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fragtagninja · May 24, 2013, 07:46 PM

Okay so I am probably abusing the privilege by asking do many questions on this forum, but to be fair you guys have not steered me in the wrong direction yet, and I find the best way to learn something is to ask someone who knows more about it than you. So that said.

My wife and I went out shooting today. It was her first time and I think she did really well. She kept all rounds fired inside the target and even got within and inch of the center. I got her out as far as 10 yrds and she can definitively hit a torso sized target at that distance. That said we had a couple of issue I did not expect and I am unsure what would be the best route for her now.

My gun is a Sig Sauer P229 in .40 S&W. I really love the thing, and it has functioned flawlessly thus far with about 400 rounds down range. However I bought it partially because of the firearms I was looking at it was just about the only one she could get her hand around. That said she cannot pull the trigger when in DA mode. She can barely reach it and she does not have the finger strength to pull the 10lb DA trigger. Once the gun is cocked however she is able to reach and pull the SA trigger with ease.

Which brings me to another issue. Cocking the gun, or putting it in battery. She can barely pull the slide back all the way to load the chamber. She is only able to do this with rounds in the mag. Once the gun goes into slide lock she does not have the strength to pull enough pressure off of the lock to release it. So as far as loading the gun if someone were to break in the house while I'm gone we are good. When it comes to reloading we have a problem. She also complained about the recoil. She says she feels like she is having a hard time keeping a hold of the gun after a few shots. Now this thing is pretty jumpy, but I want her to be comfortable shooting if she needs to. That said there is no way she is able to work this gun properly. She has a maximum of 12 rounds she can fire and after that nothing. Now I consider 12 to be a lot, but the point is you never know. So....... How do I correct this? Obviously another pistol is warranted. One that she can operate well. The best way to reduce recoil would obviously be to go with a Beretta 92FS. It's big, heavy and shoots a pretty small round, but the dang things is just to for her to get her hand around. Forget pulling the trigger. I would assume that you all will have guessed my wife has small hands by this point. Small hands that when gripping any full size pistol may have trouble reaching the trigger. Honestly something in the way of a subcompact would likely fit her hand the best, but the lack of weight is not going to help with recoil which she wants less of.

So where I have arrived is this. She either needs a gun with a very short trigger pull, or with a very small grip. Perhaps both would be best. Anyway she also needs a slide that is much easier to rack than my .40 cal, or she needs a revolver. Not sure where to start looking, but I need to do something because there is just no way this is gonna work. Glock is out their grips are to huge for her hands. Maybe a single stack 9mm like the shield or LC9? How much recoil would this have compared to my sig? Maybe a .380? I'm just not sure. Anyone know of DA or DA/SA revolvers with a DA trigger pull around 6lbs? I don't know what to do because I don't want her to be discouraged.

Any advice you guys can give for a possible starting point would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to help in this matter in advance. You are all always very helpful.

PS sorry about this being so long.

May 24, 2013, 07:46 PM	#1
fragtagninja Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2013 Posts: 194	A gun for the wife Okay so I am probably abusing the privilege by asking do many questions on this forum, but to be fair you guys have not steered me in the wrong direction yet, and I find the best way to learn something is to ask someone who knows more about it than you. So that said. My wife and I went out shooting today. It was her first time and I think she did really well. She kept all rounds fired inside the target and even got within and inch of the center. I got her out as far as 10 yrds and she can definitively hit a torso sized target at that distance. That said we had a couple of issue I did not expect and I am unsure what would be the best route for her now. My gun is a Sig Sauer P229 in .40 S&W. I really love the thing, and it has functioned flawlessly thus far with about 400 rounds down range. However I bought it partially because of the firearms I was looking at it was just about the only one she could get her hand around. That said she cannot pull the trigger when in DA mode. She can barely reach it and she does not have the finger strength to pull the 10lb DA trigger. Once the gun is cocked however she is able to reach and pull the SA trigger with ease. Which brings me to another issue. Cocking the gun, or putting it in battery. She can barely pull the slide back all the way to load the chamber. She is only able to do this with rounds in the mag. Once the gun goes into slide lock she does not have the strength to pull enough pressure off of the lock to release it. So as far as loading the gun if someone were to break in the house while I'm gone we are good. When it comes to reloading we have a problem. She also complained about the recoil. She says she feels like she is having a hard time keeping a hold of the gun after a few shots. Now this thing is pretty jumpy, but I want her to be comfortable shooting if she needs to. That said there is no way she is able to work this gun properly. She has a maximum of 12 rounds she can fire and after that nothing. Now I consider 12 to be a lot, but the point is you never know. So....... How do I correct this? Obviously another pistol is warranted. One that she can operate well. The best way to reduce recoil would obviously be to go with a Beretta 92FS. It's big, heavy and shoots a pretty small round, but the dang things is just to for her to get her hand around. Forget pulling the trigger. I would assume that you all will have guessed my wife has small hands by this point. Small hands that when gripping any full size pistol may have trouble reaching the trigger. Honestly something in the way of a subcompact would likely fit her hand the best, but the lack of weight is not going to help with recoil which she wants less of. So where I have arrived is this. She either needs a gun with a very short trigger pull, or with a very small grip. Perhaps both would be best. Anyway she also needs a slide that is much easier to rack than my .40 cal, or she needs a revolver. Not sure where to start looking, but I need to do something because there is just no way this is gonna work. Glock is out their grips are to huge for her hands. Maybe a single stack 9mm like the shield or LC9? How much recoil would this have compared to my sig? Maybe a .380? I'm just not sure. Anyone know of DA or DA/SA revolvers with a DA trigger pull around 6lbs? I don't know what to do because I don't want her to be discouraged. Any advice you guys can give for a possible starting point would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to help in this matter in advance. You are all always very helpful. PS sorry about this being so long.