what is the best carry gun for females??

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Mastrogiacomo,

Have her fire the revolver first if she's leaning towards one. That might change her tune quick when her hands get a taste of the bite.

This statement makes me wonder how many revolvers (other than your Ti J-frame) you've shot. The vast majority don't "bite". A K- or L-frame gun with 110gr or 125gr .357 Magnums is really no more unpleasant to fire than your Beretta, and can be set up with a much nicer DA trigger. :confused:
 
Straight From the Wife

We tried several different weapons -- Glocks in 9mm and 45acp, Colt M-1911s, J, K, & L frame 38/357 and smaller types - Keltec, Kahr, and Beretta models from 22lr to 380acp.

She likes the simplicity of the revolver. For some reason, she really enjoys using speedloaders too. We tried the alloy framed models, as well as a titanium rental. She hated the lightweight revolver due to the increased felt recoil.

She did not have trouble on racking the slide or manipulating safeties on semi-autos. In the end, she settled on a 4" Taurus 627 Tracker. She can consistently empty all seven rounds into the span of her closed fist at 25 yards in DA or SA mode very quickly. She also likes the fact that she can use the same gun for target practice, self-defense, and big bad --- kicking with wadcutters to magnum loads.
 
I had bought a S&W Chief's Special revolver for my girlfriend, but she she couldn't shoot it well. Since I wanted her to hit her target should she need to defend herself, I got her a Glock 33 (357SIG subcompact.) She shot the Glock far better than the revolver. The Glock was also less bulky to carry than the revolver.

The 357SIG round is pretty rough. If I ever have to go through that again I might opt for a Glock 26 (9mm subcompact.)
 
My wife wears a:

Glock 19 on the hip

or a:

Glock 26 in the purse.

Depends on the oufit of course!! :)

HS/LD
 
In response to the question - that's for a woman to decide.
 
I'm with Gary. Let her pick.

It's odd, but every female who has shot with me has preferred the 1911 even the young & nubile who wants to be a federale (whose agency carries the G22/23). The GSC myths about recoil are silly once you show them how to hold it. Just racking the slide in dry practice will strength their hands.

In fact, the lovely young bride of TFLer Glock-o-matic has a couple of very nice Cylinder and Slide Kimbers and she stands a towering 5'3" or so.
 
My wife shoots a S&W Chief Special Airweight 38 spl, as a matter of fact, shoots that particular gun way bettter than I will ever be able too.

I guess the grip size just suits her more than it does me, fine by me, confidence is everything when it comes to a carry gun, and I'm glad she is comfortable with it.

Warmest regards,
 
Let her try out a variety of guns. See if your local range has a "intro to firearms" class she could take.

Its better if someone else than you teach her the basics. Ideally it would be a female instructor.

A good .38/.357 revolver by Ruger, S&W, Colt, or Taurus would work great, but it has to be her pick.

Stick with lighter weight bullets. EG 158 grn magnums in my .357 SP101 will give me a bleeding blister within a few cylinder fulls, but I can shoot 125 grain magnum loads all day.

Lighter bullet = reduced felt recoil.
 
Well, I may not agree with a revolver but she may not agree with a Beretta. Whatever she is most comfortable with should be the gun on her bill. Everybody has different tastes, that's what keeps the gun industry so busy!:D
 
Mastrogiacomo,

What I'm saying is this:

Basing your opinion on the "bite" of revolvers based on your experiences with one AirLite Ti J-frame is like basing your opinion on the "bite" of semiautos on one alloy Commander converted to .460 Rowland.

It's like saying "all cars are hard to drive" when the only car you've driven is an early Porsche 356 with a crash gearbox... ;)
 
I echo the comments about don't assume that a revolver is best. Look for the handgun that fits her hands the best and points well. Stay away from "lightweights" because they are just too hard to shoot well. My first gun was a Star Firestar M43, which is a heavy, all steel single stack 9mm. It is still my favorite to shoot, mainly because it fits my hands and the heavy frame makes recoil almost undetectable. For a house gun, consider a heavy .357 revolver with a 4 inch barrell. I love shooting my new Taurus Tracker, which has a new high-tech rubber grip that makes it very shootable, even with my small to medium size hands.
 
You're right. I could be wrong and perhaps it's just the after taste still lingering from my own bad experience. I imagine if she buys a revolver very different from my small 442, it'll serve her well. What can I say? Maybe there ARE women that love a revolver. I guess I'm just a Beretta fanatic...:D
 
Anyone with small hands will like the Colt Police Positive revolver.


coltpolicepositive.jpg



They don't make 'em anymore, so check the used gun market.
 
Since my opinion of my own CCW has changed many times over the years, hers probably will too as her experience and skill increase.

It's not like she's going to be stuck with whatever SHE chooses. Her first gun will be just that, her FIRST gun, and I wouldn't put it any other way. It's just a tool, and that choice is a highly personal one for everybody. So is her SECOND gun going to be, etc.
 
Having taught a few ladies to shoot, there's many good points above. Women are all individuals (duh!) & you can guide them, but let them choose.

The ex-wife still has a 4" Python, which she understands is a special gun, and a Smith 5904, which was always reliable. She often would shoot the Python with my full power handloads, which would startle most of the guys at the range.:evil: We started her with a .22, then the Python shooting .38's, then .357's.

A female friend is an avid Ruger .22 shooter. She's shot my 1911's a few times, but just doesn't like the recoil, even though she's deadly accurate. I expect an intruder at her house would rapidly find ten small holes in his chest, along with German Shepherd fang marks in his groin:p

To get even a petite woman to rack a semi-auto slide, have her point the gun straight out with her gun hand. Lock that elbow. grab the slide with the other hand, and have her use her shoulders to draw back the slide. This trick allows more leverage than hand and arm strength alone.:)
 
My sister shoots the larger calibers. She loves .44 Magnum. Go figure. She is also a better shot than me but you didn't hear me say that.

Bottom line is to shoot what you are comfortable with. The same advice holds true for men!
 
I'm with Gary too!

It difficult, but you gotta stand back and let HER pick. I was sure my wife would LOVE my P-32. She hated it. I took her to the gun shop and said "shop". She went right to the Total Ti Taurus .38 Special. As a matter of fact, her two favorite pistols are the Taurus Ti (which she's VERY good with) and a Ruger Single Six. She's just a "revolver woman". <shrug>
I'm just happy she likes to practice.

KR
 
FWIW

The two guns that my wife immediately said "lets buy one!" after shooting were the Sig P232 and the CZ-75SA. She doesn't have trouble with racking slides, once she was taught to bring the gun in close to your chest.

She liked the big S&W 625 shooting it SA, but wasn't too hot on the long DA pull. She thought revolvers were a bit of a hassle to load/reload.
Didn't like the little G26 at all.

Of the centerfire guns I actually own and shoot regularly, I think her order of preference is BHP GP Comp, 1911 and BHP. She liked my CZ PCR w/Hakans quite a bit before I sold it out from under her (she was kind of pissed at me for a while :eek: ). She loves the Ruger Mk II most of all.

I don't think her preferences reflect dainty "chick guns" very much at all.

I think for women, the biggest CCW difference w/men may have to do with the differences between how men and women dress. Plus, guys (at least most of them, even here around San Francisco) don't carry purses. You could hide a Benelli tactical shotgun in some of the purses I've seen women lugging around.

Steve
 
Another tip that will help any new shooter is, double up on the hearing protection. Wear plugs under the headset. I follow this myself, since wearing glasses tends to make a gap in the headset, and reduces their effectiveness.
 
Most "conventional" suggestions for new women shooters (snubby revolvers and .380 autos) are about as stupid as possible. Small guns are much harder to shoot well generally, and light guns recoil worse than bigger guns in better calibers.

Medium or even large guns in .38 Special or 9x19mm are probably the best choices, aside from a .22LR of course. Enough gun to soak up some recoil, enough sight radius to make precise shooting less laborious. Revolver or semi-auto is more personal preference... if they aren't willing to learn the "complexities" :rolleyes: of a semi-auto, they should probably stick to a rock. Someone that disinterested in the weapon would be more apt to be negligent with it. But that's just me.

The only real objective difference from a shooting point of view between men and women is hand strength and hand size. And that's only "on average." The best new-shooter performance I ever got was from a short woman with small hands shooting a... Glock 20C 10mm.

:evil:

So you never know.
 
My wife went through several pistols before she found her preference.

She ruled out wheel guns right off the bat because she saw I had none. That would be my first recommendation for a new shooter though. More time spent sighting and shooting, less spent fiddling.

My wife ended up with a Kahr K9 in nickel. Beautiful, smooth pistol, it fits her, and she's a tack driver with it. Basically as point and shoot as a revolver with faster reloads.

Main thing is to let her decide. Let her rent a few at the range.
 
"... if they aren't willing to learn the "complexities" of a semi-auto, they should probably stick to a rock. "

Have to totally disagree with that statement. Several ladies I know have no use for automatics for what ever reason. That's why we have revolvers.

Totally agree that small and light is not always good - the conundrum is that small and light is easy to carry, hard to shoot. Large and heavy is easy to shoot, hard to carry. ( within reason)

I have a bucket full of aftermarket grips for a RB K frae - helped my ex immensely when we got her grips that fit her hand. This is an over looked advantage of revolvers, IMHO.
 
I'm just not on the same "wavelength" as my wife...

While going through a catalog last night and asking her, "Do you like this one" over and over and hearing, "Sorta" over and over--She finally says, "You KNOW I want a Ruger Bird's Head Vaquero with that case hardened finish". I said .45 Colt or .32 H&R Magnum"? She said, "Huummm". The ONLY option I have is to just take her to the gun shop and have her shop for the exact one she wants.
Now, WHY can't I get this in my head as "SOP"? :banghead:

KR
 
My wife already owned a handgun when we met (one of the reasons I married her :neener: ) so I don't know if this advice applies, but...

Her favorite pistol in the whole world is the Kahr MK9 I bought her. She was carrying a Taurus PT92 under her car seat as her "CCW" because her father believes that all semi's should have 15+ rounds to be of any use... :rolleyes: I've never had to point it out, because he has kept his disapproval to himself, but my 6+1 in her purse is WAAAY better than 15+1 in the car!

She doesn't have any problems pulling back the slide, and I do NOT consider her very strong. In fact, I'd say she's fairly "under-strong" for a female. :what: Technique is much more important than sheer strength when chambering a round.

When I was shopping for the Kahr, she told me "no revolvers", so they weren't even a consideration. I don't really like wheelies anway, so I wouldn't have bought one even if she hadn't said so. Once I had finished the preliminary "reliablility/carryability" search on my own, I took her around to a few shops that had the 5 pistols I had narrowed it down to. She picked the MK9 on her own from a list of S&W 3913LS, Kel-Tec P11, Glock 26, Kahr K9, and Kahr MK9.

For the house, it's a Walther P99 in the bedside safe.
 
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