About Me

I am also the author of 4 books, available on Amazon, and at many major outlets. I have been contributing writer for Combat Handgun Magazine and Women and Guns Magazine.

I was an instructor for many years, Recently retired.

Thank you for following along with me as this journey continues.

Safe Shooting!



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Thoughts, comments and insights for women who shoot and the men who love us!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Why shouldn’t I have a tiny gun?


I get questions along that line a lot.  I want to carry but I don’t want to change my style so I need something really small.  Well, ok, but have you shot one of the really small guns yet?  No, want to try one of mine?  Then, the response is usually where was the Glock 19 you showed me?

Tiny guns are convenient, maybe even a little cute.  What they are not is easy for beginners.  If you are a new shooter and you think you want something small, before you open your wallet, try one.  The lighter the gun, the more difficult it usually is to control.  And there are a plethora of small polymer frame guns on the market.  Most of my shoes weigh more than these guns.  They are hard on the wrist, touch to aim, difficult to control…at least that is my experience.  I never recommend less than a 9mm to a new shooter, and nothing smaller than a Ruger LC9, which I like because it has enough weight to it that it shoots like a larger gun.  It has the slim profile of a single stack magazine.  It is my go to for when I need a lower profile than my go to Glock 19.

If it hurts your hand, you won’t want to practice with it, and if you don’t practice with it, you won’t be proficient…If you are not proficient, you have a door stop. 

They have a use, but if you are starting out, be kind to yourself and go with something midsized or larger.  Shoot something you will be happy with, then as your skills and confidence progress, consider going tiny as a back up if you really want to.

Safe Shooting!

4 comments:

  1. There's another good reason to avoid tiny guns: Reliability. Maybe it's because the moving parts are smaller and clearances become more important, but the tiny guns I've handled are rarely reliable like a Glock or M&P is. I fired a friend's Walther PPK a few months ago, and we had four failures to feed or fire out of a single box of ammo. "Saves your life...92% of the time" isn't very reassuring.

    Plus, I've noticed a lot of women seem to pick tiny guns out of fears about recoil. This is sheer silliness, as you mentioned - my friend's Beretta 92 9mm had way more manageable recoil for me than the PPK, and I have small hands and not a super-lot of upper body strength. Heck, I found the recoil of a 1911 more manageable than the PPK.

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    1. Thank you for the comments, you are exactly right. I was shocked how difficult my LCP was to handle, and I did have misfeed issues. I've shot one 1911, a 45 and was amazed how easy it was. I put 3 through one hole (I can never do that with my guns, I think I was concentrating so hard on shooting someone else's for the first time...LOL).

      Thanks again! Be safe

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  2. There are many ranges that let you "rent" all the firearms of a single calibre. This is a great way to try them out and compare the same round across the spectrum of that calibre. We will leave the argument of the best calibre to others, as there is always disagreement on that.

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    1. excellent advice. Same reason I let students try some of mine. The come in convinced a revolver is the only way to go, shoot it twice and switch to a semi-auto (as an example). Trying them is also the best way to find what fits your hand the best.

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