My wife wants a hand gun

[hitchbuddy]

My wife who turns white at the sight a gun came home tonight and said she wanted a Glock.
So I put it out to you Guys/GAls what would be a good 1st handgun? for a woman.
First a class in gun safety and then on to the range.
It seems the girls she works with have decided to get a hand guns before our President elect take away the privilage.
This country is in for "change" and most people can't see the train thats going to run them over.

[B.N.Real]

Glock 26 AS 9mm subcompact-she could get a concealed carry permit and carry it in her purse-where concealed carry was legal,of course.

[sdj]

I know several lady shooters who like the size and portability of the G19, and they are comfortable working the slide, too. All in all, the G is very servicable, like most of the modern polymer frame handguns. The advice of going to a range where where various models can be rented and tried seems to have withstood the test of time: one never knows who will gravitate towards what, and why. Enjoy the journey and good luck.

[PeterGunn]

Take her to the gun store... then leave and allow her to pick out what she likes and fits her best. I would make some suggestions certainly, but that would be as far as I would go.

If she wants a Glock... then so be it... its a great choice. Encourage her to look at others of the same ilk and maybe a couple outside of the "box".

[golfnutrlv]

I have been doing a lot of research lately on concealed 9mm's. Kahr PM9 is a great choice, small, "Thin" and from what I have heard, great to shoot. Better than a comparable heavy pull semi like a Kel-Tec, better quality too. However, my choice in the end was the Glock 26. Small increase insize, massive increase in shootability, and reliability.

[GodWeTrust]

Make sure that you have her read about women at guns at www.corneredcat.com! By a lady for ladies!

When you have her look at guns, remember a couple of things. First, many women find semi-autos difficult to "rack the slide". My wife can rack them, but with some difficulty. A revolver is a good option if this is the case.

Smaller isn't necessarily better! Smaller = more felt recoil.

Let her pick her own, but not just by looks. Have a few different sizes for her to shoot! She might like a low caliber pocket gun, or she might like a large caliber gun. You won't know until she shoots it!!!

[Shadi Khalil]

My girl and I are currently doing the same thing. I turns out she is a great shot and wants her own. She shoots my 239 very well buts wants something different. The only other handgun she has shot is a P22 and a HK2000, which she did not like. She handled a K9 the other weekend and really liked the feel of it. Since she liked the feel of the Kahr trigger we are gonna try some J-frames the next time we go out. Looks of the gun are kinda important to her, thankfully she doesnt go for any of this pink grip/insert crap they try and push on the ladies these days. I guess the most important thing is to take your time in choosing and let her try a bunch of differnt stuff. The glock is a great choice, simple, cheap and effective.

Good luck.

[Smaug]

Glock 19 is a good size for a lady's hand. Small enough to put in a purse, large enough to be accurate & controllable. Not too much kick, and still an effective caliber.

One good thing about Glocks is that they're easy to find to rent. I recommend you take her with, rent one, and shoot it with her. She may find she's too recoil-timid.

My wife picked a Hi-Power, but in her nightstand is a 22 revolver, because that's what she practices with and feels confident with.

Oh, two other things:

1) Welcome to The Firing Line!

2) Do a search in the titles of threads in the General Handgun forum for the word "wife." You'll find a real goldmine of info. This question gets asked weekly.

[thinktwice]

Glock 26 or Glock 19. GLOCK = Reliability!

[Dabull]

Show her lots of options...rent guns, shoot others' pistols at the range...but let her pick the gun. You'll hear all kinds of advice about getting her a .38 revolver or a "simple" gun, but you never know what she might like. I know a girl who is 5-foot-2 with tiny hands and she only shoots a full size 1911 (and very well too).

[Shadi Khalil]

shoot others' pistols at the range

Thats something I forgot to mention. Being at a range full of men with a woman can really get you places in terms of trying stuff out. I used to go shooting with a roomate of mine, very pretty girl. Almost everytime I went to the bathroom or to take a call I'd come back into the range to find guys trying to impress her with their guns. I'd ended up getting to try all sorts of guns. I'm sure you dont want some slezze hitting on your wife but if she ask nobody will say no. Case in point; last time I was at the range with my girlfriend she was mezmorized by the booming of a desert eagle. As soon as the guys caught wind of her interest they were begging her to shoot it.

[DWARREN123]

Glocks may be a little thick in the grip frame for her so have her try before buying. Try as many as possible before deciding.

[Wyngnut]

Consider yourself lucky hitchbuddy. My wife ~h a t e s~ guns. And I do not believe there is a cure insight, not unless something really drastic happened and she became a "victim" in a situation. She does not oppose me owning them, but to pull it out and clean it or whatever...she freaks out, and her whole family is like that.

Glock 9mm is an excellent choice for yours. Very dependable weapon and light shooting as a gun can practically get. The problem you or she might face is "use or lose" in a struggle. Never pull out a gun unless your absolutely sure it's gonna be used, and that might present a problem in a "situation". She or any woman is more likely to scratch at eyeballs than unload lead. Having a gun is one thing...the prescence of mind to use it is a whole different issue, and I hate to say this, but it's probably, in a lot of cases, better to take some self defense courses, even if it's just to get into the mindset of self defense, that might go a lot further than the at-the-moment panic of whether to pull out the gun and use it issue.

Get her on that range,... sounds like she is getting the shooting bug:) as for my wife....I got her a baseball bat.

[Bob F.]

My EDC is a G-19. My wife doesn't like the feel of the Glocks. As above, best to let her try different guns. If you're near southern WV shoot me a PM and we'll take here to the range w/ a selection she can try. No place around here to rent and shoot, but several Club members will help.

Bob

[BusGunner007]

I looked that cornered cat website...it's GOOD.

I also felt a little guilty when I found the 'how to make your wife hate guns' section...
I'm going back to read that one a few more times. My wife wants to get herself a firearm soon. Undoubtedly I would be better off not being insensitive about her 'needs and wants' during this process of shopping for her new gun.

Yeah, it was good reading.
:D

[jtedescucci]

I believe your wife should be commended for thinking straight & planning for the future. Don't let anyone do anything to discourage her.

FredT

[boykinhntr]

My friends wife wanted to shoot a few of mine to see what she wanted. The one pistol that was hardest for her to shoot was my Sig P230(.380). Its a snappy little thing and she thought it was harder to shoot than my PT145 or my friends Glock 17.

So as others have mentioned, don't assume that a girl needs a small gun.

[lockedcj7]

+2 for the G19. I voted for my wife as well as myself. I've had a G23 or years and my wife qualified with it for her CWP. She handled the first few magazines okay but was flinching like crazy toward the end.

I got her comfortable shooting again with a .22 and then gave her a new G19. The recoil wasn't nearly as stiff and there's enough gun to hold on to.

[eng208]

My wife has a Glock 19 with tritium sights, and loves it. She also has a KelTec P32 that I fluffed and buffed for her. That is the one she carries with her every day now, due to it being light and small enough to conceal

[orionengnr]

See post #6...

[smaj100]

I'd like to recommend if you have a range that does rentals near you take her and let her pick some up and fire a few. My wife who was in a similar situation growing up in MA had never held, seen or been near a gun let alone fired one. I've been in the Army for 18yrs and always been around them so for me it was natural.

I took her to the range and let her fire a Glock 9mm. After the initial shock and excitement wore off. She was ready to return and continue learning. We ended buying her a hi-point 380 a few weeks later. She absolutley loves going to the range with me and shooting. She shoots and handles her weapon very well and she has gotten her CCW. I prefer a weapon that has a manual safety and wanted her to have a similar feature. The Cf 380 fit the bill it fit her hand well recoil is very mild and it has a manual safety. She shoots my 24/7 40 very well but obviously prefers her 380.

Good luck

[allenomics]

I am a Glock guy, but what makes her think she wants a Glock? She should probably go to the local range to test fire a variety of pistols/revolvers.

Let us know what she buys.

[Te Anau]

Personnally,I think a Glock is just about the worst choice out there as a first gun for anybody.That said,my wife has great difficulty racking the slide on almost all of my semis.Choose wisely!

[Pilot]

Let her pick what she wants. I had my wife shoot several of my semi-autos and rent a few semi-autos I didn't have. She bought a S&W revolver. Go figure. It was a great choice too.

[MADISON]

Get her a small Glock in 40 S&W.

[kevman]

glock 19 hands down small enough for womens hands. but if she really likes shooting or gets in to it my thoughts would be for a para or kimber of some sort in 9mm or the 380 auto the 1911 are more dependable gun and before you glock lovers get upset i own one glock and 2 paras and i vote para before the glock they are just more accurate but if she wants a glock nothing wrong with the gun it is still a great gun.

[vytoland]

take her to the firing range and let her test fire several different guns....pistols and revolvers. she will be able to choose which ones she likes the best..........then get your wallet out.

[jlayman920]

I'm glad to read in this thread that I am not the only one with a wife that has trouble racking the slide on a semiauto. I bought a Bersa 380 just to have a gun in the house that my wife wouldn't be afraid to shoot but she can't rack the slide. Oh well, I guess that just added one more to my collection (the Bersa by the way is a sweet little 380) and gives me an excuse to add a revolver to the collection for her.

[sidaemon]

My wife shoots a Walther p99. Easy slide rack, trigger mechanism that is clever enough that any woman will love it. Its also a soft muzzle flip pistol (in my humble opinion). Very accurate. It has adjustable back straps to make things fit a bit easier if need be.

The big thing for me was the mag release. It is embedded in the trigger guard, which means that for a woman's smaller hand they can easily shift to the mag release in a pressure situation.

Its also pretty small and very concealable, easy to fit in a purse if need be.

Just my opinion, zac.