Grip Frustration

I love our Glock 21, it's my go-to gun at the range right now until I get my very own.  I only have one frustration with it, and that is my tiny hands don't fit.

I try very hard to have a correct grip, filling the gap, thumbs forward, pressing into my left hand, all that.  But I can't do it all at once!

If I fill the gap on the grip with my left hand then I can't reach very far around the front with my fingers, making the push-pull action difficult. This makes my aim a bit more unsteady and almost forces my to be a bit weaker through my elbow and wrist to avoid pushing 'through' my left hand.

 If I wrap my left hand fingers around the front, then I don't fully "fill the gap." (More than shows in the pic) But this make the recoil rather difficult to manage since the backwards stability is gone.

So, my question for those of you out there more experienced that I is threefold:
Which is better?  What do I give up?  How do you deal with a grip larger than your hands?

Cleaning

Successful Disassembly!

I have to admit, I've been a girly-girl about cleaning so far.  Paul was happy to do it and I was happy to let him.  But one of the requirements for the KY CCDW was being able to clean my own gun.  I knew how to clean the Beretta, it's super easy to take apart.  But, I wanted to shoot the class with the Glock, thus I had to be able to take it apart and put it back together.


Well, let me just say thank you, thank you, thank you to Kathy at Cornered Cat.  I tried several times to get the Glock apart the way Paul did with his big man hands, but I just couldn't make it work. At one point I was about ready to say I'd shoot the Beretta since I could break it down.  But, I finally remembered seeing an article on cleaning Glocks by Kathy, so I pulled it up and had the Glock in pieces in about 2 minutes!  If anyone else is having trouble taking apart their Glock, I highly recommend her instructions. I had it apart in no time during my CCDW class last weekend.

Actually, I think I can now take it apart faster than Paul!  Though it's still harder than the Beretta.  But it's clean and I can keep it that way.  I used a whole pile of q-tips and wipes to get it clean this time.  I blame the magical carbon fairy!  Black gunk kept appearing in places I knew I'd cleaned!

Manhandling 101

In reading about handguns, specifically semi-automatics as that's what I'm interested in, I've read several times that women are often timid in racking the slide or otherwise manhandling the gun.

I've not run into this problem myself, but then, I deal with cattle for a living and grew up riding horses.  I learned (wo)manhandling young.  When a 1000+ pound animal steps on your foot you shove -- hard!

Guns are made to take a beating, but are designed for the male physique.  Female musclo-skeletal design means that the body position and motions that work for a guy may be tough for you and I to use easily.  If you are anything like me, being told you can't do something because you're a girl is not even close to okay.  If some of the more physical aspects of shooting are difficult for you, make sure you gun is empty, find a safe place, and practice those techniques. Get comfortable with them before you head to the range.

Kathy over at Cornered Cat has taught a lot of women to shoot and has addressed this issue very well.  Check if out here.  She has a bunch of great articles on technique and safety for beginners, but they are a good refresher for experienced shooters as well.  Take some time and wander her site.  I have!