Female - Total Newbie - Completely Lost - Seeking Female Tips / Guidance

[Spydergirl]

Total newbie to firearms and seeking tips and suggestions from other ladies. Right now I am drowning in bewilderment just at the plethora of types of guns, terms, rules, laws, regulations, training, and just wondering where the heck to BEGIN ??!!

We've barely scratched the surface, but so far hubby and I have decided that I might do better with Revolvers because I don't have the finger/hand/arm strength to manipulate the slide for guns with clips. He would rather me have a clip, but it seems Revolvers work best. Right now we're shopping for guns to find a good hand-fit/grip. I normally wear dresses, so I purchased a conceal-carry leather purse instead of a holster.

So, as you can see, I'm at the VERY VERY beginning and am anxious to learn more from ALL experts, but especially from other ladies who started from scratch like me. :-)

Thanks so much for ANY suggestions, tips, guidance, or advice. Personal experiences also very welcomed !! :-)

[cakeshooter]

Welcome! I just started carrying (and shooting, actually) this year! I wear a lot of skirts as well, so I have a conceal carry handbag as well as I've been experimenting with belt holsters to find one that is comfortable, since there are many times I won't be able to keep my handbag on my person at all times (in which case I won't carry it, if it can't be on me in public.) The SmartCarry holster works nicely under a skirt too, for a deep conceal, although its a little more awkward to access, its VERY concealable.

I haven't shot any revolvers...I do have a few semi-autos. It just comes down to handling some weapons and seeing what you like. The slides do get a little easier as they are used...brand new, they are tighter. A good .22 (like the Ruger SR22 pistol) would be great to get used to a semi-auto and cheap target practice!

Definitely good to find a class or a personal lesson to get some shooting pointers and get some practice at a range. I also find it helps to practice at home (not around kids of course) with snap caps or the laser snap caps to get used to trigger pull and aim and things.

Have fun! Its addicting!!!!!

[priell3]

Welcome to PAFOA. You came to the right place.

Cakeshooter gave you good newbie advice. Others will surely follow.

[HiredGoon]

Welcome

Here's a good site geared toward females:
http://www.corneredcat.com/

[Shisno]

Welcome! I'm always happy to hear about a female beginning to carry. I'm sure there are a lot of obstacles that a guy like me wouldn't encounter. So i figure ill post this video for you. Its probably a little farther down the road than where you are now, but later on you can always come back to the video and review.

[ForwardAssist]

Welcome to the forum, and to our sport. You might enjoy searching YouTube for, "Babes With Bullets". I learned of their existence because Kay Miculek is married to Jerry Miculek.

[longcall911]

Total newbie to firearms and seeking tips and suggestions from other ladies. Right now I am drowning in bewilderment just at the plethora of types of guns, terms, rules, laws, regulations, training, and just wondering where the heck to BEGIN ??!!

We've barely scratched the surface, but so far hubby and I have decided that I might do better with Revolvers because I don't have the finger/hand/arm strength to manipulate the slide for guns with clips. He would rather me have a clip, but it seems Revolvers work best. Right now we're shopping for guns to find a good hand-fit/grip. I normally wear dresses, so I purchased a conceal-carry leather purse instead of a holster.

So, as you can see, I'm at the VERY VERY beginning and am anxious to learn more from ALL experts, but especially from other ladies who started from scratch like me. :-)

Thanks so much for ANY suggestions, tips, guidance, or advice. Personal experiences also very welcomed !! :-)

Hubby may or may not be right about operating the slide on a pistol, but I would not make a final decision on a purchase until you've tried a few revolvers and pistols and a range. Most ranges rent guns. Some will feel comfortable, some will not. If you don't have any type of disability or special weakness, operating the slide on most guns should not be an issue. Some are a bit difficult, but most are not. Most important, it's not a gender thing.

Also, lots of people call a magazine a 'clip' but an experienced handgunner normally calls it a magazine.

[Menandros]

I have never met someone that cannot rack a slide once they learn the proper technique and are willing to give it a good shove. You're setting explosions off inside that pistol - you won't hurt it no matter how aggressively you rack that thing. Also mind that you shouldn't hold the slide on the way back, give it a good pull back until the slide slips out of your hand and back to where it should be.

[heili]

I've also never met a full grown adult who couldn't rack the slide on a pistol, and don't understand why so many people seem to think that women can't do it.

Go rent some and give it a go. When you decide what you like best, what you're most comfortable holding and shooting, you buy that whether it's a semi-auto or a revolver.

I've been shooting since I was a kid, and been around guns my entire life. One thing that men who carry will say about themselves (and I really don't know why they don't extend this to women) is that you dress around carrying a firearm, not the other way around. If you decide to carry concealed and to do so all the time, you make the changes to your attire and your manner that are necessary.

I'm not a fan of any type of carrying a firearm where it's not physically on me. If it's in a bag, the bag can be taken away from me much more easily than a firearm in a holster on my hip can. Have you considered the potential for an attacker to get the bag off you with the gun still in it?

[markshere2]

Proper technique for racking the slide is called a "slingshot".

If you are right handed, bend the right elbow and bring the pistol next to you body. Grab the top of the slide with left hand and focus on gripping the slide tightly.Hold left hand still and punch the pistol down and forward with the right hand. Let go of the slide after it's all the way back while the gun is still moving forward.

You are holding the slide still and moving the gun under it.

Kind of like holding the champagne cork and twisting the bottle....

My only objection to revolvers is only 5 or 6 shots. They are more reliable than a semi-auto in terms of feeding the next shot.