My Girl needs a Gun!

[tideluxe]

So my girlfriend and I just got our CWP's, she doesn't have a firearm yet. We are going to go shopping. Does anyone have any reccomendations. She's a small woman 5'2" and 120lbs. She handles my XD 9 just fine, but could never conceal a gun that size. So I would like to hear some ideas on the best way for a femenine woman to carry, and a good sidearm. Auto vs. Revolver. I'm thinking she'll carry in her purse and that a revolver might be the best route considering the abuse the purse takes...

[Rotorflyr]

Start here:
www.corneredcat.com

Of particular interest may be this page:
http://www.corneredcat.com/FirstGun/TryOnGun.htm

But the whole site is chock full of valuable information (and not just for the ladies)


edit: Oh, and congratulations to you both on getting your CWP's!

[pogo2]

For a gun subjected to the inside of a purse, where it will be banging around with other items, I'd consider a S&W model 640 revolver, a 5 shot, all stainless .357 magnum with enclosed hammer. The enclosed hammer will keep the gun from snagging on the draw, and prevent dirt from entering the gun through the hammer opening. The gun weighs 25 ounces but is quite compact and slender, as shown in the picture. It will handle medium power .357 magnum ammo without too much recoil.

[chiefs-special-guy]

Congrats!
Yes, the ladies have it kind of rough when concealing a gun. On the belt doesn't do it due to their shapes (which are otherwise very nice indeed), and purses, the natural choice, have big drawbacks.
Two ideas:
1. Beretta tomcat 32 acp pistol or similar. very small, light, ladies like it, no slide to rack. very reliable. but it is a 32, though very easy to hit stuff with.
2. SW ultralight j frame with 38 special +P. also very light, but harder to shoot. extremely reliable. can change grips to accomodate a lady's hands. potent round. they usually need a trigger job.
just two ideas. probably other people here, who know a lot more than i do, can suggest some other possibilities.
God Bless

[KenpoTex]

If she likes the XD-9, how 'bout the sub-compact version?

-or a baby Glock,
-or a Kahr
-or a small 1911 (officer's style)

The J-frame Smith&Wesson (or equivalent) would be a good choice but sometimes recoil can be an issue with a weapon that small/light.

I would stay away from the .380's and .32's etc. They're okay for a last-ditch backup but I wouldn't recommend them for a primary.

I would also advise against purse carry for a couple of reasons...One, we all know how much crap the average woman carries in her purse...do you really want to have to did around for the gun? Two, if you ever set the purse down, or worse, have it snatched, you no longer have control of the weapon.

just my $0.02...

[rocky]

As Kenpotex said. If she can handle a larger caliber well, go that route. a 9mm doesn't recoil that bad, but should way out perform a .32 ,ect.
Personally, I feel a auto would be harder to damage being banged around a bit. Eiterh way, if purse carry is needed, be sure to keep only the handgun in 1 conpartmnet. Otherwise, too easy to get pennies or debris in the gun workings.

[AgentX]

I'd go for a baby glock or a SIG 239/232. IMHO, snubnoses are hard guns for an inexperienced shooter, esp. a smaller one.

[MNBurl]

Have her go to a range or gun show and have HER pickup and feel as many guns as you can. The gun should point naturally for her. From that, rent if you can the ones that she likes. Get her some additional training.

My recommendations would be a Kel-tec PF9, a J-frame hammerless revolver and any gun that is single stack do to smaller hands.

[ccw9mm]

Have her go to a range or gun show and have HER pickup and feel as many guns as you can.

Ditto. There is nothing equivalent to actually holding, handling and firing a large number of guns. I'd find a few local ranges that have large rental "fleets" of pistols and revolvers. Try as many as you can. Of course, everyone's different in terms of what feels right, what points naturally, what shoots well. The nice thing is, no firearm purchase is permanent; it can easily be swapped for another, if it ends up not being the right one.

[me]

1. Beretta tomcat 32 acp pistol or similar. very small, light, ladies like it, no slide to rack. very reliable. but it is a 32, though very easy to hit stuff with.

I disagree with you on one major point here Chiefs-special-guy. As far as I am concerned a Tomcat is not nearly as easy to conceal at a keltec. in my opinion (I have not done a side to side between my P3at and my uncles 3032) the kel-tec appears to be a bit thinner.

That being said they are great guns both (Tomcat and Keltec) but as said before try to keep her above the 9mm .38 special line.

+1 on the no pruse carry mentioned before.

[grapeknutz]

Have her look at this one http://www.taurususa.com/products/pr...egory=Revolver

[Rocnerd]

My lady went through three guns before finding the perfect one. She started out with a S&W snub nose. She shot it ok, but after taking a course with it wanted more capacity and easier reloading. She then decided on a PPK. She liked that, but had trouble with the diminutive front site. She finally settled on a Sig 239 with the DAK trigger. It is a good size, ok capacity, and came with night sites. She hasn't carried it yet, but has a Del Fatti holster and a Coranado purse to choose from if she wants to.

My advice is to go to the range with a large selection of handguns for rental and any of yours she likes. Have her try them all out over a couple of days and narrow down the choices. Then let her pick the one she wants.

[tegemu]

As soon as I saw your postI was going to recommend www.corneredcat.com but I see I'm a tad late. Read that site, both of you, before you do anything.

[limatunes]

First, I would recommend you talking your woman out of carrying in her purse. I'm a pretty little gal myself (5'4" 105 lbs) and so concealing on me isn't easy either.

Truth be told she may need more than one gun ( Oh the HUMANITY! ).

I have three, all for different "needs."

When my clothing can conceal it, I carry a Kimber Ultra Carry in .40.





I ADORE, my Kimber.

The only problem we had with it in the beginning was it wasn't feeding correctly. New mags fixed it up and it's been a champ ever since. I wouldn't give up my Kimber for any other gun on the market.

I also have a Bersa in .380 (my engagement gift from my husband) and a Colt Mustang, also in .380.

These two guns are GREAT for concealment on my tiny frame (as shown below)..


A simple IWB holster and a long shirt and you have no idea it's there.

My shoulder holster...


is great for the Kimber but I need larger sweaters and sometimes even a scarf to conceal it more. But it's great when sitting in a vehicle for a long time or just walking around the mall with my husband.

Now, back to what I said about not letting her carry in her purse.

As a general rule the purse is a BAD idea. First, it's a target (good morning purse snatcher). Second, no matter what kind of purse you get, your gun WILL shift in it and in a panicked moment she's not going to be able draw it very quickly. Third, she is GOING to put her purse down at times and that means her purse (and therefore, gun) is uncontrolled.

The only time I will EVER consider putting my gun in my purse is if my outfit simply will not conceal any gun and I know I'm not going to be out in the open very long (such as just going from the car to work or into a restaurant. However, to and from the building I hold my purse like my life depends on it, or pretend I'm rifling through it, looking for something, when I really have my hand grasped on my gun. If it can be concealed on my body, no matter what I have to do, it's going on my body.

There are options for women other than the purse, see that you both explore them.

Why I picked and LOVE my Kimber

When my husband and I went on the search for a handgun for me I had a list of criteria that I wanted to be met.

A) I wanted a thumb safety.
My best friend is alive today ONLY because the gun she picked up from under a bed and pulled the trigger on had a thumb safety. I don't mind people who use guns without them, but I require a thumb safety on any gun I carry. The grip safety was just an added bonus as well.

B) I wanted rubber grips.
I have VERY small hands, and a lot of guns, though I can manage them, are really hard to get a good FIRM grip on. I needed a gun that I could change grips on if I needed to. On Glocks and some of the other polymer framed guns you can't change the grips. You can only get slip on grips. I didn't want that. I wanted grips that could be changed. In fact, only days after buying my Kimber we switched out it's grips to some GREAT rubber ones that I could REALLY get a good firm grip on.

C) I wanted an semi-automatic.
My husband actually tried talking me into a revolver but I told him no. I know semi-automatics, I'm comfortable with them. I would carry a revolver if I had to, but I specifically wanted an semi-automatic.

D) I wanted a light trigger pull.
Trigger pull has always been important to me. I didn't want to have to wrench on the trigger to fire. I wanted a nice, small, squeeze and I got that with my Kimber. It has the sweetest trigger pull of a lot of the guns I've fired.

E) I DID NOT want a trigger safety.
I've never liked trigger safeties. Really, I think they are almost pointless, either way, I specifically did not want a gun with a trigger safety.

F) I wanted something in 9m or higher in caliber, preferably .40 or higher.

G) I wanted a steel or aluminum frame.
I didn't want anything in polymer. I know that polymer is just as strong and reliable, it was a personal preference. I just did not want polymer.

H) I wanted it to be heavy, but not too heavy. Light, but not too light.
I knew I was going to carrying this gun with me and I needed it to be a right weight. Anything too heavy would get awkward and uncomfortable. Anything too light would have too snappy of a recoil. I wanted to find something in a perfect weight FOR ME!

I) I wanted night sights.
Now, you can get your sights changed on a lot of different guns so I was willing to compromise for a gun that had the option to change the sights, but it was a bonus to get one with night sights already in it.
It's a GREAT comfort for me to look over at night, especially when my husband's gone, and see those glowing dots. Not only does it help me aim in the night but it tells me where my gun is. I don't have to go searching for it in the dark. I've got landing lights guiding my hand right in.

There are SOO many different guns out there, if you wrote up a list of requirements and did a good search I'm sure you could find the gun of her dreams.

If you gal is a shooter, ask her what she has liked on some guns and what she had disliked on others. LISTEN TO HER and don't try to talk her out of what she likes and dislikes. We are all different, we all have different things that make up comfortable.

Ask her what she would prefer for safety and what she would prefer for ease of use, drawing, and what not. Be specific with her, show her how things work. Go to walmart and stock up on gun magazines and let her see what is available. Go to a gun shop and let her feel the guns for herself. Let her pick them up and work the slide (if the shop keep says it's okay). Let her decide what she's comfortable with. If you think her choice is a bad one, argue your point reasonably but LISTEN to her reasons for choosing what she chose. If later, she finds she doesn't like it, you can always trade or get another.

Good luck!

Oh, eh hem, on a darker note.... Even if you are paying for it I would recommend her putting the gun in her name. She's going to be carrying it, it should be registered to her, and, God forbid, you two ever break up, she can legally take it with her and there is no fighting over it (fighting over guns is BAD).

[BikerRN]

+1 on your post!

Very good write-up and good insight from the female perspective.

Biker

[Steve48]

I like simple and the most simplist gun I know is a S&W 642. You just load and pull the trigger. Steve48

[JimmyC4]

A S&W 642 with Crimson Trace was my wife's choice. She likes the simplicity and reliability of a revolver. My S&W 36 is on the left, her 642 on the right.

I think the 642 is an excellent value, and weighing in at just 15 ounces makes it a joy to carry.

[tegemu]

Great post limatunes!!!

[Betty]

Welcome to the board tideluxe (and Limatunes - it's always great to see women on the boards)!

She really needs to pick out the gun herself. Go to a range and rent a variety.

I'm 5' 3.5" and around 105 pounds, so I think your GF would be very surprised at what she can conceal. She may have to adjust her wardrobe, but we've all had to to some degree. It's a small adjustment to make to conceal a life-saving tool.

My main guns vary between a S&W 640 .357, a CZ 75 Compact 9mm (decocked), and a HK USPc in .45 auto (decocked, safety off). My 640 is my summer gun and the other two for fall/winter, because they're bigger and mostly require bulkier garments. I can, however, conceal the CZ most of the time. I prefer my main guns to be draw-and-shoot handguns that don't require a manual safety. (Please note my CZ75c does not have a decocker and must be manually decocked [which is safe for this gun], which I do not recommend a novice to do! It is, however, designed to be carried cocked and locked. There are CZ models available with decockers if that is something she wants.)

I'll also carry either a Colt Mustang .380 or Colt Cobra .38 Spl. as an ankle-carry backup gun.

For the same reasons Limatunes has stated, I am against off-body carry if at all possible. I have only off-body carried when I've had to dress in formal wear, and I've had either a Colt Mustang or Colt Cobra in my clutch purse.

She may also want to check out the Kahr handguns - I've carried one in the past, and they are very small, concealable, accurate and reliable little guns.

I'm attaching a picture of my CZ75c in my Ace Case bellyband holster. I can any of my guns in the same bellyband.

[tideluxe]

Thanks Everyone!! The input has been very valuable. Limatunes your post was great