Last fall, I traveled to Portland, Oregon, to visit the home of Crimson Trace, where I learned about the company, the employees, the products, their RED and green laser sights and the LiNQ wireless laser and white light system. I also had the opportunity to go to the Threat Dynamics training facility for product testing and to check out the advantages of the Crimson Trace laser products firsthand.
At the range, we shot several different kinds of firearms, with and without lasers, in a variety of challenging and interesting drills and tests. But one setup involved shooting a Smith & Wesson Model 60 revolver (with laser grips) through murky, messy shooting glasses. This is a great drill to practice, since you don’t always have those “perfect shooting conditions.” But with my long fingers and wide hands, I could barely get the laser to engage and manipulate the trigger at the same time. It was clumsy and awkward for me … and frustrating, because I could definitely see my bullet placement on the target through the foggy, gross glasses much easier with the laser engaged! But that gun just did not fit my hand. And that experience prompted a quick but important note to self: While this might work perfectly for someone else, this is definitely not the gun/laser combination for me!
Now … fast forward from that trip to The Well Armed Woman (TWAW) leadership conference in Provo, Utah, where I had the opportunity to participate in an industry panel that enabled sponsors to offer and receive thoughts and feedback about a variety of issues specific to women in the firearms industry. In one session, I sat next to Claudia Chisholm, owner of one of my favorite concealed carry handbag companies, Gun Tote’n Mamas.
For us to be next to one another is quite entertaining. Not only is Claudia pure energy, which pairs quite dynamically with my enthusiastic nature, she and I could not be more different in our build and stature. And when the panel discussion serendipitously turned to helping women find firearms that were right for them, Claudia and I decided to point out the range of differences that we all must work with. She and I stood up next to one another, which received both a roar of laughter and applause, since my 6-foot frame towers several feet over her very petite form. We also snapped a photo of our hands side by side, proving that while one gun may be perfect for one person, it may not work very well at all for another. And just like with my conundrum trying to effectively manipulate that Model 60 revolver, this experience highlighted an important fact: While one thing might work perfectly for someone else, it doesn’t mean it’s the solution for you.
Funny how those two very different events could both offer proof for the exact same thing! It just reiterated for me that a focus on the “right gun” and the “right fit” should constantly be in the minds of gun manufacturers, store workers, firearms instructors, handgun students and concealed carriers. We are all so different — from our needs or limitations to our hand size and strength. And what may be mysteriously small and impossible to one person may be barely reachable and gigantic to another. So look at your hands. And don’t be afraid to move on, try more and keep looking! In this business, there is definitely no “one size fits all.”
