Handgun for my wife

[Mjmj]

We are looking at purchasing a handgun for my wife. I hoping for some recommendations from guys on what there wife's shoot. My wife is on the short side but a very active person. Thanks 

[Skunkmaster-k]

My wife carries a Ruger LC9. 

It’s worth a look 

[Deleted account]

PX4 Storm, and 20 Ga compact Mossberg. There are a bunch of good pistols out there. Something that fits her hands well, and isn't too fuzzy cycling would be my suggestion, as well as trying out a few different ones before deciding.

[GReb]

Single stack 9mm. Let her hold them and decide 

[Bird]

This thread may get moved, non the less my wife has a Ruger 9 mm revolver, no safety, no hammer......just pull and fire.

[jdr99a]

For carry? Shield ez, j frame, p938, p365 are all winners. 
 

My wife loves a full size s&w model 19 with some soft shooting wad cutters. 

[GaryH]

Her carry is a Kimber solo 9mm.  Home is a Glock model 22 40cal. 

 

[Alpster]

My wife has a S&W Shield EZ. It's the only 9mm she could rack the slide.

[gim]

My wife doesn't carry a pistol, but she sometimes goes with me to the range to shoot.  I demand that she at least knows how to load and shoot a handgun from a basic operational stand point.

 

For that reason, she uses a Ruger SR22.  She doesn't like recoil and the more recoil there is, the more she dislikes it.  .22LR ammo is cheap and has virtually no recoil, and the handgun still fits in her hand.  The downside is that it doesn't have the stopping power of a 9mm or similar caliber.

[Siebert Outdoors]

My boss carries a shield

[Jrob78]

Is she going to carry the gun on her person, in her purse or will it be a nightstand, home gun? I would take her to a range and rent a few 9mm's for her to handle and shoot. Something small if she's going to carry or something larger if it's going to stay at home. 

[Goldstar225]

My wife picked a Ruger LC9S.  She's reached the point that she can't rack the slide without difficulty.  I took her to a well stocked LGS and turned her over to the female staff to look at her options.  She then chose the S&W EZ 380 (the 9mm version hadn't come out yet).

 

I suggest taking your wife to a LGS, preferably one with a range and rental guns and let HER decide.

[GreenPig]

I'd look at a Shield Plus.

[NHBull]

My Mrs carries a 9mm shield

 

and a Lady Smith ( 5rounds)

[Jmilburn76]

I bought my wife an EZ 380 a few years back and its still in the safe and yet to be shot.At the time the 9mm wasn't out or we would have bought it instead. She has wrist issues and it was the only pistol she could rack at our LGS.

[AmmoGuy]

I'm hesitant to weigh in here, because this can be such a tribal topic, and some of my opinions on the topic aren't necessarily popular. 

However, there are very few women in this country that put more rounds through handguns every year than my wife. Shooting, competing with, and instructing on handguns is a big part of our lives.  

 

•  Do not buy her a J frame (snub nose revo). Just don't. 
•  Disregard advice to "see what feels good in her hands". If your wife isn't truly experienced with handguns, she has no basis on which to base that on. If she is not experienced, how she holds a handgun, and the amount of pressure she applies is most likely incorrect anyway. 
•  Stay away from .380 when possible. .380, generally speaking, performs very poorly terminally. With modern compact 9mm's, there is very little reason to ever choose a .380. 
•  If the gun is not going to be carried on her person or in her purse, there is very little reason to choose a sub compact (a G19 will be hard to beat if this is the case).  
• If the gun IS going to be carried on her person or in her purse, there needs to be quite a bit of thought and preparation put into it. Shoving a Kel-Tec into an Uncle Mikes soft holster from BP and dropping it into a purse should never be the solution. 
• Do not buy a handgun with a manual/thumb safety, it is unnecessary and can lead to issues. A quality handgun in a quality holster is safe. 

If her intent is to carry the gun on her person or in her purse, a P365, G43/48, Hellcat, or Shield/Shield + in 9mm is about all I'd consider.  

[Bird]

My vote would be Ruger LCR 38 for a woman in a hurry to protect herself......no thinking involved.

My wife simply cannot chamber a round in any of my semi's.

[AmmoGuy]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

My vote would be Ruger LCR 38 for a woman in a hurry to protect herself......no thinking involved.

My wife simply cannot chamber a round in any of my semi's.

If someone can shoot a 10-12lb DA trigger on a small revo effectively, they can also be taught to operate a slide on most modern, compact 9mm handguns.
 

I’ve worked with a lot of females that thought they could not operate a slide, but after 5-10 minutes of instruction it was no problem. It is rarely a strength issue, it just requires technique. 

 

All that said, carrying any handgun for self defense without a round in the chamber is a terrible practice. 

[Bird]

55 minutes ago, AmmoGuy said:

If someone can shoot a 10-12lb DA trigger on a small revo effectively, they can also be taught to operate a slide on most modern, compact 9mm handguns.
 

I’ve worked with a lot of females that thought they could not operate a slide, but after 5-10 minutes of instruction it was no problem. It is rarely a strength issue, it just requires technique. 

 

All that said, carrying any handgun for self defense without a round in the chamber is a terrible practice. 

Exactly why the wife carries a hammerless revolver....... it's point and protect.

[jdr99a]

On 3/16/2022 at 10:17 AM, AmmoGuy said:

 

• Do not buy a handgun with a manual/thumb safety, it is unnecessary and can lead to issues. A quality handgun in a quality holster is safe. 

I would caveat this. Don’t buy a handgun with a manual safety if you don’t intend on training with it extensively. Disengaging a safety as part of the drawstroke can be engrained easily. It must be practiced!

 

I am not a fan of safeties on carry firearms, but I know several people who refuse to carry without one. I’d rather someone carry a firearm with a safety than not carry one at all. 

[AmmoGuy]

24 minutes ago, jdr99a said:

I would caveat this. Don’t buy a handgun with a manual safety if you don’t intend on training with it extensively. Disengaging a safety as part of the drawstroke can be engrained easily. It must be practiced!

 

I am not a fan of safeties on carry firearms, but I know several people who refuse to carry without one. I’d rather someone carry a firearm with a safety than not carry one at all. 

 

You're not wrong. I've competed with a manual safety for over a decade (USPSA Limited) and with regular training and practice, it is not a consideration. Disengaging is built into your grip and happens faster than you can present the pistol. 

 

That said, in this type of discussion, I tailor my response for those that are most likely not going to put in that type of effort. In those cases, the risk of someone spending life saving seconds fumbling with a thumb/manual safety during a defensive situation is very real. On top of that, a thumb safety on most modern striker fired pistols offers NO actual safety benefits (when the pistol is carried/handled correctly). These are the reasons for my recommendation. 

 

But yes, you're correct in principal. As an example, this is a silly one-shot stage from USPSA Nationals a few years ago. My gun in the video has a manual thumb safety. 

 

 

 

[GaryH]

On 3/10/2022 at 9:25 AM, Alpster said:

My wife has a S&W Shield EZ. It's the only 9mm she could rack the slide.

My wife just bought a Shield EZ yesterday. She loves how easy it is. I guess the Kimber is going back in the safe.

[jbsoonerfan]

Just about any handgun should work for her with a well placed shot to the head.

 

 

 

 

Oh.....wait, you mean what gun should she carry. My bad......  

[deaknh03]

On 3/10/2022 at 10:25 AM, Alpster said:

My wife has a S&W Shield EZ. It's the only 9mm she could rack the slide.

Same gun for my wife. Nice carry. 

[slonezp]

On 3/17/2022 at 12:11 PM, jdr99a said:

I would caveat this. Don’t buy a handgun with a manual safety if you don’t intend on training with it extensively. Disengaging a safety as part of the drawstroke can be engrained easily. It must be practiced!

 

I am not a fan of safeties on carry firearms, but I know several people who refuse to carry without one. I’d rather someone carry a firearm with a safety than not carry one at all. 

Or don't keep the safety on when carrying. I have one in the chamber on the M&P and a quality Kydex holster. Safety is off. 

My XD has a trigger and palm safety but I generally don't carry that as it's a bit bulky.