Author Topic: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?  (Read 9268 times)

Offline goodfellow

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What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« on: April 01, 2019, 10:04:36 AM »
Starting to look for a few pistols for our daughter. She's old enough to start her CCW classes and training, and we need to start looking for a pistol. Our daughter has a petite frame and small hands; thus not a lot of finger pull strength; hence a DA revolver trigger pull is out of the question. She's gone to the range with me and tried several of my revolvers, and in all cases the DA pull is too heavy for her small hands and finger strength.

She's also susceptible to recoil form a small frame 9mm pistol. Give her a larger frame pistol with some weight and she's a damn good shot. She prefers my SIG SP2022 and P35 Hi-Power, but those are not viable options for a petite woman's carry pistol.  So we are looking at 380ACP options and will rent a few this weekend to figure out what platform suits her hands and grip.

I don't have a lot of knowledge about 380ACP pistols and options. I always considered the round marginal at best, but recent improvements in bullet technology and powders seem to have given this old round a new lease on life. Although it's still expensive to shoot.

What do the women in your life carry? -- any recommendations on what pistols to look at before we go to the range?


Offline muddy

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2019, 11:29:34 AM »
Mandy doesn't carry, probably never will. She has shot my 9mm and is comfortable enough to not be afraid. As the world seems to get worse and worse everyday I would like to see her comfortable enough to purse carry.


Anyway if 380 is your choice of caliber, I would look into a Ruger LCP (very popular selling gun and support is there in the aftermarket world) or a Sign Sauer p238.

Both great guns, the Sig however isn't exactly a "budget gun" the Ruger is one of the best bang for the bucks quite literally.




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Offline DeadNutz

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #2 on: April 01, 2019, 12:12:17 PM »
When we went to get a pistol for the wife, she held quite a few different models. The smaller semi-autos she didn't like but the Ruger P95 felt good in her hand and she handles it well at the range. She isn't interested in daily carry and says since I carry she doesn't feel the need. She also likes my Shield 9 and handles it well.

Offline slip knot

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #3 on: April 01, 2019, 05:38:09 PM »
I went thru the same with my wife. Her hand strength issue was cycling the slide on an auto. None of my carry autos were workable with her. So I started out with a single action .22 pistol. she got pretty good with it. we stepped up to a S&W featherweight. Shes pretty sharp with SA. The DA gets a bit shaky but workable. Even running +P loads in it shes able to control recoil OK. She really likes my 357 with the 38 loads but its way too heavy to carry.

I've taken to carrying the little S&W myself. point and shoot, cant get much easier than that.

Offline highland512

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2019, 08:25:24 AM »
Mamma carries my old J frame with factory grips. She likes the point and pull the trigger simplicity, so do I. Have you thought about a j frame with a trigger job? 

If recoil is an issue I would look into the Bersa .380 but I wounder if she can grip it??

I wear an XL glove, stand 6'-3" and weigh in around 275, my SW bodyguard .380 is a handful due to the lack of grip and short barrel. I dont really care for it but its better than carrying nothing in the middle of summer. SW also came out with a larger .380 recently......but I remember you saying you dont like striker fired.
https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/mp-380-shield-ez-0
I think this would be a great lady gun. Its the same size as the 9mm and .40 shield, I have the shield in 9mm and its a fun gun to shoot (my edc in the pocket with a mag in the other pocket). I would imagine the .380 would be a very comfortable gun to shoot (but feeding it would get pricey)

Offline muddy

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #5 on: April 05, 2019, 09:35:26 PM »
Shields are small, but I can't see them fitting in a pocket like a BodyGuard 380 or  a LCPII. Not saying it's not possible just don't think it would be the most comfortable.

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Offline highland512

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2019, 07:27:33 AM »
Shields are small, but I can't see them fitting in a pocket like a BodyGuard 380 or  a LCPII. Not saying it's not possible just don't think it would be the most comfortable.

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For the most part I wear a carpenters style dungaree, the shield with the 7 round mag ridding in a j frame pocket holster works surprisingly well. Its not like the bodyguard or lcp where its so small you forget it but it does work well for me. 

Offline goodfellow

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2019, 12:50:25 PM »
Went to the local private range and tried two 380ACP pistols. The Walther PK380 is considered a women friendly gun and gets high scores from female shooters. In my opinion (and my daughter's), it's a mess. It doesn't have a slide lock, and the safety is backward (compared to conventional designs), AND it doesn't have a de-cocker. Get this!!! In order to de-cock this pistol you have to flip on the safety and then PULL THE TRIGGER! -- WOW -- accident waiting to happen! You also need a special tool to take the gun down for simple cleaning and maintenance. Way too complicated a design and not a viable option.

The other was S&W Shield -- another "Women friendly" gun. It's too large for a small woman to effectively EDC, and in my daughter's small hands, the recoil often pushed her dominant thumb upward and bumped the safety lever ever so slightly to make the pistol "safe" without her realizing it. Her small handed grip just wasn't right for that gun. Hence given it's size and small hand ergonomics, the Shield is off the table.

What gun did we choose? The simplest and (in my opinion the safest) compact pistol on the market. SIG P250 DAO sub-compact; and although no longer produced, my daughter liked my P250C trigger, but not the size for her EDC. So we chose the smaller sub-compact (SC) model. It has a long DA 5.5-6.5lb trigger pull and a long reset just like a DA revolver. This action design makes it almost impossible to accidentally pull the trigger -- even in a stressful situation. It's a bit larger/bulkier than the micro-carry pistols such as the popular SIG P365 -- but then again it can also be used as a good range and home gun. All in all -- it's a winner for a new CCW licensee with limited shooting experience.

We got a good deal on Gunbroker and it came with four magazines -- so no extras to purchase. A complete kit.

Thanks for all the input. We tried several other pistols that were supposedly "women friendly" -- so if you're in a similar situation with a wife or daughter looking for a EDC pistol, feel free to PM me.



 
« Last Edit: April 20, 2019, 01:09:23 PM by goodfellow »

Offline DeadNutz

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2019, 01:36:39 PM »
Glad you found a suitable model. Looks like some range time is in the future.

Offline goodfellow

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #9 on: April 20, 2019, 02:06:56 PM »
Glad you found a suitable model. Looks like some range time is in the future.

"Lots" of range time is needed -- LOL. Just ordered 2K rounds of 115gr Fiocchi 9mm FMJ. She will need it when she starts her shooting classes. I live close to NRA HQ and they have wonderful courses for young women, and are taught by excellent female instructors.

Word of advice that was given to me several years ago by a great instructor -- ..."don't teach your wife, GF, or daughter to shoot in a formal course of instruction. Let someone else do it". Great advice --

Offline stokester

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #10 on: April 20, 2019, 05:55:28 PM »
Glad you found a suitable model. Looks like some range time is in the future.
Word of advice that was given to me several years ago by a great instructor -- ..."don't teach your wife, GF, or daughter to shoot in a formal course of instruction. Let someone else do it". Great advice --
That advice works for lots of instruction...  ;)
Nick
Yorktown, VA

Offline muddy

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #11 on: April 20, 2019, 09:21:24 PM »
Glad you found a suitable model. Sig's are good guns.

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Offline eborcim

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2019, 05:31:44 PM »
The LCP is a good small CC, but is not very accurate IMO.  Then again accuracy at close range may be just fine for this tool.

Offline highland512

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #13 on: April 30, 2019, 07:49:44 AM »
SIG's are sweet, I hope she likes it!!

How will she be carrying it? I know a lot of women carry in their purse which seems like a bad idea to me but I dont carry a purse or wear high heels either.

Offline goodfellow

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #14 on: April 30, 2019, 08:04:36 AM »
SIG's are sweet, I hope she likes it!!

How will she be carrying it? I know a lot of women carry in their purse which seems like a bad idea to me but I dont carry a purse or wear high heels either.

Still working on that one. She doesn't carry a purse very often, and as with many young people these days, a backpack is often the preferred method for traveling. She's hoping to get some ideas about carry options from other female students when she takes her classes later in the summer --
« Last Edit: April 30, 2019, 08:07:52 AM by goodfellow »

Offline highland512

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Re: What pistol do your wives, daughters, or gfs prefer?
« Reply #15 on: May 03, 2019, 08:48:48 AM »
SIG's are sweet, I hope she likes it!!

How will she be carrying it? I know a lot of women carry in their purse which seems like a bad idea to me but I dont carry a purse or wear high heels either.

Still working on that one. She doesn't carry a purse very often, and as with many young people these days, a backpack is often the preferred method for traveling. She's hoping to get some ideas about carry options from other female students when she takes her classes later in the summer --

A lady friend of mine from high school is a sheriffs deputy now. I asked her one time if she carried a back up, she raised her shirt and showed me. (dont get excited, she didnt raise it that far.) A belly band holster, seemed like a better idea than a ankle holster for sure.
https://comforttac.com/products/the-ultimate-belly-band-holster?variant=9609657843772&gclid=CjwKCAjwza_mBRBTEiwASDWVvlCegLJBHEKtnc5FnNxejV82bz8ORhMhnH7Ah92E8IXThtPKwUirhxoCOuIQAvD_BwE

I think its a wise move for a college student to carry on campus. I was a 6'-2" 290lb bearded student and I carried every day while in college, no questions asked I would if I was a female. It wasn't the threat on campus I was worried about but most campuses are crime ridden once you step 6" off the college grounds.