My wife has decided that she wants to get her carry permit. We have guns around the house and she is comfortable shooting them at the range but she has decided that she wants "her" gun so she can get really comfortable with it. She wants a subcompact so she can carry it IWB, but nothing that won't be fun to shoot. Of course she is going to go rent everything and find one that points well for her, but I have come up with a few to try.
1. Glock 26
2. XDsc9
3. CZ Rami
4. Kahr Mk9 or PM9
5. Walther PPS
We have four young children who have been taught the gun rules, but we both would feel more safe with an auto carried without one in the chamber which is why we have ruled out a 1911 variant. Any more recommendations? Oh, she wants a 9mm.
Whatever she likes:yup:
For me that's a revolver most of the time, come summer, with lighter weight clothing I do carry a bottom feeder(Kimber Pro Crimson Carry) simply because it hides better. Come cooler weather you'll most often find me carrying a S&W 686+.
#2 all the way. The grip safety might be a nice upgrade over the Glock. But what she likes will matter way more than my opinion. Sounds like it's time for some rental fun at the range. :image035:
Take her to the store you trust, connect her with a trusted sales person and then get the hell out of there for 30 minutes or so. I am an instructor and advise people on guns all the time but with my wife I am not an instructor but husband and that is totally different. Worked out much better that way.
But as you can see from my signature I am an XD person but either 1 or 2 would be my choice with #2 the first one. From my experience the others are not as comfortable to shoot - but that is just my 2 cents
Good advice. My wife is partial to the SR9 and the 9 mm Baby Eagle sub-compact. Both have slimmer grips for smaller hands and shoot relatively comfortably.
All good choices, BUT - please disabuse yourself of the notion that carrying an auto with an empty chamber is a good idea. Under stress, simply remembering to chamber a round is something easily forgotten, or even bobbled. In an emergency situation which requires the presence of a firearm, that firearm needs to be ready to fire.
The other thing I'll mention is that the sub-compact guns you've mentioned are just that much harder to handle and hit with than the 'compact' models of the same series. Do give some consideration to the Glock 19, for example, as well as the G26.
I'm familiar with the Glocks and the Kahrs, and I have a CZ75. Of those I would say the longest, most deliberate trigger pull is on the Kahr, and the Rami has an external safety which I think would help ease some of your unauthorized-user fears. The Springfield XD you note has a grip safety, which might be a desirable safety feature.
Another compact 9mm worth looking at include the Smith & Wesson M&P 9c, with 12-round capacity and a manual safety.
All good choices, BUT - please disabuse yourself of the notion that carrying an auto with an empty chamber is a good idea. Under stress, simply remembering to chamber a round is something easily forgotten, or even bobbled. In an emergency situation which requires the presence of a firearm, that firearm needs to be ready to fire.
The other thing I'll mention is that the sub-compact guns you've mentioned are just that much harder to handle and hit with than the 'compact' models of the same series. ...
Another compact 9mm worth looking at include the Smith & Wesson M&P 9c, with 12-round capacity and a manual safety.
I find the subcompacts very snappy (I own several on your list). My wife doesn't like my pm9, she prefers her Lcp, or Taurus 850 TI revolver. Defiantly shoot before you buy, and look at the slightly larger guns like the SW mp9c or the Kahr cw9 or Kahr p9.
If she's recoil shy, I'd say to skip the Walther PPS.
I have a PPS .40, and I love it, but it's such a slim little gun that there isn't much mass there to temper the recoil. A 9mm wouldn't hit her quite so hard, but it may still be enough to discourage her.
Ditto for a Keltec PF-9, which will beat the hell out of your hands even in 9mm. I'm glad to see that one isn't on your list.
I got my wife a G26, it seemed smart at the time. However in hindsight I should have taken her and tried many different ones. In further hindsight I should have gotten her the G19. Had I taken her shopping I would have figured that out.
The good thing is that it was a great excuse to buy another pistol and the G26 is a great gun, it just wasn't the right one for her.
That has cured me of buying pistols for other people without letting them handle/shoot them first.
Whatever fits her hand and she is comfortable shooting would be my vote. Don't overlook revolvers either, might be a good choice since you aren't comfortable carrying in condition one or two.
If you don't already, get a good gun safe - I have a GunVault (with pushbuttons - I don't trust the biometric fingerprint reader version) to keep the handguns away from the kids.
I keep my flashlight holster on top of the safe - it goes on my belt only after the safe door is closed. If my light is on my belt, I know the door is locked.
As to your list - Glock 26 and XD 9 SC are good. The G26 has a lower bore axis, and may therefore have less muzzle flip for her. The XD has the grip safety, which is both good and bad. Of the two, I like the G26 better - some folks have reported not being able to engage the grip safety on the XD in certain circumstances. Just my preference for simpler guns - less to go wrong.
The PPS has the weird mag release in the trigger guard - different than most guns, which means more training. It is thin, but not much smaller than my Glock 19.
I would proceed with extreme caution on the polymer Kahrs. Do a search.
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.
Why would carrying the gun with an empty chamber rule out a 1911 variant? It would eliminate the Kahr from my list because of the strange way they have to be chambered - either off the slide stop or by slingshotting the slide. This isn't an issue for me since I carry with a loaded chamber. I've gotten in the habit of slingshotting mine when I chamber a round just to get used to it so it will be second nature.
Other than that Kahr makes a fine and almost disturbingly accurate weapon.
That said, I agree with the ones who say to let her decide. Take her to the gun store and work with a good trustworthy salesperson. A lot of this will be determined by what fits her hand. Renting an example of each weapon would be an even better idea if you can pare the list down to two or three guns (trying to save you some rental fees here).
It would eliminate the Kahr from my list because of the strange way they have to be chambered - either off the slide stop or by slingshotting the slide.
I like the kahr choice for a everyday
everywhere carry gun. Very important to be
as safe as possible around the kids of course
but in most defense situations not having a round in
the chamber could be a really bad thing.
Things happen a lot faster than some people think if you
do need to fire a weapon in self defense.
All of those choices in your list would be more than adequate I suspect. Although I have no experience with the CZ, it does have a lot of devoted fans.
My personal fav would be the XD9sc since I own one, but the G-26 is equally interchangeable as far as I'm concerned.
I've had a G-23 for 11 or 12 years, so I have no problems with Glocks. They are great. But I've really liked the XD since I got it.
As you and she already know, she will have to be the best and ultimate judge on what's best for her.
I'm just glad she is joining the ranks! :congrats:
+1 on letting her choose. I ended up taking my wife to a local gun show where there were hundreds of guns for her to handle. Low and behold she picked a Ruger SP101 3". After reading up on it she did a mighty fine job picking out a winner. Now, I know you're just looking at autos, but make sure your wife doesn't have any difficulty racking the slide, especially if you're both set on carrying with the chamber empty. The downside with revolvers is that they aren't the easiest to hit with (snubbies especially) unless you practice and you do feel the recoil more than in the same sized auto with similar powered ammo.
Good list to start with though I would also consider the 1911 platform in 9mm. I would NOT carry without it chambered. I do not feel comfortable trying to draw and shoot and hit my target in the 1.5-2.0 sec range while trying to chamber a round. Maybe it can be done but probably not by me.
(I read of an incident where a fellow carried a glock, not chambered, was being mugged, drew, pulled trigger, no bang, got shot by perp, lived & sued Glock.)
I have young children, more than average, and while we need to be cautious of firearm safety we need not put ourselves or them in an even more dangerous situation. You can add a manual safety to a Glock (approx. $150), and I would think an XD. You could also get the NY trigger which takes it to 7.5 lbs. Those two additions add an extra level of securtiy to a DAO pistol. Remember a gun will not go off unless the trigger is pulled, they have internal safeties to prevent this...
There are also higher security holsters with thumb break retention and those made of kydex that are stiffer so your kids could not bump the gun out of the holster or even bump the trigger like they might could in soft leather. I recommend to carry chambered and add these more comforting levels of security.
Another incident I have thought about and the reason why I do not tuck my polo shirt in when not necessary is accessing my IWB pistol with one hand. I try to keep my family to my weak side so i can push them away, pick up a child or two, whatever and draw with my strong side. Can you draw and rack one handed?
Things to consider and think through, have fun shooting guns and let her decide what she likes and enjoy buying for her.
if you can then i would just rent a few and try them out but my girlfriend loves the G26, but this all depends on what SHE likes.
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