A Woman's Gun????

[32 Magnum]

I just had an epiphany, or maybe it was just gas, but the thought hit me: We always talk about getting a gun for "the little lady" and then mention .380s, .38 SPL, .32s...mostly the less energetic caliber handguns. We feel that they sould be armed, but generally don't feel that they should have a superior caliber because they "can't handle it". Well, if we think they need to be armed and we think that when we are "adequately" armed we must have a least a 9mm, why do we feel an inferior caliber is OK. My wife handles, practices with and shoots, very well at that, a full size CZ-75, which would be her first choice (HER choice) if she really needed a gun, or a light weight .357 Mag Charter Arms Target if she can't get to the 9mm. In her purse she carries a Taurus .38SPL M38 TT, loaded with +P. She deserves just as much of a chance to defend herself with a superior caliber as I do - but when I first took her gun shopping I was thinking she "needed" a .380 or a .32. She can handle a full size auto or revolver, it just took her some practice and familiarization. Just a thought, any other ideas?

[TonyF]

I know a number of women who shoot 1911's. That "they can't handle" a full size, full power handgun is baloney and sexist.

Ergonomics may be an issue but recoil certainly isn't. Recoil is only occasionally an issue when the spouse / BF / gun shop clerk "recommends" a lightweight, itty, bitty handgun in 38spl or larger caliber.

[Emptymag]

I'm always puzzled by the ".380 cutoff" myself.
It's not like there's something written in stone that says "Nothing over 380 fo' the lady".

When we chose a house gun, I went to a range that had rentals and let my wife work her way up the list of calibers until she found one she DIDN'T like and then "backed down" one. For her, the one she chose happened to be a 9mm. Even back then, as a new shooter, she said, I can shoot that other one, but I wouldn't want to do it very often." She knew she would need to be able to practice with it and if it "hurt", she wasn't going to do it. Heck, she finds the 9mm Glock to be mere pleasant to shoot than my Pony.(.380)

It's all a matter of personal preference.

[Mity2]

I was just thinking similer thing.

When guy asks what guns he should get for his wife, most is thinknig 25acp,32acp380, may be 38SP. because thats what HE think she should have, and fails to consider a possibility of may be she have her own idea of what she wants.

You know we are all guilty of this to some extent.

I was like that once. So i picked out all sorts of above mentioned caliber for my GF.
Then when she was given a chance, she picked out 9mm S&W3913 by herself, asked question on her own until she was satisfied, make sure it look good in her purse(guys, as stupid as it sound, this IS very important to girls), then told me thats what SHE wanted. which I paid for it.

3913 - IMO is very ugry looking gun. But she felt that her hand fits gun nicely, due to single stack magazine, and she felt confident that she can work the slide, and she WANTED to shoot that ugry 3913.

and you know what? She shoot this 3913 very well, and I didn't have to get all frustrated try to explain how everything works because she already got that.
and I even ended up liking its rock solid reliability, although its not an eye candy.

Guys remember, if you buy what you think she should shoots, thats more then likely not what she wants. Its best to let her pick, and just pay for it. And if she turned out she didn't like it, trade for something else. you may lose some $$, but I like to think for my GF to pickout what she wants to shoot fortarget shooting, or to defend her self, i think its worth few $$$

[normanvin]

my wife uses a taurus 85 with crimosn trace sights. she has her choice of what ever is in my safe but she sticks with the taurus.

[1911shooter]

my fiancee and i had it a little easier when she decided she wanted a handgun, first she went to my safe and gathered up all my handguns, and all the ammo for each, we headed to the range for the day and by the time it was over she went for the Sig/Sauer P226 and the P220 and she is by no means a large woman. she shoots them better then any man ever will.
the whole give them a mouse gun is retarded, and we as significant others should try and give them the best most effective weapon to end any threat they will encounter. if it was up to her she would carry one of the three Barretts we own and be happy, but the GunCrafters 50 GI is what she carries with out a problem. i now need to get another.

[blueeyedbyrd]

The first gun I bought was a .40, followed by a 9mm. Since I've traded the .40 for an AK, the 9mm Beretta will eventually become my carry gun. Since I have a small child that I still have to carry on my hip a lot, I haven't quite figured out what to do "carry" wise because of her.

It should be the woman's personal preference, not her hubby's

That being said, my mom carries a S&W .44mag and also has a Beretta 9mm though I'm not sure of the model off hand.

[1911shooter]

The first gun I bought was a .40, followed by a 9mm. Since I've traded the .40 for an AK, the 9mm Beretta will eventually become my carry gun. Since I have a small child that I still have to carry on my hip a lot, I haven't quite figured out what to do "carry" wise because of her.

It should be the woman's personal preference, not her hubby's

That being said, my mom carries a S&W .44mag and also has a Beretta 9mm though I'm not sure of the model off hand.

my god other then the Sigs my fiancee loves my 92f i dont even get to carry it or shoot it anymore, yes the woman should be the one to decide thats why she took all my guns to the range and i let her pick what she wanted it worked for both every time she picked one as hers i got to buy a new gun to replace it. my mom carries a 41mag i had built a while ago with a 3" barrel and a slicked up action.

[Coop650]

In no way do I think women need small calibers, but I do think a lot of it has to do with where a woman carries the firearm. I know a few that carry and all keep them in their purse so they are drawn to smaller handguns. I have talked with my wife about teaching her to shoot and handle a firearm safely and she continues to say it has to be small. My sister carries a .25 in her purse. I am not a fan of really small calibers but I guess it's better than nothing. My wife works in an office and wearing women's dress clothes doesn't leave much room for concealing a larger firearm. She also carries a small purse so that limits it even more because it can't take up the entire storage area.

So of course I will let her pick it when she is ready but I pretty much know it's going to small. I will just be happy if she is shooting and handling a handgun she is comfortable with.

[blueeyedbyrd]

I know a few that carry and all keep them in their purse so they are drawn to smaller handguns.

IDK what other people's purses look like, but I know I carry around way too much misc BS in mine. It's hard enough to find my checkbook sometimes. I understand the reasoning behind purse carry I suppose, I just don't see it as being very safe. Purses get snatched way too often, then your screwed.