Helping pick an handgun for female friend

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Plinkin' Logs

Plinkin' Logs

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I know there are plenty of threads like this but hear me out. I have a female friend who also happens to be Muslim. She is has voiced to me recently that she is considering getting a firearm for self-dense as she has been harassed by a group of people near where she works that have threatened to rape her, and have tried to pull her hijab off as she was walking to her car. She also said one of the members of the group followed her several block in the car, and she is concerned they might try to follow her home. She in not a "gun person" but she is not anti-gun either.

She brought it up to me as she knows I go shooting regularly. She is about average height for a woman, about 5'5 or so, and tends to be more on the slender side of the scale.
I promised to take her shooting once she bought it and teach her proper use and safe handling practices. I asked her how much she wanted to spend, and was pretty clueless, but I eventually got it out that not any more then $500. My first instinct was a G19, but she did express interest in getting a CCW later on, and I'm not sure if a fullsized G19 would be easy to carry on the body for a smaller build person. But then again she also carries a purse with her, so that might not be an issue.

I'm more of a rifleman by nature then a handgun guy, so I figure I would toss it out to the experts here.

Thanks in advance guys :)
 
A g-19 can be hidden with certain wardrobe qualifications. Very well fitted (snug) clothes doesnt work great, but beyond that, it can be worked around. It is a very good general purpose gun, small enough to be concealable, large enough to be easy to shoot well. Small J frame Smiths often arent as easy to shoot well, both for women and for men.

I'm not a huge proponent of purse or off body carry, but in certain situations may work. It would be far easier for somone to disarm her when purse carrying, and vastly easier to forget somewhere.

Good luck. Theres a lot of bone heads in the world.
 
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Charter Arms makes an excellent 6 shot 38 special. Its a small frame revolver, the size of a J frame, or Ruger SP101. Its stainless steel, so its a bit heavier than the aluminum J frames, that helps tame recoil, and has the advantage of being a 6 shot. Charter Arms makes very good budget priced revolvers, and they have a lifetime warranty. BudsGunShop.com has them for around $340 and free shipping to a FFL Dealer of your choice.
 
Got a range that rents guns near you? Start there and teach her some firearm safety. Only she can decide what she's most comfortable with, not necessarily easy for someone new to guns/shooting.
 
I have rules for choosing a handgun, regardless of the gender of the person shooting it.

Shoot the largest caliber you can comfortably control.
Shoot the largest handgun you can comfortable conceal.
Know what handgun fit is and choose a gun that fits.

Obviously, these rules are all subjective. For some, it will be a hand cannon, for others it will be a pea shooter. Depends on the persons size, strength, wardrobe, hands, etc.

Educate yourself, then take her into a gunshop and pass on that education.
 
Thanks guys, that's sound advice. I will actually be taking her over to Freestate when I pick her up from work today based on your advice and letting her rent a few, as well as try my G22. She only works a short distance from my house and obviously the most recent events have rattled her a bit. I'll update you later today with how it went.
Thanks guys, your advice means alot.
 
Please don't take this the wrong way, but,
If you are more of a rifle person, are you the best person to get her up and running with a handgun, especially for self defense?
Helping her to choose a gun is one thing, but learning how to use it for a possible serious confrontation is quite another.
Yeah, I know, hardly anyone wants to put in the time, effort and money for training, figuring all they need to do is have a gun around when trouble comes, and all will be well.
But there's no real substitute for it when it comes to survival.
 
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Get her to take the NRA Basic Pistol class where she will learn about the different types of guns and the proper way to load, handle and shoot them. This gives her a much better foundation than respondents reporting in with their favorite gun. Then she can take that knowledge and go shopping for what fits her and her skill set best.
 
If your friend is in imminent danger in her surroundings, she needs to report her situation to the local authorities. If in fact she is in danger and she feels that the authorities cannot help her, I would strongly urge her to remove herself from the situation where she feels she is in danger.

I had a nurse friend who took a job straight out of nursing school, at a hospital in a tough part of Philly, and the late night early morning work shifts coming in from the suburbs caused a level of fear and anxiety in her that just weren't worth it, she changed jobs to a suburban hospital closer to her home, and she still had stressful working conditions at odd hours, but at least she was more comfortable in her familiar surroundings.

The number one rule of firearms carry is to avoid situations that require, or make you feel like you need to carry a firearm in the first place. This we learned in the first 10 minutes of the NRA Badic Handgun Safety class.
 
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for women and guys with small or medium hands, and for CCW a single stack is a better fit for most new shooters and carriers, stay away from the subcompacts and micro 9s for recoil reasons, the best of the crop in her price range is the Shield, also if you can find one a used Sig 239 may be an option. if her hand is big enough for the G19 and she is willing to dress around it, it is a an option but also try to put a M&P and a SR in her hand for a reference point...other than that good luck and be patient while trying to find "her" gun
 
Just got back home, and finished reading the new comments.
You guys must have physic powers because she is taking the NRA basic pistol training class at Freestate. Its what they recommended, and I agreed it would be a good idea. Too, new shooters are required to do a basic 20 minute firearm handling practices at Freestate, so we did that today.

In regards to report it to the authority he has called the police twice, on the group but of course they vanished into the woodwork by the time they got there. That was the time they tried to pull her hijab off. She also called the police when one of them tried to follow her home. The police decided to wait 1 hour out front of her house in case they showed up. Her buildings office security has had to run the hoodlums off a number of times as well, but when she works late their is no one at the front desk to watch her walk to her car.

So she said her favorite to shoot was .22LR M&P, but seemed a little disappointed when I informed her .22s are not great choice for self defense (watch out we might have a new recreational shooter as well :D). She handled a Ruger LCP but it was a bit too snappy because of its lightweight (that was my personal observation not hers). She seemed to like the G42 though, and it actually fits her smaller hand pretty well. We also tried a G19 and she was able to handle it well. She thought it was another .380, until I informed her it was a 9mm, so she didn't notice much of a difference in terms of recoil, due to the increased weight. It was a tad large for her hands. We also tried my Colt 1911, and G22. She decidedly was not a fan of the .45, and she was flinching from the loud volume of the .40 S&W.

So it sounds like either a compact .380 or a full-sized 9mm seems to be her comfort threshold. I like the idea of the Shield too. But I'll she what she says when she completes the NRA course.

Thanks guys, Tahara says thank you too.
 
She might like the Bersa Thunder...little heavier, but in a purse, probably okay. Nice safety features, easy to manipulate, shoot.

Just a thought, but the 42 or 43 might be another excellent choice.
 
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The GLOCK 42 is a light recoiling pistol for its size. I carry one and found the recoil was no worse than my WALTHER PPK in .32ACP, but the GLOCK is .380ACP with more power. Also, the PPK is several ounces heavier!

You can also try a SIG 232 or BERETTA 85, both in .380ACP. They are much larger than the GLOCK 42, but hold more rounds and are both accurate enough to substitute for a compact 9m.m. as far as accuracy, reliability and control are concerned.

If she would like to go with a 9m.m., the SPRINGFIELD ARMORY XD Sub Compact is a small, but not very light gun that I found easier to shoot than the GLOCK 26. I swear by it.
The extended magazines make it a decent house or car gun as well.

Jim
 
I carry a glock 42 95% of the time as it drops well into my pocket with minimal amount of fuss. My wife is not very recoil tolerant, so the Glock 42 or the Sig P238 are all she can shoot comfortably. She's tried the Taurus TCP, Keltec P380, Ruger LCP, SW 442 and Taurus 85 and found that they either recoil too snappy or are uncontrollable for her.

So far my G42 has been flawless for 300 rds.
 
My girlfriend is new to shooting. I had her fire my Glock 19, a full size Colt Government Model in 45ACP, and an M&P 9 full size. She shot them all very well, and she chose to buy a Glock 19.
 
Shoot many; buy one. Let her do the shooting and make up her own mind. Many ranges rent guns and I'm sure you have shootin' buddies who'd be happy to let her try some of theirs. Just be sure and not get with the guys who would start her with a .44 Magnum just to see her reaction.

My wife once told me ... you don't pick out my shoes and sewing machines, what makes you think you can pick out my guns? She only had to tell me once; I got the message.
 
Try many (if possible), buy one. Quite a few compact 9mm.s out there. Maybe look into a Ruger SR9c and a Springfield Armory XD(M) or a XD Mod2.
 
Interesting how well intentioned advisors don't seem to take into account that not all new shooters are well matched to their brand, model, platform or action type. There are positives and negatives to each of these characteristics. A new shooter should take all of these factors into consideration and not just follow the crowd. The decision path should start with unbiased professional instruction then try before you buy and preferably try several times before making the final decision.
 
She is a bit short and slender, not average for a woman.

I assume she is not married to get her husband's advice and protection.

Does she have family nearby?

Some of the threats she has received, if she can verify them, constitute criminal offenses. She can take legal (police) action.

As far as choosing a gun IF she is single and willing you or somebody should take her to a gun store and/or range and let her try out some of the very good suggestions for firearms made here. And ,as a previous poster opined, she should decide.

And finally, if she is being harassed, why would she not want to get a permit or license to carry a concealed weapon?

You are great to be concerned and help her out. Best of luck.
 
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