Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Need help

I'll start by saying that even though I own several pistols, I am not a pistol guy. Those of you that are know what I mean. My sister is wanting a pistol. She likes my Browning BDA .380 but the grip is a little big for her. She wants something that style. I looked at the Walther PPKs and thought this is it. Then did some research and it seems that they are not that well thought of these days. She is not a fan of the blocky polymer autos; just doesn't like the look. Got to remember we're dealing with a female type here. What fits her wants and is good quality? Thanks

Khar P9

Or a Sig P-238.

Kahr P9

Are her hands fairly small? You could go with a .32 rather than a .380. In the best loadings, there isn't a lot of difference, IMO, between the two.

A Seecamp is about as quality as you can get. The downside is the lack of availability and the need to only fire Winchester Silvertips in it.

Beretta makes the Tomcat in .32 also and they are of high quality. You also have the tip-up barrel.

My wife packed a Walther PPK/S for the better part of twenty-five years until four years ago when, for no apparent reason, she replaced it with a S&W Model 36. Yes, the Model 36 is slightly bulkier, and an ounce or three heavier, none of which seems to bother her at all. It is a "five-shooter" and she seems perfectly happy with that two round trade-off to be carrying a .38 rather than a .32 or a .380.

I decided years ago that the best PD (personal defense) pistol was the one that my wife (or son) would carry, regardless of fashion or function (revolver vs. auto loader). My advice would be to look for a pre-S&W Walther PPK/S (or a PP/PPK) if that's what she wants; the pre-S&Ws are exceptional handguns. The other option would be to have her try a S&W Model 36 or it's stainless steel clone, the S&W Model 60.

Loaded with wadcutters the 2-inch, .38 caliber Smith will out perform a .380 auto just about any day of the week. Including "pay day".

There is definitly a difference between a 32 and a 380. I have both. When using Gold Dots into 2 1/2 gal. water jugs, the 380 expanded picture perfect, the 32 GD could have been reloaded. If you have to use a 32 I would recommend using fmj for penetration.

Check out the Walther PK .380
Real safety and all.
A great shooter.
Looking for more firepower,
Look at S & W M& P 9 C

My wife owns both now and is deadly with either one.

I agree...the PK380 is a good choice for gals, especially with the laser that comes on certain models. Easy to rack the slide too.

+1. That Sig seems to be popular with women.

Bersa Thunder. Very good quality for the price and it seems to be pretty ergonomic.

Big +1 to the Bersa. Got my wife one, she loves it.

It's been absolutely flawless on function, and is surprisingly accurate for how small it is.

(Bersa fan also.)

Also, my wife likes her (mine) Beretta Tomcat 32 ACP.

Maybe not enough horse-power - but it looks good, great quality, dependable - and the 'tip-barrel' feature allows one to chamber or un-chamber a round WITHOUT having to manipulate the slide.

Probably fit her hand great.

Thanks guys,

Now we got to go look at some guns....darn it

Kahr CW9, cheaper than the P9, pretty much just as good. If looking for more concealable, have her look at whatever Kahr calls their 380. Have both, the Kahr's are Much slimmer than the Glock's.

Both are Double-action only, which is good for those that aren't willing/can't/won't put in a serious amount of time for practice.

Jerry

Need a little more help. Anyone know of good gunshops places to look at pistols in the Baton Rouge, LA area?

magshooter1,

Take her to a range that rents handguns & let her try as many as possible. For self-defense, my opinion is to steer her towards a .40 S&W.

I would steer her away from a .40. Unless she's familiar with the recoil, that .40 in a Subcompact frame isn't an easy friend to make. And I think the point is to use it, so you don't want her being afraid of it.. (a problem I am dealing with.)

I carry the PM9, and I have a Sig p239. My wife does well with both. I love the look of the Sig version of the ppk, (p238 I think?) But no experience with it.

Sig is a great company. No warranty work in years of reliable service and thousands of rounds. My Kahr is newer, though I could say it's on the same path as the Sig. No issues to report. Nothing but reliable service from both pistols.

And we practice with HL rounds or cheap ammo too..

We have some building blocks here. She likes the Browning BDA .380; damn fine little pistol. The BDA is made by Beretta and is a slightly modified version of the Beretta model 84. Both the BDA and the 84 are high capacity pistols, which makes for a fat little grip; would be cool if there was a single column version with a thinner grip, wouldn�t it? Well there is� The Beretta model 85: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=255392172

You didn�t mention a price range so I�ll assume you�re willing to pay what you need to pay for a good gun. The Beretta 85 is a great little pistol, very reliable, accurate, compact, light weight.

If price is a big concern, then consider the Bersa: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=256919450

The Bersa is a very low priced pistol with very good quality; they are HIGHLY regarded. You can typically find them for under $350.00 and that�s a LOT of gun for that little money.

Unfortunately, you didn�t give us much more to go on for needs, so I have stuck to what little you have given us to go on. If you could tell us your price range, size requirements, weight, her shooting level, her body type & hand size, and a little more about the level of threat you perceive; we might be able to offer more. Still, with either of the two above listed pistols, she will be fairly well armed.

When my daughter is of age, she will be packing her Astra A-70. It�s a compact 9mm that�s all steel (so it�s heavy), but that extra weight makes this 9mm shoot softer than comparably sized .380�s. The A-70 is a straight up awesome little pistol that just never achieved any sort of popularity. http://shootersjournal.net/the-astra-a-70-quite-possibly-the-best-defense-pistol-for-a-woman/

Lastly in the 9mm realm, there�s the S&W 3913, quite possibly the greatest 9mm S&W has ever made: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=256098941

The .40 is a very good and capable cartridge. But unless she's an experienced shooter who's not bothered by recoil, I'd steer away from it. I have personally found the .40 to recoil more than most .45's due to the fact that the average .40 tends to be in a smaller gun. I've never owned a .40 for that one reason. If I'm going to have a gun that recoils like a .45 or more; I'll just take the .45.