WHAT ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR A GOOD SEMI-AUTO PISTOL FOR MY WIFE?

Bendad97

Bendad97

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Hello All,

I was wondering if you folks had any suggestions/experience with a good choice of a semi auto pistol for my wife? She currently has, for home defense, a Taurus Revolver which has served her well. But this last weekend, we were out shooting and she tried out my new R1 and loved it. The problem is that she doesn't have enough strength to engage the slide effectively on a consistent basis. The weight of the weapon was an issue, but recoil was not. I was thinking something in 9mm or .40. Any suggestions?
 
Well if she can handle the .45 on the R1 then just bring her to the gun store and handle as many firearms as she can, operate the controls, have her operate the slide, see what feels the best and buy it. When weight and operating the controls is the biggest factor it is kind of hard to make suggestions since the biggest factors that will determine a good fit for her is her strength and size of her hands.
 
Bendad97 said:
Any suggestions?
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The biggest issue with asking for suggestions is everybody has their own favorites. Come to the next NES shoot and check out who's got what on the firing line. Ask nicely and she'll get to try whatever she wants. Better to bring her to a shoot where she could try several platforms in various calibers so she can settle on what she shoots well
 
first i suggest turning off your caps lock LOL ;) its all in the hands of the beholder...what she can grip well and use all of correctly will dictate what to have. Take her to a shop and let her hold all kinds of guns, and shoot them if possible. The Glock 19 is a fantastic gun to start with, light but with a nice low bore axis so recoil isnt as harsh especially when held high and with a correct grip.

Dom
 
I had been kicking around the thought of a Glock 19 some. It will be HER choice on what weapon to go with for certain. Since I'm a cave man and shoot my 1911's pretty exclusively, I figured I'd put it out there to see what others are doing.
 
Try the Israeli method, empty chamber, hammer cocked, slide racks easily to load the gun with the hammer at full cock.
 
Before she gives up on the Ruger, as for the slide, have her hold the slide still and push the frame forward to rack. Someone suggested it here a few months ago and it worked great for Ms. Obie.

If you're looking for a reason to buy another gun with the wife's blessing, then by all means carry on.
 
OfficerObie59 said:
Before she gives up on the Ruger, as for the slide, have her hold the slide still and push the frame forward to rack. Someone suggested it here a few months ago and it worked great for Ms. Obie.

If you're looking for a reason to buy another gun with the wife's blessing, then by all means carry on.
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Great point! Keep buying guns YOU like, and while it may take awhile to find one she likes, you have built up your collection with her blessing! Very shrewd![smile]
 
up grade to a S&W revolver, really if she shoots well with the tarus and its a defense weapon. I would stick with what she knows. If your looking for a semi for range fun......get out to manchester fireingline and try some pistols. my wife complained of the weight of the ruger MarkIII hunter. after many trips and handling the firearm its a non issued.
 
I just went through this with my wife. She literally just handled every gun in the shop. She ended up buying the H&K P2000SK. It's cool, but it was the price of two Ruger SR9C's Yikes. But it's what she liked.
 
castros rat said:
I just went through this with my wife. She literally just handled every gun in the shop. She ended up buying the H&K P2000SK. It's cool, but it was the price of two Ruger SR9C's Yikes. But it's what she liked.
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If your wife looks like that chick in your Avatar picture, you should buy her anything she wants!!!
 
OfficerObie59 said:
Before she gives up on the Ruger, as for the slide, have her hold the slide still and push the frame forward to rack. Someone suggested it here a few months ago and it worked great for Ms. Obie.

If you're looking for a reason to buy another gun with the wife's blessing, then by all means carry on.
Click to expand...

That's a really good point. For a lot of people it's a mental game: I can't do it. But teach her the sling shot motion--yank that slide back and push forward with the strong hand (finger off the trigger of course!) and let it rip when you get to the end of the slide motion--one quick action. Some people have trouble with the finger grip aspect and depending on the pistol it can rough up the fingers. Let her wear gloves the first few times if she must but once she knows she can do it then that's 99% of the challenge and confidence and finger strength will hopefully build with practice.

Just so you know, in general the shorter the slide the harder it will be to rack. Shorter recoil travel and less metal/weight on the slide requires a stiffer spring. So the Glock 17 would be a little easier to rack but might feel kind of large. 19 is probably the right size and the 26, while cute looking, would be harder to rack.

I find the Ruger SR9 Compact a real pain to rack. There's something very un-ergonomic going on there with that pistol and my hands--but YMMV.

And of course newer guns will be stiffer. I have an old 1911 a baby could rack.

All else fails look for a 1911 in 9 mm but then you're stuck with low capacity AND a light bullet.

Also on the subject, the 380 autos while a smaller caliber are usually harder to rack than the 9 mm because they are mostly blowback designs requiring short stiff springs.
 
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If you're not worried about magazine capacity (i.e. she has a class B permit), I'd recommend an HK USP in 9 MM. my wife has trouble racking the slide on many semi-autos, but the relatively wide slide, deep serrations on the slide, and "mild" springs, make this particular gun pretty easy for her to operate. Some like HK, some love HK, and some think they're overpriced for the value. I happen to love the ergonomics, the decocker, and relative light weight for the magazine capacity. There are other equally find manufacturers (Glock, Ruger, etc.) but if a big part of the equation is whether or not she'll feel comfortable operating the pistol, then you may consider the USP.

If magazine capacity is a challenge, or you're looking to ratchet down the spend, I'd suggest you consider a Smith Model 39. With a single stack (8 round mag), you are GTG for a class B permit, and if your wife has small hands, the narrow grip may fit better. I've also found that like the HK, the 39 has a very easy slide to operate.

My wife has shot them both (as well as others like the CZ75, 1911, Browning HP) and settled on the USP.

Just my $.02.

Chris
 
It's looking like a Glock 19 or a Smith&Wesson M&P 9 at this point. We'll be heading over for a hand's on demo one night this week.

Thanks.
 
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endus said:
In my extreeeemely limited experience 9mm seems to be a good caliber for the estrogen-enhanced among us.

.380 is good too.
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I know you mean nothing but good things by saying that, but there's something about it that's very grating. Those are good calibers. For anyoneto carry should that be what works best for them.

Anyone who is interested in coaching women or getting women involved should go read this.

Women are not men. There are differences, and there are trends. But more importantly, women are individuals. I've taught plenty who fit the recoil-shy, loud-noises-spook-me stereotype. And I've taught plenty who loved it and enjoyed shooting bigger, snappier guns.

I prefer to carry my .45 whenever possible. I find it no more difficult to control than my 9 mm. My father, a career Marine who can outshoot me with a .45 all day long, carries something significantly smaller because that works for him and his particular needs.

Work with the PERSON in front of you and don't try to shoehorn them into some notion of what they should like because they fit into some particular demographic.

/end my mild-for-NES rant. And again, nothing personal against endus, his phrasing just rankled me tonight.
 
Nicole said:
I know you mean nothing but good things by saying that, but there's something about it that's very grating. Those are good calibers. For anyoneto carry should that be what works best for them.

Anyone who is interested in coaching women or getting women involved should go read this.

Women are not men. There are differences, and there are trends. But more importantly, women are individuals. I've taught plenty who fit the recoil-shy, loud-noises-spook-me stereotype. And I've taught plenty who loved it and enjoyed shooting bigger, snappier guns.

I prefer to carry my .45 whenever possible. I find it no more difficult to control than my 9 mm. My father, a career Marine who can outshoot me with a .45 all day long, carries something significantly smaller because that works for him and his particular needs.

Work with the PERSON in front of you and don't try to shoehorn them into some notion of what they should like because they fit into some particular demographic.

/end my mild-for-NES rant. And again, nothing personal against endus, his phrasing just rankled me tonight.
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A+ NICOLE!!!!!
 
Nicole said:
I know you mean nothing but good things by saying that, but there's something about it that's very grating. Those are good calibers. For anyoneto carry should that be what works best for them.

Anyone who is interested in coaching women or getting women involved should go read this.

Women are not men. There are differences, and there are trends. But more importantly, women are individuals. I've taught plenty who fit the recoil-shy, loud-noises-spook-me stereotype. And I've taught plenty who loved it and enjoyed shooting bigger, snappier guns.

I prefer to carry my .45 whenever possible. I find it no more difficult to control than my 9 mm. My father, a career Marine who can outshoot me with a .45 all day long, carries something significantly smaller because that works for him and his particular needs.

Work with the PERSON in front of you and don't try to shoehorn them into some notion of what they should like because they fit into some particular demographic.

/end my mild-for-NES rant. And again, nothing personal against endus, his phrasing just rankled me tonight.
Click to expand...


I agree with your statement 100%, and am very glad to have gotten some female perspective on the subject. My entire reason for starting the thread was to relate the good/bad points of my wife's experience with my 1911, and to hopefully get some pointers from the ladies here, as well as men. Ultimately, the decision will be hers, but since the factors that affect my decision about what to purchase differ so greatly from what is comfortable for her, I figured I'd ask.
 
Nicole said:
I know you mean nothing but good things by saying that, but there's something about it that's very grating. Those are good calibers. For anyoneto carry should that be what works best for them.

Anyone who is interested in coaching women or getting women involved should go read this.

Women are not men. There are differences, and there are trends. But more importantly, women are individuals. I've taught plenty who fit the recoil-shy, loud-noises-spook-me stereotype. And I've taught plenty who loved it and enjoyed shooting bigger, snappier guns.

I prefer to carry my .45 whenever possible. I find it no more difficult to control than my 9 mm. My father, a career Marine who can outshoot me with a .45 all day long, carries something significantly smaller because that works for him and his particular needs.

Work with the PERSON in front of you and don't try to shoehorn them into some notion of what they should like because they fit into some particular demographic.

/end my mild-for-NES rant. And again, nothing personal against endus, his phrasing just rankled me tonight.
Click to expand...


Totally agree.
 

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