Recommendation of CC for a woman.

From the FAQ...

Handguns for Women

What Geauxtiga said

How big a girl we talking bout?
Experiance shooting handguns?

Sig P238 Sport

End of discussion

I'm in the same situation with my daughter. She wants to carry one for protection but she is a real newbie.

We went to a gunshow a couple months ago to see which ones she felt fit well in her hand.

One weekend soon, we're gonna head over to Barney's and I'll rent a few for her to shoot and get familiar with.

LC

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To do it "right" you need to let her hold and shoot a few cause, in the end, it's a question SHE has to answer.

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Nailed it. It needs to be her choice. She will feel much more comfortable with it if she chooses it herself. It also gives her the confidence to want to carry it and practice with it.

What is her experience level? If she has not shot a lot of handguns, immediately going to a tiny concealed carry gun is not the right route. Tons of recoil, not much to grab, hard to connect with, tiny sight radius, etc. ALWAYS start her on a full sized pistol, a 22 or a 9mm would be ideal. I've taught some women how to shoot on my 1911 as well but I still think a 22 or 9mm is your best option.

If she has experience, then I think she would get the most out of something single stack. If she's not wild about carrying a tiny 380, then I think a single stack 9mm would be a better option. Thinness is even more important in a carry gun for women, not because of their tiny hands, but because of the way they dress in tighter clothing.

I also strongly suggest she NOT carry in a purse. If she's the victim of a robbery, that is the FIRST thing they are going to grab. Then she will be unarmed. If she has to carry that way at times, it's probably okay. But advise her not to dedicate herself to carry in a purse, only special occasions.

My suggestions:

9mm - S&W Shield, Springfield XDs, Kahr CM9, Walther CCP, Walther PPS

380 - Kahr CW380, Ruger LCP

EDIT: The Sig P238 and 938 are also good options but she MUST practice disengaging and engaging the safety when practicing.

I also advise you check out my video here:

Firearms for Women

And ultimately if she has no plans to carry it, or wants to get multiple handguns for different roles, a full sized 9mm carries a lot of benefits over a tiny one, the most important things being controllability and capacity.

Or if she doesn't practice a lot and wants something simple, a Ruger GP100 or S&W 686 are two great 357 revolvers. Again though, I stress to stay with something FULL sized.

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I almost added that you probably have a video on this topic but since I like to pick on you about your vids I didn't want it to be taken as a joke.

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You noticed I linked one right? My channel is like "there's an app for that!"

There's a Bapple video for that!

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To do it "right" you need to let her hold and shoot a few cause, in the end, it's a question SHE has to answer.

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+1

I'm sure all the people telling you to let her decide are doing this with good intentions.

BUT ...............

I'm gonna assume here that she knows little or nothing about self-defense handguns.

So .............

Your job is to limit your//her search to makes and models that fall in the top tier of reliability. If she picks one that's all cute and feels good in her hands, but the one she picks is a POS that's all too likely to crap out when she actually needs it ...... you get the picture.

If you're looking at small revolvers (which come with their own problems as far as shootability)-- get a S&W, a good used Colt or a Ruger. EVERYTHING else comes with too much risk of being unreliable.

If you're looking at semi-autos, I'd suggest limiting your research to Glocks, the M&P line by Smith & Wesson, SIGs, HKs, maybe some Beretta's (like the PX4).

JUST UNDERSTAND THIS ....... if you/she picks a little (small, light) gun, it's gonna be a lot harder to shoot well than a "medium" or full-sized gun (because it'll be a lot harder to control.

SabiDoJo has posted the best advice so far.

BEFORE (or after) AFTER SHE GETS A GUN ....... you really ought to look into getting her a marksmanship lesson with a good certified instructor. A good instructor will start her with a .22 (to avoid developing a flinch), and gradually work up to a full caliber weapon.

Just my $.02 worth.



Almost forgot.

p.s. Quit looking on outdoor forums for self-defense handgun advice. And whatever you do, don't look in gun magazines. And don't ask the kid behind the counter at the gun store. A good instructor will be able to offer some solid advice on purchasing a SD handgun after he has worked with her for an hour or two.