Sexism at the Gun Counter: How Gun Dealers Market Micro Pistols to Women

By Matt Smith


Pistol shooting is the most popular weapons training we offer. I mean it’s not even close. We teach precision rifle, tactical rifle, shotgun, you name it. Pistol training wins by a landslide every year. Probably because it is widely considered the ultimate self defense weapon. You can carry a pistol comfortably and still maintain the image that I am not a “gun nut”.

I respect that.

Not everyone is an over the top gun enthusiast. Some people just want to protect themselves and have the confidence of having the weapon. In fact, those are our favorite kind of people. They are the ones that come to pistol shooting for honest reasons and have genuine reverence for the weapon instead of a bunch of bad habits they picked up from YouTube.


Pistols are inexpensive, easy to store, easy to carry, and unfortunately very difficult to master. Which brings me to the main point:
Gun dealers are marketing sub-compact pistols (AKA micro pistols) to women in a way that can only be described as sexist. I will give you some anecdotal evidence and then hit you with our numbers to back this up.

SDR Instructor teaching a student how to properly manipulate a weapon


I have physically stood at the gun counter, on more than one occasion, and listened to a gun dealer tell a female customer one of the most bulls#*t lines ever recited in the gun trade. “Since you are a woman and have small hands then you will be better off with a sub-compact pistol”


Few things aggravate me more than to hear someone being told that a sub-compact is a good first pistol to own. This is especially criminal when it is a new gun owner or someone who has never shot before (I will use this opportunity to state that if you haven’t shot before don’t buy a gun. First go shoot a rental pistol. Once you understand the characteristics of a pistol then go shop for one to own).


Now for the hard evidence. Sheepdog Response has seen an explosion of Protectors of the female variety. We started running a women’s only version of the course and they sell out as fast as we can schedule them. We have seen upwards of 25% of a 40 person co-ed Protector course being female students. That is a huge marker for success for us. We actively try to create an environment where everyone in the family feels comfortable training. Unfortunately, nearly 25% of the women who attend our courses come equipped with a micro pistol. I make it a point to ask them what led to the purchase and the resounding answer is “I was told it would be easier for me with my small hands”. UUUUGH!

Sub-compact pistols are not just tiny versions of big guns made for people with tiny hands!


Ladies, please don’t let the guy at the gun counter pick the gun for you. I know new shooters have to rely on “expert” opinions but just know that some of the folks behind gun counters are experts on guns like the salesman at the used car dealerships are experts on cars. Yes, I just compared some gun salesmen to used car salesmen. People in both professions can feel free to get pissed and rip me apart in the comments. But if you are telling new women shooters to buy micro pistols then you are part of the problem.

Sheepdog Response student shooting during a protector 1 course


Sub-compact pistols were designed to be concealed by experienced shooters. So let me list a few reasons they are awful guns for beginners:

  • They have shorter barrels which makes them inherently less accurate. Some of them have barrels that are not much longer than the round inside it.
  • The short barrel length means they have to use tighter spring configurations making it much tougher to manipulate the slide or lock it back. So if you do truly have small hands you have selected a pistol with one of the hardest slides to rack.
  • The reduced surface area makes it very difficult to establish a good grip. Oftentimes the new shooter inadvertently finds themselves pressing the magazine release or holding the slide lock down preventing the gun from functioning correctly. Most often the thumbs wind up putting pressure on the slide and causing malfunctions.
  • The magazine is much trickier to change. Because, even with small hands, your hand is in contact with the base of the magazine so it won’t readily drop out when the magazine release is depressed. I often have to train shooters with all hand sizes, the special technique required to change mags on a micro (Hint: it requires a little firing hand contortion). Those who shoot sub-compacts know exactly what I am talking about.
  • Any inconsistency you have as a new shooter will be amplified when shooting a smaller pistol. If you are a bad shot, you will become a terrible shot. If you have trouble with trigger squeeze it will pull your shot even further off target. If you have a bad grip, it will now be a horrible grip that causes countless malfunctions.
  • Many training courses will not allow new shooters to train with sub-compact pistols (because of the issues listed above) so good training will be tougher to get.

Many women who were sold these pistols as a first firearm just become frustrated at the results and either quit training with it or carry it around with the false sense that they will miraculously become good with it when they are faced with a life and death situation. That is why it is completely dishonorable for a gun dealer to talk a new shooter into buying one. These dealers took someone who came to them for the right reasons and either ruined the experience for them or left them defenseless. It really disgusts me.


So let me conclude by saying, mid-size and full-sized pistols are much better for first time shooters. Even if you have smaller hands you will find that the learning experience is much better. A good mid-sized pistol will maintain the predictable characteristics of the full-size firearm while being easier on a shooter with small hands. If you purchased a micro-pistol from a less-than-honorable dealer I recommend trading it in for a bigger pistol until you develop the skills necessary to reliably operate a micro. Once you have a firm grasp on the fundamentals it will be much easier to select a pistol that fits your needs, your hands, and your lifestyle.

Train on!

8 Responses

Thomas Carr

Thomas Carr

November 24, 2023

I appreciatedthis article so much, and as a dude, I have gnome hands lol.
I’ve skied since the third grade. From third grade until I was a sophomore in HS, I took lessons every winter and many years later, spent my weekends patrolling for the National Ski Patrol. My point?
I witnessed the same garbage on the mountain as you described the gun counter. People taking their friends skiing for the first time. Great! Except they taught them bad habbits, AND with nearly 100% predictability, they feel that tsking their brand new skiers that have never skied, to the top of the mountain. In what mind does THAT make sense?? You can tell who those people are because they’re the ones you see trying to walk down the mountain in ski boots while carrying their skis, emotionally exasperated with it all. Thanks to their “friends,” they’ll never ski again.
My dad and I rented a SCCY because we were intrigued. We both hated it because it slapped the crap out of our hands, specifically our trigger fingers. We both had Ruger LC9s pistols, and to your point, it’s thin and easy to carry, but not so fast! We found it too narrow to get a good grip and I constantly pinched my hand reloading due to lack of real-estate. We’re i
I a first time shooter, I’d have quit if that was all I’d experienced while shooting. Now I carry a P365XL and love it. I also have a CZ P-06 that shoots like a 9mm. Your advice would’ve saved me lame purchases, and I agree with renting 100%.
I say, rent early, and rent often and maybe take a class from people who do know and can advise you from a neutral perspective, before you pull the trigger. 😜. Just my .02

Brad Van Pelt

Brad Van Pelt

November 01, 2023

I agree 100% with what your article says Matt. Many of the women in our classes show up with a sub-compact of some sort, often on the advice of a husband or boyfriend.
They have problems shooting them and reloading them. The muzzle flip alone is enough to turn them off of shooting pistols.
We normally let them shoot a full size pistol, just to try it. The result is almost always better shot groups, and “Oh my gosh, that is so much easier to shoot!”.
I would guess that 90% of them go trade the “mini” guns off for a full size.

Karen

Karen

November 01, 2023

Thank you for bringing up this topic! It has been a hot one for me personally. I do question the use of the word “sexism” however I’m am uncertain what other term of word would be more suitable. Real sexism certainly does exist at some gun counters, however, I think it is mainly ignorance that prompts suggestions for inappropriate firearm choices. The major trend of women buying firearms is a relatively new one. It is going to take time for better guidelines to become better established. In the mean time, there are those, like myself, whom actively TALK to women when they sign up for CC classes or show up at the range (often with boy friend or spouse).

JMC

JMC

October 31, 2023

Started my wife out on a full-size Sig .22 rental. She has “small hands” but I knew that the shorter barrel (and increased muzzle lift) on a micro or compact like my Canik 9mm might scare the hell out of her. Thankfully I was right – she recently told me how much she enjoys shooting and is looking forward to more range time.

Myranda

Myranda

October 31, 2023

As a woman with law enforcement training and experience, has physically fought to save my own life and the lives of others, and who now works behind the gun counter selling firearms and ammunition, thank you for writing this and I could not agree with you more. Again, thank you.

KAO

KAO

October 31, 2023

I am a former gun sales counter clerk. You are so right! I used to cringe when I heard someone asking for a small caliber or frame pistol because they wanted something “light to carry” and “easy to shoot”. My EDC is a P-938. By practicing and getting regular instruction, I have become a very good shot with that Sig despite it being a micro 9mm. I’m even better with my SA XD-E .45 or my S&W Model 28 .357. The only thing sadder than a lady buying a micro as a first gun was the few who declined assistance in selecting ammo because they “weren’t ever going to use it, they just wanted a gun.”

TomC

TomC

October 31, 2023

My late wife (who did not have small hands) started shooting with my 1911 (admittedly it was the only pistol we owned at the time).
Our daughter started shooting with that same 1911 (which was not the only pistol we owned by then).
Two of our three grand-daughters started shooting with that same 1911.

None of them had any problem handling it — perhaps because no one told any of them that a 1911 in .45ACP was “too much gun for a girl.”

None of them chose a 1911 as their favorite gun. Their choices were quite diverse and not at all “ladylike.”

My daughter carries a 9mm SCCY, but a pistol was never her 1st choice anyway. She much prefers to shoot a 12 gauge Mossberg 590 and her idea of fun is doing repeated mag dumps with that 590. While growing up she would go through so much 12ga ammo that I eventually told her she had to start buying her own ammo.

One grand-daughter prefers a .22 but carries a Taurus 85UL. The other two grand-daughters both carry “compact” versions of duty size 9mm pistols.

ruth pardue

ruth pardue

October 31, 2023

All of this happened to me! I showed up to train and found out that my gun was going to be much harder for me to learn on. I am competitive AF so I took it as a challenge and ultimately have become decent with the gun, but damn, would’ve been nice to have been told all of this by the ppl selling the gun. I would’ve bought one either way, it was unnecessary not to give me all the info so I can make an informed choice.

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