im planning on buying my daughter a carry gun for Christmas this year, thinking S&W shield in 9mm or smith 442. Thought or opinions please.

See if your daughter can rack the slide on the shield.

I like the idea of revolvers awfully well. They are easy to load, and unload. They are easy to see if they are loaded. There is no confusion as to whether a round is in the chamber. There is no safety to manipulate before firing.

While the 2 inch barreled J frame Smith and Wesson is not the easiest handgun in the world to shoot accurately at 25 yards, they are accurate at the 7 to 15 yardline and the 38 special chambering is adequate for self defense purposes.

Shield 9mm: easier to shoot and maintain. Snub nose revolvers were the best choice back when reliable small autos were hard to come by. The 442 is an excellent revolver ( I have several) but they are an expert's weapon: harder to shoot and more complex manual of arms.

I fully expect the 442 to be the majority pick in this thread, though. Small revolvers, for all their drawbacks, exert an almost mystical pull on handgunners.

Oregon,
In what way do you find the revolver's manual of arms to be complex?

Try to reload a revolver one handed, or with your weak hand. Jamming in another mag is a heck of a lot easier than working a speed loader or speed strip. The Shield has a loaded chamber indicator, as nearly all modern autos have, and can be had without a safety.

I also like revolvers but I agree that 2" revolvers are harder to shoot accurately than most handguns.

Compare the steps to reload a revolver with the steps to reload an auto, then compare clearing a jam such as a case stuck under the ejector star, or a backed-out ejector rod, or a pulled bullet with the steps for clearing a stovepipe, or FTF in an auto.

reloads are a secondary consideration.

Not being argumentative, but for the sake of discussion, show me a link to a self defense shooting that required a reload. Not counting a police shooting of some kind.

FWIW, I love revolvers and own a few dozen. I'm just not convinced they are the best choice for a beginner's self defense pistol anymore.

I'll leave that to those on the forum who know about such things. My point was a small one: revolvers are more complex to operate than modern semi-autos.

^^^THIS^^^

It don't make a damn how nice of an autoloader you buy them if they can't pull the slide back. Cause if they have a jam, or a stovepipe, they are screwed!

I've had a lot of girls come to take my CHL Class with a new automatic that they're Dad or Husband bought for them and they just didn't have enough hand strength to pull the slide back. They can be trained to do so, but in a stressful life or death situation, all that ShiiTT goes out the window.
Though snub nose revolvers are harder for new shooters to hit with, some quality range time will take care of the accuracy issues.
I've let a lot of women who took my class quailify with my little S&W Bodyguard Relvolver with the Factory Lazer, and they seem to do real well with target wadcutter loads.
They only run around $400 new if you watch for deals on GunBroker. Here's a link to what they look like.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/..._757781_757781_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y

The new Ruger 3" LCR in .38 spec with adjustable sights would also be well worth taking a look at, IMO.

Age old discussion, Has she shot a bunch before, let her handle a few and see what she picks. In the case of my wife, she shoots my auto's very well but can not rack the slides. She choose a S&W Model 60 3". In a stressful situation simple is better. A re-load is not often ever needed, it is all over well before that time.

Shield.

Shield.

Shield shield shield shield shield.

The original post presents a purely theoretical exercise considering that we know nothing about the intended user. Assuming a total newbie, the answer is revolver. I would start with a .22 LR, something like a Ruger LCR, with a laser.

If a girl/lady has trouble racking a slide, have her hold both arms straight. Grasp the gun with the strong hand normally, and grip the slide with the weak hand and then turn the shoulders. This trick will give her a better mechanical advantage. With practice she will become more used to the task.

But ultimately, let her try several different guns, and let her choose it, unless she picks something wildly unreliable or inappropriate.

It seems similar to a bowling pin match.
If you don't clear the table with the first magazine
you have lost, so there is no point concerning yourself with a fast reload.
whelennut

Revolver revolver revolver revolver. Revolver, squeeze bang, squeeze bang, squeeze no bang................. squeeze again

I got my daughter a semi automatic.

#1. Cycling the slide is a technique thing. I have seen seven year old girls cycle a hammer down 1911 with an 18.5# spring. It is almost ALL in the technique.

#2. My wife shoots some and has shot my shield and her model 60 pro (3" barrel). She shoots the revolver quite a bit better than the shield, and she prefers it to the shield. She also shoots it better than a Glock 17.

I agree with Cariboujack - especially that new Ruger LCR with the 3" barrel.

I fall into the revolver camp with new shooters. There are plenty out there that are simple enough for a novice to handle. I think the LCR is a good example of that. Plus there is the choice of 22LR, 22 Mag and 38 special. If she is willing to stay with training and plenty of practice the Shield is a consideration but I think the M&P9c is a better alternative. I to have worked with many ladies in shooting classes and they seem to like the Ruger 6series with smaller pachmayer or Hogue grips. Also k frames with the proper grips. They are a little much to carry.

Couldn't have said it better.

A new shooter has the simplest manual of arms to master. No safeties to remember in a moment of stress. The likelihood of a failure is vastly less than that of a semi-auto. No limp wrist or finicky ammo problems or other excuses for it to not function properly each time the trigger is pressed. And in the extremely rare event of a bad factory round misfiring, simply squeeze the trigger again. Aim and fire.

Simple and dependable.

+1

When a woman walks into a gun store by herself to buy ammo, sometimes it is 380.

But when she comes in with a guy, she buys 38 special.

Ran my wife through the gamut of what I own and she, not me, landed on the 2 1/2" Ruger Security Six with 129 gr Federal Hydra Shok 38 Special +P's. This from a Kahr CW9 to a 45 ACP Commander with a fair bit in between.

My wife taught me that,it's not so much the gun,but where her finger lands on the trigger! She can rack a slide on any of our pistols,however her finger does not comfortably fall on the trigger and it makes her pull from the side.Plus,this causes a push and left side hits.She has very small hands.

I let her pick and her guns are a Ruger SR22,S&W K frame and a Colt 1911 in 9mm

I got the wife a S&W 637. Its an airweight with the hammer and I put an Apex trigger kit in it. She dosent have the hand strength to shoot it double action for a very long time.

When we go to the range, she starts double action, then switches over to single action after a couple cylinders full. Then before shes done, she shoots a couple more cylinders full double action.

She likes the Glocks I have but she wasnt comfortable carrying one loaded in her car or dropping it in her pocketbook. She is comfortable with the revolver.

I have a Shield and carry it some but I find myself carrying a revolver more times than not myself. My vote would be with the revolver.

I guess that really depends on the woman.

For example, my ex-wife and mom did not have the hand strength to rack the slide of a semi-auto. Neither had any interest in learning techniques that would allow them to rack the slide easier.

They both were intimidated by the semi-auto as well. They both were attracted to my double action revolver, 4"GP100. It was a little heavy for them, so perhaps getting S&W K-frame, or Ruger SP101 or that new LCR I keep hearing about.

BTW, they both could easily handle the 38spec but refuse to shoot any 357mag after shooting a few rounds.

So for them, a revolver would be a good choice.

I bought my wife a SP101. I had to put a Wolff spring kit in it before she could shoot it DA.

later I bought me a S&W 3913. she carries the 3913 now, and I get the SP101...

Better find out what she likes/prefers.

You probably want it to be a surprise, but if possible let her handle, dry-fire, and shoot the options. My wife doesn't care for revolvers (where I was thinking she would go), she liked the small size of the Shield but didn't shoot it nearly as well as a Glock. So she ended up with a Glock which she thinks is perfect. She liked the G20, G22, and G23 and hated the G27 size.

As mentioned, technique does make a huge difference in racking the slide.

I'm partial to Rugers and generally prefer revolvers for simplicity and reliability. Depending on how she's going to carry it and how comfortable it fits her, I'd agree with others on the LCR or LCRX (hammer) or, for a semi-auto, the LCP. I'd also consider putting a Lazermax on either to really make aiming and shooting easier for her. There are nice lite loads available in either .380 or .38 if needed.

I would go with the semi-auto. More capacity + easier to shoot well= staying alive.

Both are good but the semi auto requires more training in order to be reliable under stressful (shootout) situations. Even law enforcement people need much more training to be able to work the slide, the slide lock, safety, mag release, etc under duress. A revolver is much easier to operate for most people, especiallly women who are just getting into handguns & might not be as familiar with how they operate. Reloads might be necessary but in most civilian shootouts that rarely happens. Also a weak grip, which can happen with a semi auto can cause a malfunction, jamming the gun. A good J frame revolver is what I always recommend when teaching ladies classes.

Dick

entirely depends upon the lady in question


if the wife carries, it's normally a jframe with laser sight


her bedside gun is a Glock 22, along with a spare mag, a surefire flashlight and a prepaid cell phone.


she won't train as often as I'd like her to, but damn she's a good shot, her hand eye coordination is exceptional.

a chick that's really into shooting, I'd opt for a semi auto


one that just wants to have a gun just in case, I'd probably opt for a revolver

Depends if she is a knowledgeable shooter or not. The problem with semis and newbie or only sometime shooters is that they forget to drop the magazine before ejecting the round from the chamber. Then they eject the round, drop the magazine and think the gun is empty. This is the most common cause of AD's in handgun shooting.

I haven't shot many of the newer DAO semis lately, but originally their trigger pull was long and heavy. With very little money expended ,you can get a smith to do a good service grade trigger job on a revolver so that the DA pull is acceptable to a slimmer framed gal.

Get her a Lady Smith,38 SP put Crimson Trace laser on it which will help the grips also. That laser sight will take care of any hard to shoot accurately short barrel revolver that exist. It will give her more confidence in her shooting also.

Reloading quickly is a nonissue. If she is close enough to require using her defense firearm and doesn't stop the bad guy in5 shots, she is in more serious trouble than worrying about reloading.

Take her to a gunshop and have her handle various guns to see what she likes.

I'd followed the thinking of a DA revolver but when I took my wife to the range to shoot her Tauras 605 the DA trigger pull was too stiff for her. So if you do go DA revolver, make sure it has an excellent and fairly light DA pull.

The flip side is some autos have a slide spring that is difficult for women to rack.

When I bought my S&W 640 I had Teddy Jacobson do a trigger job before ever live firing it.

Model 10 4" thin barrel with a tyler T Grip. 125 grain +p jacketed hollow points.

..buying a gun for a lady is like going to buy her a pair of shoes...regardless of what "you" or any of "us" think...it's going to be wrong. Because if you don't know her well enough to already know what she should have none of us are going to be able to tell you either....because we don't know her at all.

So instead of wasting money on "hardware" get her some "software" like a NRA Basic Pistol class and then she can make an informed decision and then you can buy her the right gun the first time as a graduation gift.

And having taught NRA Basic Pistol and Personal Protection classes since 1991 I can tell you that the women who have introduced themselves have ALL had the wrong guns bought for them...

Bob

All very true, especially the handguns the women brought to class, but having taught a LOT of the same classes to women as you. I had found that most women do better starting off with a revolver, which is the question the OP presented.

Have your daughter try as many semi-autos and revolvers as you can. She will tell you what she wants. My wife and youngest daughter have Shields. My oldest daughter carries a Kahr.

I taught my daughters how to shoot with a revolver first...mostly my old LAPD revolvers, which are DAO. A K-frame DAO with wadcutters is an excellent starting tool. We went on to semis later, if they wanted to. But the revolvers were the primary house guns, easily manipulated, accurate and utterly dependable. Too easy.
Bob



Later on, semi-autos were introduced. Revolvers are still the go-to guns around the house, though.


We also did some advanced stuff with 240Bs...


My youngest daughter is now an accomplished bullseye shooter and loves shooting anything different.