Need Recommendations on hand gun for my wife

[Glockisgood17]

GLOCK G-44. Light, easy to rack, punch ammo in it and it’s GTG. Modify to take the 15 rounds mags and set her free. Several ladies that are seniors or tiny that I know have done it and they run them well!

Regards,

 

[Veritas]

Take her to a gun store that rents guns. Let her handle every single one of them. Shoot the ones she says she likes. Rinse, repeat until she finds what she likes.

Also, find an NRA certified instructor. Pay for as many lessons as she wants/needs/is willing to take.

Tell her I said to have fun!

Awesome advice here other than a huge percentage of "NRA certified" instructors (really all instructors) know little to nothing and often teach the exact wrong thing. Be very careful who you get instruction from, red flags are "I know what I'm saying because I was a cop" or "my uncle was in the Navy and taught me". Ask where they got their training, who they continue to receive instruction from, what their accuracy standards are (sometimes just what type of target they use in class will tell you this), how they teach certain common manual of arms like reloads and checking to see if the gun is loaded (do they have a method to do it in low to no light?).

Resist the urge to buy "little guns" like the Smith air weight. Light small guns equal painful and hard to shoot. I understand her hands are small so a huge grip like a very soft shooting 2011 is out for her as are all double stack Glocks but some guns like the HK VP9 have a lot of grip adjustment down to fairly small.

As said though go to the range and see what she not only thinks she likes but see what she shoots well using the same drills on each gun to objectively judge it. People with no training (to include men that have owned guns for 20 years) often go with the "this feels good in my hand" while standing at the gun counter approach and it may not translate into shooting the gun well.

Also, how does she manipulate each? Have her run some reloads and malfunction clearance drills, something like the HK P30L has a very light slide to operate for a semi auto. If she can't learn one of several effective techniques to rack a slide as a smaller person with less grip strength than a revolver may be the better option provided she also learns how to run one of those beyond pulling the trigger on an already loaded gun.

 

[Bravo1413]

My wife is a small woman 118 pounds and around 5 ft 1 inch. Her hands are tiny also. Here’s a list of handguns I’ve tried her to consider using without success.
S&w ultra lite snub nose .38 spec.
Charter arms 32 h&r mag revolver
CZ P10 S 9mm

The Smith was the only one she’d fire more than on loading. I believe it was 15 total. Afterwards she had the makings of a slammed blood blister on her hand.

So any suggestions? Right now a pump 20 ga in our bedroom is she says she’d shoot again. I have my doubts she’d be successful with it beyond one round too because of the pumping action. It’s a personal protection style.

Open to suggestions.

Sig p365… also have comp option for reduced recoil. 12-17 rounds, depending on selection. I have both. Standard p365 will fit in your pocket and has 12 rnds. If she shoots a 38, she can easily shoot these.

 

[okietool]

PMR 30. Hornady Critical Defense
But she needs to choose it.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Actually I might recommend a Walther PPS or Walther CCP in 9 mm. They have a thin grips and with Liberty 50 grain +P's are very soft shooting. Great for small hands. The magazines are very easy to load, and the PPS comes with a variety of extended grip magazines. I like the PPS better since it is easier to break down and clean, however the CCP is softer shooting. Another benefit of the PPS is it comes with 3 different backstraps. The slide on the PPS is high, so very easy to get a grip on it.

 

[Chance S]

Glock 43, 6rd 9mm, Glock design lessons recoil, it's my EDC, very light.
They make a .380 too the G42

I'm a fan of the Glock 42. it's my wife's daily carry now