Opinions on 9mm models for women?

Check the second stickied thread. Has links you need.

Double stack - Ruger SR9c, S&W M&P

Single Stack - M&P Shield, Kahr CM9, Springfield XDs

Homesick, I'm not familiar w/ a double stack 9mm particularly suited to women. The best I can recommend is to let her handle some of them.

Yeah, I think your best bet will be w/ a single stack 9. In addition to the ones already mentioned, I'll add some more, in no particular order:
Kahr PM9 (a more expensive version of the CM9)
Kahr CW9 (a no frills, slightly bigger version of the CM9)
Kahr MK9
Kel-Tec PF9
Diamondback DB9
Bersa BP9cc
Kimber Solo
Beretta Nano
Sig 290
Walther PPS
SCCY Industries CPX

ETA: It's very important that she handle the gun to be sure she can manipulate the slide. The smaller semi-autos usually have pretty stiff springs so that lots of women have difficulties working the slide.

Over the years I have had a lot of women call and schedule a one-on-one defensive handgun lesson.

I always start them on a Glock 19 -- but with an Advantage Arms Conversion Kit that shoots .22LR. I start with this kit and then work up to light 9mm ammo, then work up to full 9mm loads.

I mention the foregoing because I have met exactly one female student who could not shoot the G19 well -- with .22LR and with 9mm. The one who couldn't shoot the G19 had very tiny hands. All the rest shot very well.

Racking the slide is mostly a matter of technique. It's usually far easier to rack the slide on a G19 than on a PM9 or some other mouse gun. And the recoil will usually be less with the G19 -- and the sights will be better, and the trigger will be better and it will hold more ammo.

Other than that, the guns will be comparable. Except for the fact that the women shoot the G19 a lot better than a J-frame revolver or a mousegun -- meaning accurate hits at a more rapid cadence.

The natural error that follows the lesson is when the knowledgeable husband or boyfriend decides to buy her a smaller Glock -- the G26. Now she has a gun with the same manual of arms, and the same trigger, same sights ----- BUT carries 30% less ammo and is much harder to control. But it is 1/2" SHORTER, AS IF THAT'S A MAJOR BLESSING.

Women who get training "get" Glocks. Ask any of the big name gurus who train thousands of people each year in their 2-day and 3-day classes. Very few of those mouseguns survive these classes without a malfunction. And if they do, the owner usually vows an immediate purchase of a Glock (like all the ones he watched fire flawlessly during the class).

quote:

---

Women who get training "get" Glocks.

---

Sometimes women will forgo getting a Glock due to the tight clothes they like to wear. A single-stack is much easier to conceal than a G19. I don't think anyone is arguing that a full sized handgun recoils more than a small one - that's just physics.

I don't want you to think this means I don't respect your opinion. I know you've had more trigger time and training time than just about everyone here, so more power to you. A Glock just doesn't fit every single facet of everything, IMHO. Granted it is a great firearm, there are still some that do a specific job better than a Glock. But you know more than me so maybe I'm talking out of my arse.



EDIT: El Josey beat me to it before I even submitted this. I respect Glock I just don't like Glock hard-ons, that's all.

quote:

---

Check the second stickied thread. Has links you need.

---

I guess I didn't dig far enough.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, at some point, we just need to start shopping in person to see what "fits." I don't have any compacts for her to shoot. I'd thought about something like the LC9 as an affordable starter. Then, when she got proficient/comfortable with it, she could upgrade ... cause you can never have too many!

I hope this thread continues. I wish there were a few women to comment. My girlfriend's arms are long and tiny. Unreal tiny. She limp wristed my M&P 9c with the extended mag an the x-grip adapter. Something I had previously thought impossible. There's not a chance she would be able to handle a snub nose .38 or a mouse gun.

quote:

---

How much experience does she have behind the trigger?

---

Not a ton. Just a little plinking occasionally.

I find it funny that men and women tend to think that women need small pistols.

Then after shooting a tiny "feminine" gun they are turned off to shooting altogether.

There are a lot of ignorant husbands/boyfriends out there.

I wouldn't get a tiny gun for learning to shoot. I would rather a bigger frame for practicing and getting proficient. Then later can get a small concealable.