Pistol for my Girlfriend?

[LoriW]

Another consideration is if she's wanting to carry the gun or use it for home defense or what is she wanting the gun for? I carry an LCP pretty much everywhere with me but I add my xdM whenever I can.

 

[Ballstater98]

My wife loves her LC9s. Check out this thread too:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/women-firearms/375436-gun-my-fiancee.html

I might also add, the day she made her purchase (keeping in mind she has fired all my firearms), I purposely started her shooting a .357, then .45, then my 9mm so she was ready to grab hold and control her new purchase.

 

[roscott]

Yup. I made the same old stupid mistake with my girlfriend (now wife). I got her a Lady Smith with pink grips as her first gun. She loved it...


Until she shot it. I wish I had read this article prior to buying it:
Gun Review: Ruger SP101 3" - The Truth About Guns

On the other hand, I really like the Lady Smith with wood grips as a BUG for me...

 

[ModernGunner]

Hell, what *I'd* really LIKE to have is a gun the size of the NAA .22 (concealability) with a 20 round mag (capacity) in .500 Magnum (firepower) that kicks like an Airsoft (controlability) that costs $200 (price)! Uh, anyone know of one?

The 'problem' with handguns (all firearms, really) is there's always a tradeoff; concealability vs. capacity, firepower vs. controlability, and so forth. The 'trick' is to find the 'right' combination of tradeoffs that the owner can live with.

For me, the easiest factor to trade off has been concealability, as my choice of wardrobe has all but made that a non-issue, save some really huge handguns (meaning, even larger than the 8.375" Mdl. 29 I carried concealed for some number of years). For others, it seems to be the one factor of the bunch they absolutely insist upon. IMO, that's to their detriment, 'cause with a bit of thought, ya can conceal almost any handgun really well.

The 'trade off' for re-thinking concealability has been the advantage of firepower, capacity, and/or controlability.

Price? Well, that's always been a 'challenge', LOL!

 

[MrPeabody]

My girlfriend wants a handgun for personal protection. She has shot my walther ccp 9mm and didnt like it. She wants a smaller gun with less kick. What should i get her?

My wife has two that she likes and carries. A Beretta Nano and a Ruger LCR 38 spl. The nice thing about each of these is that have almost the exact same trigger pull. The Beretta is really pretty nice and shoots well. If I wasn't so much a Glock guy I would probably carry one.....

Good luck on your search....

 

[KittySlayer]

Small guns are not fun to shoot for a newer shooter....usually. P238 or P938 are heavier framed so they absorb more felt recoil than the similar sized LCP.

My wife looked at a few different guns and ended up with the Sig P238. I enjoyed shooting her gun so much I bought one for myself too. My son has a P938 and it feels almost identical when I shoot it.

Ideally she needs to choose her gun but you/she can also end up over analyzing stuff too. Narrow the choices down, buy one and carry it and shoot it for a few months. Find out what she likes and doesn't like and use that as a guide for buying her second gun. It is not as if this has to be the only gun she ever buys.

 

[MrPeabody]

Ideally she needs to choose her gun but you/she can also end up over analyzing stuff too. Narrow the choices down, buy one and carry it and shoot it for a few months. Find out what she likes and doesn't like and use that as a guide for buying her second gun. It is not as if this has to be the only gun she ever buys.

KittySlayer brings up a very solid point. This is easily over analyzed. Our reference of "less kick" is going to be different depending on who you talk too. His suggestion of trying what you can to find the right one is always a good approach. It is kind of like boots, motorcycles or cars. It is all the previous investments that have gotten us to where we are.....

Again good luck on your quest!

 

[patience0830]

I hear Bill Clinton got an Arkansas Razorback for Hillary.

The secret service told him he'd made a good trade.

 

[Strug]

I'm a little surprised she didn't like the CCP. Maybe go with a bigger 9mm. I took my wife to the range and rented an LC9. She didn't care for it (nor did I). The range let me swap it for a G19. She liked it much better. You can just get a better handle on the G19.

 

[Mark 1911]

Sometimes smaller means more kick, not less. The first pistol I bought for my wife was a S&W 637 air-weight. The pistol was so light that it didn't absorb much of the energy. That sucker kicked like an angry mule, even with light loads. Not the pistol someone would enjoy putting 100 rounds downrange with.

Ended up getting her a S&W 686 plus. Her hand is big enough to handle it comfortably. It's a heavier pistol, and has far less kick, even with .357 mags, than the 637 had with light 38 special ammo.

I found a good rule of thumb, which applies to men as well as women, is to carry the largest pistol you can handle comfortably.

 

[ruger1800]

Ruger lcr 22 mag ifer fangers are strong enough, 15lb trigger pull

 

[Reagan40]

Does she plan to carry it or just keep it at home. If she plans to carry it, how? IWB, OWB, Purse, Fanny Pack, Drop Leg Holster, seriously though, what she plans to do with it is important. My wife recently tried my MP9 compact and full size at the range. She also tried one of my 1911's at the range.(I say my, she would say our). She really liked the full size MP and 1911. She felt that both had less recoil than her carry gun. She now has her carry gun and my/our 1911 for at home. She wants to take a 1911 with her, she carries to the car but cannot take a gun I to her workplace. We have not come to an agreement on that yet.
One other thing, recoil can be scary for a woman at first, but take her to the range often and patiently coach her on proper technique, and recoil won't be an issue. I grew up shooting, recoil was part of the game. My wife never shot a gun until I took her shooting. It took several trips, but she got used to it and can manage it as well as any man. Don't underestimate a woman because they are smaller, teach them proper technique. Be careful though, when they out shoot you it can be hard on the ego.... Or so I hear

 

[LarryC]

There is only two ways to have a smaller handgun with less recoil. One is to reduce the caliber / cartridge IE: try out .380 or .22 instead of 9MM, the second is to increase the weight of the firearm, IE: try out stainless steel 9mm's instead of Poly frame lightweight handguns. Sometimes it isn't necessary to do either as the issue is not really the recoil, but "perceived" recoil due to grip angle etc.

As others have stated, it really isn't possible for anyone to really choose a firearm for another person (male or female) as there are many other factors that determine what a person likes in a firearm than the actual recoil. If the grip angle or finish makes it hard for a person to hold properly it may seem like the recoil doubles.

The best advice given above is to provide your friend with the opportunity to try out various firearms. Rent some if you can, borrow some from friends, etc. and let her determine what she likes and can handle. As you did not mention what uses she will want for the gun, EDC, target, Bedside / home protection, or a combination of these, all will have a bearing on her final choice!

 

[SSGSAD]

For some reason, very few people talk about this one .....

If your looking for a sig to carry, the 2022 is an awesomely under rated pistol. It for some reason has never received the attention it should.

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

My girlfriend loves her Glock 43 so far. Fits her hand much better than the G26 she used to have. She is more accurate with it as well.

She knew it was the one before she even held a few more guns of similar size.

 

[snorko]

If the OP bar3353 is still looking, I would be glad to have you and your girlfriend join me out at Red Brush to try out a variety of handguns. I am thinking an M&P 9c and a 9mm Shield, Ruger LCP and CZ 83, both in .380, maybe a Ruger LCR in .38 spl, even an M&P45c (softer than you'd think).

I assume she has shot some already, otherwise I'll bring a .22 to start.

 

[SpiritClump]

A J-Frame might be nice for her. My girl carries one and she really likes it.

 

[Regnar]

+1 P238