TexasCHLforum.com

I don't know if my wife has small hands for her size or not, but they are definitely smaller than mine. When I first introduced her to shooting, it was with a Colt Government .380. (I didn't own a .22 at the time, or I would have started with that instead.) I figured the small grip size would make it work for her. Eventually, she moved up to shooting a single stack full sized 1911. That grip seemed to work for her too, and even though the round was more powerful, the additional weight of the gun and the native character of the .45 round combined to make it not any more traumatic than shooting the .380. But although she shot reasonably well with both guns, she never really enjoyed shooting.

Skip forward 15 years and we have moved to Texas. She takes the BHSC course from Crossfire's husband, Marty, and shoots a number of different pistols in different calibers. She keeps coming back to the Glock 19, with its fat (to me) double stack grip. The next year, she takes her CHL course from Crossfire, and rents one of their G19s for the qualification part. That was the most fun she has ever had shooting. So the next day, we go shopping for a pistol for her. We looked at a lot of options that would be small enough for her hand, and small enough for purse carry, but powerful enough for reliable self-defense. The pistol that best seemed to meet those criteria was the Walther PPS, with its interchangeable backstraps, but she didn't seem to like it. She kept coming back to a Glock 19. Being a 1911 guy, I tried not to roll my eyes and kept my opinions to myself. It was to be her gun, and I just wanted her to feel good about the purchase, and to feel comfortable shooting it. So ultimately, that is what she bought - a Glock 19, with the Mepro night sights. I am convinced that the thing she most likes about it is the Glock's revolver-like simplicity, although she has assured me just now that she really likes the ergonomics too.

Fast forward to today, and her daily carry is the S&W 642CT I bought her for Valentine's Day last year. She hates to shoot it (so do I) because it is not a comfortable experience, but it fits in her Coronado Leather purse better than the Glock does, and consequently she can deploy the little revolver more quickly and reholster it in the purse more easily than the Glock; and most importantly, she can shoot it.

Go figure.

Funny thing about that Glock... They kind of grow on you. I'm still a 1911 guy, but I do enjoy shooting my wife's Glock. It is a well made gun, surprisingly accurate, and it has a bottomless magazine. My wife still enjoys shooting it too. So, although the gun is mostly a safe queen, it is her range gun (when she goes to the range), and on the rare occasion when I am spending the night elsewhere, it is her bedside gun. But unless she can be convinced to carry in a regular holster, she will likely never use it as a carry weapon.