TargetTalk

I used to be very competitive in smallbore free rifle, but have since burned out on lugging the gear all over, and finally sold my equipment last year.

Now, I am looking for a nice .22 target pistol to take out on the weekends and shoot bullseyes for fun, but not for serious competition.

Here is the issue: While I am a big guy, I have small hands. Well, short fingers, at least. (can't get a good grip on a 1911 for the life of me.) My local dealers do not have any selection of target pistols to speak of, either, so I can't do much by way of touchie-feelie. They are all into the 9mm/10mm black plastic stuff around here...

Based on your experiences, what would be your recommendation for someone with a budget of say, $1,000, and small hands. Would you kindly give me your thoughts on the following guns, plus any others you might want to mention?

Smith & Wesson Model 41. I have heard both good and bad about Smith's build quality over the years. Is it still a concern or are there any particular years to avoid? I can reach the trigger, but its about the limit of what I can grip.

Hammerli Trailside Target/ Xesse. I am gathering that these being phased out. Can one find smaller grips than the ones that they come with?

Baikal IZH35M/ Walther KSP200. I have heard good things about these, but they seem hard to find and I have not ever held one. They sure look like what I am looking for, the adjustable length of pull looks to be just the ticket.

Older Hi-Standard Victor or Trophy Any particular model I should search for? How does the size compare? If I change to a target grip, am I going to have finger length issues?

Walther SP22-M4. I just ran across this on the Walther website. Seems to be new. Any info? It seems a bit modern-looking...

I can grip a Ruger MkII quite well, but they need so much work to be a nice pistol, and the grips are nothing special. I would rather just buy a finer weapon from the start, but I suppose I could build one up, if it came to that. I have seen some very nice custom Rugers over the years.

Thanks so much for any input.

My Hammerli 208 came with a Morini grip for really tiny hands - the 208 / 215 frame is small, so tiny grips are easy. Quality is peerless - a beautiful gun. Don't know what used prices are like where you are. A fellow club member with tiny hands sold me her FAS 607, again with a tiny grip. She now shoots a Morini. The IZH has a small frame, but the factory grips are designed to be whittled away until they fit - as standard, they are suitable only for gorillas. Again. Morini or other specialised grip makers can provide small grips.

The IZH-35 is ideal for a shooter with small hands, the trigger has a long horizontal adjustment range. My wife and young son comfortably shoot one. You might also want to try to find a used Pardini as well, I believe the trigger adjusts pretty far back (and there are many grip options).

I know several people who have short fingers and have difficulty with the model 41. Another inexpensive option is the new Ruger 22/45 Mark III. It has a pretty narrow grip frame.

Steve.

I started with a SW-41 and have always found trigger reach to be an issue. The Pardini is a great choice. Used example of the older SPE are well within your $1000 budget. The Hammerli 208 family are all great, but are expensive. The Hammerli 280 usually sells for less, and I think would meet your criteria. Walther's GSP is another good route. I have used all these and have been happy with the trigger reach adjustments. I have also seen these used extensively by competitive juniors.
I personally don't care for the IZH-35. The ones I've seen and tried just fell apart after a season or so of regular competitive use, even with high grade match ammo. The issue was battering of the breechface to the point that the gun was unsalvageable. Maybe that's been fixed and now they are better, I don't know.
Older High Standards are good. But, if you have trouble with a 1911 grip you probably won't like the "Military grip" models. The rakish "slant grip" might be more of your preference. The Trophy and Citation are great. They were made with both grip shapes. The nicer H-S guns from CT are getting old enough that issues of slide rail cracking have become regular, if not common, occurrences. Make a close check on used ones. Maybe you can find a nice one with little use and lots of life left?
If you are interested in solving the 1911 trigger reach problem, you can try thin grips and a short trigger, like the old Videcki. Also, you can try different mainspring housings.
Cheers,
Jim

The Morini CM 22, or CM-22RF, is fantastic for shooters with small hands. Its used a lot by female shooters from asia, China in paticular. I can attest to to the fact I use a Large anatomical grip from Fung, Morini, Rink, Vitarbo and when holding an CM22 my index finger touches the inside of the trigger gaurd. The Trigger gaurd is very small, as is the pistol.

The IZH35 is another good option.

Good luck,

Brian

"I can grip a Ruger MkII quite well, but they need so much work to be a nice pistol, and the grips are nothing special. I would rather just buy a finer weapon from the start, but I suppose I could build one up, if it came to that. I have seen some very nice custom Rugers over the years."



I do not think the Ruger Mk II needs so much to be a nice pistol. The Volquartsen extractor, and rear sight if you do irons. Both you can switch yourself. The Volquartsen sear alone (also a self switch) improves the trigger a lot. But best is trigger work by a pistolsmith like Toyota. Toyota can stipple the grip along with the trigger work. But 3M stairtread tape works just as well. For grips the Ruger ambidextrous are about as small as you can get and do work well with stippling or tape. For dot sight, a regular 1" UD with Burris extra low Zee rings is what I have on one.

Thanks so much for all of the useful comments.

I am leaning towards the IZH or its Walther cousin. If anyone knows where to find one for a reasonable price, do let me now.

(BTW, I am not knocking the Ruger by any means. I used to work in a very large gun shop in San Diego, and sold lots of them. One of my customers was an absolute nut for customized Rugers. Comparing his pistols to the stock offerings was like comparing BMWs to Yugos. Still, he spent thousands of dollars doing so, and we could never figure out why he just didn't buy Olympic-level guns to start with...)

Thanks again, folks this is really helpful.

My wife has very small hands and is very comfortable with the Walther KSP200 with Rink extra-small grips. The Walther has been extremely dependable and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, but I have heard of (and personally seen) problems with the IZH-35, so be aware. I'm afraid I can't refer you to a KSP, but her gun came from Greg Derr (www.derrprecision.com), so it might be worth a call to Greg to see if he knows of any available.

A pistol with the magazine in front of the grips will work well for someone with small hands.

If you're on a tight budget, the Ruger MKIII512 with a Volquartsen grip and sear isn't bad for small hands. I originally was thinking IZH-35, but buying a used pistol in Maryland can be challenging - plus I was concerned about the long term availably of service/repair for the IZH. So, a Ruger MKIII was about the only budget choice that seemed to make sense at the time. Of course, since then, the dollar has gotten weaker and the Euro pistols are even more expensive.