Ladies what do you carry?

[MichSteve]

I am looking for a gun for my wife, I will let her pick what fits best for her, however, I want to take her to the range and shoot some of my guns first to get an idea of what would work.

So I though from all of your recommendations and experience, I would gain a lot of insight and knowledge.

First, the gun would be for home defense, then later maybe she would carry it.

Thanks in advance for your information.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Camjr]

Remove yourself from the equation and let her go on her own to a range for instruction and shooting a selection of different guns

Cheers!

[Guardian]

We went shopping and my wife choose her own hand gun, she was always a rifle lady. She chose the Rossi 5 Shot/38 Special, she loves it. I must admit, it would not have been my first choice for her, but the dang thing fits her hand like a glove, it shoots like a dream and it's one tough little booger. I like shooting it also. She made a darn good choice.

[tokerblue]

I know what my wife likes to shoot and what she is willing to carry is very different. Definitely let her decide after test shooting a few guns.

For the record, my wife can shoot any handgun, but doesn't like to carry anything larger than a LCP.

[Keltyke]

The "best" gun is the one YOU like, not anyone else. It will be a compromise of:

1. Fit - It should fit in your hand like you were born with it there.
2. Reliability - It should go BANG about 99.8% of the time you pull the trigger.
3. Accuracy - In YOUR hand. It's how well YOU shoot it.
4. Concealability - It should be comfortable enough to wear and easy enough to conceal so you won't leave it laying on the dresser at home.
5. Cost - You don't want to scrimp on your "life protector" weapon, but you probably don't need a $1,000 Kimber, either.

[limatunes]

You already know that your wife needs to choose the gun you are just looking for recommendations as a starting point.

Good deal.

As a female I carry anything and everything. The list of firearms I have carried goes something like this:

Kimber Stainless Ultra Carry .40 S&W
Bersa Thunder .380
Colt Mustang Plus II .380
Colt Mustang .380
Springfield Blued Loaded .45 ACP
Kimber Ultra CDP .45 ACP
Wilson Combat .45 ACP
Glock 19 9mm
S&W 360PD .357
S&W M&P9c 9mm

I THINK that's it.

I make that list to illustrate that a female can carry anything she wants so even if you show her a list of "popular" female guns, don't be surprised if/when she completely abandons said list and goes with something completely off the wall.

HOWEVER! Having worked in gun retail for many years I have found there are certain guns that females like a lot better than others and those tend to be your mid-size 9mms.

They are good for home defense guns because there is something to hang on to and they have a little more capacity but they are not so big that you can't conceal them.

Kahr P9, Glock 19 or 26, S&W M&P9c, Bersa Thunder 9mm, Taurus 24/7 or PT111, Walther PPK or PPKS or PPS, SIG 232 or 239, etc. As you've probably noticed these are all around the same size, caliber and weight.

It's actually quite interesting to note that many women shied away from the tiny little pocket guns in favor of something they felt they could really hang on to. Usually it's the husbands that come in and buy the tiny little mouse guns for their wives and a few days or weeks later the wife comes back saying, "My husband bought this for me and I HATE IT." They end up trading it for something in the size and caliber range mentioned.

Like I said, females can and do buy as wide of a range of firearms as men do, but in my experience selling to them I have found them to choose the mid-size 9mms or .380s for themselves (when not influenced by men trying to talk them bigger or smaller).

[NCHornet]

You need to let her decide by letting her shoot as many guns as possible. I really wanted my wife to love one gun and she liked a totally different one instead. She ended up with a model 60 38 special ( early model) , and she also packs one of my NAA Guardians from time to time.

[mj40p]

My wife carries a 642 with laser grips. I tried to talk her out of it but she didn' t want anything else. I got her some snap caps to practice loading it . The laser grips
with lots of dryfire helped her learn trigger control. The first time she shot it she put 5 rounds into 1.75" at 7ft and again at 15ft. She can put 5rds into 5" at 15ft rapid fire. Shooting gloves help when shooting alot

[jwhite75]

My wife did not want a revolver but does carry my 340 now until we get her Glock 26 in. She is a tackdriver with my Sig P228. I have let her handle every compact 9mm on the market...and she kept coming back to the Kahr P9/PM9 and G26. The price difference for me is about 200 dollars. She decided the feel of the Kahr was not 200 dollars better than the Glock. So we are waiting for my LE Dealer to get his load of G26s in and that is where she will be for an EDC.

[TN_Mike]

My wife carries every day but she isn't an internet person so i will answer for her. (this being one of the only times I EVER get to do that) She carries an XD .40 sub compact. She loves that gun and is a very good shot with it. She found it in the gun shop. She held it, she rented one and shot the stew out of it so she knew she liked the feel and the way it fit her hand.

The best advice I can give you is, let your wife pick out the gun she wants to carry. If you pick it for her and it isn't what she wants, it will get left at home. She has to pick it out. be supportive and helpful if she asks for help but, above all, let her find the gun SHE wants to carry. That's the only way this will work.

[Ram Rod]

Plenty of good advice. My wife is also a member here, but she's not much for the internet either. My wife carries a G26. She's real good at the range or matches with the SIG P220....but that's never been an option for her for carry.

[rglyons]

Yeah, It's probably best for her to pick her own weapon. My wife did, trying out a lot of semi autos, but she had problems in pulling back the slide on all of them.

She finally settled on a Ruger SP101 .357 and really likes it. She started out shooting .38 special and now shoots .38 +P's,
She's now wanting a .22 semi auto, probably a Ruger Mark III, to practice with.

Let HER decide and you will probably have a new shooting partner.

[Savior Sound]

My wife was told by a lot of well meaning people to start with a revolver for the sake of simplicity. So I bought her a .38 special "Lady Smith". She hated it. Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it and found it very akward and uncomfortable to shoot. It got to where every time we went to the range, she would shoot about 10-15 rounds through her gun and about 200 through my first generation Glock G17. She had no problem loading the magazine, racking the slide and was very accurate with it. I later sold the S&W and bought a second generation Glock G19. When she got her CHL, I got her a Kel-Tec P-3AT with a Crimson Trace Laser which she likes and is very good with but more times than not, the Glock goes with her in a BellyBand holster. For her, it's a natural fit and she's petite - 5'5", 115 pounds. Sometimes what you think is perfect for someone, is lousy and what you think would never work, is perfect. Bottom line - let her handle, shoot and operate as many guns as she can. She'll know what works for her the first time she shoots it. She will also know what won't work right away too.

[RemMod597]

When my wife was looking for her carry gun, we went together and I told her to just start trying out the various pistols they had on the wall.
I said, "If ya find one that fits, holler." Off I went to look at ammo.
About ten minutes later she calls out to me that she found the one that fits. I saw she was holding an HK P2000 V3 in 9mm.
She looked at the price and went pale. I just said, "Don't worry, Baby, you are worth much more than that to me. If you don't like it you won't carry it."
She now has the nicest pistol in the house and has it with her 24/7.

[Riana]

My first gun was a 2" S&W Model 60 Ladysmith . I'm a lefty, and discovered early on that a lot of semi-automatics don't cater to lefties out-of-the-box. I've got a fair number of revolvers in the stable now. My most common carry pieces are that 60LS, or one of my 2" SP101s, and on occasion (when I'm not thinking about concealment) my 4" Model 66. All of these are 357's, though I can only handle 38 +P out of the snubbies.

My only regular carry semi-auto is a S&W 3913 Ladysmith - 9mm, though I'm seriously looking at an XDm9, having shot a friend's and been wowed by it. I do periodically carry a Walther P22, due to an intermittent medical issue that prevents my strong hand from working properly. Right now, the Walther is the only gun I can handle weak-handed (but I'm practicing with the 3913LS).

I'm not a great shot by any means, especially with the snubbies, but I can put all the rounds downrange into an 8.5 x 11 paper target at about 5 yards, so I'm happy enough with it for now.