chris in va
Member
My GF wishes I hadn't sold my Glock 21sf. She loves 45.
Help me pick a 'better' handgun for my wife
- Thread starter ngnrd
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Edster12
Member
Not sure if it fits her criteria but give the Ruger SP101 a look. I know a few ladies that carry it. Plus you have the option of using 38 or 357.
Vodoun da Vinci
Member
As some have already stated just show her options (do the research for her) and then let her choose. My Wife and I are still looking for her "Soul Mate" SD and carry pistol. She is good with some of mine but we have not found "perfect" yet. She has several guns she shoots well including an Officers ACP.
We have had to buy guns (like the EMP you wonder about) to be able to shoot them and give them a complete evaluation and last Summer purchased and sold almost a dozen pistols...the ones we wanted to try but could not borrow or rent. Not cheap but not all that expensive either.
If you buy at a good price and shoot it and decide it has no place in yer situation it can usually be moved/sold easily and all but a fraction of the initial price recovered for the next adventure.
Just a suggestion.
VooDoo
We have had to buy guns (like the EMP you wonder about) to be able to shoot them and give them a complete evaluation and last Summer purchased and sold almost a dozen pistols...the ones we wanted to try but could not borrow or rent. Not cheap but not all that expensive either.
If you buy at a good price and shoot it and decide it has no place in yer situation it can usually be moved/sold easily and all but a fraction of the initial price recovered for the next adventure.
Just a suggestion.
VooDoo
She may want to look at the Walther PK380. Supposed to be a soft-shooter.
Other than that, I'd have her look into 9mms from any of the better makers. The S&W M&P line have adjustable backstraps (except the Shield, but it's got a pretty small, very slim, grip), the Ruger SR9s have a smaller grip, and some of the Walther 9mms have adjustable backstraps.
Is this for carry or for home use? If it's for home use, there's nothing wrong with a full size .45. It may not be so much the foot pounds of recoil as the sharpness that she doesn't like, so maybe a .45 with a decent heft and a grip that fits will be more pleasant to shoot than a small or medium 9mm.
Other than that, I'd have her look into 9mms from any of the better makers. The S&W M&P line have adjustable backstraps (except the Shield, but it's got a pretty small, very slim, grip), the Ruger SR9s have a smaller grip, and some of the Walther 9mms have adjustable backstraps.
Is this for carry or for home use? If it's for home use, there's nothing wrong with a full size .45. It may not be so much the foot pounds of recoil as the sharpness that she doesn't like, so maybe a .45 with a decent heft and a grip that fits will be more pleasant to shoot than a small or medium 9mm.
DammitBoy
Member
My wife and my daughter kept stealing my Ruger SP101 until I bought them their own Rugers.
They both started out with 38+P ammo and worked up to 357 rounds. Both are small women with small hands.
They both started out with 38+P ammo and worked up to 357 rounds. Both are small women with small hands.
BCRider
Member
The things that you've found that she likes are so widely diverse and inconsistent from reading your posts that I suspect there is no real one direction you can go.
You may be looking for compact pistols only to find that when someone lets her try their full size 1911 in whatever caliber that she smiles and says "I like!".
I'd suggest that all you and her can do is go and shoot as wide a variety as you can find and see which direction she heads toward. And don't be surprised if it turns out that she goes in two or even three totally unrelated directions.
For range fun I would only echo that you let her give a few different revolvers a try. Including a single action. For range fun such guns are often the answer that makes a lot of us smile.
Of course if she heads off in that direction then you'll have to accessorize it with a nice belt and holster for woods walking....
Part of the "problem" is that SD or HD guns are not always the ones we LIKE to shoot at the range. For fun times it's not always about having the most effective tool for the job.
You may be looking for compact pistols only to find that when someone lets her try their full size 1911 in whatever caliber that she smiles and says "I like!".
I'd suggest that all you and her can do is go and shoot as wide a variety as you can find and see which direction she heads toward. And don't be surprised if it turns out that she goes in two or even three totally unrelated directions.
For range fun I would only echo that you let her give a few different revolvers a try. Including a single action. For range fun such guns are often the answer that makes a lot of us smile.
Of course if she heads off in that direction then you'll have to accessorize it with a nice belt and holster for woods walking....
Part of the "problem" is that SD or HD guns are not always the ones we LIKE to shoot at the range. For fun times it's not always about having the most effective tool for the job.
AABEN
Member
Let her try a 40. I think she will like a 40.Try to find some one that has a 40 that will let your wife try it out. I have stop shooting my 9mm and went to 40 less felt jump at the muzzle. They seem to be a bit more accurate. GOOD LUCK
browningguy
Member
My wife loves her Walther PK380, very soft shooting and she says the most comfortable grip she has ever had in her hand.
It's not that "a lot of this is completely subject," it's that all of this is completely subjective. You're going to get eleventy-zillion different recommendations. How will you know more when this thread finally dies than you did in your first post? 
celem
Member
Read about the lack of recoil, etc. with the new Remington R51.
Similar to PPK in size.
Similar to PPK in size.
Coyote3855
Member
My wife likes her Kahr P9.
The Remington R51 is a pretty big gun. Bigger than the internet would have had us believe at announcement.
http://vuurwapenblog.com/2014/01/17/the-remington-r51-is-bigger-than-you-think/
http://vuurwapenblog.com/2014/01/17/the-remington-r51-is-bigger-than-you-think/
My wife loves my Ruger SR9, and wants an SR9C.
It's slimmer than a Glock 19.
It's low bore centerline translates into less felt recoil and muzzle flip.
I haven't been able to make my SR9 choke.
It's boringly reliable, and the trigger is better than a Glock trigger.
It's slimmer than a Glock 19.
It's low bore centerline translates into less felt recoil and muzzle flip.
I haven't been able to make my SR9 choke.
It's boringly reliable, and the trigger is better than a Glock trigger.
ngnrd
Member
It's not that "a lot of this is completely subject," it's that all of this is completely subjective. You're going to get eleventy-zillion different recommendations. How will you know more when this thread finally dies than you did in your first post?
Well, like my original post said, I was hoping for suggestions for non-plastic, compact pistols with less recoil and more power than a .380. I really don't know what's available, and was hoping to narrow my research a bit. And - if I did get eleventy-zillion recommendations that actually met the selection criteria, I'd be ecstatic.
Instead, I mostly got recommendations for plastic-framed pistols and other 380's, to go along with unrelated advice about how she should just shoot a bunch and pick out what she wants - which I already addressed (see the first line of my original post). Maybe I should have skipped all the background and just asked a simpler question - my fault.
But, so far, we're not even close to eleven recommendations, let alone eleventy-zillion, that actually fit the criteria. And although most of these weren't actually 'recommended', that's OK. Just knowing about them still gives me options to look at.
- S&W 3913LS: Out of production
- Sig P239: Viable, but no recommendation regarding which of the three available cartridges would be better: 9mm, 40S&W, or 357SIG
- J-frame revolver in 38: Actually, downplayed as not as desirable as other listed handguns
- HK P7: Out of production
- Remington R51: Not yet released
- Kahr K9: Led me to other Kahr products, like the MK9, K40, etc.
- Ruger SP101
Additionally - although I know I didn't mention it - I'd prefer to buy new instead of used. It's not critical, but it is preferred. Also not mentioned, she definitely prefers auto loaders over revolvers.
So, of what's been listed so far, the Sig P239 and various Kahr offerings (and maybe the Remington R51) have gotten my attention (I don't know that I would have ever even looked at the Kahr's - they just weren't on my radar), as well as the Bersa and the EMP that I was already looking at. And while we're looking, I'll keep my eye out for a used 3913, or HK P7 to check out.
And seriously - thanks for all the suggestions so far guys (even the ones that don't exactly meet our criteria - they keep the thread active
).CZ RAMI, SIG P239, Stoeger Cougar.
If you are wanting more power and less recoil than .380, I don't think you need to look much past 9mm.
Limiting yourself to new will be tough though as the type of gun you are looking for (metal frame compacts) is past its heyday. Either that are consider polymers which are currently blossoming in the compact/pocket pistol market.
If you are wanting more power and less recoil than .380, I don't think you need to look much past 9mm.
Limiting yourself to new will be tough though as the type of gun you are looking for (metal frame compacts) is past its heyday. Either that are consider polymers which are currently blossoming in the compact/pocket pistol market.
The Cougar has a grip circumference about equal to a 92, correct?
That is a problem for people with smaller hands.
The vast majority of women have smaller hands with a lot less hand strength than men.
His lady needs a gun that fits her hand.
She needs one that she enjoys shooting and can shoot accurately, quickly, and reliably.
Methinks he and his lady have a great excuse to go fondle a bunch of different pistols, and shoot them, if possible.
The grip circumference of a 92 is too much for most women I've met.
The DA trigger reach is too long, too.
Remember, Beretta designed that pistol for Bill Jordan or Sasquatch, not for mere mortals.
That is a problem for people with smaller hands.
The vast majority of women have smaller hands with a lot less hand strength than men.
His lady needs a gun that fits her hand.
She needs one that she enjoys shooting and can shoot accurately, quickly, and reliably.
Methinks he and his lady have a great excuse to go fondle a bunch of different pistols, and shoot them, if possible.
The grip circumference of a 92 is too much for most women I've met.
The DA trigger reach is too long, too.
Remember, Beretta designed that pistol for Bill Jordan or Sasquatch, not for mere mortals.
I had "picked out" an M&P 9 for my wife. She checked a few out and went home with a Beretta 92a1.
I'd have her check out all the guns in the store. If she prefers an all metal frame, recoil should be fine whichever she chooses.
That being said, if she likes 45 and metal frames, a 1911 comes to mind.
I'd have her check out all the guns in the store. If she prefers an all metal frame, recoil should be fine whichever she chooses.
That being said, if she likes 45 and metal frames, a 1911 comes to mind.
SlowFuse
Member
On the P239, as you listed as a viable option... I would go 9mm. You lose capacity with the 40 and 357sig, and considering its a single stack the 9mm makes more sense to me considering you're requirements. It's 8 plus one btw in this configuration.
As a plus, my specific example of this firearm is scary accurate with handloads, more so than expected from a compact carry.
As a plus, my specific example of this firearm is scary accurate with handloads, more so than expected from a compact carry.
I was very specific in my K9 recommendation. The steel frame eats up a lot of recoil. The polymer P9 is good, but recoil is higher and the grip checkering can hurt the fingers a bit with a lot of shooting. The micro Kahrs work very well, but are not fun at all to shoot.
If you order from Kahr their extended and ported barrel, it will soften the recoil even more. As such, it is a very soft shooter.
The 40s will have higher recoil.
I have no experience with the 45s.
If you order from Kahr their extended and ported barrel, it will soften the recoil even more. As such, it is a very soft shooter.
The 40s will have higher recoil.
I have no experience with the 45s.
DerRottweiler
Member
I would recommend the Sig P239 in 9mm or a Sig P938 which is a single action auto like her Colt.
I know you mentioned the EMP, but have you taken a look at the Colt Defender or New Agent? They are offered in both 9mm and .45. My mom surprised me the last time she was out shooting when she said she liked my Defender because it doesn't "jump" as much. She has a wrist problem which is why the statement surprised me.
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