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).
If the distance between these points is too small, then the tendency will be for the shooter to plac
e 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 rotat
e 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?
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