Thread: One for my better half

My wife is on the small side, and we have recently been through the same search. She likes my Ruger P89 (9mm) as it is accurate and has little recoil. However, it is a bit big and bulky, not a good choice for concealed carry. She also has some difficulty racking the slide. She managed to trim a couple of fingernails to the quick once while she was practicing the slide rack.

We test fired a lot of different guns (a good thing to do with your wife), and she finally decided on the Bersa Thunder .380. She is deadly accurate with it, can rack the slide without much problem, can load it, and now carries it concealed (mostly in her purse or a belly pack).

Her second favorite gun is an S&W Model 60 (.357/.38) revolver with a three inch barrel. Not much recoil, easy to load and shoot, but a bit bulkier than the Bersa.

Decide what you want the gun for, then go out and shoot a bunch of them, and let her decide.

BTW, my wife didn't think she liked shooting too much until we started using double ear protection. Foamies in the ear canal, headset over the ears. That recuced the noise from the other shooters enough that she no longer jumps when the guy next to us fires.

She can shoot better than I can, and usually outfishes me. I love her anyway.

Good luck and keep us posted.

WM

Nothing would make more sense than to start off with a decent .22lr.. If she has smaller hands, a Walther P22 would be fine. A larger grip would go well with a Ruger auto. Lots of other choices as well.

If she decides to keep up with the shooting, then let her pick out a larger caliber. My wife really likes her P22 and her Bersa Thunder 380. Now, she has moved up to taking over my Glock 26. Keep the .22 for cheap target practice. Everyone needs a good .22!

PhilR.

Let her try out as many different handguns as possible. She will have to decide that she like a gun then she will at least be willing to join you shooting. It could be a double edge sword she may take over all the guns and give you a fishing pole if she starts loving shooting.

My picks would be a Ruger SP101, Walther P99C, Sig P239, or HK P2000SK.

The Ruger she can shoot .38 from and while fishing in the outback she can carry .357 Mag. The three Semi's I mention are all quality handguns, small and can shoot 9MM. I'd keep 9mm as the minimum.

My gal shoots a Sig P226ST 9MM. It's heavy, but it shoots like a .22 compared to my .40 S&W.

Have her try all of the above and see which she shoots best with and likes.