Good hand gun for a young lady

[vernsimpson]

My daughter, who is 23, wants a hand gun for her birthday. She wants a semi-automatic but does not want to carry. At least for now. We live in Minnesota and I think she should have at least a 9mm because of heavy coats in the winter. I also think she should have a good thumb safety on it. Any good ideas what I should get her?

[Iam2Taz]

You probably need to take her to a place and rent some before you buy and let HER tell you what feels are works best.

There are a ton of choices, but the only one with a safety that I can recall is the M&P. Personally, I don't think a manual safety is all that smart. Unless she is going to practice a ton flipping that safety off and pulling the trigger. Honestly, I believe point and shoot is the best. Your brain and fingers are the best safety. The less a person has to think about under stress the better.

You will here Glock, M&P, Ruger and Springfield. Perhaps the Ruger has a manual safety. I have not shot that particular pistol and am unsure.

Still - RENT and let HER choose what works for her.

Good Luck!

[John Theriot]

Ruger has P89 with thumb safety, its been out a good while. Thats what I carry at time or my S&W MP 40 with no thumb safety . Like said in post before, take her out where she can try different pistols.

[Mosbyranger]

If those are the features that appeal to her, be sure to rent a Beretta 92 and give it a spin. The H&K P2000 is another one worth a good look.
MR

[Rick246]

Hi Vern

Bills Gun Shop in Robinsdale or Circle Pines has a range and rents pistols to try. They can give you some good advice to.
Bill's Gun Shop and Range

[birdman46g]

The Ruger SR9C has a trigger and thumb safety.A 9 and 15 shot clip also.I guess some depends on if she can rack the slide on a 9.If she hasnt shot much and wants to shoot cheap she might look at a Sig Sauer 1911 22. 22LR ammo is cheap and the Sig doesnt cost a arm and a leg.Its a full size 1911 and is fun to shoot and gain some gun handleing experance. My GF settled on a Beretta 3230 with the tip up barrel for a carry gun.Its not a bad shooter at 20-25' but she still loves to shoot my Sig 1911 22.JMO

[Numenor]

Springfield's have a grip safety, which I think is a good compromise between a full manual switch and nothing.

[pocketdrummer]

In no particular order:

Smith & Wesson M&P (full, compact, or the Shield for subcompact)
Ruger SR9 (full or compact)
Springfield XD (full or compact, M series is better for a higher price. Also has the XDs for a .45 subcompact)

The best bet is to take her to the range and rent a few to see which fits HER. The M&P and XD offer multiple grips, so she can fit it to her hand size. Those are the first two I'd recommend trying.

[sarahbn]

I like my husband's Ruger SR9c. Definitely try one of those. But yeah, she should pick out her own gun.

[cluznar]

Have her look at the Bersa guns... the .22, .380 are the same size and weight, learn on the .22 then get a .380.
I carry a Bersa Thunder .380 loaded with good defensive ammo and trust it completely.

You can also look at the Bersa 9mm's, Bersa guns are dependable and at a reasonable price. Check out BersaChatForum.com

Also the Ruger SR9c 9mm is one very nice weapon and has a safety also.