First handgun for wife

[Walther P99]

First off, I know this has been posted before. I ran a search several different ways but didn't find exactly what I wanted. But I did find 93 pages in one search... Please bear with me.

My wife is finally interested in going shooting after about 4 years of being together. She's never fired a gun before, so I'm intending to look for a revolver for now. I'm thinking either a .22 SA or a .38 Special with around a 4" barrel. Or would it be wise to use one of my semis (prob. P99)? I'm leaning towards the 4" .38.

So bottom line, what do y'all recommend for a first-time shooter?

Thanks

 

[Graystar]

Personally I think that first-time females should start off on .22. Once she starts enjoying the challenge of target shooting, you can introduce her to other calibers.

You know what's a fun gun for women? A Ruger Single Six in .32 H&R Mag. From what I remember, the grip was a tiny bit smaller...perfect for smaller hands. Got one for my girlfriend for cowboy action shooting. She loved it.

 

[Jim Watson]

Hard to find THE Answer, but there is a key factor.
GET HER TO STORES, RANGES, AND FRIENDS WITH LOTS OF GUNS. LET **HER** PICK. See anecdotes below.

That said, if the aim is for her to learn and enjoy shooting, with no immediate need for a personal weapon, I would show her a S&W M17 or M18; the old K-22 with 6" or 4" barrel, respectively. Later S&Ws are way heavy. Single action revolvers are harder to manage, in my opinion, but a Ruger Single Six is OK... get the adjustable sights.

I guess the worst thing about a revolver is the 12 lb DA. For target shooting only, thumb cocking gets her a nice 3 lb SA, though. Operation is simple, ammo selection is versatile. Price is lower for equal quality.

The best feature of an auto is its consistent trigger, unless you stick her with a DA/SA design. Fight a 15 lb recoil spring to cock and a 12 lb magazine spring to load, but only once per string. Ammo is critical. More rounds in the gun for gunfighting.

A .22 cal is best to learn on, cheap, quiet, and accurate. A .38 is ok if you handload or are willing to pay for target wadcutters that don't have much recoil or blast. A 9mm can be hard to work with, they are loud and have a sharp snap to the recoil.

I have worked with two novice women.

I started one out with a S&W M18 .22 revolver. She ended up preferring a M19 with Specials, shot ALL Double Action at any target, any size, any range. Autos, even .22, did not interest her.

The other I started with the same .22. I worked her up through .38 revolver which was ok, .22 auto which was too mild after shooting a centerfire, 9mm auto (Glock) which she found unpleasant, and finished up with a .45 which delighted her. Of course it was my elderly Pachymayr Special with powderpuff handloads as would be used for 50 ft target shooting. So accuracy was excellent, recoil no more than the .38 Special, and Great Big holes in the target. Holes amazingly close together for a beginner.

Her friend, slightly experienced in shooting, came to watch an IDPA match and visited the S&W demo range. She enjoyed blasting away with their .40s. She seemed to favor the head shot.

My chiropractress shoots a Colt Python with .38s for fun.
I know a lady with a Browning Buckmark and another with a Ruger Mk II. Racking the slide is a chore but if you handle it right, you only have to do it once a day.
Another is a top-notch Cowboy Action Shooter. She is a snake with a .38 Single Action, faster than me.

Gun choices are personality driven. Get her looking.

 

[Rich357]

I don't think getting someone started shooting makes much difference if the new shooter is a man or a woman.

Other than telling us your wife is a woman. We don't know much about her. Assuming she is "average sized" and no hand or wrist problems, a .22lr a good .22 lr revolver is an ok way to start. A good .38 Special is also fine, with modest loads. I don't see anything wrong with a P99 9mm. She may like a 1911A1 .45auto. It would be good if she had the opportunity to try several handguns. See which guns likes. Who knows, she find she loves the big boomers when she gets a little experience shooting.

Starting with a revolver can get you in the habit of putting your off hand thumb over your strong hand wrist. This needs to be changed when shooting a semi-auto.

A trip to the range is always more pleasant if you have plenty of ear protection. Soft fram plugs under good earmuffs.

Good luck,
Rich

 

[Coot]

My sister just purchased her first gun about a year ago after someone broke into her apartment; she'd never done any shooting before.

As her concern was primarily for self-defence, I steered her towards a Ruger SP101 in .357Mag, and gave her lots and lots of practice with .38 Special loads (she carries it with .38 +P).

My wife (who is a very occasional shooter) has a S&W 60LS, and she much prefers the SP101 (go figure).

I would highly recommend this gun to anyone: easy to shoot, capable of handling any loads you care to put through it, and very mild recoil with the .38's.

 

[Graystar]

I don't think getting someone started shooting makes much difference if the new shooter is a man or a woman.

The difference is that there are many stories of a wife or girlfriend being given a .357 Mag to shoot, take one shot, and decide never to shoot again.

 

[Rich357]

quote: Rich357
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I don't think getting someone started shooting makes much difference if the new shooter is a man or a woman.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
quote: Graystar-
"The difference is that there are many stories of a wife or girlfriend being given a .357 Mag to shoot, take one shot, and decide never to shoot again."
--------------------

I'm sure the same thing has happened to newbie male shooters with the same result. It is, IMHO, a stupid or mean spirited way to introduce a new shooter to the sport/hobby. Much like taking a new skier on a black diamond run. There are a some real SOBs out there.

Rich

 

[Sgt]

I wouldn't do it Walther......

1. It will raise your shooting costs.
2. You won't be able to have time to yourself.
3. She'll have one more area where she will think she is more knowledgable than you and nag you even more.
4. When she ultimately decides she can't live with you anymore, she'll want to take her guns with her.

Just kidding, well sort of

Hope you do better than I did...it took 24 years, but she took her firearms with her and I miss the firearms...

Semper Fi, Sgt

 

[Graystar]

but she took her firearms with her and I miss the firearms

LMAO! I know *exactly* how you feel!

 

[tbeb]

I recommend a .22 long rifle double action revolver (you can shoot it single action also). My wife doesn't really like guns. She learned with a .22 revolver. Now she uses a 9mm semi-auto. (A nice used Harrington & Richardson would be a fairly inexpensive training revolver. I believe we used a model 922.)

 

[Gus Dddysgrl]

I think it does matter agout the gender thing. See guys usually have a much higher desire for power. (Nothing wrong with that more often than not they should have the final say. They should have the power in most situations) However they like to FEEL powerful. When a gun kicks hard it makes the guys feel strong for being able to handle it. A female would often be more scared. She may not be able to handle the power given them. To start with a less powerful gun for a female is often smart. Sometimes they will like to build up to more powerful guns, but it has to be their choice.

Also it is good to let her pick. See if she likes how they feel in her hands. I know my dad and I disagree on grips. He likes round ones; I like square ones. He lets me pick what I shoot. It gives me some say and then if I don't like it I give it back to him and try something else. Also since I picked it he can't be blamed if I don't like it. I have settled on his G19 for now, but haven't been to the range for about a month and a 1/2 so I have to try some of the other ones again. I hope this helps.


Gus

 

[Rich357]

Hi Gus,

You may well be right about guys frequently going after the big, hard hitting handguns. When S&W came out with the 500 Mag I started drooling. However, I would rather not start a newbie shooter, male or female with a hard kicking handgun. I don't think it would help them learn the basics of handgun safety and shooting any better (likely not as well) as a handgun with a modest kick.

If after a little shooting with an easy kicking handgun the newbie shooter (male or female) insisted on trying something hotter I would have no problem with that.

Congrats on picking a G19 it's fine pistol. I used mine to do the Richmond, CA GSSF shoot last year. I'm sure your dad is very happy you're interested in shooting.

If you can, try a G17 next time you go to the range. The longer sight radius makes it a little easier to shoot tight groups. I'll use a G17 the next time I do the GSSF event. If you don't mind more noise and a little snapper recoil you might try something in .357SIG.

All the best,
Rich

 

[TamThompson]

Rich357, you rock!

I'm a woman, and a fun gun for me is my Glock 30--a .45 ACP. My first pistol was a Ruger SP101 .357 mag revolver, which I still enjoy. I took the recoil as a personal challenge. But then, I had quite a career in powerlifting, and am about as strong as 90% of all men. Seriously.

Then there's my husband. He CAN'T shoot my .357 mag--the trigger pull kills him, as does the recoil. He's 6 feet tall and weighs--I am not making this up--106 pounds. He's an incredibly fast runner, but can't handle large caliber handguns; they would break his wrist. Me, on the other hand...I'm sure I could handle a .50, or a .44mag, or a .454 or 10mm just fine (if I wanted to spend a fortune and risk overpenetrating my target in a defense situation.) Guess who does the heavy lifting at our home?

It really does depend on the person, not the gender.

 

[Rich357]

TamThompson-
"I'm a woman, and a fun gun for me is my Glock 30--a .45 ACP. My first pistol was a Ruger SP101 .357 mag revolver, which I still enjoy. I took the recoil as a personal challenge. But then, I had quite a career in powerlifting, and am about as strong as 90% of all men. Seriously."

Hi Tam,

Neat! I believe you. There are women at the local Gold's Gym who can lift an amazing amount weight.

It's easy to get burned making generalizations. I make generalizations around a friend of mine just so see her start steaming. She gets this great look on her face, a mixture of frustration, indignation and a little smile. Then I hear, "You can't make a statement like that about ALL women!!!". I give her a big grin and try to change the subject.

It is a challenge to concentrate on sight alignment, a good trigger squeeze, and let the noise and recoil just happen.

Good point about the .50s and .454s not being great house guns. And, they are "high maintenance". After my initial period of drooling, I haven't convinced myself (yet) I absolutely have to have a S&W 500 Mag.

All the best,
Rich

 

[Rich357]

Speaking of generalizations... Gus made some interesting generalizations about males. Some women might get a little fired up over them.

She may well be right about her qualified generalizations regarding male and female newbie shooters. I agree with her suggestions for beginning female shooters. Very interesting post.

It's great to see women speaking out about enjoying shooting. Maybe it will encourage more women to get into owning and shooting handguns.

Rich

 

[Gus Dddysgrl]

If there is one thing and only one thing I learned in my education classes it's that there is always an exception. I know they were generalizations and meant no offense. I hang out with mostly guys. I am the only female in the company I work for and am usually the only female when I go out with friends. I am the only one who has had much experience with guns. Most of the guys I know are scared spitless by me.

Like TamTompson I took the more powerful guns of my dads as a challenge. I wanted to see if I could handle them. I just about fell over when I first shot dads snubby, but after the initial shock I was fine. I like it and haven't had the chance to try again. It's fun, but I need to grow stronger to be able to hit more then 50% of the time with it. For now I am happy with the G19 though.

When we go on family vacation in a couple of weeks we are stopping at S&W to rent some of the guns and I definitely want to try the 500 Mag. I like to try things, but the G19 is great. My dad laughs when I say I like it, but it fits. I've even carried it around the house to see how I like it. Well I think that's it for now.

Gus

PS I may be small, but I think Runt is smaller and she can prolly handle more then I can. Size doesn't always matter sometimes it's strength, determination, or ablility.

 

[Boats]

I taught my wife to shoot. We had extended gun show trips, trying guns on her short fingered hands. The one thing I refused to do was to buy into the "recoil fear" that many people think new shooters uniformally suffer from.

True newbies have no frame of reference for things such as caliber, recoil, recovery time etc.

It turns out that my wife only likes single action autos, her two primary ones being a Colt Officer's Model 1911 with a short reach trigger and a Beretta Jetfire.

She started with the .45ACP. The reaction to recoil is mostly mental. Starting with the .45 made that weapon's characteristics her frame of reference as "normal" and "what to expect."

 

[megatronrules]

I'd say a browning hi power in 9mm great gun thin grip,low recoil hi cap mags are cheap and easy to find. Also cheap ammo means more practice trigger may need work out of the box,but removing the mag dissconnect goes a long ways to improving triger pull I thing. The hi power also has a single action tirgger so no having to adjust to 2 differant trigger pulls,This can be bothersome for some shooters.