With the seeming increase of random criminal violence in society, to say nothing of politically inspired unrest, I've been dealing with more than a few queries about the pro's and con's of carrying small handguns. It's a complicated issue, and I thought I'd address some of the key points in this article.
First, as a general rule small handguns are harder to shoot well than larger handguns. There are several reasons:
- The smaller grip is less easy to grasp firmly, draw smoothly, and get a strong firing grip, particularly for shooters with larger hands.
- Smaller handguns are typically carried in what's called "deep concealment", such as in a pocket or handbag. That's logical, of course, since larger handguns would be hard to conceal in such places. However, it's usually harder to get to such guns in a hurry, and then withdraw them and bring them to a ready position. It's "fiddly". To draw a larger handgun from a more accessible holster and bring it into a ready position is usually rather easier. I strongly recommend using a holster even for pocket or handbag carry, to keep the firearm in a predictable position, ready to draw, and to prevent anything getting into the trigger guard and risking an accidental discharge. (More on this later.)
- Smaller, lighter handguns transmit more recoil energy to the shooter than larger, heavier weapons. As an example, try firing a .38 Special cartridge through a medium-size K-frame or L-frame Smith & Wesson revolver (or equivalent), then firing the same cartridge through a smaller J-frame snubnose revolver. Do the same with a 9mm cartridge from a Glock 17 (full-size) or 19 (compact) pistol (or equivalent), and then through a Glock 43 sub-compact pistol (or equivalent). The smaller, lighter firearm will always deliver heavier perceived recoil than the bigger weapon. In some cases (for example, firing a full-power .357 Magnum cartridge from a Smith & Wesson 340 snubnose revolver, made with ultra-light-weight Scandium) you'll regret doing so after even one shot. Hel-loooo, carpal tunnel syndrome!
- Because of their abbreviated sights and shorter sight radius (i.e. the distance between front and rear sights), smaller handguns are harder to aim accurately (unless you add better sights, which may render them bulkier and/or less easily concealed). Furthermore, their light weight makes it more difficult to shoot them accurately, rapidly and repeatedly during a defensive encounter. It's not impossible, but it's definitely more difficult than with a larger weapon. If anyone doubts that, try the comparison for yourself at your favorite shooting range. There's a reason early short-barreled firearms were known as "belly guns" - because that was the sort of range at which they were used. One didn't need long-range sights to aim at a target across a card table or desk, or literally stick it into someone's belly, and let fly!
- Snubnose revolvers are typically slower to reload than small pistols, and both are more "finicky" than larger handguns, where the firearm and its replacement rounds (in a speedloader or a magazine) are easier to handle.
Another point is that smaller handguns are easier to lose. That may sound silly, but I've seen it happen to three people I know. One chose a small handgun to fit in her handbag. She hung the bag on the back of her chair at a restaurant. When she finished her conversation with friends and turned to pick it up, it was gone. Another friend left a small handgun in a jacket pocket when he hung it up at a social gathering; it was so light he didn't remember it being there. When he reclaimed his jacket, the gun was gone. There have also been cases where people have
left firearms in a public toilet. Larger weapons are more likely to be retained on one's person in a holster, and thus are less likely to be lost.
You'll need to practice more often to master (and retain mastery of) a smaller handgun than you will with a larger one. That's why it's generally a bad idea to start your shooting education using a smaller weapon and/or a heavier-recoiling cartridge. I've seen many novice shooters get frustrated and disillusioned because they can't master it, and give up. If only they'd started with a larger, easier-to-handle firearm, they could have got the basics down pat and been given a thorough grasp of the fundamentals before trying a more difficult firearm. That's what I usually do when teaching other shooters.
That leads to my first recommendation for a small (indeed, for any) handgun. Make sure the gun fits your hand as well as possible before you buy it. Handle different models, go to gun ranges that rent out firearms and use as many different models as possible, ask your friends to let you try their guns. In particular, ladies, do not allow some idiotic male (yes, they're out there, as I'm sure you know all too well) to try to insist that this, or that, or the other firearm is right for you. Make sure it feels comfortable in your hands, and that the sights come readily to your eye when you lift it to aim at a target. Shoot several rounds through it to see how the recoil feels. (Revolvers are easier to fit to your hand than pistols, because there are different grips available for them, and you can choose those that best suit you. Revolvers also have Crimson Trace Lasergrips and similar products available for many models, which are an absolutely outstanding accessory for emergency, close-range shooting when you may not have space or time to line up the sights conventionally. More about that later.)
As well as the gun fitting your hand well, see how the recoil feels to you. If the grip is too small or too large for you to grasp it comfortably, the gun will move in your hand under recoil, forcing you to readjust your grip before the next shot. This will slow you down and make it more difficult to hit your target, because you have to concentrate on something else. The selection procedure outlined in the previous paragraph will apply also to choosing a caliber you can handle. A heavy-recoiling round is probably not optimum in a small handgun unless you're a trained, experienced shooter and know what you're doing. Choosing a less powerful, lower-recoiling cartridge (for example, a .38 Special instead of a .357 Magnum) is recommended for novice shooters, who can also choose a much lighter caliber if they wish (e.g. .22LR instead of .38). Lighter calibers are less likely to stop a hopped-up attacker, but if they're what you can handle, you can learn to use them well enough to compensate for that handicap. I promise you, a few .22's in and around the eyes will deter even the most aggressive assailant!
It's also useful to know that certain ammunition manufacturers make both heavier-recoil and lower-recoil rounds in a given cartridge or caliber. A few examples:
- Hornady makes its 9mm 115gr. FTX Critical Defense round for standard use, but for those who can't tolerate heavy recoil, it also offers its 9mm 100gr. FTX Critical Defense Lite load. The latter may not be as effective as the former, but it's still a viable option - and it has rather less "kick" than the former round.
- Black Hills Ammunition offers the Honeybadger "scalloped" bullet in two 9mm loads; a 100gr projectile, faster and more energetic, and a 125gr. bullet, slower and less energetic (and offering lower recoil). I prefer the latter load in small 9mm pistols, as it remains very effective despite being more controllable than its faster brother.
- Federal offers its 9mm HST defensive load in a 124gr. +P (i.e. high-pressure) round, and a 147gr. standard-pressure cartridge. Again, the latter load recoils less energetically than the former. Both are widely used by law enforcement agencies, which speaks highly of the HST range.
There are other manufacturers offering similar choices. Do your own research, and choose the round that best fits your level of knowledge and experience. I've been shooting for many decades, and I feel no shame in admitting that as I grow older and slower, I prefer a lower-recoil round in a smaller, lighter weapon. Arthritis and heavy recoil are not very compatible!
One's choice of weapon should be directed by the threats one is likely to face. If a potential attacker is likely to be alone (e.g. a nutcase on public transport), or one or two men hanging around outside a shop or bank or cinema, a smaller handgun may well be enough to deal with the problem. If you're more likely to face an angry riot, with violence being offered indiscriminately by groups of feral protesters to everyone they meet, no handgun is likely to be sufficient, no matter how large it may be or how many rounds it may hold!
A small handgun is designed to be carried to deal with occasional threats that are not very likely to occur. A more dangerous threat requires a tool more suited to deal with it - which is why police officers usually carry full-size service pistols holding anywhere from fifteen to twenty rounds, sometimes even more. We, as civilians, can do the same, but we'd better know how to conceal them (to prevent others hitting us over the head to steal them) and use them (to protect ourselves and our loved ones). If we look like a threat to others, they're likely to respond as if we are a threat. Therefore, discreet carry and low-key behavior are more likely to protect us than a macho, manly swagger while displaying our supersized Felon-Stopper Magnum-Blaster Mark XVIII handgun!
If I leave the house, I'm armed as a matter of course. I'll usually be carrying a small handgun that I can shoot well enough at short range to defend myself and/or my wife. It won't be suitable for long-range use or to handle more than one or two opponents, because the odds of my facing such a threat are minuscule. If I lived in a big city (particularly a so-called "blue" city where left-wing sympathies predominate, making the authorities "soft" on crime), that would not apply. I'd be carrying something larger and more powerful, and have spare ammo available for rapid reloads as well. If mob violence is a possibility, I'll always try to not be anywhere near there; but if I absolutely have to be there, I'll be carrying more than a handgun. When I travel, I take into account the environments through/in which I'm likely to pass and/or stay, and equip myself accordingly. In other words, I arm myself to meet the threat(s) I'm most likely to encounter in a given place at a given time.
Another factor to consider is aiming a handgun under the pressure of an attack, or in a more widespread, confused situation such as a riot. In a high-stress situation, with one's adrenaline pumping, it's very hard to aim accurately at a moving target while other people are obscuring the range and perhaps also threatening you. For that reason, I highly recommend a laser sight such as a Crimson Trace Lasergrip for most revolvers. Sight it in to cover the most likely ranges at which you may need it (I suggest 10 yards for a small gun), then train with it until you can bring up the weapon, put the dot on target, and fire an accurate round as fast as possible. That'll generally be faster than trying to line up front and rear sights on a moving target. Similar laser sights are available for some small pistols as well. Shop around and see what you can find.
I usually don't recommend a red dot sight for a small handgun if deep concealment is going to be necessary. They are very useful indeed, to be sure, but they stick up above the weapon and make it harder to draw it in a hurry from a pocket or inside a handbag. You'll be surprised at how easily the sight can catch against clothing or nearby objects, slowing your draw quite drastically. Its sight advantage may be less worthwhile than its other disadvantages; you'll have to make that call for yourself. My preference is usually to carry a handgun with a red dot sight in a holster on my belt, to minimize that problem.
While on the subject of deep concealment, I strongly recommend the use of either a double-action handgun (such as a snubnose revolver) that has a relatively heavy, long trigger pull, or a firearm with a safety catch that must be released in order to pull the trigger. Both cases are to prevent something in a pocket or a handbag snagging on the trigger and accidentally discharging the gun. This isn't an idle fear, either: I can recall reading of several incidents where it's happened. That's also a very good reason to use a pocket or handbag holster that covers the trigger guard, and prevents anything getting inside before the firearm is drawn. Safety is a critical aspect of firearms handling that's too often honored more in the breach than in the observance. Don't become an accidental discharge statistic!
On most days, a small, easily concealed handgun is all I need. However, I take care to make sure I keep up my practice with it, so that if I should have to use it, I can be reasonably sure of solving my problem.
Peter
