What Handgun for wife? Brands & size?

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Chuck123

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My wife has taken an 8 hours gun safety-shooting class and is some what warming up to the idea of shooting and self defense. Some day she might work up to a personal defense gun like 9MM or a 38 but for now I think starting out it would be nice to start with a 22 hang gun.m I know about leting her pick out a gun to fit her. Believe me I tried to give her my glock 26 and that didn't work; learned my lesson!

What are your recommendation; brands and so on.

Chuck
 
I have a Ruger 22/45 and a single six.

They work great to teach someone new to firearms.I usually set up a steel reactive target or some clays to let them have some fun and get some positive feedback (instead of punching holes in paper).


Good luck and have fun!
 
My wife went from a Ruger SP-101 4" in .22LR to a S&W Sigma SW9VE, she "tried on" the Sigma after a recommendation from a friend of hers. She's been through a basic handling class with plenty of shooting, pluse trips to the range with both guns. She ripped the center of of a small sillhouete target with a "splash" target center, with a full 50 rounds. She goes to the range with me a couple of times a year. Does about the same each time. Isn't interested in anything except self defense and has complete faith in the weapon and her ability.

I can live with that.

Geoff
Who found a way to get his SP-101 back! :cool:
 
Here's a wild idea:

Take her to a gun shop and let her figure out what she wants.

Yeah, You'll probably be there 6-8 hours, but it sure beats holding her purse for 6-8 hours in the mall while she goes from store to store trying on every dress/outfit in the place. :eek:

(Just make sure that the shop you take her to has excellent customer service and is patient with new/female shooters.)
 
What Handgun for wife? Brands & size?

My wife is just now warming up to the idea of carrying a handgun for person protection (someday)! Got her to take one four hour class and then an eight hour gun safety-shooting course a couple of months ago. She was fine with it as long as I don’t get too pushy about shooting and carrying. I learned not to choose a gun for her and let her make the selection. By the way; she didn’t like the way my Glock 26 fit her. Damn! I was hoping to give the 26 to her and then get something new for me. What a pig I am. Lucky for me my sons bought me a new Glock 23 for my birthday.

What are your suggestions for a handgun for my wife; caliber and brand? Probably need a good starter gun? Is a 22 the way to go, or just move up to a 38 or 9MM.

Chuck
 
Last edited:
+1 Pauli. Let her shoot a wide selection (borrow them from your friends, or rent them at a range that offers rentals) and then make up her own mind. It's her choice that counts.
 
Because you asked, I will give my recommendations though it's better to let her decide herself.

Bersas are great little pistols for the money. Springfield's XD-9 subcompact, Glock's G-36 because the 45acp doesn't kick as people says it does. Sig's P239 in 9mm and P232 in 380acp. Beretta's M85 Cheetah in 380acp.

Seek out professional training.
 
Wife's first Gun, Suggestion Please

What Handgun for wife? Brands & size?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My wife is just now warming up to the idea of carrying a handgun for person protection (someday)! Got her to take one four hour class and then an eight hour gun safety-shooting course a couple of months ago. She was fine with it as long as I don’t get too pushy about shooting and carrying. I learned not to choose a gun for her and let her make the selection. By the way; she didn’t like the way my Glock 26 fit her. Damn! I was hoping to give the 26 to her and then get something new for me. What a pig I am. Lucky for me my sons bought me a new Glock 23 for my birthday.

What are your suggestions for a handgun for my wife; caliber and brand? Probably need a good starter gun? Is a 22 the way to go, or just move up to a 38 or 9MM.
 
For a first time female shooter I would recoomend a 22 to start off I know most girls are like how bad does it kick will it hurt will i be able to hold onto it and a 22 will build up a lil confidence then move to something larger. I bought my wife a lil 25 for her first though about the same as 22 I wouldn't reccomend much larger.
 
A Wife Gun

Some semi autos tend to have slides too stiff for some slight of frame women to pull back, in this case a revolver is probably the way to go.

Semi autos have more of a potential to jam than revolvers. Some women have trouble clearing a jammed cartridge since they don't have the needed strength or mechanical aptitude.

If you don't hold it right, a semi auto's slide can bite you (my wife knows).

Many semi autos and revolvers have grips too large for the majority of women; you have to get something that fits.

As for cartridge selection, anything from .22 LR on up will hurt someone hit with it. It would be nice to have something a little more potent though. My wife's Taurus .22 LR has recoil that wouldn't bother anyone; this is as close as it has come to a gun that she "likes." She was OK with .38 Special semi wadcutter loads in a Lady Smith .357 Magnum and the recoil of 9 mm Parabellum in a Glock was OK but she couldn't pull the slide back.

As you see, there are many factors to consider; just make sure the emphasis is on something she likes and not on what you like or think she should have.
 
My wife learned to shoot with an inexpensive H & R .22LR revolver with a 4" barrel.

(Now she shoots a Ruger Speed Six with a 2 3/4" barrel, loaded with .38 special +P 125gr. JHP. A gunsmith lightened double action trigger pull to about eight pounds.)
 
9mm FN

Hi Y'all,

When she got her permit, about 10 yrs. ago, she
picked up a nice 9mm, FN Hi-power. She makes her own choices.
She still shoots it occasionally.
Because we use to go to an indoor range, she did not
like to spend her time & money loading magazines.
So we went to the Gunshow & she got a dozen magazines.
Some were military. They all worked fine. So she'd spend the
half hour shooting.

Her next choice was a S&W 6906, 9mm.
She only has 7 magazines for that.
She shoot very well.
If it ever goes "down" she's got my back.
That's the way it is out in the Country.

It just takes practice, practice, practice.
Let her pick out what she wants.
That's the best way, at least for us.
Have Fun!
Old John
 
First, determine that she really wants a handgun. Kinda sounds like she's appeasing your desire for her to learn rather than wanting one herself. If she actually does want of her own, take her shopping, have her try a few different types/brands, and let her decide!
 
First, read this: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=172170

You don't say whether she has small hands or large ones, or whether she expressed a preference for semi-autos or revolvers. Without at least that much to go by, specific recommendations aren't going to help a whole lot.

If you are willing to buy her two guns, one to learn on and one to carry if needed, then a .22 is ideal to learn to shoot with. But if you are only going to buy her one gun, she'll be better off learning to shoot with a defense caliber than she would be depending on a .22 for defense. If that's the case, she will probably prefer to start with a 9mm or a .38 (though some women find the rolling recoil of a .45 more pleasant than either of those).

You said she didn't like the Glock 26, but didn't say if it was too big, too small, too fat, or "just didn't feel right" (which is usually a grip angle thing). Hard to make any guesses from there about what might work and what probably won't, without a little more information.

So ... give us some more information please. :)

pax
 
Take her to a gunshop and let her choose a few that she feels comfortable with.

Next, take her to the range to try out the few that she like.

Few recommendations would be a Kahr K9, XD subcompact, SIG P225, CZ75, Browning Hi-Power, HK P2000, CZ Rami....

Good luck :)
 
I have very successfully transitioned my wife into being a shooter. The best strategy is to take her shooting with a .22 the first time or two. Then get her to try a .380 or .38 and then a 9mm. At that point find out if wants to try anything bigger. If so, then do it. If not, stop the caliber game at that point.

Next, have her try a big variety of guns. Borrow and rent as many different guns as you can.

My wife surprised me a lot. She didn't like the guns that I thought she would like. At first I had her try "girl guns" and she didn't really take to them. She liked them OK, but not a favorite. I had her try Glocks and a P95. She didn't care for them at all. As it turns out, she is a 1911 fan! She likes it best of all and thinks that .45 ACP is the way to go. She can shoot full power .357's all day. :D

On the other hand, a friend of hers that I'm helping learn to shoot isn't ever going to be able to use a large handgun or anything over a .380. You never can tell.
 
Desert Eagle .50AE...when you care enough to get the very...

.22lr is a good way to start for anyone not just the missus. For CCW, she needs to try them out. Not just the gun but the "whole solution" of gun & holster (or whatever system of concealment). Solution will be her own compromise between firepower, controllabity and concealabitity.


I, on the other hand, am contemplating a move to the MAD (mutually assured destruction) concept of self defense...carry a grenade. :D
 
gt3944 said:
I think a good choice would be a Sig 232...I just bought my wife one and its very easy for her to handle..
Click to expand...

Of all the small guns that my wife tried. The Sig 232 was hands down her favorite. She actually wants one for shooting. (She wants to carry a 1911 compact. She is not recoil sensitive at all.)
 
1. Must be small and light enough for her to carry. Too big....and she won't pack it.

2. Start with small caliber. Perhaps a Beretta in .25 auto. I just hate to spend that much money on bullets. I agree with earlier post that many slides are hard to manipulate. My wife really struggles with most of my guns.

3. Revolvers are great too.
 
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