My daughter, who has been shooting with me for many of her 23 years, is ready for her first defensive handgun. It will be kept in her apartment and her car, and she will likely not carry concealed. I'm leaning towards a revolver, due to its simplicity in a high-stress situation, and giving serious thought to the Ruger LCR in .38. She shoots well in double action mode, so the trigger squeeze of a revolver would not be an issue. Thoughts?

Take her to the store with you and let her pick out the one that she wants and is comfortable with (grip, trigger pull, etc).

If she never plans to carry, I would opt for a 4" GP-100, unless the LCR fits her hands better. A little extra weight may not be a bad thing. My wife hates shooting the little pistols, but loves 1911's and SA Ruger's.

This is the way to play it. It can be very helpful to go to a range that has numerous pistols for rent.

I am not a Glock fan for my personal use (grip angle) but a G19 Gen 4 was what first came to mind when I read this thread.

RS

Yep, a range that rents guns is the way to pick a pistol. My wife wanted a Ruger LCP, until she tried to shoot it. Ended up with an LC380.

Hard to beat a good Smith 38 Spl with the 158 gr cast SWC and around 6 gr of HS-6

As does mine.

I like the Ruger LCR's, but some times it's nice having the external hammer on a DA revolver - like the Ruger LCR-X.

My wife prefers a 3" J frame. She tried the snubbies, no go.

There's also the Talo/Wiley Clapp edition with a 3" barrel. I loved my GP100, and the 3" barreled version has me interested

Yep. I download SWCs for my wife for practice. She likes snubbies, but wants a full length grip (not with her pinky floating). She likes the looks of black finish S&W 442 and pink Hogues.

You might want to check your state laws as i believe if she doesn't have a CCW she'll have to keep it unloaded and in the truck of her car (where it won't do her any good) unless she wants to risk a felony should she get pulled over and searched.
Here in Michigan, even if you follow the law and have it in a case, out of reach, and ammo separate, you'd better be on your way hunting, to a range, to a smith, or on your way home from the previously mentioned places!

Yes let her decide, doubt you would let someone pick your pistol. My wife picked a Model 60 3". It worked best for what she wanted. Likes the autos, but due to wrist surgery can not rack the slides. Rental guns and the big box stores have lots to look at and try.

^^^This^^^ if it fits her small hands well! she is a lot more likely to practice with it.

Personally, I always suggest revolvers for new lady shooters.
No jams, no safety's, and no mags to keep up with. Hard to beat a 3" J-Frame if she doesn't plan to carry it on her person, or even a 4" K-frame. Also if you find a deal on one, the old Ruger Security Six or Speed Six make great house guns and have small grips that usually fit women well.

Buy her some target Wadcutters for practice and load it up with Speer Gold Dots for defense.

I'm betting Missouri has better gun laws than Michigan. I know TX has reciprocal CHL agreements with Missouri.

Here in TX, if your over 21 and NOT a Felon, it's legal to have a loaded handgun in your vehicle without having a CHL. Handgun still has to be concealed, though.

NRA.org has a good posting of handgun laws for all 50 states on their web sight.

Make sure she has the hand strength to rack the slide of any auto's she looks at/considers!

The Ruger sounds like a nice option though.

Mike

This.

Michigan sucks. She ain't there.

Good news here in Missouri - anyone 21 or over can carry a loaded handgun in their vehicle, so long as they are not a felon. They cannot carry onto school property, but most most places are not restricted.

Same here in TX

Missouri is the same as Texas...

I've introduced 4-5 women to shooting. Just guide them with a light touch, and explain the pros & cons of different guns. A range that rents is a big plus to helping her choose. Don't over-rule her unless she picks something unreliable or unreasonable for her.

Then get her formal training with a certified instructor on defensive use of a handgun.

Ruger single/security six or a Smith m10 makes a great budget option. Many of the striker fired poly guns in commander size are also great options. Google "cornered cat" for some slide racking tips from the fairer sex.

My wife has problems with slides so those were out from the start. In addition she doesn’t deal well with recoil. What we ended up with as a Ruger SP101 in .327 Fed with low recoil loads for the house and a Ruger LCR .38 SPL +P with Hornady low recoil loads for carry.

If doing it over I’d make the same choices unless I could find a good, used, lightweight S&W .38 for her carry

Women may surprise you if you let them pick their own. My wife's first pistol was a 4" S&W Model 28. A couple of years ago, both my wife and daughter picked S&W M&P9 compacts for carry without any input from each other or me.

Given her own choice, my wife simply loves her M&P15 with a red dot and would use it for everything, including deer hunting, if I allowed it.

My wifes favorite is a G17 with 124+ gold dots. I started her with a .22 kit on it, then light reloads, ball ammo and now up to +p. She is very comfortable with it and likes the ability to hang a light on it for the house.

If she "enjoys" shooting and is willing to "train" I would recommend a semi auto of her liking over a revolver?

The only reason I would recommend a revolver is if she has little or no experience with a semi auto and she grew up on a revolver than by all means go with the revolver.

Excellent Choice! If you can find one at a decent price, grab it! I wish Ruger would make another run of 3" SP-101's in .327 Fed. They would sell a ton of them. On another note' for a house gun, the Ruger Single Seven in .327 Fed might not be a bad idea, either, if you don't mind a Single Action. JMO, though, for whatever it's worth.

Good point on slide manipulations, that was something we had to steer around. She really liked the Kahr series for grip but then she tried to manipulate the slide and the springs were just to heavy. Going with a full size 9mm got the springs we were looking for and the problem was solved. She almost when M&P but went with Glock since that is what I am issued.