Easiest shooting 9mm for small hands? Dedicated home defense application.

[MattyD380]

About the same size as my 5' 3" wife. I dunno. It was like genetics was drunk that day and mixed things up with the sister I never had.

Anyway...

Trigger reach is always a "thing" for me. And while there's a bevy of tiny guns out there with short trigger-reach dimensions... if you're looking for low recoil AND short trigger reach...

Try a Beretta 92. I find it has an astonishingly short trigger reach in SA. I can engage it with the first joint of my stubby little trigger finger. Now, of course you have to contend with DA, in addition to SA. But... if you get a later 92FS with the radiused grip tang, that gets you a bit closer. Plus, there are also Vertec variants (with straight backstraps) and short-reach triggers so you can really dial in the trigger reach. And, of course, the big-old 92 shoots like a cream puff. Any time I take a new shooter to the range, I take the 92. No one dislikes it. Plus, it's an iconic pistol that people just want to shoot. Though it is huge. If that's a concern.

The PX4 is worth looking into, as well. To me, it feels almost the same as the 92, in terms of reach--though maybe not quite as short in SA. And it has the smooth, buttery feel of the rotating action. Even though it's lighter, the rotating action makes it shoot just as soft as the 92... maybe softer.

Another one is the Sig P239. It's a single stack, and offers an even shorter reach than the Berettas--though at the cost of some felt recoil. But, it's still a fairly hefty, all-metal pistol so it'll still shoot quite a bit softer than the micro guns of today. There's also aftermarket grips that can help reduce the recoil. And, even though it's a DA/SA, you can get so much finger around the trigger it's very shootable. Plus it makes a nice carry gun.

Then there's the Smith & Wesson 5906--especially when you opt for the straight grip. Heavy, all-steel construction makes the recoil non-existent. I don't think the SA reach is quite as short as what you get on the Berettas (but it's still pretty short overall), though the DA feels about the same. I can manage the DA just fine. In fact, I personally really enjoy the DA on the Smith & Wesson DA/SA guns.

And, don't forget about the venerable Browning Hi Power. The real one--not the new one FN is making. Fits my baby hands like a glove and it has an "ergonomic x-factor" that just feels good. It's a soft shooter, though maybe not quite as soft as a Beretta 92 or 5906. And, FWIW, the Hi Power is the only gun my wife wants to shoot. She scoffs at other pistols, now that she's tried a Hi Power.

And while I haven't actually shot one, the CZ P-07 I held had a very short trigger reach and it felt incredible in the hand. I can't speak for recoil, though it is lighter than the above.

[lwt16]

I took my son’s girlfriend shooting yesterday and she is a petite 21 year old beginner in firearms.

She tried Glocks, Caniks, etc and she found the P365 X and my P365 Macro Tacops to be her favorites by a wide margin. Blazer 115g gave her no issues and she ran both guns well with good hits. She preferred these 9mms to a Glock 42 in .380 but she did like my 365 in .380.

If she had to pick one it would probably be the 365X as it’s smaller to conceal. When I showed her it was a grip module swap and a 10 round mag addition to convert it to a 365, she was really enamored with it.

[Duelist]

I'm not a fan of the Shield (the ergos don't work for me), and haven't tried the Plus. I like a stiff, relatively heavy trigger for this application. These little guns shouldn't be too easy to fire under stress. Fortunately my daughter doesn't care about recoil. She just lets it happen. If she were recoil shy, I'd get her a Glock 42.

My wife has small hands, and doesn’t care for recoil or hard-to-pull triggers.

G42 it is, x2 now since I discovered it hits a sweet spot in shootability and carryability.

[G19Fan]

Thanks, I'm going to grab a couple cases of the PMC to try out. My daughter used to like shooting the cheap Russian steel cased 9mm in the M&P 2.0 because it was a little less snappy. Maybe PMC will fill that niche.

She was often a little more accurate with the 9mm Shield. I think it had a lot to do with the reduced trigger reach. But the shield does recoil significantly more, so it's less fun to practice with as the round count goes up.

The 147 grain P9HST2 has been my carry load for years because it shoots like practice ammo and has worked great in my guns. Although, I do swap out for 124+P Gold Dots in the woods sometimes because I think they penetrate a little more and are bonded. Can't go wrong with either of those if your gun likes them.

If recoil sensitive wouldn't do +p

That said practice is important but whatever she naturally indexes well and points well is a big plus

[Cool Breeze]

The shield plus is worth a look as it's the heaviest in it's weight class for slim 9mms

A hogue grip has really tamed the recoil in my g43. So that might be an option for whatever you decide as an added measure.

[RJ]

Is a 9mm 1911 out of the question? I mean, if a soft-shooting gun is desired, I can’t imagine much softer than an all-steel pistol. Add a short trigger / thin grips….? But thinking about it the manual of arms for a SA might not be desirable. Otherwise I’d go like others have suggested and suggest a P365, but perhaps a P365XL for a little more slide mass / lower slide velocity. Or a Macro. Or maybe add a Wilson Combat P365 grip module and one of the 1.5 oz weight kits. Mine was very tame.

How big is your daughter’s dominant hand, from the base of the palm to tip of index finger?

[PD Sgt.]

My first thoughts were a Glock 43x or 48, with the 365 running close behind. One nice thing is they can all be had optics ready and have a wide variety of support in place.

With the Shield Arms magazines, the 43x/48 turns into 15 plus 1, so G19 capacity in the smaller package.

[frozentundra]

My daughter can already shoot pretty well. Like wearing out an index card at 15 yards with an original S&W Shield during slow fire. She's been shooting service-style 9mm pistols since about 12. And she can run most semi-autos pretty well with regard to administrative function. It's not like she can't shoot guns that recoil.

However, I'm looking for something to optimize for comfort, enjoyment, and ergonomics during higher volume practice.

[frozentundra]

How big is your daughter’s dominant hand, from the base of the palm to tip of index finger?

I guess just under 6" depending on exactly how one measures.

[Redhat]

My daughter can already shoot pretty well. Like wearing out an index card at 15 yards with an original S&W Shield during slow fire. She's been shooting service-style 9mm pistols since about 12. And she can run most semi-autos pretty well with regard to administrative function. It's not like she can't shoot guns that recoil.

However, I'm looking for something to optimize for comfort, enjoyment, and ergonomics during higher volume practice.

Since she is experienced, could you let her choose?