Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns First handgun for wife???

My wife is in the process of obtaining her pistol permit. She's very green when it comes to firearms and I'm kinda new to this handgun thing myself. Is there any opinions out there as to what would make a shooter friendly, low recoil self defense gun? Thanks

This will go several pages....

My wife has gone through a good number of concealable handguns and has now settled on a Kel Tec PF-9. Likes it a lot. Be sure to get a pistol in 22LR caliber that is as similar to her carry gun as possible for lots of practice in getting the fundamentals down. Avoid at all costs any handgun that has an external safety unless your wife is going to practice the draw and removes safety simoultaniously drills a LOT and religiously. most folks of either sex do not do this. That caveat is why we bypassed the Ruger 9mm and Sig guns.

Sherri always starts her handgun practice sessions with her old model Ruger Bearcat shooting 22 subsonic short ammunition. A good plan for most newer shooters.

We have had, and still own, a small 380, but those little guns are hard for most people to hit anything with and recoil quite sharply.

Revolvers are easier to learn to use and manipulate the controls on, but are neccesarily fatter than a semi auto of the same power class and the felt recoil- especially muzzle flip- is greater, again assuming similar power class of cartridges, due to the barrel being quite a bit above the centerline of one's hand compared to a semi auto and thereby giving the recoil energy of the fired cartridge leverage against the shooters hand.

You really need to get her to decide what she wants. If you can get her to handle as many guns as possible that's the best way. Unfortunately, being in NY legally she can't even touch a gun without a permit. My wife settled on a kahr p380, recoil is manageable and it is dead nuts accurate for a 380. Fits a pocket in her purse in a desantis IWB holster. I would shy away from anything with a safety or too many controls. She needs a gun she can draw and pull the trigger. Another possibility is a SW j frame but beware the airweights will punish her with recoil using +P
My wife can shoot my model 60 no problem (she is very small and has tiny hands)She does not like the air weights. I just went thru what you are about to , be patient and take your time selecting her gun. There are a lot to choose from. Availablity may be your biggest issue.
Someone else posted about getting her a 22 in a similar gun, great advice!

Be prepared to buy,try and re sell a few guns in the proccess. Sherri's PF-9 is carry gun number 7. Probably "the one" for a long while but if she falls in love with something else we will get it for her to try for a while.

A side bonus of all this, and I wish it for you as well, is I now have a happy target shooting partner and an all the time gun show table partner for life. HAving things to do together has enriched our already amazingly wonderful marriage even MORE. May this be your lot in life as well.

Lots of good advice so far. Let her pick what fits her well but be prepared to buy her multiple guns in an attempt to get the "right" one. Heck - I did that for myself (and continue to do so) and I shouldn't have been surprised that my wife would do the same.

I would never have picked an LCP and a Glock 17 as the ideal combo for my wife but that is where she settled after trying (and buying) several others. The G17 fits her hand well and she shoots it well as a result. I thought she would hate the LCP but it turned out not to be the case.

Be patient - let her pick - and help her try as many things as she can in the process. Be glad you have a wife who's gaining interest in the topic and help her along the way ...

Thank you guys. Lots of good info.

I recommend to women to check out Kathy Jackson and her web site
http://www.corneredcat.com/.

She is a very good resource for women(and men).

She introduces herself as...
My name is Kathy Jackson. I�m a firearms instructor, a homeschool mom, a small business owner, a former magazine editor, and a freelance writer.

Her resume-
http://www.corneredcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/KJ_Firearms_Training_Resume_Aug_2012.pdf

Quick and dirty...Smith and Wesson has several J frame handguns that fit most women's hands very well. .357 or .38 Special doesn't really matter. You will mainly be shooting .38's anyway as the recoil in these is wicked with .357's. I would go all-steel and avoid the newish Scandium framed guns simply because of the recoil.

My top pick would be a used model 60 sans the safety.

Get you $400.00.

Buy a Ruger LCR in .22LR.

When she can put a cylinder full on to a paper plate @ 10 yds, buy her the same gun in a .38 Special.

Let her practice with the .22 for the rest of her life, and carry the .38. Or, just let her carry the deuce-deuce.



Travis

You could do a lot worse than this plan for sure ...

Well it will have to be 7 rounds max so a 38 revolver or 7 RD 45 are your choices. Low recoil in a 38 means you need a steel revolver not air weight. Get a smith J frame, a trigger job, and a crimson trace laser. ,if you did not live in CS Cuomo,s back yard then a G19 or 26. My wife shoots a G19.

Let her decide.. In the long run it will work out best. My wife just did this as well. She has shot mine, 1911A1 to hard to pull the slide back, N frame to large, she picked a S&W model 60, it fit and she liked it. Practice, practice, practice, she likes the 148g HBWC loads for this. If you can get to a gun store with any stock (hard to find now days LOL) let her handle all you can find, one will be just right.

Thanks guys. A lot of cool ideas. Sounds like practice with the .22 before the bigger stuff is the way to go.

Model 60 is about as recoil friendly as you will find in a small 38. Put a set of hogue grips on and you're good to go. An old lockless 60 should be easy to find too . I see them used in WNY gun shops all the time $350 & up My wife loves shooting mine, just won't carry it because of the weight.

She should be looking at the baddest thing she can learn to master. Settling up front for 'low recoil, shooter friendly' is a step backwards.
Not a bad idea to start her off at the range on a .22 to learn trigger control, sight picture and grip, but for carry, she should carry something that has a real chance of saving her life, not something that will maybe bleed out the attacker 36 hours later. Stopping the attack RIGHT NOW, is the goal.
These two, are fine self defense choices. Anyone, including women, should be able to master either with some instruction and desire.

rcher59,
Yep she did not like the little "round butt" grips, a set of Hogues and she is a happy camper. She loves shooting my High Standard Citation, 22LR is a great way to practice as well, unfortunately around here I can reload 38 special wadcutters cheaper than I can find 22LR............

Loaded right 38 special wadcutters make a nice SD round. It's all I carried for quite a while. Stay away from a hollow base and you can load em pretty hot
You can't even find a 22lr round around here

For years my wife practiced more-or-less weekly with a .22 Walther PPKS and carried a .380 Walther PPKS. The .380 has been recycled and she now carries a Model 36 S&W in .38 special and hits the range every 2-3 weeks.

As Travis has already suggested buy a 2-inch Ruger (or Smith, or Taurus) in .22, and when your wife's become proficient in its use, get her the same gun in .38 for carry.

I've seen a lot of petite women cops shooting .40's & .45's w/o problems.

My wife is slender/petite and was able to master 38spcl/9mm Luger handguns soon, and easily. Yes on a 22 for learning and later practice, no on allowing someone to settle for that, long term.