Small carry pistol - large hands

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tackleberry45

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I am in the great experimentation and want to see what others have experienced. I am a big man with large hands. My normal carry is a Sig P320. When I dress down, bike, or run, I wanted a smaller/ thinner carry. I have borrowed some friends carry guns and tried a few rentals, ala Glock G43, Taurus 709, and S&W Shield. Even I crush more pressure with my support hand, these small pistols still squirm during rapid fire. Just curious to see if others have similar experiences and what you did to solve it. I am going to try a Hogue handall on them next.
 
I wear xxl gloves yet I shoot an LCP just fine, I'm not sure how the gun moves on you but I'm no fan of any rubber sleeves.

The only issues I've had with hand size and grip was with my Blackhawk shooting .45C +P and I went to the over size Hogue grips to solve that problem.
 
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Have you tried sticking some skateboard tape on the grip? It can be a little rough on delicate clothing or bare skin, but just a few well-placed patches of it can really increase the gripability of a gun.
 
I have very large hands as well. I had a 709 but had issues so it's gone. But size wise it's a great single stack small CC example.

I ended up going with the LC9s myself. Very similar in size with a slightly smaller grip, wonderful trigger, reliable and shoots good.

As for shooting fast with a sub compact, I'm not looking for tight groups rapid fire with a gun like these. I'm looking to keep them all on a silhouette at close ranges.
 
I am 6'6" and have extremely large hands. I carry a P3AT sometimes and can shoot it adequately: meaning that I can hit a paper plate virtually every time at seven yards.

1) Figure out exactly how to best grip it, including where every finger goes. This may take some time and experimentation.

2) Practice a lot.

3) Profit
 
Either stipple it, buy Talon stick-on 'grips' or make your own using tread/skateboard tape.

I have all three, but the tread/skateboard tape is the easiest and costs the least.

28722487705_f66f806ed7_z_d.jpg
 
I'm cursed with "Gorilla Hands" as well. I use a Glock 27 Gen 4 with the Pearce extended grip a lot, but I can still manage the flush fitting factory grips as well. The factory supplied adjustable back straps are a great help.
 
Either stipple it, buy Talon stick-on 'grips' or make your own using tread/skateboard tape.

I have all three, but the tread/skateboard tape is the easiest and costs the least.
Click to expand...

I use the "step tape" from Lowes. Every other type of tread tape seemed too fine for my taste. The step tape I bought is pretty course.
 
I also have XL, meaty hands.
I love my LCP and it did torque in my hand until I added the mag extension and grip sleeve.
Now, it works great and I can shoot it at the range, with no pain, for 50+ rounds.

 
Having an extended magazine baseplate on a small auto makes a big difference. My Sig P938 is a completely different gun with the extended magazine. I get along with it okay using the flat based mag, but my hands are more medium-sized.
 
I have XL size hands and had an issue for a long time ever finding a small gun I could keep my grip on. I think the bigger issue is that my hands are really boney, and my grip is not particularly strong.. My hands are always cold, and my fingers have relatively pronounced knuckles.

I gave up for a long time, and then when the SA XDs came out, I tried one on. It works great for me. It's narrow, but the grip texture keeps the gun firmly planted in my hand, and the trigger reach is far enough that I get a good, consistent, and well controlled trigger squeeze. That's my summer time carry in an IWB holster.

My Winter carry is an HK P30SK in an OWB holster. That gun fits me great.

Check out the XDs if you haven't already. It works well for me, and maybe it will for you too.
 
I also have XL hands and I don't have a problem gripping a LCP, my problem comes when I wear jeans getting the gun out of my pocket other types of pants seem to have a bigger pocket opening and I don't have a problem just jeans.
 
tackleberry45 said:
I am in the great experimentation and want to see what others have experienced. I am a big man with large hands. My normal carry is a Sig P320. When I dress down, bike, or run, I wanted a smaller/ thinner carry. I have borrowed some friends carry guns and tried a few rentals, ala Glock G43, Taurus 709, and S&W Shield. Even I crush more pressure with my support hand, these small pistols still squirm during rapid fire. Just curious to see if others have similar experiences and what you did to solve it. I am going to try a Hogue handall on them next.
Click to expand...
 
A tiny pistol in a pocket and very large (possibly sweaty) hands - what could possibly go wrong? To me it is better to make it as easy to access and draw and fire a defensive gun as possible - not more difficult. But maybe I'm just weird....... And using the magazine as a grip on a semi auto pistol that is kicking while being fired isn't really a well thought out idea either if feed reliability is important to you. I have to believe that there was a very good reason that holsters were invented. Flame suit on.....
 
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I have large banana hands. Being an alien, for whatever reason, I don't mind curling my pinky under the grip on guns. I find it comfortable, a holdover from single action grips or something.
 
Drail said:
Flame suit on.....
Click to expand...
LOL!

"And using the magazine as a grip on a semi auto pistol that is kicking while being fired isn't really a well thought out idea either if feed reliability is important to you."

Drail, I'm just curious if you have any anecdotal or documented case of a extended magazine acting as a grip extension causing a failure. It's a topic that interests me, so I'd like to read it or watch a video.
 
Drail said:
And using the magazine as a grip on a semi auto pistol that is kicking while being fired isn't really a well thought out idea either if feed reliability is important to you.
Click to expand...

I used to have a sig p245. Loved shooting it with the regular magazines, didn't like it so much with the extended magazines. Shot my buddies kahr .40 with extended magazines as well. With both, I noticed the same thing with extended magazines- felt like they were going to get torn out with each shot. That and it pinched my fingers at times.
 
During small arms training it was stressed repeatedly to us to never support or grasp the weapon (M 16) by the magazine and that we were to grip the weapon only by the stock or forearm. We were told that it would cause feed problems (not "could" - but "would"). This was in the early 70s. Most of those Instructors had just returned from S.E.A. so I tended to believe they knew what they were talking about. I have always avoided doing it with any magazine fed firearm. It seems to me that doing so would also put unnecessary stress on the magazine catch and locking notch on the magazine and at the very least loosen up the fit. Maybe the Instructors were crazy.
 
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Drail said:
During small arms training it was stressed repeatedly to us to never support or grasp the weapon (M 16) by the magazine and that we were to grip the weapon only by the stock or forearm. We were told that it would cause feed problems (not "could" - but "would"). This was in the early 70s. Most of those Instructors had just returned from S.E.A. so I tended to believe they knew what they were talking about. I have always avoided doing it with any magazine fed firearm. It seems to me that doing so would also put unnecessary stress on the magazine catch and locking notch on the magazine and at the very least loosen up the fit. Maybe the Instructors were crazy.
Click to expand...
FWIW, I hold my M16 by the magazine during the offhand stage of my highpower rifle competitions in order to get the rifle up high enough to get a good cheek weld on the stock. In over 10 yrs of Service Rifle shooting, where I shoot upwards of more than 2,000 rounds of competition ammo per year , I have NEVER had a jam or FTF while holding the rifle by the magazine .
 
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