Best handgun for a smaller woman

Only way to know is to go out and practice with different weapons. I don't think you can expect a woman to just pick up a gun in a self defense situation and be able to do something with it with no practice time.

Personally I think a shotgun is a much better option if it's just for in the house.

Bought my bride a Ruger LCP 380, with the laser. Compact size, easy for her to handle, light recoil, just point the laser, and squeeze the trigger.

Bapple will tell you that a full size is easier to shoot.

I agree. Glock 17, SIG 226, etc.

Glock 19

quote:

---

we have nothing for her to practice with.

---

Any half decent range will provide her with an assortment of pistols to try, and the really good guys will discount the cost of rental against the purchase.

Whatever one she is most comfortable with.

have her dry fire a revolver with the heavy double action pull vs. racking the slide of a small semi like Walther PPS M2. Which is easier for her? Go w/ that.

Can't go wrong with a s&w 357 and load it with 38. That's what I have my sa carrying.

Racking the slide is easier for those with a weak grip when you just hold the slide and push the body of the gun forward. Especially if you're right handed. Have your wife try both techniques so see if one is easier.

As has been posted here ad infinitum, small person =/= small gun. With proper technique any adult human, barring legit health issues, can rack the slide of a semi-auto pistol. It comes down to willingness to learn technique and practice. In general, the bigger the gun, the more mass, = less recoil and = better follow up shots. It also generally equals more rounds in the mag, which is beneficial in a gun fight. Its probably pertinent to add getting a revolver and practicing with only .38s when IRL you'll be strictly using .357s in a life or death situation is not the best idea. Gunfighting also comes down to practice and wilingness to learn technique. Just like the act of buying or carrying around a guitar brings you no closer to being Jimi Hendrix, there's no gun that will turn you're petite, or not petite, female companion into Wild Bill Hickok. Of course giving someone a gun increases their ability to shoot an attacker versus someone without a gun, it also increases a lot of less desirable factors such as the ability to shoot an innocent bystander, arming an unarmed attacker, escalating a situation, negligent discharge, the list goes on. So again, practice in shooting, situational awareness and the law regarding use of force isthe key to sucessfully using a gun in self defense. Yes, it's easy to say frick that I'd rather have my SO alive than have her murdered, objectively think about all the situations where an untrained, and if female, a highly emotional reactionary/assuming, armed citizen could end up in jail or killed over mistakes made. There are situations that can be descalated with proper rhetoric, situations that you can escape from by leaving slowly or running and situations where guns blazing are the only way out. Obvuously, in the latter I'd rather a loved one have any gun than none, in the former situations I'd rather a loved one have sense over a gun. So, while I believe every unprohibited individual should have access to means to defend themselves, and that the individual should be prepared by their own validation to do so, not by government oversight (talking to you dawgXX3), the key to properly arming someone is as much education as it is handing them a gun.

So, to answer the OP the best handgun would be a full sized or compact sized semi auto pistol in 9mm that she can comfortably shoot. If she intends to carry the gun on her then the best option would be a semi pistol that sacrifices features of a full sized semi auto pistol, to increase concealability,that she is comfortable shooting.