Gun for my GF

[glock45]

S&W 642 is an awesome defensive gun. Not a 200 round per session range gun though...

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Knightrider]

M&P9c would be good due to the 3 grip sizes. A little 5 shot isn't a bad pick too

[1sty]

So i have finally convinced my girlfriend that guns are a good thing and gotten her interested in shooting. We have gone out shooting multiple times now and she actually really enjoys it. We went out with the only pistol i currently own which is a full size Kimber 1911 .45. She handled the recoil surprisingly well after only a few magazines(this was her first experience ever with firearms). The only problem i found was that her hands were too small to get a proper grip on the gun.

Basically what im asking you guys/gals is if you have any suggestions on what would be a good pistol for a beginning shooter with pretty small hands.

My wife has very small hands as well.
It is very hard for her to shoot my Glock G22. However the new glock G22 have an swappable handle peice that allowed her to handle the new one a lot better.
Also, she LOVES the standard with glock compact 45, the G36. She has shot it several times and now she is fixated on it.

Other then that she loves her little Sig P238 but that's her pretty gun. She wants the glock as a primary.

She can also fire my walther PPS .40 but its certainly not a fun gun to blow through a 100 rounds on.

[cmdrdredd]

My GF has only been to the range with me 3 times......this was her first time every firing a weapon of any type. 1st trip she fired the Sig Mosquito which she was very comfortable with.

2nd trip she started with the Sig while I was firing my .45 Kimber. Asked her if she wanted to try the .45......after 1 shot she layed it down......too much recoil. I started to run some rounds through my FN 5.7 for the 1st time since I bought it......she noticed the lack of recoil and wanted to try it. I couldn't get the gun away from her

She has since shot my EMP 9mm which she really didn't like and also my P238 which she also thought had too much recoil for her.

I think our next step is maybe some shooting classes for her. I have a hard time telling if she is actually holding any of the guns tight enough because it looks like she is barely holding on to it, or it could be her lack of hand/wrist strength.

There have been several times when the Mosquito would not cycle for her. I fired the remainder of the rounds left without a hiccup.

I will admit, the very first time I fired a 9mm I did the same thing. I didn't hold them tight enough. Growing up I had pellet guns and the like which have no recoil for the most part. Then I fired a .22lr which also had almost no recoil. Then I bought my own 9mm, a Glock17 and first time at the range, limp wristed bad. I worked through my short comings myself and modified my grip based on watching videos of professional shooters and getting recommendations from others. No issues now, but one must be willing to shoot more in order to get comfortable. If she isn't willing to keep shooting, she'll never get the hang of it. That's the same with anything. You gotta fall to learn to ride a bike right?

[C Bennett]

So i have finally convinced my girlfriend that guns are a good thing and gotten her interested in shooting. We have gone out shooting multiple times now and she actually really enjoys it. We went out with the only pistol i currently own which is a full size Kimber 1911 .45. She handled the recoil surprisingly well after only a few magazines(this was her first experience ever with firearms). The only problem i found was that her hands were too small to get a proper grip on the gun.

Basically what im asking you guys/gals is if you have any suggestions on what would be a good pistol for a beginning shooter with pretty small hands.

if she will regularly train with it so she knows how to fix a jam..get here a nice semi auto(if SHE likes those) I like the Ruger Sr9c or M&P Compact..if she is just going to be a "casual" shooter but not really wanting to "train" more thoroughly get here a nice Revolver I love the Ruger LCR right now its got the best trigger in the market for a snubby.

[peckman28]

I'd start off with a .22 target revolver. The Ruger single-six is an excellent gun to build up the fundamentals and should do fine with small hands. You could also get something like the Browning Buckmark or another semi-auto target pistol. After she gets comfortable with that, take her out to find a self-defense caliber pistol that fits her hands nicely.

[MNBurl]

Go to a gun show or large gun store and try as many gun grips as she can. She can create a short list of guns that "Fit her" so you can then focus on those.

Have her choose the gun she likes and shoot them via renting or trying your friends guns. She will tell you which ones she likes.

If you buy a gun for her, most likely it will become yours because she won't like or shoot it (like your 1911).

Here is a short list of guns I would suggest she looks at... M&P compact, Bersa Thunder 9 or 380, steel wheel snubbies (the light ones are a pain to shoot ), S&W 3913, Sig 239, Kel-tec PF9 and Taurus PT709 Slim.

[Captain Kahr]

I bought my wife the pt709. This replaced a kahr pm9 that was a complete piece of junk. She has put over 500 rounds through this without any problems at all. Perhaps this would be an option for you GF. Good luck with your search, and congrats on getting her involved in shooting. Perhaps you can even convince her to get her CWP.

So what do you plan to do with this "piece of junk" PM9? I'll take it off your hands if you like. PM me with details...

If you're looking for a defense gun for her ,which it didn't sound like in your original post, I'd also look into the Kahr CW9 or Ruger SR9c. I picked up a the SR9c yesterday and it felt great in my hands.