TexasCHLforum.com

I know I have said it before but my girlfriend is 4 foot 10inches and has extremely tiny hands. For her the easiest gun to hold is a Kahr. Most are very light and the recoil is close to my Glock 20 10mm. I shot a P9 about a year ago and did not like it. If you can have your daughter in law and yourself hold a Kahr K9 and MK9 (all steel version). The K9 weighs about the same as my girlfriends 908 S&W 24oz but has and even smaller grip for people with small hands. Those are guns chambered in 9mm but the downside is they are pretty pricey, if you still just want a .380acp there is a list a mile long for small guns. Another good .380acp that is a little heavier is the Walther pk380 and pps. I would try to stay over 20oz to keep the recoil down. Also, take a hard look at a 1911. Many women love them. They are heavy, thin grip and can be chambered in 9mm if you like.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my Bersa and it was a great little gun with a lifetime warranty but the gun store that I bought it from stopped selling them because they had so many returns. I also went to another gun range and the CHL instructor told me to get rid of it because they had more failure to fires when qualifying for a CHL then any other semi-auto. This and the fact that the slide is worn excessively, it jams every 50-100 rounds are reasons why I removed it from carrying. I would have no problem as a backup or a gun to just range shoot or leave in my car as a cheap piece that wouldn't make me depressed if it got stolen.

Go out and handle several firearms. 9mm or better you will need to look for a single stack or 1911 style semi-auto. There are a few companies who have the removable back straps that are double stack magazines. The one that my girlfriend liked the best but was still not as good as a single stack was the S&W M&P. It was the best double stack in her hand but like I said that was her and she is smaller then 95% of the female population.

Also this might sound obvious but make sure you can rack the slide and clear the chamber while holding the gun, the Kahrs are extremely hard to pull back when new. My girlfriend could not pull it back. When ever I go to the range this is a common problem I have seen with smaller ladies with limited arm strength. Many point the gun up when trying to clear the slide because it is so hard for them. I had to teach my girlfriend to not raise the gun and keep it down range.

I owned a Bersa .380 cc up until November and sold to my girlfriend’s father and replaced it with a S&W .38 bodyguard. I know many swear by the Bersa's but in all honesty it is not a high quality gun, nor was it 100% reliable. It is a great value for the money but I got rid of the gun because of heavy wear problems after about a 1000 rounds, had to send it in for repairs before 100 rounds and it was picky on what ammo you used. That being said the gun was very accurate and concealed very well with just a light t-shirt.

I wanted something more reliable and could still be concealed in my front pocket. I went with the body guard .38 as my backup carry. Also, the Bersa was always my backup carry because of jamming problems that would happen from time to time. I still carry my Glocks and other revolvers as my main carry. My girlfriend also has a S&W 908 that I sometimes carry but it also jams from time to time. I would look at the Glock 26 for a small carry piece. I know many hate Glocks but in my experience they just go bang. That’s what matters most to me!

There are also many options for 9mm in a small sub compact that are very concealable. I see no real reason to carry a .380 acp any more when the 9mm is more powerful and cheaper to shoot. Also, my girlfriend had a problem shooting the .380cc because of recoil but the Smith and Wesson 908 she could control with ease. As always I recommend heavy single stack 9mm for ladies with small hands.