Originally Posted by Jessica Carlson

This question is for the ladies out there or anyone with a personal opinion.... I'm looking to purchase my first conceal and carry pistol and my husband is adament I should carry either his Glock 9mm or a Taurus .38, neither or which I care to shoot (the taurus is way to snappy for my taste). I have shot and liked our Smith & Weston .45 but it's too big to carry concealed and have recently looked at a Smith & Weston M&P, Springfield XD, and a Sig Sauer P290 but have not shot any of them. I am not a fan of "snappy" guns, have long fingers (so a slighly wider grip and/or magazine extension is prefered), and I have problems with long draws (must strenghten those trigger finger muscles). Any suggestions?

My girlfriend is new to (consistent) shooting within the last 6 months but has since obtained her CCW and purchased her first firearm. Our primary approach was to let her take her time to decide, and secondly, let her shoot as many calibers and types of handguns from every manufacturer we thought reasonable and in as many different frame sizes. We did this using my collection and borrowing from friends collections. She shot .380, 38, 357, 9, 40 and 45. She shot revolvers as well as semi-auto. She shot expensive to reasonably inexpensive guns for a total of 24 different guns. Through the process she narrowed her focus to 9mm. She made this decision based on her own comfort and accuracy shooting the round. We then re-shot every 9mm she had tried and added the Smith & Wesson M&P shield I had just acquired. After running two mags through my new purchase she fell in love with the gun as I did. She continued by shooting another 150 rounds to confirm her decision. At the end of the day we ordered one for her and I ordered another for myself in .40. The Shield is now both of our carry guns and between us we own 3. In summary, I stand by our approach to handle (in guns shops and as many places and friends’ houses as possible) and shoot every one that feels good in your hand and let the performance while in your control make the decision for you. We both highly recommend the shield in your choice of caliber but the ultimate decision is yours. The whole process has been fun for us and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.