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surprise_i'm_armed: I think you misunderstood me. I am referring to a .357 mag in S&W because several models carry 6+ rounds in a snub nose. I personally would never carry .357 mag loads in a snub nose for carry. I like to be accurate past 10yards and it would take a lot of practice with a hot loaded .357 snub. Most .357 mag revolvers can also chamber the .38 special. If I carried a .357 I would probably load it with one of the hotter .38 special non +p rounds like Hornady or maybe a +p round. I would never recommend a snub nose with .357 loads to anybody who has physical limitations or myself. I regularly carry a Glock 20 10mm with hot loads and the recoil is nothing compared to a Ruger SP-101 .357 snub nose with hot loads in my experience.

My better half went through the same thing recently. She has very tiny hands. Here is what I learned. Try all the handguns you can get your hands on. IT doesn't matter if it is a revolver or semi-auto. Everybody is different. Five rounds of .38 special usually solves most problems and if that’s not enough rounds in a revolver for you S&W has several that carry 6-8 rounds of .357 mag that can also chamber .38 special. Remember revolvers are simple to use and usually go bang every time.

As for the semi-auto it seems women are very fond of 1911s. My girl liked 1911s, Kahr K9 and S&W 908(which is what she ended up getting). The single stacks really help if you have small hands and the weight of a 1911 usually helps with recoil. She tried a Kahr P9 and liked the feel but she got to try one at the range and the recoil was to much for her. That’s when we realized she needed a heavier but small semi-auto. The Kahr K9 is around 25 ounces unload and was perfect in her hand. The S&W 908 weighs 24 ounces and fits her hand almost as well as the Kahr and it cost almost 50% less. So that’s what we were looking for. A single stack semi-auto that was dependable and cost less then 500 bucks. Just try everything.