Learn Me About Handguns

I don't think reading through 6 pages of posts about .22's and CC laws is going to teach me much about internals safeties or striker pins vs. hammers.

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bapple

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KR has some form of M&P that would be a great fit,

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he has girl hands?

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My mom has trouble dropping the mag and racking the slide on a Glock(her hands are just too small she fumbles around with it).

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A single stack gun or an M&P would fix this issue. The larger ones have back straps that can be swapped that actually change the width of the grip, whereas on a Glock the back straps only change how much of the gun is in your palm. The width stays the same. And a single stack gun needs no explanation; it's already very thin.

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I personally think the less safeties or hammer an inexperienced shooter has to worry about the better.

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+1

It also teaches them the importance of trigger finger discipline.

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If she's not going to shoot a lot and get 100% comfortable with the pistol, then she should stick with along the M&P or XD line.

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I think an M&P Shield or a Springfield XDs would be awesome for her. Then again, this is only in terms of carry. If she doesn't plan on carrying it, a full sized pistol is much easier to shoot and holds a lot more rounds. If it's a bedside gun, get a full sized. If she plans on carrying it, I think she may like the XDs or Shield.

But I cannot stress this enough - let HER choose her gun. You can guide her along the way, but she'll be much more likely to carry it with her if it's actually hers and not just something you bought for her. It is also important that she's comfortable with how it feels, which is another thing that her choosing the gun solves.

Thanks, Bapple. I'll check out your videos when I'm at home. Morons at work think watching youtube is counter-productive for some reason.

And I'll definitely let her have the final decision on her gun when we do buy it. I just want to learn a little more about what to look for - basic designs and features.

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Yoga pants aren't great for CC even if she wanted to strap one to her,

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to her what damnit... TO HER WHAT!?!?!?!?!

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Will my wife with her skinny little hands be able to rack the slide on a semi auto?

Should I just look at revolvers?

I'd really like to stay with at least 9mm on the power scale.

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As Bapple indicated, techniques can be taught for a weaker person to comfortably rack the slide on most semis - and, it is not a bad technique for everyone - effectively it uses both hands to rack the slide - the grip hand presses forward, while the slide hand pulls back - thus doubling your effort.

Also, revolvers are great choices for many people - particularly people with limited experience with handguns - there are (generally) fewer operating controls and fewer parts to interact with during operation. However, caliber choice is relatively limited, as are loadings in those calibers (although choices are adequate).

In any event - avoid the classic mistake of getting a little woman a little gun - for a defense or "sidearm" weapon - one should shoot the largest weapon that is comfortable. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the trend towards smaller pistols and revolvers for women, while it is intuitive, is likely a mistake. It is harder to grip, sight and place accurate fire with a smaller weapon. Felt recoil is generally greater and magazine capacity is generally lower.

If this is going to be purse carry, size/weight is somewhat of a concern, but the true CCW weapons should be only for concealing on the person - even then, go with the largest weapon that the shooter is both comfortable with and fully meets or exceed the concealment criteria of the license and/or jurisdictional requirements.

9mm as a floor is the same criteria that I use - particularly if you consider .38 Special +P a 9mm equivalent (which I do.)

I think we're way too early about settling on a brand or configuration. I might even suggest she take a CCW class or other pistol shooting class - because the weapon, without any sort of skills, is going to be of limited utility, anyway. Once she starts shooting - assuming she buys into this - she will start to form opinions. Another thing you can do is find a range with rentals and have her shoot 20 to 50 out of a selection of weapons ranging from Sig P226/G17, down to the Kahrs - all in 9mm, so she can get an apples-to-apples idea of size, weight, grip and how well she shoots them. The sweet spot should be relatively obvious after she does this.

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Ace Midnight

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In any event - avoid the classic mistake of getting a little woman a little gun - for a defense or "sidearm" weapon - one should shoot the largest weapon that is comfortable. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the trend towards smaller pistols and revolvers for women, while it is intuitive, is likely a mistake.

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This^^^^^^

For the XDs and M&P Shield, you can use a full length magazine to get a full grip. The teeny tiny 9mms and 380s with a 2-finger grip are extremely snappy to shoot.

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even then, go with the largest weapon that the shooter is both comfortable with and fully meets or exceed the concealment criteria of the license and/or jurisdictional requirements.

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+1

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Buy a judge and pew pew pew pew pew

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1, 2, 3, 4, 5 pews. Check.