The Walther PDP F-Series 4-inch is a service-size striker-fired 9mm built for shooters whose hands do not reach the trigger on a standard PDP. It has an MSRP of $699. Its frame is a reduced-circumference F-Series grip with a shorter trigger reach, so the finger lands square on the trigger face without the wrist rolling to get there.

Walther also changed the slide to suit smaller or weaker hands. A patented operating system using a two-piece striker cuts the force needed to rack the slide by 20 percent, so the pistol can be loaded unaided by a hand that would otherwise need a table edge. The trigger is the Performance Duty Trigger, listed at 5.6 lbs with a tolerance either side of that figure, two 15-round magazines come with it, and a loaded chamber indicator can be checked by feel. The dust cover is full length for a service light. The slide is cut for a plate-mounted dot and neither the plate nor the optic comes in the box, the muzzle is unthreaded, and there is no manual safety on any PDP.

If you are cross-shopping, the Walther PDP Compact has the same MSRP and the same 4.0-inch barrel with a standard-circumference grip, and it runs 24.4 oz and 7.5 inches, so the F-Series is the same pistol with 0.4 oz and a quarter inch taken out of the grip and the slide. The Smith & Wesson M&P 9 M2.0 Compact is a used buy now, and it sizes its grip with four interchangeable palmswell inserts instead of a separate frame, which covers a narrower range of hand sizes but adds a thumb safety the PDP does not offer.