Personal protection handgun for women

[Gutshot007]

Starting to look at handguns for wife and daughter .( Obviously needs to fit them properly ) any standouts in brands or ,versions you guys are recommending ? Preferred calibers 380 vs 9 mm etc ? It will be a conceal carry weapon . Thanks

 

[Maki35]

Revolver- either S&W or Ruger SP101

Pistol- M&P shield, Sig P365, Glock 43 as CCW for her.

Have they ever gone shooting? if not, I would recommend finding a place/range that rents guns and have them try a few to see what feels best (caliber & handgun) in their hands.

 

[CTXhunter]

This is a touchy subject and you’ll get a ton of answers but I’ll do my best to give my opinion and thoughts from a married guy with a daughter and I grew up in a house with a single mom and sister- no shortage of women that I care about in my life.

The first and most important thing is to let them decide if they even want a gun and if they do, will they keep it in the home or will they actually want to carry it defensively in public?

If the gun is to be stowed safely in the home for defense, there is no reason to go small. Get a good size gun that they enjoy shooting and you may even gain magazine capacity which is a big plus in my opinion. Hard to go wrong here, Glock 19/17, walther, many of the sig offerings are nice and so are many other manufacturers these days.

A very common thing i personally see is a guy buys his wife a blue or pink subcompact pocket pistol, she shoots it once, hates it, and at best (unsafely) carry’s it in her purse and presents a safety hazard to herself and people around her.

Larger pistols are typically much easier for beginners to shoot and learn on- never be afraid to grab a full size .22 and let them have a ball on steel targets before graduating to a .380 or 9mm. My wife probably put 5,000 rounds out of a .22 on steel targets when we were younger and would routinely outshoot me with that pistol and loved doing it- and bragging about it. When she decided in her own time that she wanted to graduate to a larger gun, she shot my Glock 19 quite well.

If they want to carry on body, there are many more things to consider. Simply having a gun is not enough. Their own safety and the safety of the people around them are paramount so they need to understand the weight that comes with carrying a gun in public and how to do it responsibly and safely. The last thing we would ever want is an accident to hurt the ones we love- especially when we’re the one who talked to them into carrying a gun in the first place. Off body carry (purse) or leaving a gun in a vehicle is a recipe for disaster and theft. If they’re not comfortable carrying a gun on body in public, an alternative to purse or car carry is pepper spray such as POM. It is also far more convenient and permissible in many environments which should lead to them having it on them more. If they do decide to carry on body (AWESOME!) then there are some excellent resources, holster systems (PHLSTER enigma), and compact handguns that will work great for them! I recommend the “armed and styled” YouTube channel and the Phlster concealment workshop Facebook group for ideas and advice. Some of the best people in the business!

A great case for OC spray- your daughter is walking out of Walmart late at night, she reaches in her purse, grabs the POM spray on her key chain, and has it ready in her hand, then walks across the dark lot. This is a lot more acceptable than walking across the lot with your gun drawn- lol which means it can be done employed to an altercation immediately and effectively. I would argue that this would be much more effective against a would be “bad guy” than a pistol that she can’t draw in under 5 seconds that may or may not even be loaded. This same tactic could be used at a house party when a guy starts to give her the creeps. A plus side- typically no one dies and charges are not brought. OC spray is an excellent choice WITH or WITHOUT a pistol on body.

Carrying a gun is a serious deal, and I hope more people (especially women!) adopt it more. My wish is for people to carry with them tools and mindset that helps them protect themselves and the people around them- men and women alike. It’s our job to guide people into that lifestyle and mindset without pushing them away. Please feel free to message me anytime and I can send or post plenty more resources for good info for carrying for both men and women.

 

[Dos XX]

Beretta PX4 compact. My wife had trouble working the slides on most semis. She can work the slide on the PX4. We have 3 now.

They have shot and fed a very wide variety of ammo with no jams or any problems. They have a rotating barrel that they claim makes them softer shooting. I believe it. My wife can one hand hers and be extremely accurate. The subcompact model does not have the rotating barrel. The compact is plenty small and easy to carry.

You can buy them souped up or have one you already have souped up at Langdon Tactical.
After getting one for her, I found it to be a really good pistol. We now have 3 of them. 2 of them are Robar treated Langdon models.

 

[EMAZ]

I’d take them with you to try out slides…the S&W Shield EZ would be on the short list to try…the Sig P365 would be another

 

[Greyinggrayling]

Ruger .380 LCP Max. Smaller than my Glock 43, higher capacity magazines, digs less into my womanly hips. I really like it.

Have them handle several guns though. I have large hands for a woman. They may have small hands and need something more compact.

Do NOT let them buy a pink or purple gun. When a woman draws a pink pistol in self defense, it tells the perp she’s not serious and likely has only shot it one time, or not at all. A woman’s gun needs to be scary to a perp, not cute.

And don’t get me started on guns in purses…I will just say guns belong on her body, not in her purse.

 

[Rob5589]

9mm, sub/compact. Lots of great choices, they'll have to choose. I'd not suggest one of the small/lightweight revos. My LCR with Gold Dots is snappy, not fun to shoot, harder to make hits.

Have them receive real deal ccw training.

 

[wesfromky]

Go to a range with a wide selection of rentals - let them shoot several different pistols - spend an hour or two and buy enough ammo to put a mag or so through each gun.

Send them to a handgun 101 class with a qualified instructor. Some places have women's only classes.

Then let them decide what they want to buy and then start a family night at the range day every couple weeks sorta thing. Also send them to additional classes, esp if there are women's groups like "A girl and a gun" in your area. https://www.agirlandagun.org/

 

[Carr5vols]

My wife has revolver. KISS point pull trigger. Stress will be enough if she ever has to use it dont need extra stuff for her to have to deal with.

 

[87TT]

Some women don't have the wrist strength for an auto. They limp wrist and it jams, They need a revolver. My wife carries and loves her Ruger LC9S. My Daughter in law had a Lady Smith that was given to her by her Father. She couldn't stand shooting it. I had her try the wife's LC9 and she loved it and shot the hell out of it. So my wife bought her one. I would get the EC9 as it is the same gun with fixed sights and is cheaper.

 

[TN2shot07]

My wife learned with a Glock 44, all the operations and no recoil. She has a 43 and mine is a 19 so she can be comfortable with whatever she picked up if needed.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I let my wife choose which guns she likes, that was certainly a good move. Before she had her own pistol, she took my Ruger sp101 357mag with her. After going shopping and trying a bunch of shit, she decided on a Glock 43 9mm. I got her a few boxes of extreme Penetrators and a case of practice ammo, she also wanted one of those hill people gear kit bags.

I feel a bit better when she’s out hiking alone knowing she has a setup she likes and she has practiced with.

 

[Marbles]

My wife really likes her S&W M&P Shield. Hers is in 40 cal, but you can get it in 9mm.

Stay away from Kahr, total garbage that makes a better paper weight than defensive weapon.

 

[Eleven]

My wife has a ton of handguns. Her favorite and go to is a P365 9mm standard size. That happens to be my favorite CCW as well except I have the XL version.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Having them try them out is definitely the way to go. My wife chose something that wasn't even on my radar.
We did try to stay away from Taurus just due to issues we have seen. Basically, if she saw something that piqued her interest, she tried it out. In the end she is happy enough to carry it all the time. I'm not sure that would be the case if I chose for her.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Having them try them out is definitely the way to go. My wife chose something that wasn't even on my radar.
We did try to stay away from Taurus just due to issues we have seen. Basically, if she saw something that piqued her interest, she tried it out. In the end she is happy enough to carry it all the time. I'm not sure that would be the case if I chose for her.

I’m no feminist or anything like that but I tried for a few years to pick guns for my wife and she never really wanted to go shooting, she also didn’t really take things seriously which is a safety thing. When I finally just set her free at the gun counter and let her try everything out there as well as a holster setup she actually liked rather than what I liked she started really enjoying shooting and got more comfortable carrying.

The only problem really is that after she decided on a Glock 43, she found out that they made it in this super ghey “robbins egg blue” color. She decided she had to have that so I finally found one and special ordered it. In the end it’s probably good she chose that color because I like the feel of the gun, if it was a regular color I’d probably be trying to steal it from her.

 

[mdwstnor]

I'll echo the P365 in 9mm too. However, the SW Shield EZ in .380ACP is pretty nice, easy to rack/clear, and shoots nice too.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Really depends on what they like, and also their build.

That said bigger guns are easier to shoot. And grip size between say a shield and a M&P with a small grip insert isnt that much of a difference.

 

[EVO6]

The S&W easy is my opinion. Have whoever is shooting it put a box of rounds through it often. And go through reloading/dry fire drills

 

[Bluefish]

One of the smith and Wesson EZ pistols. wife got the 380 after it was recommended by her instructor. Really likes it. Easy to shoot, load. She likes it a lot more than a J frame.