I want to buy the wife a gun for Christmas

[BadgeBunny]

I started out with a XD9 because initially it "felt good" in my hand. However, once I started shooting regularly I didn't care for it at all ... I've gone through a lot of guns over the last few years but now that I have that neck injury and have trouble racking the slide I've found that the LC9 seems to be the one I favor. It's slimmer than my Glocks and the XD, recoil is not nearly as rough as the LCP, has a manual safety (again, unlike the LCP, but that's not such a big deal except when I carry it in my purse) and the trigger is still light enough that it doesn't take all day to pull it. I don't care at all for the LCP and LCR for that very reason ... the triggers are WAY too heavy for my tastes personally.

If you would like to meet me at H&H sometime to try the LCP and the LC9 to see what you think you are welcome to do so. Just shoot me a PM. Hope this helps a little.

 

[RickN]

I would take BB up on her offer if I were you.

I have a S&W M19 4in and a Ruger P89 for the wife. We have not gotten a chance for her to fire the Ruger yet so can not comment on it, but as far as the S&W, she likes my Taurus M66 6in better.

 

[peanut]

Seriously, I was in a class with one of the guys on this forum whose wife shoots the Glock 9mm, and she had numerous stovepipes, fteject and ftfeed because of limpwristing.
Is your wife a girly girl or a woman that works with horses and has a 100Lb grip strength?
It matters!
Trust me, I bought my wife a P2Ksk and she can't rack the slide. Heck, she couldn't rack the slide on any semi that I've had. All have been .380 or larger.
Let her try out The Gun that you are going to buy her before it doesn't work out.

 

[cyberslider]

My wife's carry gun is a Ruger LCP. Her range gun is a S&W M&P 9.

 

[TCummings]

Many women can not rack a slide on a semiauto.
Many women can not handle the recoil of 9mm.
Choose wisely.

Dude really? I don't know what women you are hanging around. I took my in-laws to the range and my mother in law did fine racking the slide on my semiauto, and handled the recoil from the .40SW round perfectly. Oh and BTW she had NEVER handled a gun before and is a very girly girl.

As everyone else has said take her to the range and let her try a wide variety of different semi's and revolvers. She won't shoot it if she doesn't feel comfortable with it. I made that mistake with the S&W Bodyguard .380 which my wife told me to trade in towards her Springfield XDM because she didn't like the way that it shot (my own fault for not taking her out before randomly buying something for her).

 

[JD8]

Many women can not rack a slide on a semiauto.
Many women can not handle the recoil of 9mm.
Choose wisely.

That's a load of BS, every woman I've taken to the range, most of which were newbies to firearms handled a 9mm just fine.

My other half shoots/handles HER G30sf with no problems. She prefered it to the G19 I bought her.....

Gonna agree with taking a class first, then letting her choose. Doesn't matter what other women think.

 

[CHenry]

I started out with a XD9 because initially it "felt good" in my hand. However, once I started shooting regularly I didn't care for it at all ... I've gone through a lot of guns over the last few years but now that I have that neck injury and have trouble racking the slide I've found that the LC9 seems to be the one I favor. It's slimmer than my Glocks and the XD, recoil is not nearly as rough as the LCP, has a manual safety (again, unlike the LCP, but that's not such a big deal except when I carry it in my purse) and the trigger is still light enough that it doesn't take all day to pull it. I don't care at all for the LCP and LCR for that very reason ... the triggers are WAY too heavy for my tastes personally.

If you would like to meet me at H&H sometime to try the LCP and the LC9 to see what you think you are welcome to do so. Just shoot me a PM. Hope this helps a little.

Thats very helpfull and I was hoping to draw you into the thread.
We had talked about going to HH to try some different guns so we will let you know when we are going.

 

[CHenry]

My wife is a small package but she does work out and has the strength I think to operate the slide on an auto...I think. I need to get her to shoot my browning hi-power as a test, that is one of the stiffest slides I have ever had (not that i have had a large veriety). I had an old girlfriend years ago that could not jack the slide on my browning.
The purpose of this gun for her will be self defense over all, I will take the CC class with her - I let mine laps and have to do it again - and then she will be able to carry in her purse or on her waiste when she goes for her 6 mile walks. I bought her a pepper spray device but would much rather she have some deadly force on her. Also this will be a range gun and we can go down on the river and shoot. So a compact auto that isnt a pocket gun would be my guess. I think 9mm may be the largest she will like in a small auto because she said she has shot larger cal. before (before i knew her) and she always flinched anticipating the recoil. She has shot my Taurus, .44 mag with 6" barrell and she handled that great but its heavey and magna-ported so recoil isnt that bad IMO - its just loud as hell.

 

[Fatboy Joe]

It really depends on what the gun's purpose is: CC only, HD only, CC/HD or Range Gun. A great range gun is not necessarily going to make a good carry gun.

If it's a carry gun, will she be carrying on her body or off her body?

Kinda weird question to be asking about another man's wife. I agree that a great range gun doesn't mean a great cc gun. I have a Ruger LCR .357 great range gun with the .38 special loads, not so much with the .357. But only carry .357 loads for protection.

 

[CHenry]

BB, I wish I had seen your post a lot sooner, today would have been a great day to get some range time in - holiday for me and it seems a pretty appropriate way to honor out Vets, grab the guns and go shootin...