[havik72]

OK, so I took my wife out shooting the glock 19 she adopted from me, and as she has put rounds through it she has indicates that the grip feels too big for her...thus my question to the ladies.
Is a G19sf really that much different from the standard format? Currently her strong hand fingers barely turn the corner on the grip, so she feels like she has to reposition after each shot. I'm glad to get her a new sf model if that really makes enough difference.
We are going to the LGS this weekend to handle a few and see, but I was interested to see if any other women had a similar experience, and what you ended up doing.
A friend has an HK that I shot and it had a very thin grip, so we plan to test one of those in 9mm as well, but I'd prefer to stay in the Glock family if at all possible...thoughts please!!!

P.S. she is 5'-6" and runs about 120. Hand size is on the average size for women I'd say...not tiny, but not too big.

 

[Argyle64]

Has she tried the Gen4? My wife is 5'6" and 120 and loves shooting my Gen4 17.

 

[havik72]

Has she tried the Gen4? My wife is 5'6" and 120 and loves shooting my Gen4 17.

Gen 4 standard, or sf? She has not tried it, but my impression is the gen 3 and gen 4 standard (non-sf) are very close to the same size...is this not the case?

 

[RRoss]

I know you mentioned wanting to stay with the Glock brand, however, my wife who is 4' 11" and has slightly smaller hands than me complained about my G26 gen4 grip being too big, so we put a Springfield XD9 subcompact in her hands and she LOVES it. Dare I say, if I didn't have my 26, I would get the XD9 for myself. It shoots smooth as glass with minimal felt recoil. If you are going to be at a gun show I'd suggest letting her try one on for size.

 

[Argyle64]

The Gen4 without any backstrap will be a hair smaller than the Gen 3.

 

[GAgal]

The Gen4 without any backstrap will be a hair smaller than the Gen 3.

I have found this to be the case as well. My G19 is a gen 3 and my G26 is a gen 4. The slightly smaller grip of the gen 4 without any backstraps allows me to get a better overall grip.

But I also agree with RRoss, another type of gun may suit her better. If you have a range that rents guns and she can try different types, that may be the best way to find what fits her best.

Good luck with the search and let us know what she chooses.

 

[havik72]

Thanks all. As for the XD I was concerned about the higher bore axis creating more muzzle flip. But from what has been said here it sounds like that may be much less an issue than I thought.
GaGal, thanks for your insight. I will take her to the range this weekend and rent a few...thanks,

 

[RRoss]

Thanks all. As for the XD I was concerned about the higher bore axis creating more muzzle flip. But from what has been said here it sounds like that may be much less an issue than I thought.
GaGal, thanks for your insight. I will take her to the range this weekend and rent a few...thanks,

Check back in and let us know what she decides.
As for the height of the bore creating a greater flip....I thought the same until I shot it. They did some serious engineering when designed that gun.

 

[jonm61]

While it will reduce capacity, you might also want to look at the S&W Shield or Beretta Nano. Single stacks should give her more than enough grip to be able to handle it comfortably.

 

[RRoss]

While it will reduce capacity, you might also want to look at the S&W Shield or Beretta Nano. Single stacks should give her more than enough grip to be able to handle it comfortably.

While yes single stack will generally give a better grip, you are sacrificing recoil recovery. Smaller "pocket pistol" designs, while often times are marketed toward women, offer less of a buffer from the recoil because of 2 major factors.
#1- size/weight of the slide- the heft of the steel slide acts as a counterweight and offsets the recoil of a round being fired. While an experienced shooter like you or I would not even notice, a newer shooter would say that it "kicks like a mule" and have a hard time controling it during rapid fire, or a double tap.
#2- The recoil spring. Because of the smaller size, the recoil spring has to be stiffer to counteract the destructive forces of the round going off. Because of this some women may find it hard to grip the slide hard enough to properly cycle it. This can also be an issue when trying to field strip the gun.

A "larger" gun such as a G26 or XD9 that I mentioned earlier offer a balance of concealability, and control while firing because of weight.

These are just personal experiences, take them for nothing more.

 

[havik72]

Can I just say I love this freakin site!!!! Great folks with superb insight... Thanks ALL for the varying view points, it has been very helpfully. I now have a good handful of guns for her to try...I'll report back one what we end up buying!!!!!

 

[G-23]

You know, you never described the grip she uses or posted a picture. It is hard to tell someone how to correct something if you can't get a good picture of what is wrong.

I have said it a hundred times, get the gun that you like, not what someone tells you to like. BUT if her grip is wrong for the gun she chooses it will never fit right in her hands.

I have seen revolver grip, teacup grip and others. Semi autos have to be held high and tight in the web. With both hands positioned correctly on eitherside of the grip almost every girl I know can shoot a GLOCK without having to re-adjust the grip...

 

[havik72]

You know, you never described the grip she uses or posted a picture. It is hard to tell someone how to correct something if you can't get a good picture of what is wrong.

I have said it a hundred times, get the gun that you like, not what someone tells you to like. BUT if her grip is wrong for the gun she chooses it will never fit right in her hands.

I have seen revolver grip, teacup grip and others. Semi autos have to be held high and tight in the web. With both hands positioned correctly on eitherside of the grip almost every girl I know can shoot a GLOCK without having to re-adjust the grip...

With the saddle or web of the hand "area between thumb and index finger" setting square and high on the back strap (see second image) so the slide does not rub the knuckle of the thumb during firing (occurs if the hand rolls around the grip to allow the fingers to extend farther around the front strap as shown in the last image) her finger tips struggle to wrap around the front strap (see first image). The third image is where the web sets on the strap to allow her fingers to get far enough around the front strap to support the gun while shooting single handed only.

With two hands she can position her hand as shown in the second image and stabilize the gun with her off hand, but struggles to control the gun enough for a follow up shot. We have been working through limp wristing and she is getting that down pretty well, but her control over the recoil has been problematic.

 

[GAgal]

Ah. You have a laser grip on there? The extra width may be what is causing her problems.

 

[havik72]

Ah. You have a laser grip on there? The extra width may be what is causing her problems.

Seems negligible to me but that's with my large hands. I'll pull it and see if that helps for her size hands...thanks for the thoughts.

 

[G-23]

Ah. You have a laser grip on there? The extra width may be what is causing her problems.

My first thought too, get rid of the laser. She needs to learn the basic points (fun stuff) of handling a firearm first.

Get her into a two handed position she needn't be trying to learn single handed shooting at first. Come'on, we want her to have FUN at this

Have her wrap here weak hand fingers first slightly over the stronghand fingertips and lay the fleshly portion of the weakhand thumb up against the leftside of the gun. There are pictures I'm sure somewhere on the internet.... of a good stance and gun grip.

Just get here used to not interfereing with the slide or the slide stop lever with the weak thumb as it will naturally rest near but usually below this area on the gun.

 

[havik72]

My first thought too, get rid of the laser. She needs to learn the basic points (fun stuff) of handling a firearm first.

Get her into a two handed position she needn't be trying to learn single handed shooting at first. Come'on, we want her to have FUN at this

Have her wrap here weak hand fingers first slightly over the stronghand fingertips and lay the fleshly portion of the weakhand thumb up against the leftside of the gun. There are pictures I'm sure somewhere on the internet.... of a good stance and gun grip.

Just get here used to not interfereing with the slide or the slide stop lever with the weak thumb as it will naturally rest near but usually below this area on the gun.

Thanks G-23, but I had her hold that way for clarity sake to give a good perspective to everyone of her strong hand side of the grip...she typically does hold the gun as you describe (standard grip) and finds it inadequate. I'll remove the laser grip and see if that helps.

@Gagal
I am interested to hear how similar your strong side grip is to that of my wife, as shown in the pictures. Do your finger tips extend around the edge of the front strap far enough to provide adequate retention of the grip, or do your fingers stop short like hers? If so, does that make your grip difficult or do you manage it in some other way?

 

[G-23]

Thanks G-23, but I had her hold that way for clarity sake to give a good perspective to everyone of her strong hand side of the grip...she typically does hold the gun as you describe (standard grip) and finds it inadequate. I'll remove the laser grip and see if that helps.

@Gagal
I am interested to hear how similar your strong side grip is to that of my wife, as shown in the pictures. Do your finger tips extend around the edge of the front strap far enough to provide adequate retention of the grip, or do your fingers stop short like hers? If so, does that make your grip difficult or do you manage it in some other way?

I'd almost bet with the lazer grip removed and using the grip she has in the first photo (top) that trigger finger is going to fit right where it belongs.

 

[GAgal]

I took a couple of pics so you could compare. The G19 is a gen 3 and G17 is a gen 4 (I accidentally grabbed Birddogyz's G17 instead of mine. )

 

[jimmyalbrecht]

From the picture, it looks like she has her first knuckle of her thumb directly behind the bore when holding with two hands. My hand doesn't even wrap that far around the gun. Place the web of her hand behind the bore like in the first picture even when gripping with two hands. The grip in the first picture looks just like mine. This video will help tremendously. I'm not going to lie this grip felt foreign and weird at first, but listen to what he says, and do like he says. You can't argue against the recoil control of this grip haha.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVhTA-n0ivE[/ame]