun
Cleaning your handgun is an excellent way to better understand how it functions. A gun is an emergency rescue tool for which you bear an intense responsibility. If it malfunctions, you must understand how to correct the problem immediately and get back in the gun fight. A thorough understanding of its operation is crucial.
Initially, you’ll need to ask the clerk selling you the gun to take a few uninterrupted minutes to show you how to take the gun apart and clean it. You have just handed over hundreds of dollars for this purchase. Don’t be shy about asking for this small service before you walk out the door with your new gun. Another reference resource is the owner’s manual, which usually includes a section on cleaning the weapon.
Gun cleaning supplies you’ll need include chamber and or bore brushes, a cleaning rod, patch tip, cleaning patches, cotton swabs, a high quality gun screwdriver, nylon and metal brushes, gun cleaner, and soft, absorbent cloths.