I hear this comment often, sometimes from a well intentioned spouse who would like their mate to carry something for their own protection, and also from people that are concerned about their ability to handle a full sized or full power cartridge.
The truth is that it is neither the size or the power that they are truly worried about it is the ability to function the gun properly. A small gun in a caliber such as a .380 can be a handful for someone to both rack the slide and to handle the very snappy recoil produced by the common designed of semi auto guns. Often requiring very stiff recoil springs to keep the breech closed and then pickup and feed a fresh round to the chamber. Additionally the small size of many of the newer subcompact designs give very little grips and frame size to give the shooter much gun to hold on to!
Coupled with hands that are aging and suffer from various joint and tissue issues such as arthritis and you have a Double Whammy that can prevent a person from properly controlling their firearm. A gun doesn’t have to be easy or comfortable to shoot, but it cannot be punishing to the shooter.A person that does not feel confident in their ability to properly load, function and fire their handguns will not practice with it further lessening their effectiveness.
In the past year some of the gun companies have begun to recognize this segment of the shooting world and have released new models catering to their needs. One such model is the Smith and Wesson Shield 380 EZ.
This new firearm was developed to make loading and firing much easier without compromising reliability. The slide measures a 50% reduction in efforts to rack and also absorbs recoil very well. Additionally, the magazines have a protruding button on the follower making it very simple to load its single stack magazine, a feature usually only found on rimfire handguns.
Smith and Wesson Shield 380 EZ
This gun is the size of a common compact carry gun, not a sub-compact like some of the pocket pistols available on the market. This gives the shooter much more gun to hold onto while also helping to absorb recoil.
Just last month Smith and Wesson announced a new 9mm version of the Shield EZ that offers the same reduction in slide efforts as well as all the other features of the 380 EZ in the more powerful 9mm platform.
Look for manufacturers to jump on this bandwagon more and more as shooters of small stature, as well as our aging population continues to exercise their right to carry firearms.