For women I like the Glock 26. I taught a young woman who was 5'5" and 115 pounds how to shoot using a Glock 26. She absolutely loved it and shot VERY well considering it was her first time. That is my recommendation IF it fits her hand and she is accurate with it. If not, find something that fits her hand and that she is accurate with.

 

I bought a Springfield XD Compact .40 for carrying concealed and love it. the wife can shoot it with no problems, and I paid $475 for it. I would suggest taking her to the range, and letting her try out a few guns to get a feel for what she likes. I made the mistake of getting my wife a s&w revolver thinking it would be great for her small hands and she hated it, I had to sell it and get her a s&w 3913.

 

a few notes based on my experiences.

380 has a very snappy recoil. For a short time I had a Taurus 380 that was built a lot like a mini 1911. It wasn't EVEN reliable out of the box but when it did recycle and go bang it hurt the web of my hand.

I LOVE .45 ACP!!! I have to use a ducktail grip safety as I get hammer bit without it. A Springfield XD in 45 should be a sweet piece!

I covet a Glock 19. I have handled many different glocks and that one ROCKS!

In a very similar to 380 gun is the Makarov. It is a DA/SA decocking 9x18 pistol that is medium size and has a nice comfy grip.

Buddy EDCs a Kahr PM9 and it's a pretty nice piece too. Rather small and so kind of kicky, but easy to have on you when you need it!

Find a range that has a good selection of rental guns. It won't be a suprise that way, but isn't the right gun first time better?

 

Around the house and range shooting self defense the Glock 19 hands down!!!!
If your going to go concealed carry on a regular basis then the award goes to Glock 26 hands down...

Both are 9mm. 9mm has some great advantages......Capacity, follow up shots, low recoil, etc. etc. and yes its a very deadly caliber.

 

Wow, thanks for all of the replies. Turned this into a very helpful thread for me. There are no plans for concealed carry in the future. I figure this could be a good way for the wife and I to spend more time together at the range or out in the field at the grandparents place. She often feels insecure if I'm out all night, though we have a home alarm and a 130 lb Great Dane.

So far it looks to be Glock 19, 26, A Walther PPK is also on the list based on another recommendation by a friend and Fronty Owner. I have read and heard from a few people that the .380 is kind of kicky to handle, jury is out as to whether or not that would work for her.

I have took a look a while ago at a Springfield XD and liked it as well. Lots of choices, and I agree with John Faughn, You do get what you pay for. I just don't know If I can swing the price tag of a Kimber for a first time gun.

Thanks for the replies, I will look furhter into these, and hope for more suggestions. I know of a gun range here in town, maybe in the next few weeks we can get over there and do some testing on her.

 

.380 Walther PPK with Pachmeyer grips. Beautiful, I've found it to be more accurate than one would think. For you a Sig Saur .40. Sweet. Love the 45 1911 /acp too. You also couldn't go wrong with the GP 101 Ruger as someone else said. For fun and economic reasons I shoot my bull barrel Ruger .22 -- loads of fun and cheap to shoot. Good luck.

 

I have no experience with this gun at all-
http://www.fnhusa.com/products/firea...01&mid=FNM0004

But it is an intersting gun/round that may suit your needs/wants...

 

The glock 19 is really "the" greatest 9mm.




Ill say why. Its small enough for say women to hold and handle, and has decent amount of power. But, say, you want to shoot it too. It also is comfortable for big hands to shoot. I shoot one and I can Very comfortly hold a glock 20. So, my vote goes for a glock.

It its more for competitions Id opt for a 17 or a 34. My first pistol was a 17, I love it and will never let you down.




Oh and the Glock KABOOM!! is mostly a crock.




I really hopes that helps. As you can see from the screen name, I'm a gun nut, so you can PM me any questions you may have.

 

i just recently bought a taurus millenuim compact 40cal. Picked it up with a case and two clips for $375. Very comfortable gun to shoot. The wife even shot it and she is 5'4 about 120. She was in a field with me shooting, and she was dressed in a skirt and heals before a night out on the town.

 

Shanajustin,

From your narrowed down list, I would recommend against the walther ppk. I have one and will never get rid of it. I do like the gun... but in my experience they are no where near as reliable as a glock (or many others brands for that matter), don't have anywhere near the capacity, and have a much sharper recoil then a 9mm glock does. Mine stays in the safe and i pull it out to shoot it every once in a while. But it would NOT be my go to gun for self defense.

Just my opinion,

Chris

 

My ten year old brother who weighs about 70 pounds can shoot my USP compact in .45 acp with ease. No joke, the recoil bushing works great, and he has tiny hands. A little spendy, but ive seen lightly used for around 5 bills

 

I'd say that really depends on the gun. I've shot a little Bersa Thunder .380 as well as a Colt .380 and they were both pretty soft shooting, but I have a Kel-Tec .380 that I actually dread shooting because the recoil is so bad. The weight of the gun makes a huge difference.

That being said, I think 9mm is a MUCH better choice than .380. I don't really like anything less than 9mm for self defense (even though I carry my little .380 quite frequently).

 

My vote goes for the Springfield XD, I have the 4" XD 40 and love it.

Whats really important is what feels good in your hands, go to a range that lets you rent guns, shoot a few and see what feels good, or borrow a buddies to try it out first.


Im shopping for a sub compact 9mm to carry, and so far im looking at the SA XD again, but id like to try out a few guns before I make the purchase...

 

I held an FFL for a long time and I believe you would be better served to take her shooting first and find out what she can handle.

The .380 is the smallest round that can be considered for self defense. A .40 or .45 may be too much. I would suggest looking at the .38 again. In WW2 with Lend Lease the Brits looked at adopting the .45 Colt - they were almost free (Anything that did not survive the war did not have to be paid for).

Their issue sidearm at the time was a .38. Under testing they found if they used 200 grain loads fired into phone books, by the time the round entered the second book it was tumbling. The tumbling or keyholing multiplied the stopping energy of the .38 into the range of a .45. Therefore, the Brits opted not to change to the M1911 (With it's learning curve) but to change ammo to 200 grain and stay with what they had.

A few years ago I had an ex that was being stalked. I loaned her my 'Dectective Special' loaded with 200 grain .38's. She carried it for several months and loved it.

On the otherhand when I taught my niece to shoot, she hated the .22 and loved the .41 magnum. The best choice for your wife is the gun she likes and shoots well. She only has to terminate an attack not disintegrate the attacker.

 

I agree, and I'll add that if you're not planning on carrying , there is no reason to have a home defense gun that small.