Handgun for Girlfriend??? Help please.

[gocoastal]

I really don't know why everyone told me I should get a revolver when my boyfriend bought me my first handgun. I'm 5'6" / 110 and I also struggle with a revolver trigger.
I ended up get a PX4 Storm which has the interchangable backstrap, so I've put the smallest one on and it works well. Also, its 17+1 so I'm never worried about having to reload. (This is also AWESOME when I'm practicing at the range.) It's definitely too big to carry around regularly, but I generally keep it in the house and sometimes in the car and it's worked well for me.

My birthday gift this month was a Springfield EMP 9mm, which is a small 1911, but pricey, so I guess that depends on how much you like your girlfriend.

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

Double strike if it's a GLOCK type pistol.
Advance to the next round despite a round not going off.
Carry more powerful ammunition.
Fire oddly shaped bullets in succession.


There are other things. But open your mind to the ways of the force young jedi.

Dave

Double Strike Capability is a highly overated point of performance. How many rounds have you had work on the 2nd strike that didn't work on the 1st?

I rack the slide and my magazine pops in a new round. That being said 99% of my rounds go off.

Who carry's anything larger than .38 as a concealed carry gun. I mean really how are .44 relavent here?

How are bullet shapes important? I am comfortable with all of my Cor-bons having the same shape. Really I am.


Im a open to the idea that revolvers are fun to shoot and that some folks like'em. What I'm no longer open to is that they are in anyway superior to Modern. High Quality Auto Guns. And I am sick of hearing get the poor, dumb girl a revolver she cant screw that up. If you carry an Auto because you think it is the best tool for your protection why is it not the best tool for a girl? Females have brains and oposable thumbs they are just as capable of learning to shoot a modern handgun as any revolver.

 

[gocoastal]

I even have opposable toes. kidding.

I know a lot of people keep suggesting the Kahr - after first suggesting the revolver, I got a lot of "get a Kahr!" because it's got this silly Thin is Sexy ad campaign but mostly because the dudes around me all got them for their wives.
I hated it. I tried the P9 and it hurt my hand because there was so much kick. Like really. It was awful.

 

[Gus McCrae]

I really don't know why everyone told me I should get a revolver when my boyfriend bought me my first handgun. I'm 5'6" / 110 and I also struggle with a revolver trigger.
I ended up get a PX4 Storm which has the interchangable backstrap, so I've put the smallest one on and it works well. Also, its 17+1 so I'm never worried about having to reload. (This is also AWESOME when I'm practicing at the range.) It's definitely too big to carry around regularly, but I generally keep it in the house and sometimes in the car and it's worked well for me.

My birthday gift this month was a Springfield EMP 9mm, which is a small 1911, but pricey, so I guess that depends on how much you like your girlfriend.

My wife went from a Kahr to a J frame clone. She is happy with her wheel gun. I carry one quite a bit too.

 

[CZowner07]

I have small hands because of my heart condition, but my CZ p-01 fits my hands really well. The ergonomics are really good and it is very well balance. The trigger pull on DA and SA are easy to pull. It is also a very accurate gun in 9mm. It is also double stack, but the grips aren't too big. Recoil isnnt bad at all either.

 

[Gus McCrae]

What Spankey said. I know of several that bought a new J frame size revolver and could not handle the recoil or hard trigger pull. They could handle the G26, CW9 type semi autos much better. There are others on BS that are aware of same.

A small light poly gun shooting 9mm like the CW9 has as much or more recoil as most snubbies in .38 Special +P.

I agree the trigger pull takes a little practice to get used to.

 

[Gus McCrae]

I just thought I should reiterate...... There are many different opinions in this thread, I think that means she should TRY out each considered option first.

 

[gocoastal]

Absolutely. I tried every 9mm on the rental rack at Jefferson Gun and then picked my beretta.

 

[JBP55]

A small light poly gun shooting 9mm like the CW9 has as much or more recoil as most snubbies in .38 Special +P.

Having owned both a CW9 and dozens of small frame revolvers I totally disagree. 110gr.+P in a J frame is quite snappy. I let two POST Firearms Instructors who shoot .40 caliber Glocks shoot a J frame with hot ammunition and they both said the recoil was sharper than their Glocks.

 

[dwr461]

Im a open to the idea that revolvers are fun to shoot and that some folks like'em. What I'm no longer open to is that they are in anyway superior to Modern. High Quality Auto Guns. And I am sick of hearing get the poor, dumb girl a revolver she cant screw that up. If you carry an Auto because you think it is the best tool for your protection why is it not the best tool for a girl? Females have brains and oposable thumbs they are just as capable of learning to shoot a modern handgun as any revolver.

I recommend revolvers for any new shooters so quit being sexist. You obviously have completely devoted yourself to semiautomatics. That's fine. I have several myself. Under stress when fine motor control is gone, how fast can you clear a jam? Even if you can clear it quickly you have to get a new sight picture afterwards. The odds are if the round was struck twice it would go off. However with a revolver I can just pull the trigger again same sight picture etc. As far the greater magazine capacity the gunfight is usually settled in the first couple of rounds. Now about power are you trying to tell me that a 40 S&W is more powerful than a 357magnum?

Dave

 

[Gus McCrae]

A small light poly gun shooting 9mm like the CW9 has as much or more recoil as most snubbies in .38 Special +P.

Having owned both a CW9 and dozens of small frame revolvers I totally disagree. 110gr.+P in a J frame is quite snappy. I let two POST Firearms Instructors who shoot .40 caliber Glocks shoot a J frame with hot ammunition and they both said the recoil was sharper than their Glocks.

I've owned both as well. None of my have been an air weight, but I have one that weighs 17 ounces. I didn't really see much difference in recoil, but the wife liked the revolver better.

I have a snubbie in .357 Mag and with some hot rounds, it has noticeably more recoil.

 

[JBP55]

I've owned both as well. None of my have been an air weight, but I have one that weighs 17 ounces. I didn't really see much difference in recoil, but the wife liked the revolver better.

I have a snubbie in .357 Mag and with some hot rounds, it has noticeably more recoil.

In the past I carried the air weight J frames in a front pocket because they were so light.

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

No but but how many people ecspecially females can or will carry a .357mag concealed? Some gunfights are solved in the first few shots. Some go on longer. I'd like to carry a tool that solves both types equally well rather than just focus on the short ones.

I can clear jams quickly. I would prefer to get back on my fron sight but I can engage the target without it.

The manual of arms for revolvers is no simplier than an auto pistol. And no most cartridges that failed to fire the first time will fire if struck again because the strike was either to light(gun malfunction) or the primer failed(cartridge malfunction). Nobody loves a good wheel gun like Clint Smith. You should read some of his writings on the ease of teaching novice shooters to use a semi-auto vs. a wheel gun.

And while some revolvers malfunction less then some auto pistols most revolver malfunctions are catastrophic. But each his own some people think they don't need to wear seatbelts and that motorcycle helmets are overrated.

 

[LSU2010]

no trade... maybe for two handguns

 

[dwr461]

I wasn't recommending a 357 magnum snubbie for anyone. My point was that revolvers can be chambered for more powerful cartridges than semiautomatics of the same size and weight. Period. The manual of arms is in fact simpler for DA revolvers.

Dave

 

[Gus McCrae]

No but but how many people ecspecially females can or will carry a .357mag concealed? Some gunfights are solved in the first few shots. Some go on longer. I'd like to carry a tool that solves both types equally well rather than just focus on the short ones.

I can clear jams quickly. I would prefer to get back on my fron sight but I can engage the target without it.

The manual of arms for revolvers is no simplier than an auto pistol. And no most cartridges that failed to fire the first time will fire if struck again because the strike was either to light(gun malfunction) or the primer failed(cartridge malfunction). Nobody loves a good wheel gun like Clint Smith. You should read some of his writings on the ease of teaching novice shooters to use a semi-auto vs. a wheel gun.

And while some revolvers malfunction less then some auto pistols most revolver malfunctions are catastrophic. But each his own some people think they don't need to wear seatbelts and that motorcycle helmets are overrated.

Well should we carry a carbine at all times too?

 

[dwr461]

I also agree that trigger control is tougher to learn on a DA revolver. But I feel that new shooters are up to it. Women included. Don't you?

Dave

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

No because carrying a Carbine concealed is highly impractical. Carrying a reliable, high capacity handgun chambered in effective calibers like 9mm and .45 ACP is not. My argument against revolvers is based less on how easy they are to use and more on their a) limited capacity, and b)difficulty to reload under stress. I can't advocate hoping 5 rounds is enough. I'd much rather have 15. But hey what do I know...

 

[dwr461]

You carry how much ammunition makes you comfortable. I won't judge you. I'll carry how much I feel I'll need to carry. You won't judge me?

Dave

 

[Praesul Presul]

I took my wife though a large gun store in another state and had her pick up everything that is good in my opinion. The best fit and balance to her was a Glock 26.

One final piece of advice, let her pay for it unless by "girlfriend" you mean "soon to be wife in 2 weeks". Different buddies of mine got screwed on this deal.........