I would say don't give up on the semi-autos too soon. When I first got my Taurus .380, I had difficulty racking the slide, but I just wanted to prove that I could do it. (Didn't want my men to say a woman couldn't do that.) My suggestion is talk to other women- how do they do it. Try some of the suggestions the good folks on here have, as well as corneredcat.com and other sites.
I was able to overcome some hand and wrist issues and found I love shooting the semi's. Also, in one of the classes I took the instructor taught us how to rack the slide with one hand - just in case that was all that was available.
While I can't speak for anyone else, in my case the key was practice, practice, practice along with a push-pull method held close to the torso. It seemed to me the compact semi-autos were harder at first do to the smaller surface area.
Just my experience. Hope this is helpful!
I was able to overcome some hand and wrist issues and found I love shooting the semi's. Also, in one of the classes I took the instructor taught us how to rack the slide with one hand - just in case that was all that was available.
While I can't speak for anyone else, in my case the key was practice, practice, practice along with a push-pull method held close to the torso. It seemed to me the compact semi-autos were harder at first do to the smaller surface area.
Just my experience. Hope this is helpful!