Top Concealed Carry Guns for Small Hands

If you need a concealed carry weapon that isn’t made for baseball-mitt-sized paws, Pennsylvania’s Largest Gun Show is the perfect place to find guns for small hands that fit your budget. Small concealed carry guns are popular with both men and women who need a smaller framed firearm they can control, as well as for those who prefer to carry their guns in purses or bags rather than under their clothes. With a little research, you can find a good firearm that’s big on performance, small on bulk, and just the right size for your pocketbook.

Size Matters When Choosing Your Concealed Carry

Guns for small hands still need to meet a few conditions if you’re going to trust them as a self-defense weapon. 

• Stopping Power – Self-defense weapons need to deliver enough force to the target rapidly enough to stop the threat. Even smaller firearms should be chambered in a caliber suitable for self-defense. Many experts consider the .380 ACP or .38 SPL as the lowest-power cartridges appropriate for self-defense.
• Capacity – While long, drawn-out shootouts look good in Hollywood, they’re never ideal for self-defense, but you still want enough rounds to ensure you can neutralize a threat. While derringer-type pistols may be popular last-ditch defensive weapons, most professionals recommend a five-to-six-round minimum capacity for your carry weapon.
• Recoil Management – Powerful rounds need powerful force mitigation, especially in guns for small hands, which may have trouble controlling larger weapons as they react to the force of the small controlled explosion that sends a bullet on its way.

While matching their larger brethren pound for pound, small concealed carry guns also have to meet the needs of gun owners who have smaller hands and, often, smaller bodies to conceal the bulk of a weapon. This includes:

• Grip Size – The circumference of the grip needs to be small enough for the hand to wrap around it comfortably while also being large enough to provide enough surface area to control the weapon during use.
• Print Size – The overall size and weight of the firearm, while loaded, needs to be able to sit in its holster underneath clothing without sticking out like a gun-shaped lump. 

How to Find the Right Gun for Small Hands

Your next local gun show gives you the chance to buy from a larger selection of firearms than any traditional brick-and-mortar gun show can offer. We have vendors from across the country traveling to your neck of the woods who are ready to offer you great deals on new and used firearms. It’s also a chance for you to get a look at some of the top small concealed-carry guns on the market and get a hands-on feel before you spend your hard-earned money. Knowing which gun is the best for you, however, often starts before the show.

Decide on Your Preferred Caliber

Even if you’re not ready to say you definitely want a gun chambered for a particular round, you can develop an idea about which ones are most likely to fit your needs. While everyone’s experience is subjective, based on the design of their firearm, their hand and arm strength, and their skill with firearms, available rounds generally fall into three broad categories.

• Low Recoil – These less-powerful rounds still have stopping power, but they are gentler on the shooter. These include the .380 ACP round for pistols and the .38 SPL or .45 LC cartridges for revolvers.
• High Power – These cartridges deliver a lot of force to the target, but the recoil can make them less manageable for people with small hands or weaker grips. Guns chambered for the .45 Auto, .357 MAG, .44 MAG, and 10mm rounds all fall under this category.
• Balanced Performance – These bullets are the most common chamberings found in small concealed carry guns because they deliver plenty of stopping power with a recoil that is managed with practice by most gun owners with small hands.

Determine Your Carry Style

You want to make sure you minimize “printing”, or the noticeable carrying of a concealed firearm. Think about where on your body will be the most comfortable to draw from. Will that area provide enough coverage to hide a gun while you’re in loose clothing? Will you be comfortable carrying the weight of a loaded gun–which can weigh nearly two pounds while loaded, even with guns for small hands–all day without the weight pulling at you or causing you to constantly feel the need to adjust or fidget with it? Understanding the limitations of your carry style will help ensure you get a small concealed carry gun that is perfectly discreet.

Where and how you’ll carry your gun is important to consider before your purchase. You want to make sure you minimize “printing”, or the noticeable carrying of a concealed firearm. Think about where on your body will be the most comfortable to draw from. Will that area provide enough coverage to hide a gun while you’re in loose clothing? Will you be comfortable carrying the weight of a loaded gun–which can weigh nearly two pounds while loaded, even with guns for small hands–all day without the weight pulling at you or causing you to constantly feel the need to adjust or fidget with it? Understanding the limitations of your carry style will help ensure you get a small concealed carry gun that is perfectly discreet.

Do Your Research

Start by looking at product reviews for the guns you’re most interested in that fit your criteria. These can help you understand the weapon’s specifications, including its size, weight, caliber, and capacity. Reviews can also help you get an idea from a firearms expert how the gun performs in the field but take note of whether the expert needs a gun for small hands or has larger hands and is reviewing it as a backup pistol, as this can color their commentary.

Some of Our Favorite Small Concealed Carry Guns

There are a lot of small guns on the market, so narrowing down your place to start your research, let alone decide on your purchase, can be difficult. After years of getting the chance to see and play with some of these at the range in person, here are a few of our favorites in no particular order:

• Glock G43x – Glock’s slimline models with single-stack mags bring the full-size power of this Austrian firearms powerhouse to those who need more compact carrying guns. This svelte model is chambered for 9mm +P rounds, weighs just over 24 oz fully loaded with ten rounds, and has a 3.41” barrel.
• Smith & Wesson M&P Shield M2.0 Compact – The M&P Shield M2.0 is a micro-compact pistol that offers S&W quality and reliability in a small package. Chambered for 9mm, it has a crisp trigger, 21 oz weight while unloaded, 7 or 8-round magazine, and is just 6.1” long by 4.6” tall. 
• Ruger LCR – If wheel guns are more your style, Ruger made the LCR specifically as a small gun for concealed carry. The smaller revolver grip makes it one of the most friendly guns for small hands, while you have your choice of chamberings, which affect the weight and capacity of the gun. The light .38 SPL model weighs just over three-quarters of a pound and holds 5 rounds, while the 5-round .357 MAG and 9mm models weigh just over 17 oz. A 6-round .327 FED MAG model suitable for self-defense and an 8-round .22LR plinker are also available.
• Sig Sauer P320 XCompact – We love to see versatility, and the modular P320 platform does just that. Change your grips, change your barrel, change your caliber, you be you. This master of modular customization can be configured to shoot 9mm, .357 SIG, .40 S&W, or .45 Auto, and aftermarket magazines make it easy to switch your loadout to meet your concealed carry preferences.

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