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KD5NRH wrote:

mr.72 wrote:FWIW a Kel Tec P32 has a pretty stout and uncomfortable recoil...

You'd have a hard time convincing my wife of that.
She hates the recoil of a Bersa .380, but shoots her P32 quite well.

Well I don't dispute that at all. I was just making the point that stepping up in caliber doesn't always result in more harsh or uncomfortable recoil. Or in other words, felt recoil is much about the pistol design as it is about the caliber.

One day we were out at the range and between myself and my friend we had the following:

Kel-Tec P32 .32
Kahr PM9 9mm
Beretta Cheetah .380
Sig 232 .380 (similar to a Bersa Thunder .380 AFAICT from the pictures)
Kahr CW9 9mm
M&W Sigma SW9VE 9mm

Of all guns, the Sigma had the least felt recoil and was the most comfortable to shoot. It was the biggest of the poly guns. The Kel-Tec P32 was worst of the poly guns most likely because of its small size. But the worst of all for recoil feel in your hand was the Sig 232 which beat the crud out of my right thumb like I was getting hit with a tack hammer every time. It's a lightweight, alloy frame gun that flexes little and doesn't dampen the recoil much at all. The bigger, heavier Beretta Cheetah was much lighter in recoil.

So I'm not surprised that a P32 has less felt recoil than a Bersa .380.

FWIW a Kel Tec P32 has a pretty stout and uncomfortable recoil... stepping up a Kahr PM9 (a little bigger, 9mm) has less felt recoil as I assume the similarly-sized (cheaper) Kel Tec PF9 would have... a Kahr CW9 has even less recoil and of course as they get bigger, the felt recoil gets less.

Point is that even a .32 can have a pretty harsh recoil when you shoot it.

I think there are a lot of things about small guns that make them attractive to women. They don't look as dangerous. They look like they'd be easy to slip in and carry in any manner one might choose. They are "cute". Certainly concealment is a big deal so there is something to be said for small especially for small-framed people who choose tight clothing like many women. Once we have the funds on hand I will have to go through this same process with my wife... choosing a gun for her to carry that will conceal on her modelesque figure under junior-section clothing is not going to be a simple matter. But 9mm is the choice for me, .380 is the bare minimum.