Does Hand Size Matter When Choosing a Gun?

A gentleman named Steven recently heard someone at a gun show say that hand size matters when choosing a handgun.  He wonders if this is true, so I thought I’d do a little blog here on this very important topic.

Hand size definitely plays a huge role in choosing a handgun.  I’ve just completed an entire series on YouTube entitled Choosing a Handgun: 7 Considerations.  The 3rd episode is called Hand Fit, in which I discuss the measurements that matter in terms of choosing a properly fitted handgun.

The distance that is the most important is from the webbing of your hand (Image 1, point A) and the middle of the first pad of the trigger finger (Image 1, point B). We refer to this as the distance between back strap (Image 2, point A) and trigger face (Image 2, point B).

The distance shown in this image corresponds to the points in the next image transposed onto the handgun.

If the distance between these points is too small, then the tendency will be for the shooter to place too much trigger finger into the trigger guard, thus pulling the gun side to side while shooting.  Shots will tend to fall toward the strong side (rightward for a right-handed shooter).  This is the common tendency for all shooters on  tiny pocket pistols. Even shooters with small hands.

Bear in mind, some shooters may still make the choice to choose a gun that is way too small for their hand simply to make concealment easier.  When making this choice, one needs to be aware that  special attention should be devoted to the trigger finger in order to ensure accurate hits on target.

Conversely, if the gun is too large, the tendency will be to rotate the dominant wrist around the gun in order to reach the trigger properly.  This will cause the gun to be out of alignment with the strong arm (offset grip pictured right), which forces the wrist to bend under recoil, sending the hits off to the support side (leftward for a right-handed shooter).  The proper alignment will look like the ‘in-line grip’ pictured right.

I hope this has helped Steven, and many others with the same question.  I’ll put links below for videos I’ve done on this topic and ones closely related:

Choosing a Handgun: 7 Considerations (Episode 3 — Hand Fit)

Colleene Answers Questions: Ep. 42 What if the gun is too small for your hand?

Colleene Answers Questions: Ep. 45 What kind of gun do I recommend for women?

7 Considerations for a Woman Choosing a Handgun

Preparing the New Shooter: Gripping the Gun with Authority

Colleene Answers Questions: Ep. 12 Why do I have to keep adjusting my grip?

Teaching Kids About Guns (Ep. 2)

So, we are fully into this new realm of teaching a toddler about gun safety.  Since we both carry daily and guns are a big part of our lives, it is super important to take the time to teach safe gun handling to our daughter from the very beginning.  On Saturday while I taught a Concealed Carry Course, her Daddy gave her her very first toy revolver with a holster.  She was so excited to ‘shoot pow pow like Mommy’.  So, here we go with serious gun safety training, because whatever we allow her to do with this ‘toy gun’ will be exactly what she does if she ever happens upon a real one.

Though we are very careful to keep all guns out of our daughter’s reach, this education is still highly important because who knows what she could encounter out in the world later in life?

On Saturday, her Daddy taught her to draw from her holster and re-holster.  I spent some time teaching her not to shoot me in the face, which was what she naturally wanted to do.  We set up some library books around the room as targets and had her shoot them, then re-holster.  With a little work, she was doing this well.  She would get excited and want to turn toward us with her gun pointed at us, but with a little coaxing, she learned to point the muzzle downward toward the floor in what we call a SUL position, rather than pointing her muzzle at us.

We have not “arrived” yet…but we are seeing great results to be at the foundation of our 2 year old’s gun safety training.  Watch this video we took Saturday evening.  Notice how she uses self-control to point the muzzle downward when she catches herself turning toward us with her gun out of the holster.

Teaching Kids About Guns (Ep. 2) — Learning Muzzle Control and Holster Technique

Teaching Kids About Guns

This is an area I’m entering again as we have a 2 year old daughter.  When my son began his gun education, he was 8, so we approached things a little differently than I am with a tiny one. So, I’m exploring creative ways to teach her important information so that it’s comprehended and sealed in her little mind.  She’s really soaking it all in right now, so it’s the time to lay on the teaching.

Recently, I wrote a song to teach her the basic gun safety rules.  Since I use songs to teach her such a wide variety of information, I thought, why not about guns?  I’ve published the song on my YouTube channel, and I’ve provided the link here if you are interested in checking it out.  The Gun Safety Song (by Keeping the Piece)

Music really helps children to learn information that is more advanced than their years. Music helps it make sense, and helps it to just stick. In fact, it even helps adults…even though those catchy tunes may get annoying when they get stuck in your mind. 🙂

Let me know what you think!  And, if you have any specific handgun related information you’d like written into a song, let me know.  I plan to make this a series!