LCP? And my girlfriend is awesome!

[atx2a]

My girlfriend has been after me to go to the range together, and is wanting to eventually get her LTC. (awesome in itself) Even better, she gave me permission to buy her an LCP for Valentine's Day. (proof, yet again, I'm out of my league)

So they had them on sale at Cabela's for $199. But, of course, by the time I got there they were sold out. I decided to hold off and do some research first.

Aside from an LCP, any suggestions for her to learn with? She's a tiny girl, little hands, never shot before, etc. Ready, go!

[Greybeard]

The small ones are not necessarily good to teach someone how to shoot. Go some where and rent one first. That one weights only around 10 ounces and can be painful for even some men. If y'all were in this area, I would start her on something like a Springfield XD9M with the smallest backstrap on it, then, once "consciously competent" with it (or possibly a S&W M&P 9mm with smallest backstrap), work down to try smaller "carry" guns.

[carlson1]

Start her with a .22. The last thing you want her to do is feel heavy recoil. She may walk away and never come back.

As Greybeard said above the smaller pistols are sometime painful to shoot.

Keep us updated.

[Keith B]

with Greybeard and Carlson. Many people believe that women are small, so they need a small gun. That's the farthest from the truth. Women who are new shooters normally need something that either has minimal recoil because of the round (.22) or is heavy enough to absorb the recoil so it's not so hard.

A story along these lines is when I ran into a friend at a gun show. She was in her mid-60's and found out she and a friend of similar age had taken her CHL class. They shot a Glock 19 in class and both handled it well. However, another longer-time friend had told her she needed a KelTec P-3AT (.380) to carry, She and her friend were looking at them at the gun show. I knew she had arthritis in her hands, so suggested she really ought to look into a slightly heavier revolver so the recoil wouldn't be so bad, but before buying the KelTec at least go back to the range and rent one to try.

Well, because she thought her longtime friend knew more than I did she and her lady friend purchased the P-3AT's at the gun show. They went to the range a couple of days later. The next day i got a call asking if I could help her sell them as they had gone to the range and shot 10 rounds out of them and both of their hands hurt so bad they had to stop shooting. Needless to say they then went and tried out a few at the range and bought .38 revolvers.

So, my suggestion, like it was to my friend, is to find a range where they rent guns and let her try out a few that fit her hand and feel comfortable shooting before you invest in buying her one.

[SIRIT]

My wife is a small girl also. We did as suggested and went to range and rented a couple different guns for here to try. She hated the glock26 but loved springfield xd compact so that's what she got. I am 6'5" and 190 and I will be honest the one time I shot an lcp I hated that little thing.

[CoffeeNut]

Maybe look into a .22 such as the Ruger SR22 so she can learn the basics, practice and get more acquainted with guns (especially handguns) before starting her on a tiny .380? The LCP is a good carry pistol but it isn't a range gun so she might fall in love or she might struggle a bit with the minimal sights, recoil and whatnot since she's new to shooting entirely. With a .22 target pistol you're giving her every advantage and it is in a caliber that has turned many on to shooting. Once you get her on the LCP you both will have a fun plinking pistol

Push comes to shove you could get a trusty 10/22 or Model 60 and go over the basics but since she wants to carry I'd go the pistol route if possible.

[mot7981]

If she's brand new to shooting, I completely agree with the .22 strategy. My daughter is very petite and she easily transitioned from an M&P22 to a Shield (9mm). If she's beyond that, I think going to the range and trying a few things out is the way to go. You don't want someone to have a bad experience early on or make a $$ mistake and have to sell something as soon as you get it as mentioned above. BTW, your girlfriend sounds like a keeper. Don't mess it up.

[chasfm11]

My girlfriend has been after me to go to the range together, and is wanting to eventually get her LTC. (awesome in itself) Even better, she gave me permission to buy her an LCP for Valentine's Day. (proof, yet again, I'm out of my league)

So they had them on sale at Cabela's for $199. But, of course, by the time I got there they were sold out. I decided to hold off and do some research first.

Aside from an LCP, any suggestions for her to learn with? She's a tiny girl, little hands, never shot before, etc. Ready, go!

As the owner of an LCP I can attest that it is NOT my favorite. I've carried it only when I could not dress around my Sig and since I do carry it, I practice with it. About 50 rounds through it in one sitting is all that I can tolerate.

We have a couple of shooting ranges in this area that have guns for rent. I haven't done it but I understand that they will let you touch and feel some of them without shooting them until you find something that fits your hand. Then you can rent it and try it. I'm guessing that you might have the same thing in the Austin area.

[Bruin98]

Wife learned on my xd9 and now carries xds9.

[Hot Dawg]

My wife wanted to get a pistol & found a 9mm compact she wanted, went to the range with her & she barely got off 3 rounds, put the pistol down & swore she would never shoot again, 3 years later I sold her pistol for her & got her a 22, she enjoyed shooting it & several months later she would shoot the 22 for a while then grab my full size 9mm, a few month of that & left the 22 at home when we went to the range, now she owns a Shield in 9mm & loves it.

[atx2a]

Thanks for the solid feedback, everyone, I appreciate it! I've been shooting for so long that the recoil factor never crossed my mind. That's a great idea about starting her with a 22. And hey, who needs an excuse to buy another gun, right? Best case: she likes it and can keep using it for a while. Worst case: I have another toy and drive a liberal crazy with another gun purchase. It's a win-win, really. :)

[SewTexas]

I like my LCP, I can pull the slide, with some effort, I have some problems with my right hand. I've also got a Taurus Curve, I can pull back that slide with no problem. yes, there is some kick, and with my hand problems I can't go to the range and shoot forever, but I can still outshoot my husband and I can get done what needs doing.

[FCH]

My wife took a class - tried out 7 different guns. Then she chose a Sig Sauer P938, but at the range, she prefers to shoot my CZ 75D Compact. The truth of the matter is the Sig bites just a little bit. The bottom of the trigger bites her finger during the recoil. When I fire the Sig, the hammer wears a little hole in the top of my fat hand. The Sig is going to be a beautiful carry gun for her but not as much fun at the range.

[Middle Age Russ]

Always remember that three things manage the recoil of a given cartridge in a firearm -- the design of the firearm, the weight of the firearm and the shooter. New shooters or those who are recoil-sensitive need to consider the physics involved and look at gun design and weight as desired features.

Simple blowback designs, all else being equal, will have a greater felt recoil impulse than gas- or recoil-operated designs (and they typically have pretty stiff recoil springs). For this reason, many of the blowback guns are a bit top-heavy with a heavier slide than recoil-operated counterparts to help mitigate recoil. Recoil operated designs, use the additional weight of the barrel and the friction involved in camming that barrel out of position with the slide and then back into it to mitigate the recoil impulse a bit. This allows for a lighter recoil spring and a lighter slide than blowback arms but some of these, like the P3AT, LCP, etc... are so small and light that the gun becomes a bit snappy even with a relatively mild cartridge like the 380ACP.

A gun that weighs more recoils less -- after all, basic physics tells us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. THink about swinging a hammer to drive a nail. You can drive a framing nail with a 10 ounce hammer, but you can drive it far easier using a 16 - 20 ounce hammer because the weight of the hammer is doing more of the work. Similarly, the heavier gun dissipates more of the recoil force than the lighter one so that the user doesn't get hit with as much of it -- felt recoil is less.

[Jketchum]

When my wife was new to shooting I started her out with my full size Ruger P89 9mm its a full size large heavy gun with Houge grips. Comfortable and easy recoil, also super accurate which built her confidence up quickly. She took her CHL test with it and scored a 249!

she did not and still does not like any of my sub compact smaller guns, XDs Colt mustang, P938...

I ended up getting her a Sig p239 its a 8rd single stack 9mm I put the comfy Houge grips on for her and she likes it. IMO its the perfect size/weight ratio for a small girl with tiny hands.

ATX2A- I noticed your in Austin, you might already know this but Reds indoor range in Pflugerville has ladys night on Mondays. If I remember correctly Free rentals and discounted range fees