My girlfriend wants to purchase a pistol, what is ideal?

[dbro822]

I have to go with what others have said, if she is new to shooting start her out with a good 22lr. I made the mistake of starting my wife on a 9mm, big heavy 92f, she was flinching and jerking the trigger bad. Made the move to a nice 6" 22lr revolver and now she is shooting very well. She is now said she, I repeat she said she is now ready to move up to the 9mm or 38spl. Start with something easy to shoot and let her decide when it is time to progress.

 

[SIGLBER]

The .380's that are blow backs such as the PPK's have alot more felt recoil than you would expect. The tiny little .380's like the P3AT, LCP, and so on have stout recoil. If you want .380 I would lean towards the Bersa. Good price. Reliable, good trigger, and good accuracy. The Beretta .380 guns are big and expensive but very good guns. Having said that the .380 ammo has gotten real expensive. Has about half the muzzle energy when you compare best .380 to best 9mm loads. And their are some great compact 9mm's out there. Look at a SIG 239 9mm or a S&W 3913. They are small enough for small hands. Both are very accurate and totally reliable. Recoil is not an issue. And they are just at the top of the heap fr compact 9mm's. Kahrs polymer guns are sometimes hit or miss. But the CW9 is a very good buy and they actually seem to have a better record for reliability than the more expensive PM models. Can be had for pretty decent prices also.

 

[CZF]

Hand strength for slide operation and recoil are problems that some
females face.

 

[0to60]

Definitely give the Walther PPK a try. Its small, great ergonomics, field strips into very few parts, has a nice safety, inexpensive and is just flat out sexy.

 

[fmcdave]

My wife wanted a pistol, has a CCL and has shot and so I let her pick one out. Big mistake. She picked a KelTec P32 because it was small.

I had her take a woman's pistol/self defense course (taught by a woman) where she learned a lot and shot many different handguns. We just got her a G26 which she shoots quite well. I should have started out with that course. She did note that learning from another woman was much better than learning from me...go figure.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Dave
Note the difference in your wife's choices
Not shooting a gun much - P32, a really good choice for a EDC that can be carried everywhere, but not what you would take to a gun fight

Then a G26, after a most likely more aggressive structured course, she picked a different gun, not surprising, but I bet she still packs the P32 if she is in her 'little black dress'

But Moral of the story,
SHE PICKED

 

[sonick808]

I trained an ex-g/f of mine on a glock 23 for 2-3 months; every weekend she would shoot 100-150 rounds, and she was ready for a Glock herself after those months. IF you can train her with some of your guns, she might warm up to one of them..... and you can circumvent double expenditure of starting .22. Kinda like starting on a 600cc, with proper training and time, you can do it......

I'm not against the .22, just throwing an alternative out there. I shoot .22 more than anything else, and heart my mkii and mkiii

The P32 is a good choice also if it fulfills her needs for carry vs. marksmanship vs. whatever. I shoot mine and it's a blast, not a handful like the p3at. That, is not fun to shoot.

 

[csmith]

Thanks alot guys, I read your input on the 5th. Ill take everything into consideration. Sorry im late on the thanks. She will deffinately be shooting my 45 alot before she gets one. And we were talking about going to rent some as well. Thanks again!

 

[Jed Carter]

Better late than never, if I could only suggest one pistol to someone with small hands... it would be... a SIG P239 in 9mm. It will outshoot most larger DA/SA pistols, is a single stack, so the grip should fit. Very accurate, very reliable, it is definitely worth a try, makes a decent CCW as well.