Handgun for Girlfriend??? Help please.

[jimdana1942]

Yeah you can. Any quality Auto Pistol beats a revolver for close in defense. For instance; I choose a Glock 19. It holds 15 rds of ammo. Thats almost 3 times as much as a snubbie and the bullets, in my case Corbon DPX +P are more lethal. Shouls I need to reload and get back to the work I pull a mag containing another 15 rds out my weak side pocket and in a jiffy I'm making magic happen again.

If you can't protect yourself with 5 or 6 rounds then 19 rounds ain't gonna help.

 

[jimdana1942]

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.

I don't understand all the gripe about revolver trigger pull. The Rossi, Taurus, and Charter snubbies have very smooth trigger pulls. I havd never had a Smith that wasn't smooth. ???????

 

[jbonnette]

My wife has a Glock 26 with a lightened slide and trigger with pierce +0 extensions. She loves it.

 

[Leadslugga]

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.

I really have no desire to join in this revolver v. auto feud, as of course both types have their merits. I constantly waver between the two positions on what is better for carry.

However, I have a few points from my personal observations:

Every round I have ever had that didn't go off on the first try went off on the second try. High primer, hard primer, etc. Unless the primer itself is totally faulty and lacked priming compound to begin with, they should go off on attempt #2.

Bullet shapes are important. Some models of semi-auto, for whatever reason, just don't like certain bullet configurations. I've had friends with very nice autos that just don't like to feed bullets with certain nose profiles. A revolver shoots any bullet, wadcutter, round-nose, whatever.

I don't subscribe to the "if you can't do it with 5 shots you're no better off with 15" crowd. I've read enough accounts of shootings to know that sometimes one shot does it, sometimes 15 shots and they are still able to shoot back. I read one case in which a man shot an armed robber at point-blank range with a 9mm 15 times, totally destroying his heart and vitals. However, the guy was still standing after he was done. The only reason the robber didn't also unload his whole magazine into the defender is that he was apparently retarded and didn't chamber a round to begin with and was clicking on empty. I know women are no less competent than men, but even I worry constantly (and check constantly) that I may have forgotten to chamber a round for whatever reason.

There is nothing inherently wrong with more bullets. Ceteris Paribus, more bullets are better than less bullets. However, if one malfunction happens in a close-range fight, the opponent could unload his entire gun into you before you got it cleared, no matter how good you are at it. (I don't care how good you are at doing it; your time will decrease significantly if there are bullets actively tearing through your flesh.)

Given the choice, I carry a semi-auto. When it is cold out and I wear a jacket, I carry my full size SIG 226. I still find that I carry my revolver more often though, my J-frame .38, because it is 1. the most firepower you can get in a gun that small 2. effortless to carry due to aforementioned smallness and 3. DEFINITELY going off 5 times.

I got a SIG 239 because I decided that 8 rounds of .40 is better than 5 of .38. While I still think that is absolutely true, I've had malfunctions with it (I really don't know why. I've posted another thread asking for advice on that situation) and every time I have a malfunction I just can't get up the confidence in it to carry it over my .38 for a good while.

Anyway, my girlfriend likes revolvers better than autos, because they are simpler (and also because they "look prettier"). She is in no way mentally handicapped (she is an accountant), but she can still appreciate the simplicity.

My mom is the same way. I took her to the range one time, and with the limited practice, she found the "guns with the spinny thing" easier to use than the "guns with the clippies."


So in summary, all guns are awesome, and used properly they will all be good choices for self defense. So why not just pick one based on what you think will look most stylish when you pull it on some d-bag?

The answer to that, in my opinion, is to produce a battle axe, and tell them that they are about to meet with a "freak AXident."

 

[Gus McCrae]

If you can't protect yourself with 5 or 6 rounds then 19 rounds ain't gonna help.

Most of the time, I'm happy with my 5 rounds and a reload. Stats show 5 is more than enough provided you can shoot.

I might want a lot more if I was in the right situation (post Katrina New Orleans).

I don't understand all the gripe about revolver trigger pull. The Rossi, Taurus, and Charter snubbies have very smooth trigger pulls. I havd never had a Smith that wasn't smooth. ???????

It's not the pull but the weight. Revolvers do require more strength to pull and a petite finger may have troubles.

 

[mburch2]

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.

I owned a CW45. Agreed, although I was shooting a far more powerful round I absolutely hated it. Recoil was extremely strong, and until I put a slip on grip it made my hand bleed.

That being said, the K9, the all-steel version (first model Kahr began producing) is one comfy thing to shoot.

For a girl, maybe the LCP would be a good choice. I personally hate the little bastard and its sister, the P3AT. Ymmv.

One more possibility, have her take a look at the CZ 2075 RAMI, metal or poly version.

 

[SpeedRacer]

I agree with the Kahr PM9/CW9 idea. For something cheaper maybe try an M&P with the small grip insert?

 

[JBP55]

I agree with the Kahr PM9/CW9 idea. For something cheaper maybe try an M&P with the small grip insert?

The CW9 is approximately $100 Less Expensive than the M&P or M&Pc which is also a good choice.

 

[CUJOHUNTER]

If you can't protect yourself with 5 or 6 rounds then 19 rounds ain't gonna help.

+1 on that for me! It all comes down to training. Whatever gun you own,if your not very familiar with it's capabilities or it's limitations,you're gonna be in a world of hurt! Personally,I like revolvers for personal defense. Defense attorneys love em too,ask anyone of them. When you talk about the liability of having too much firepower outside of a courtroom it's ok. I mean,I have a surplus myself. However,in court it shows in your favor if you weren't carrying a hi cap pistol. That's not to say you shouldn't carry one,I'm just saying that the less your handgun portrays a military weapon,the less you will end up with a conviction. On that same token,we do still have a castle doctrine in this state to protect us from such convictions.

Now,to get back to the main issue...revolver or auto? The only person that can answer that question is the shooter/owner. I either carry a revolver or auto depending on a various factors. Ergonomics is key. The better a hangun molds into one's hand,the better shooter they become. Being a good shot is key to proper self defense. You don't have to hit the X all the time,as long as you hit center mass consistently and comfortably. At this point,it doesn't matter how many round you have. Just make sure you take em down in at least two or three shots.......ammo is expensive nowadays.

 

[CUJOHUNTER]

Oh yeah......I love my Smith J frame and M&P 9mm. Those`are the two I usually carry. 75% of the time its the J!

 

[JBP55]

+1 on that for me! It all comes down to training. Whatever gun you own,if your not very familiar with it's capabilities or it's limitations,you're gonna be in a world of hurt! Personally,I like revolvers for personal defense. Defense attorneys love em too,ask anyone of them. When you talk about the liability of having too much firepower outside of a courtroom it's ok. I mean,I have a surplus myself. However,in court it shows in your favor if you weren't carrying a hi cap pistol. That's not to say you shouldn't carry one,I'm just saying that the less your handgun portrays a military weapon,the less you will end up with a conviction. On that same token,we do still have a castle doctrine in this state to protect us from such convictions.

Now,to get back to the main issue...revolver or auto? The only person that can answer that question is the shooter/owner. I either carry a revolver or auto depending on a various factors. Ergonomics is key. The better a hangun molds into one's hand,the better shooter they become. Being a good shot is key to proper self defense. You don't have to hit the X all the time,as long as you hit center mass consistently and comfortably. At this point,it doesn't matter how many round you have. Just make sure you take em down in at least two or three shots.......ammo is expensive nowadays.

Always be prepared for more than one bad guy, they run in groups.

 

[SpeedRacer]

The CW9 is approximately $100 Less Expensive than the M&P or M&Pc which is also a good choice.

Really? Damn that's surprising. I've played with the CW9, but never checked the price because I wasn't in the market for one. I was however in the market for a PM9 until I saw the price tag, so I assumed the CW9 was high as well. Not that Kahr doesn't make damn nice guns, I just personally didn't want to spend $700+ on a pocket sized 9mm.

 

[JBP55]

Really? Damn that's surprising. I've played with the CW9, but never checked the price because I wasn't in the market for one. I was however in the market for a PM9 until I saw the price tag, so I assumed the CW9 was high as well. Not that Kahr doesn't make damn nice guns, I just personally didn't want to spend $700+ on a pocket sized 9mm.

CW9 is in the $425 range and the M&P is in the $525 range.

 

[tigerfan_9]

Now, as much as I like to think I know all, I need some advice on getting a gun for my girlfriend. I know that she should shoot alot of different guns and see which one she likes best, but I dont have access to that broad a range of handguns.

My girlfriend is very petite. Like 5'0" 110 lbs petite. She has obviously small hands. Now, she has shot my 1911 and my M&P Pro, but both seem too large for her to have the best grip. She has also shot a Glock 19 and a Ruger SR9. Both seemed a little big as well.

I know that I could find a revolver that would fit her nicely, but since this will be the only gun in her apartment, I want her to have more capacity and the ability to reload rapidly if need be.

She will of course go through the necessary practice to become comfortable and proficient with the gun. I have been dating her for 6 years, so this isnt her first foray into the world of guns.

I would appreciate any first hand experience anyone has. Thanks.

my vote is the Springfield XD9 Sub Compact. My wife is also very small (5') and she can handle and shoot this gun very well. It also has a great capacity or 13rnd in the short mag or 16 in the extended mag.

 

[vongolden.net]

my lady is small as well, a Para 9mm carry fit her hand just right "its a shot"!

 

[JOmega]

That's love! Trying to find your girl the right gun . . . that she'll actually carry! My hat is off to you, and her too for being willing to listen and learn.

I noticed that the Ruger LCP is in your list of personal tools. I got one for my wife--the first gun I bought her. She shoots it fine, and likes the trigger, but she does not have the hand strength to handle the slide. So her gun became another one of mine. She likes my Glock 30SF--shoots it great and the brick-wide slide is easy for her to handle, but it is bigger than she wants to carry.

I was about to buy a S&W J-frame for her, but decided at the last minute to have her try one out to make sure she was good with it (I was hoping she'd go for the hammerless--all 5 shots feel the same). She hated the trigger--and didn't like the idea of having to fire it with both index fingers. Same thing for the Taurus 85. Whereas I like both, she was done. On our way out, she saw the Ruger LCR. She picked it up and that was the first time I've seen her smile with a gun in her hand. Comfortable grip and smooth trigger. It handles the .38+P fine, and is actually fun to shoot with regular 38.

Yes, I'd love for her to carry a semi-auto with at least a 10rd mag, but it wasn't going to happen. I'd rather her have a revolver that she'll carry than a semi that she leaves at home. I put a couple speedloaders with the revolver and she's good to go. Find something that makes her smile--because otherwise, she isn't going to carry it.

 

[Poopshooter]

P22 is good for small people.
I have 3 of them.