Exceptionally soft shooting pistols

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Antihero

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What is a pistol you fired that surprised you at how soft shooting it was? I may have a situation where I'm teaching people who have never shot a gun to shoot and my tastes tend towards huge magnum sixguns. I have a few 22s but I'm looking for something a bit more too.

I'm considering a Charter Arms 380 revolver to cover the revolver side of things. Anything else you guys would recommend?
 
.38 Spl. is a mild recoiling gun. A K frame S&W or a Ruger of the same general size would be a good gun to move to from a .22 rimfire, which is what I start everybody on. Magnum recoil is too intense for any new shooter, IMO, but for a large bore gun, .45 Colt is pretty mild. Still, keep the caliber in the .30's and use lower powered ammo until the new shooter gets a handle on the basics.
 
CoalCrackerAl said:
A all steel gun will feel better than a polymer framed gun. None of mine caught me by surprise how nice it felt. I know what to expect. Now one that i did not like was a Keltec PF9. It was terrible. Even with light loads. It went on to a fellow who loves them.
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Any time that you pack a service pistol caliber in a platform as small and light as a PF9, get ready for snappy recoil. Shooting one alongside of a Charter Arms Undercover, I found that both get your attention. The Undercover feels like a close-to-your-hand "pop" while the PF9 feels more "whippy", like a jolt, like there's a high bore axis thing going on. Either is going to take some time and dedication to master and be effective with.
Count me in as another vote for the full size .38 or .357 shooting .38 range ammo for softest shooting centerfire.
 
Tallball said:
32 S&W long in almost any revolver.

32acp in something medium-sized, like a Beretta 81 or maybe a PP clone or Bersa or whatever
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Unlike my little Taurus .32 H&R "snubby," Dad had 4&5/8" Ruger Blackhawk .32 H&R that was fairly "soft shooting" as far as recoil goes. It was kinda LOUD though. :eek:
For that matter, the 7&1/2" Ruger Blackhawk .30 Carbine I had didn't kick all that hard. Its "BARK" was far worse than its bite. ;)
 
My USP full size and my High Power were both easy to shoot but were not the first ones I would start someone with. My USP Compact is "snappy" but still very controllable once you learn to "roll with the recoil."
 
The lightest I tend to shoot are 200 gr lswc in 45 auto rim out of a S&W 1917 or cut Webley. At about 650 fps they go “puff-*pause*thump” at any distance. This might be cheating but it works.
 
A all steel gun will feel better than a polymer framed gun.
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Not always. Glocks in particular seem to recoil less than they should. Part of that is that the grip angle does a good job of preventing muzzle flip. And all of the plastic framed guns flex slightly when fired which functions much like a recoil pad.

And finally, a gun with a wide grip spreads the recoil out over more surface of your hand making recoil feel less. A fat gripped double stack Glock in 45 ACP has much less felt recoil than a narrow steel framed 1911 in 45 ACP that concentrates all of the recoil into a smaller portion of your hand.

On the flip side of that I owned one of the 9X18 Makarov pistols years ago when you could pick one up for next to nothing. For an all steel handgun firing a round roughly equivalent to a 380 it just seemed to recoil more than it should.
 
I’ll second what jmr40 said. My polymer frame S&W Shield 9 is a lot softer in the hand with full power 9x19 loads than my heavy, all-steel vz-82 in 9x18.

Felt recoil is very dependent on fit and context. A few months back, I was testing loads of 38 special (nothing hot) in both a 6” Colt Official Police with Pachmyr (sp?) aftermarket oversized grips and an S&W m 40 2” with stock grips (and the grip safety). One felt like a pellet gun and the other like a 155 mm howitzer with the same starting load.
 
The .455 out of a Webkey Mk VI, or .38 S&W out of an Enfield/Webley Mk IV, are both soft shooting and relatively low impact on hearing, even when fired indoors without hearing protection.
 
Kinda tough without anything to narrow it down Caliber, Size, or Configuation wise. For inexpensive the Hi-point CF380 is extremely soft to shoot with such a low weight recoil spring even kids can run them. Moveing up quality/cost wise from there maybe the Ruger P85/89 9mms. Im a fan of the Beretta 92 design is a gentle shooter provided your hands find the grip comfortable. Lots of duty size 9mms are softies though.

22wmr autopistols are always soft shooters and it seems like a new one is introduced every week lately so if you want a pistol thats overall very light it may be worth researching. I would steer you towards the Keltec PMR because spare/replacement parts are always easily sourced from Keltec. Im not a huge fan of 22wmr auto pistols but they are fun one you understand them.

Might help if you stated your caliber preference. If you want to go 40S&W I would give rotary barrels a look like the PX4. They kinda turn the recoil of 40S&W into a 9mm standard pressure in terms of feel. The 9mm PX4s are also very soft shooters.

I wouldnt get to worried about recoil TBH in service caliber mid to full size pistols. There are always softer loads. Maybe concentrate on a platform or design you really like and go from there. Atlanta Arms makes reduced power loads for most of the service calibers to the point you may need to reduce your recoil spring weights in order to get full cycling.

Pocket guns? Stick to 25acp or 32acp and you will be fine... unless you get something like a Seecamp. 380acp?.. You are better off with a pocket 9mm thats also offered in 380acp.. Ruger lc380, Sig 365 380acp etc. Locking barrels will be your friend in that case. I prefer them but most people find small 380acp blowbacks pretty snappy and violent.

If you want to spend some money and get something special the HK USP series are very soft. A full size steel framed CZ75 style 9mm is another one.

1911s you can tinker and tune to your hearts content so thats always an option. Lots of well priced 1911 9mms out there now.

Revolvers? 38Special or 22WMR. Inexpensive Windicators are very heavy and stout. The ones I have shot in 357 and 38 were always pretty gentle. I was always fairly impressed with those for the prices. Want more quality... I would say save up for a S&W combatmaster model 15 4" for 38Special and throw some pachmayrs on it but I have a fondness for that revolver. I guess you could really go nuts and get a Colt python to run 38 special in. 4" pythons are a really nice balance for 38special in terms of comfort.

Im not much of a brand or price snob when it comes to firearms unless you are wanting to shoot something unsafe like an old Clerk revolver. One of the most fun pistols for plinking/target shooting on the cheap is the Heritage Rough Rider. Very old and well vetted design. Parts are easy to source if necessary. Nice triggers. All sorts of custom stuff available if you want to personalize it. Very safe etc. Ammo is inexpensive of course and you can run them in 22wmr should you want to UP the power a little. Only thing I would suggest is maybe getting the version with adjustable sights unless you are willing to go through the process of dialing them in.
 
*From far-left field*, A friend was shooting his (.357mag) D.E. Popped in some target wadcutters. The D.E. just sat there. It was pure joy. (of course, loads did not cycle). We we're ok with hand cycling due to the sheer joy of the combination.
 
Both my girls started shooting centerfire handguns at around age 11-12 with 130gr FMJ .38s in a K-frame. They were ok with the recoil, but never really got used to the DA trigger or general revolver ergos.

Honestly, they both shoot a mid-sized 9mm auto much better now than any revolver Ive handed them. My oldest owns and loves her P250 (discontinued, sadly, but the P320 is similiar), and carries a Walther PPS.

My youngest favors .22 autos, but shoots an XD-M compact best of any centerfire handgun.

The S&W .380 EZ is specifically designed for inexperienced, strength-compromised, or recoil-sensitive shooters.

Of all the duty-sized handguns I own, the Beretta 92 is smooth and soft, but it helps to have decent-sized hands to wrap around it.
 
PistoleroWadcutterGANG said:
*From far-left field*, A friend was shooting his (.357mag) D.E. Popped in some target wadcutters. The D.E. just sat there. It was pure joy. (of course, loads did not cycle). We we're ok with hand cycling due to the sheer joy of the combination.
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From F@r-R1te field, the H&K P7 is a very comfortable shooter with a low bore axis, but the unique manual-of-arms (and price) are contraindicated for noobs. :)
 
A .38 in a 4” plus revolver for sure. For semi-autos I vote for a Sig P226 and a government length .45 1911. For a shorter barrel the P229 is the friendliest I have ever shot. The full size Beretta 92 is soft shooting, but the grip was just too fat for me.
 
Smith & Wesson performance center 952. Not a in expensive pistol by any means but an extremely soft shooter.
 
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