What gun would you suggest for wife?

[LAYGO]

I went to the range this weekend & the recoil (lack there of) & accuracy of the M&P Shield still amaze me. I don't see how it's not a natural choice. The cost is amazing as well. Several have popped up on this forum from $300-$400 (with lots of stuff).

[RPBrown]

Get her into a ladies' shooting group - either a small local one or national ones such as agirlandagun.org or divawow.org

Some extra free advice:

1. Let someone else teach her - preferably an experienced woman.
2. Let her choose her own gun

I agree with Andy on this one. As with my wife and all of my daughters, I taught them the basic safety rules and how to break down and clean their weapon, but to keep peace in the house, I had them each take a beginners shooting course.

I also took them to a range, paid the rental fees and let them choose what worked best for them. This is the best way to do it (unless of course you have a particular gun you want, LOL)

[skeathley]

There are two issues for SOME women. These do not apply to all, but they have to be considered:

1. Racking the slide. Often a serious problem. Two guns I have found that are substantially easier than others are the Sig Sauer P-238 (.380) and the Walther PK-380 (.380).
2. Limp-wristing. Unless a woman shoots a fair amount, that may creep in and cause jams. That can be an unpredictable problem for self-defense.

For those women who purse-carry, my preference for them would be a steel .38 revolver. Nothing to remember or think about, never jams, just point and shoot. But stay away from the plastic ones.

[SSGMWP]

I accompanied my wife to a range that rented s/a and revolvers. She could not rack slide on any of the S/A so she tried revolvers. She is now quite comfortable with a pink Charter Arms .38
Not only comfortable after the first few rounds. But quite proficient even though she is a first time shooter. More range time for me now that my wife likes to shoot. Also less complaints about all the ammo and accessories I tend to buy.

She did like my Colt Govt Model .45 but was too heavy for her after a few rounds.

Next on the agenda, more training and concealed carry permit.

[LDB415]

I accompanied my wife to a range that rented s/a and revolvers. She could not rack slide on any of the S/A so she tried revolvers. She is now quite comfortable with a pink Charter Arms .38
Not only comfortable after the first few rounds. But quite proficient even though she is a first time shooter. More range time for me now that my wife likes to shoot. Also less complaints about all the ammo and accessories I tend to buy.

She did like my Colt Govt Model .45 but was too heavy for her after a few rounds.

Next on the agenda, more training and concealed carry permit.

Reread post 7 with the link to the woman produced video of how to rack the slide and then my post 8 with a description of an even easier method. In several years at the gun shop I don't recall a single woman who couldn't manipulate the slide once shown the left/right opposing force method.

[ScooterSissy]

I am trying to get my wife into the range with me on a regular basis. She has only fired my SW 642 a total of 5 rounds and my XDs 9 once. She is a Chicago gal and I am going slow with her as she was not raised with anyone in her family owning a gun. We have been married for just over a year and last Saturday was her first time at the range. She was scared beyond belief by the noise and smoke.

I have looked at .22's and .380s on multiple websites and read a ton of literature. For those who own both calibers what brand and caliber would you recommend?

Before you start shopping for guns, I'd suggest you get her comfortable at a range. To do that, I would suggest you find a female friend that shoots, that will be willing to go with her to the range.

We guys don't like to hear this, but often we're the wrong person to give our wife instructions on something she's not comfortable with. One of my daughter and her husband went to the range with me and my wife. My daughter took some quick instructions from the SiL, shot twice, and was ready to give it up.

My wife proceeded to shoot, then offered to shoot the kids' gun, then offered our daughter some pointers. She was outshooting me within the hour.

[QB]

Great advice in the previous posts. Coming from someone who has taught several women to shoot.........there are self defense guns and "fun at the range" guns. Regardless of what gun your wife eventually decides on for defensive purposes, she also needs to have one that's fun to shoot at the range or she won't want to go very much. Those two distinct purposes could mean that she needs 2 different guns (at least ). Yes, she needs to practice with her defensive gun so that she's proficient with it but as far as going to the range with you a lot, she needs to have fun (at least the women I know do).

Of the women that go shooting with me (all of which now have their carry licenses and larger caliber guns), they most love shooting .22LR pistols at the range. I normally have different targets where you can engage in different competitions that adds to the fun (I've lost many a "buy lunch" bet to some of them, darn it).

All of the women I taught started with .22LRs....and they always wanted to go back to the range when I asked them. I would also take my larger caliber guns with me and shoot them. It wouldn't be long until one of them would ask to shoot one of my guns and would normally fall in love with one of them (not necessarily a carry gun......Sig P210, HK Expert, Colt Special Combat Gov Competition, S&W 952, SVI, STI, etc.).

Guess what I'm saying is "fun at range" and self defense, 2 different scenarios. And at least with the women I know, after practicing with their "carry gun", they want to have fun at the range and that's normally with .22LRs or some of the larger guns mentioned above (none of which are revolvers or .380s).

Don't get me wrong........it's very very important to be proficient with your defensive gun (number 1 reason to practice).....but let's face it, we also like to go to the range and have an enjoyable time and your wife will more likely go with you if she enjoys it. Most of my carry guns are NOT fun to shoot at the range for an extended period of time.

Oh......and yes, at first each friend I took was surprised/startled by the smoke and noise (indoor range).....watching too much TV I guess The ranges I go to now are much better with ventilation and sound proofing.

[kattzoo]

I agree that she needs to start on something she thinks is fun! The caliber doesn't matter much. I have a nice assortment of guns, but one of my favorites to shoot at the range is a Bersa Thunder 380 Plus. Shots soft, not very noisy, and since it's a double stack, I don't have to reload as much. I rarely carry it as my EDC. The slide is fairly easy to rack as well. Once she's comfortable, she can rent some, or borrow from friends and see what she likes. I carry a Springfield XDS most days, and love it! The slide seems easy as well. I also carry a little Ruger Stubby, and it is NOT fun to shoot. Love my Shield 40, but the magazines are tight and I need a loader to load them. (and I'm a former cop... fairly proficient with weapons) My newest addition is the little Glock 42. Adore it as well. My Ruger SR9 may be a tougher one to operate the slide without practice. I notice the difference after using the others.

Hope she love shooting! It can be scary to start when you have very little or no gun experience. My first time to ever shoot was in the academy. Good luck to her!

[winters]

The only wemon i have seen that have trouble racking slides on semi autos are the ones that their husbands expects them to do it only one way. I grip the whole top of the slide with my hand and not just my thumb and pointer finger. Its the same for people who expect you should use the slide release on a semi auto and not pull the slide back manually. I have never had the hand strength to use the slide release personally.

[Longhorn-breeder]

Start with a 22 and work through what ever she is comfortable. When she decides what she wants to shoot and carry be supportive it is after all her choice