Help pick woman's first pistol

[Old Fart]

It's been said several times.
Take her out and let her handle some.

Not on your list, but can be found in that price range, is the Kahr CW9.

 

[ProBusiness]

I have a Firearms For Women class 1/8/11 and 2/5/11. This class is designed for women who have never shot handguns or have shot some but want to learn more. We go over the basics of safety, grip, stance, sight alignment, sight picture, trigger squeeze and follow thru. We shoot about 10 different handguns of diff sizes, calibers, and weights - both revolver and semi-autos.
Look on www.firearmsontarget.com under 'classes' for more info. class size is limited to four to ten women. Basically, after the women get to work with this many guns, they form a good idea of the type of handgun they want to buy. The woman needs to make the decision on the type of gun they want. For some women, racking the slide is very hard for them to do. It just depends.

 

[repete34]

The one that fits her hand and she can hit the target with

 

[Randy_]

I agree with the previous posters that she needs to choose her own gun.
Having said that, my wife does quite well with J frame revolvers and the M&P 9c, so those are worth taking a look at.
She also loves full size 1911s, but that is not exactly a CCW gun.

 

[MadDogs]

My two cents … I would probably take her out and let her test drive a few handguns to see what she likes. If she is willing to learn how to run a pistol then I would get a pistol over a revolver.

 

[DRC458]

Thanks for all the input. Just FYI - she WILL be starting out on a .22, and I do have a J-frame that I will let her try. There will be a trip to H&H to fondle/rent some firearms, but we're trying to gather all the input we can ahead of time to kinda' lessen the overwhelming variety of choices. Keep it coming! I appreciate all the input!

 

[trickydick]

+1 on adding the kahr to the mix, you also need to let her see the walther pps, p99, and taurus 709 slim.

 

[GlockCop]

The woman needs to pick her gun. Go to H&H or Heartland and rent several, then pick the one that fits her best. A lot of guys have good intentions but check out www.cornered cat.com and read a couple of articles. It's a mistake to pick one for her. Been there, done that.

Pstmstr knows that of which he speaks. I do too. DO NOT try to pick the gun for her. Let her pick the gun. You will both be a lot happier and she will be a lot more apt to go shooting regularly if you do so.

 

[WhiteyMacD]

Its probably been mentioned already, but I am too lazy to read the whole thread. Gun choice is almost exactly like picking out a good pair of pants. Its all about fit and how well you can wear it.

The wrong pair can really ride in the a$$.

In other words,... take her somewhere she can test fire a wide variety of the guns (You can even start with the list you provided), and let her decide based on fit/feel and how well she shoots it.

 

[goodoleboy]

Let her pick it.Does not matter if its a waste of money later on or not as long as its not a POS with known problems you can sell it later on to recoup the bad decision..With anything, If you choose for her, she will not like it as much and less liekly to want to shoot it.Kinda like if you went car or mower shopping and she picked for you..Most important thing for fit is letting her dry fire it before buying.