Handgun for my wife

[hohmfree]

My wife shot my .40 yesterday. This was the first time she ever handled & fired a gun. She took my instructions well, took her time and had a 3" group about .5" off of bullseye at 7 yards. Now, I am considering a handgun for her to have for home protection. Her grandfather has a .25 semi-auto for her, but I thinks she needs a little more stopping power. I will probably go the semi-auto route. Any suggestions?

[Tucker's Mom]

For home protection, nothing beats a Mossberg 500, mate! For personal protection, don't be fooled by what you perceived you saw that she can handle your .40 caliber. Don't ever, ever, ever choose a gun for her. Let her do the choosing. It may not be what you like, but if it fits her hands well, that is already a plus. Take it from me...it took me years to get to familiarized myself with an actual gun. Long story and I will not bore you with it. But I did went to a reputable gun store with a firing range and tested different models. Actually I did not find the gun that I want in that store but from another one, also with a firing range. Anyway, her first gun will not the only gun she will ever own. Let her do the choosing and save yourself from blame later on because you chose her gun for her.

Don't take my experience as a bible. Different strokes for different folks. Take into consideration your relationship with your wife, her attitude towards guns, etc...the best you can do is encourage her to choose a gun with the same caliber as your carry. It is a cheaper alternative.

[Curmudgeon]

Suggestions? Yes. Let her choose the handgun. Together you two can discuss things like caliber, but ideally, take her to a range that rents guns and let her try various calibers, grip sizes, barrel lengths, revolver vs auto, etc.

This is what we did, and it has made her trips to the range infinitely more exciting for her now that she has sized and picked out her own gun. Now, instead of dragging her to the range, she keeps asking me when we are going again!

Lastly, not knowing you or your wife's backgrounds, get her into a class or 2. Bare minimum of one for range-handling including safety and accuracy, and one for personal defense. Statistically speaking, women are amazing learners at the range, but there are often dynamics at work between couples that can hinder the process.

More advice than you were looking for, I think, but most of this is my own experience. I've had decades of experience with all types of firearms before my wife ever fired her first shot, so we've recently gone through all this.

Let her choose it. You help out, bringing your experience to bear, but let her pick. After all, who picked your guns for you? :)
.

[hohmfree]

good stuff. Thanks for the input

[SGB]

I suggest you find her a NRA first steps class and enroll her, then take her gun shopping and let her pick her own sidearm.

[TlWheatley]

Tucker' s mom gave good advice.Let your wife make the choice.

[eaccents]

My wife shot my .40 yesterday. This was the first time she ever handled & fired a gun. She took my instructions well, took her time and had a 3" group about .5" off of bullseye at 7 yards. Now, I am considering a handgun for her to have for home protection. Her grandfather has a .25 semi-auto for her, but I thinks she needs a little more stopping power. I will probably go the semi-auto route. Any suggestions?

There are already several threads with this topic, so I will keep my response short.

The best advice is to take your wife to a range that rents guns and try a bunch until you find one that she says "fits her."

I agree with you, I would go .380 or larger in caliber (assuming JHPs) for self-defense.

FWIW, I have 3 handguns, and I am a research nut. I researched the heck out of my first gun, narrowed it down to 3 weapons, and came home with an entirely different gun because the 3 that I identified as fitting my needs just didn't feel good to shoot.

My favorite carry gun is a Kahr MK9, which not only fits my needs but I have to say that no other gun feels so good in my hands. I am comfortable with it, and I am comforted by it because I know I will always carry it and that in my hands it will be a reliable, accurate, and deadly tool should I ever need to use it.

For home, I like the Springfield XDm 9mm 3.8. 19+1 shots, soft recoil, and extremely accurate with a simple take-down for cleaning. Perfect for beginners, but difficult to conceal.

Hope this helps.

[zomb13]

I have heard good things about the lc9. Does anyone have any experience with one?

[dkmatthews]

I agree with all the previous users who suggest letting your wife pick the handgun. If you haven't already, you might want to take a look at the XS Sights Big Dot sights. They are incredibly intuitive and super-quick for sight alignment. I highly recommend them for self defense pistols. If you like that style of sights, you might want to narrow the field of potential pistols to those where the XS Sights are available.

[Rick Randall]

If she had no problems with the .40 and didn't find the recoil objectionable, I would say have her check out the reliable guns in 9x19mm through .40 until she finds one that fits her hand. (Of course, if your .40 is a steel frame service piece, before plunking down money on mid sized "Combat Tupperware" such as a Sig P250C, Glock 23, or XD, try and get her to shoot something like that first -- the recoil impulse is different, and what may not have been objectionable in some steel frame CZ75 variant might be more than she cares for in a polymer framed compact.)

But if she can handle a polymer framed .40 (which I'm guessing your pistol is), she should have ZERO problems handling anything that size or larger in 9mm Parabellum, .40, or .45ACP, if it fits her hand and she likes the control ergonomics and layout. The gun that "fits like a glove" and kicks no harder than something she likes is probably the very best choice for her, regardless of caliber, trigger system (although I'm a fan of DAO or Glock-style striker triggers for newbie defensive guns; not as sensitive as a 1911, yet you get the same exact pull every time), magazine capacity, etc.

While I'm a die hard .45ACP fan, realistically, ANY modern major US manufacturer JHP in a normal bullet weight for the caliber (for instance, avoid 147 grain 9x19mm like the plague, unless you're shooting it through a suppressed SMG -- that's what it was designed for <grin>), and a standard "service caliber" (9x19, .40 S&W, .45ACP, .357 Sig, or for revolvers, .38 Special or .357 Magnum) will do pretty much the same, regardless of it's caliber. Hit location is WAY more important than the almost statistically insignificant differences in caliber.

For a gun whose primary use is home protection, concealbility is not really an issue -- "shootability" is. If it turns out she likes Glocks or Springfield XDs, well, a second, smaller gun is certainly not a kidney-selling experience if and when she decides to CCW.