Best gun for a female?

[Franc0]

I gave a friend of mine (my family Dr. actually) some basic pistol training and he brought his 15 yr old daughter with him. After 1st working on basic handling and safety with an airsoft pistol at my home, we went to the range for some live fire practice. The pistol I brought was my Glock 21 in 45 ACP, and Doc brought a 2" S&W 638 in 38spl. I was pretty impressed to see the daughter shooting extremely well with both weapons, but she actually did better with the Glock and hit a bullseye on her 1st shot. It was weird cause she liked the feel of the snub nose .38 over the Glock.

Franco

 

[56Chevyguy]

If you are willing to practice A LOT there are plenty of small semi-automatics out there. My wife carries a small frame .38 revolver loaded with jacketed hollow point +P loads. She DOESN'T WANT TO practice a lot! A revolver is perfect for her because she just has to point and squeeze the trigger. The best gun for anyone, regardless of gender, is whatever gun feels comfortable to them.

 

[Explorer]

If you're small and are concerned with concealability ... a full frame weapon may be a BIG problem for you. I carry full frames and compacts. I have one neat little revolver that I can tuck almost anywhere and like very much. It's a .... ready? .... 22 magnum. Almost no recoil, easy to hold on target and cute as can be.

Since the mere presence of a gun causes aggressors to clear off 98% of the time (in about 2 million instances per year) I don't get all that concerned about caliber and knock down potential. If I was a cop ... you bet. But I'm a civilian and don't have to stick around when things are getting dangerous.

 

[Grenadier]

Kahr's pistols seem to have a very popular following, regardless of gender. People who have smaller hands appreciate the single-stack sized grip of the Kahr pistol, and that the trigger pull is a very smooth double action-only one.

If you don't mind the all-steel K9, then that may very well be an excellent choice, if your locality allows for it. It's about 28 ounces, unloaded.

Otherwise, the P9, which uses a polymer frame, may be a nicer choice, if you want to shed a few ounces. The K9 is a bit more friendly, when it comes to users, but with a bit of practice, either works fine. The E9 is also a nice choice, if you're on a budget.

The barrels for the above mentioned pistols are 3.5", and I am not sure if Canada still has that minimum barrel length requirement. Otherwise, the larger "T" series (4.0" barrel) may be the only choice.

In the end, it comes down to the individual lady. Trying out various guns, seeing which works best for the shooter, is half the fun, after all!

 

[matt.m]

Gee, I knew a lot of women while I was in the Marines. They all absolutely loved the 9mm Baretta. You see it is compact, extremely accurate, and the best part is the recoil is minimal. I have had to shoot my 9mm against other human beings unfortunately. However, I will say with all certainty that it will put someone down without prejudice.

 

[arnisandyz]

Kahrs are nice guns if not a bit pricey for the model I was looking at.

I am now considering a gun for my wife. She is willing to do some training with me and get her concealed carry permit, but she will never be "into" it as I am. I'm considering a J-frame 5-shot snub-nose 38 special or 9mm. There's a rumor out that Taurus is releasing a multi-caliber gun called the "Triad" that takes 9mm/38sp/357, sounds interesting. I could have her practice with the inexpensive 9mm then progressively work her up to 38+P or even 357 Magnum loads (and if she doesn't like it, I'll have a nice little BUG).

I stress the fact that she IS willing to carry AND practice, BUT its not something she will love doing. With that in mind, I think the manual-of-arms of a DAO revolver is way simpler than any semiauto. I am a big semiauto fan myself, but the J-frame is simple and reliable. Consider this, you could fire all 5 shots from a coat pocket or purse, where a semiauto will jam after the first shot.

 

[modarnis]

Try the Sig P-232 .380..Small and compact..The Smith and Wesson (hammerless) Chiefs Special in.38 is also a nice firearm..

Not a woman, but love my sig p-232. It conceals well and shoots well. Those smith concealed hammers also come in an airweight which might be a good option for women

 

[arnisandyz]

Gee, I knew a lot of women while I was in the Marines. They all absolutely loved the 9mm Baretta. You see it is compact, extremely accurate, and the best part is the recoil is minimal..

I used to have a Beretta 92 (civilian version of the M9). Low recoil..yes, accurate...yes, Compact?...I'd have to disagree on that one!

 

[Grenadier]

I used to have a Beretta 92 (civilian version of the M9). Low recoil..yes, accurate...yes, Compact?...I'd have to disagree on that one!

No kidding...

The handle accomodates a double stack magazine, and is pretty wide as it is.

The barrel is 5.0" long, and the slide is also thickly built. Not exactly the ideal CCW tool, and even with the optimum holster and belt combo, still going to be difficult to conceal.

 

[9mm+p+]

I hate long posts but this will be one. I'm a bit old fashioned and think the obvious differences in the sexes is a good thing. Not every woman can fire every gun well but then again not every male can either. One of the great things to come out of recent changes in how we view what's right for women is most of it also applies to smaller males. It would have been considered laughable 50 years ago for a 5'2" female to expect to be hired as a police officer. Then too in many places the same applied to shorter males. We've matured to the place where within reason we've eliminated size in considering someone for many different jobs. As we get past silly things like girls can't drive, women can't fight, short people don't make good cops, the list of things like this is endless. It wasn't very many decades ago that our own military was segregated.
I own many guns, my wife shoots most of them. Some she hates, some she likes, same with me I don't like every gun I own. It's just so subjective in what you want, your size, your strenghs and weaknesses. It's like asking what kind of car do I need? You'll love something a man or woman of the exact same size will hate. You'll think something recoils mildly that someone else will think is painful. One rather male or female just has to try many different guns and see what they like best. Right now I'm on a Sig kick but just a year or so ago was a huge Beretta fan. Our own military and almost any sizeable law enforcement agency are proof that it's just not an exact science. There is almost constant changes and reviews of duty weapons. We're right now seeing the final days of the Beretta M9 as the primary military sidearm. With polymers almost anything is possible with size, weight and shape of handguns. I like women to be women, but saying any certain gun's too much for a female to handle just annoys me. Nothing you can say about a smaller framed female won't equally apply to a smaller male. You can also be a large male with smaller hands or vice versa. I'm 47 now and can see clearly that age also comes into play a bit, maybe not with me yet but I can feel it coming. I'd say try everything you can find and get what you like. If you're compelled to carry a certain weapon and it's just not comfortable don't keep quiet about it. If it bothers you it's bothering someone else as well. Weapons choice can mean life or death. Male or female if you carry a weapon it should be something that feels like a part of you. It takes time and effort to find the perfect match, just like dating and marriage or even buying a car.

 

[Grenadier]

I am now considering a gun for my wife. She is willing to do some training with me and get her concealed carry permit, but she will never be "into" it as I am. I'm considering a J-frame 5-shot snub-nose 38 special or 9mm. There's a rumor out that Taurus is releasing a multi-caliber gun called the "Triad" that takes 9mm/38sp/357, sounds interesting. I could have her practice with the inexpensive 9mm then progressively work her up to 38+P or even 357 Magnum loads (and if she doesn't like it, I'll have a nice little BUG).

Probably not necessary for all three calibers. .38 Special ammo is pretty darn cheap, and there are many places that sell lead semiwadcutter ammo for similar prices as 9 mm.

Besides, out of a short-barrel revolver, there's not much difference between a warm .38 load and a standard pressure 9 mm load.

I wouldn't make her fire full power .357 magnum loads out of a J-frame. I used to have a model 640 (all steel), and firing full house loads were very, very unpleasant. Five shots, and my hands would be cursing me the next day.

At the same time, I did want something a bit more than a +P .38 Special load for defense, so I went with Remington's medium velocity .357 magnum load, which gives performance similar to a +P 9 mm load. At least I could fire those with reasonable comfort.

You may also want to check out Speer's new loads for short barrel guns, since they have a new 130 grain Gold Dot (+P) that performs quite well.