[aurora85]

Hi all,
Great forum here. I'm on a wait list currently for a Glock 19 Blue Label purchase. It is supposed to come in around April-May time frame. Currently the store that I'm ordering through has Glock 17s and 22's available. I'm trying to find a gun my wife would be comfortable shooting from a grip and recoil perspective. That is primarily why I was leaning towards the 9mm. I've tried to research and opinions are on both sides for either the 17 or the 19. My wife has not been able to hold or shoot either due to non being available at any LGS's around us. The place I'm ordering through is around 2 hours away. I've shot a 17 ( a few years ago) and remember it to have felt great, but again this will be primarily for my wife as a home defense weapon. She is petite with small hands so I'm thinking the 19 would suit her better. The only thing that I'm still debating is with the shortage of guns in general for sale, if I should continue to wait for the 19 to arrive or go ahead and purchase the 17 since it's in stock. I'm wondering if the size would make that big of a difference for my wife. We also don't have plans to conceal.

Also with regards to ammo shortages, any advantages to buying a .40 vs .9? I have not been able to locate 9mm in quite sometime. Ill laugh when I purchase the weapon with no ammo to be had. Also has me thinking of buying the 9mm for her and the .40 for myself. Just a thought.

Any opinions/advice greatly appreciated!

 

[Alex_C]

After trying several guns my wife settled on the 19. It just fits her best.

Remember, you can always use the larger 9mm magazines in a Glock 19, so the 17 and 33 rounders are still an option with the G19 if you can find them.

 

[SpencerB]

My wife loves the Glock 19, it fits her perfectly. But if you can afford both why not get both then once the 19 arrives she will have her nightstand gun and you will have yours.

 

[slidewayz240]

My wife personally has a Glock 26 and probably shoots it better than I do.

 

[Moby]

First and most importantly if she doesn't like it she will not train with it.
A cardinal sin in my eye's. If you're going to rely on a firearm for protection it is one's
responsibility to be able to use it properly and accurately.

My advice is to find a shooting range that rents firearms in your area. Take the wife and make her take
her time and shoot several brands of firearms in several calibers. I gave my wife a .38 snubby and found it back in my gun safe and my Glock 21 in her night stand. She said she likes it better and it was now hers.
She's also little with tiny hands. After talking about it a bit turns out the G21 is too big for her hands but she liked the "K" frame better as she said the recoil was "more back and less up". The subby is a typical "J" frame.

I'm looking to get her a Glock 36 single stack for her purse. It's the only way I can get my G21 back.

The main point is SHE has to like it. It is best to determin that before you purchase.
Look at high quality firearms. Beretta, Glock (my favorite but maybe not hers) and others.
Remember, SHE has to like it. Also ask her if she's considering a CHL. Another factor in the equation.

 

[aurora85]

Thanks for the advice so far! She is fully committed to getting comfortable shooting and training. She has had limited shooting experience in the past, but wants to take the steps to be able to protect herself at home when I'm gone on the road for days at a time with work. I need to look at finding a local range and see if they have those models to try out. The reason I'm leaning towards glock is the military discount.

 

[ghost tracker]

Alway (ALWAYS!) let your wife pick her own gear. This is the bonafide voice of experience talking here. I got my wife the gun she "should have" & she, shortly after, declared my favorite GLOCK G19 as the gun she "would have". I had to go get another one. Save yourself the grief, ignore all us opinionators & let her handle/shoot guns until SHE picks her favorite. You'll thank me later!

 

[Alex_C]

Alway (ALWAYS!) let your wife pick her own gear. This is the bonafide voice of experience talking here. I got my wife the gun she "should have" & she, shortly after, declared my favorite GLOCK G19 as the gun she "would have". I had to go get another one. Save yourself the grief, ignore all us opinionators & let her handle/shoot guns until SHE picks her favorite. You'll thank me later!

Bingo.

 

[GH]

Bingo.

Except - if she doesn't like it then aurora85 will have a fine handgun for himself, lol. Then it's back to gun stores looking for something for HER.

Anybody can get used to shooting any weapon. Some might just take a little longer. I think you made a good choice with the G19.

As for ammo choice 9MM is supposed to be the most popular round so therefor .40 should be more available. I haven't seen either on the shelves for a month. Just 2 boxes of .32 cal & 1 box of. 45ACP at the last store I checked.

 

[hwarang54]

I agree with the "let her pick it out." I don't think glock comes in anything lower then a 9mm anyway. 9mm vs .40 caliber vs .45ACP vs. [insert any other caliber here] is a debate that will never die. I will give you facts.

1)9mm magazines tend to hold more rounds for the size of the gun.
2) .40 is a heavier round, so it SHOULD hit harder.
3)9mm are fairly common, so ammo is either REALLY easy to find or VERY hard to find, especially now
4).40 caliber has the tendency to be "snappy."
5)9mm tends to have less recoil.
6)Modern 9mm ammo and all their variations tend to negate any other arguments put forth by anyone. Getting shot is getting shot. You will probably shoot someone more then one time.

I shoot .40, but I shoot it better then 9mm. I don't know why, I just do. I am a strange person.
Also, ever considered a weapon OTHER then Glock?

 

[reade]

The G19 you mention should make an excellent home defense weapon. My wife isn't large at all and she likes a G17. Now for carry that's an issue yet to be resolved.

 

[ghost tracker]

"I will give you the facts"

:rofl:

 

[GhostMaker]

You gotten some really good advice so far, so instead of doubling up I wanted to offer this.

I got my wife a G17 for HD use and she adores it. Hers is a Gen4 and she likes it better than the previous versions. The one thing she insisted upon when she ASKED ME to buy a gun just for her (yep, I know when they say that they are keepers) was that it be a Glock, in 9mm, and it had to have night sights. With either the G17 or the G19 you really can't go wrong. I would caution you though, after I gave my wife her Glock she started asking about a tactical light for the rail. Now if I can get her to use RemOil as perfume she would be nearly perfect.....:image035:

 

[joker1]

My EDC is a 3rd generation stock GLOCK 19. In my opinion the best damn carry/combat pistol out there. My wife rolled her eyes a few too many times while I was praising my GLOCK and finally piped up and said she wanted her own GLOCK, schwing!
She had not shot my GLOCK before so I wanted her to try holding it to see if it fit her hand, nope. We eventually made it to a bigger city with a gun store and she tried, SR9, XD. M&P, etc. She then tried a GLOCK 27 with a plus 0 pinky extension on the magazine, eureka! They didn't have a GLOCK 26 in stock but at least we had a fit. She later got her very own GLOCK 26 and 2 Pearce plus 0 pinky extensions for Mothers day. She loves it and to be honest (this may be hard for some of you to believe) but I kinda like the little bugger myself.

 

[GunTrooper]

One thing I never considered until I started training my wife to shoot: ability to work the action... My wife seems to have a hard time with grip-strength and the coordination to charge the weapon by racking the slide. I thought the G19 would be more slide-friendly but she seems to do better with the G17... I have a well-worn Beretta 96D that seems to have the smoothest, easiest slide manipulation of all... That one may become her nightstand gun...

 

[cgrisamore]

Agree that the wife should choose and renting and trying a couple of options is your best move. My wife likes shooting my .380 Interarms PPK/S and she thought a Glock 26 might be a good option. I took her to the range, rented a 26 and after 5 shots she was already shaking her head no. I let her try my Glock 19 and she like it much better than the 26. This was not my prediction as I thought the 26 would be her choice based on the smaller size.

 

[1MoreGoodGuy]

Have her take a look at the following:

G19 Gen 4
Walther PPQ
Bersa Thunder 9 Ultra Compact Pro
Beretta 92A1
Ruger SR9

Whatever she gets make sure she puts a light on it.

 

[MrsHB]

I have a Gen. 3 Glock 19 for HD and it's also one of my favorite range guns. The 17 is also a nice shooter.

I agree with those who say 'let her pick her own gun', but IMO it would be hard to go wrong with either of these. My 70 year old mother - who has never shot handguns - tried quite a few different revolvers and semi's at the range with me last summer. Her favorite by far was the Glock 19, which surprised the heck out of me (she got to shoot some VERY nice guns that day.) That gun's had a bucketful of ammo shot through it and I can't recall ever having a single failure, including when my mother was shooting it.

It's just a shame that such a nice gun has to be so ugly. :34: :wink:

 

[Tundra5.7]

Would be hard to go wrong with a Glock 19 or 17 for that matter.

 

[MrBuckwheat]

She will get the 19 and like it!!!!!