[DaSpence]

So today I took my wife to an indoor shooting range today here in Texas to fire her first gun (92SF 9mm Baretta) that we rented at the range and amazingly shot very very well. After going through boxes and boxes of ammo she finally got her fix and we were able to leave but the whole way home she kept saying she wants a pistol now. What would you reccomend? I really dont want a Baretta because I had one in Iraq and could careless ever seeing one again but I would like to stay with a 9mm and around $500. Thanks for any input.

[Sidewinder]

SW99 or P99 great 9mm

[jcbell1007]

If she doesn't care what caliber, the Walther p22 is a lot of fun and cheap to shoot and own.

don't hang me for it, but if she just wants a simple and reliable gun, go with a glock 19.

[cbr_chick_nh]

Hand gun preference is way too personal. I have a Taurus 92FS which is obviously the same exact thing... so she can have the 'same' gun but different name...
Also, I would strongly consider the new Springfield Arms XD line... they are very affordable, reliable, and come as a set. Case, belt holster, mag loader, and 2 mags... It is a really nice set, for just about $500. They were rated pistol of the year last year I believe according to Guns&Ammo. They are also one of the most customizable pistols out there. I don't have their 9mm, but have the .45 compact - and absolutely love it!

Let us know what you pick!

[636]

Originally Posted by cbr_chick_nh

Hand gun preference is way too personal. I have a Taurus 92FS which is obviously the same exact thing... so she can have the 'same' gun but different name...
Also, I would strongly consider the new Springfield Arms XD line... they are very affordable, reliable, and come as a set. Case, belt holster, mag loader, and 2 mags... It is a really nice set, for just about $500. They were rated pistol of the year last year I believe according to Guns&Ammo. They are also one of the most customizable pistols out there. I don't have their 9mm, but have the .45 compact - and absolutely love it!

Let us know what you pick!

they are nice weapons,good advice....buds gun shop has them for 439.00 delivered.....

[nefarious]

Sig 239, Ruger Mark III (not a 9 but fun as hell) or the HK p2000. Does she have small hands? My girl wanted a Baretta but its just not the right size for her. She shoots my Kimber really well, but thats because the trigger is doing a lot of the work for her.

I would suggest renting a few more guns, or grabbing a friend that has a nice collection and heading back. Also, can she fire that Baretta with out tea cupping it like that? May be a good argument against it if she can't.

[Gilly1331]

It depends on what caliber she feels comfortable with. Glocks are very reliable and will shoot no matter what I have the 9mm but hated the 40 when I had to carry for work, Kimbers are my absolute fav fun to shoot very easy on the hands with very little recoil with a nice semi large round, but if she is looking for something small like a .32 or 380 a seecamp, ruger, kel-tec are all nice as well for the smaller sized calibers. Have her shoot several different calibers and several different guns to see what she likes best then go out and look for one to buy.

[Tricky Mike]

+1 on the Springfield XD. Wish I could get one in MA.
Pretty much impossible to go wrong with a SIG, but you'd have to get one used to compete with the price of the XD. Easiest route is probably to pick out a couple candidates and tak her back to try them out at the range.

[Nikon]

need more pics of your wife to better decide on a weapon that will suit her....

[Brian675]

Sig all the way. P229 or P239 I have both one in 9mm and the other in 357 sig. 357 sig is a crazy round, has great stats, and highly recommended.

.357 SIG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Evil_Weasel]

ha! i know what you mean about the Gov. issue Barettas. why would the military adobt such a horrid little gun? too many pieces as well.

I've owned both SIGs and H&K USPs and they are great for people with small hands. I preffered .40 but they shoot just as nice with 9mm. and 9mm is cheaper. so those are my recomendations for "girl guns". though the best bet is to take her to the local gun shop and let her find one she likes.

Once i bought my Kimber Tactical 2 1911 i sold off the rest of my collection. that .45 is by far the best shooting pistol i've ever owned. it's all the gun i could ever need.

[MuddyBlonde]

I'm certainly no expert but own a handgun and am pretty good with it. My method isn't very scientific (and forgive me all you gun experts for taking this approach!) but just like a pair of boots, the fit has to be right. So when I was in the market I held as many pistols as the store had. The one that fit my hands the best was the Stoeger Couger. It was also pretty easy to take apart for cleaning and put back together again. (There's a term for that, I forgot. Something about stripping.)

Ever the pragmatist, after pricing ammo I went with 9mm. Everybody was telling me to go .40 cal, but I figured if ammo was cheap I'd be more likely to practice. I suspect the guys who recommended a .45 just wanted to see my chest shake with the recoil. Boys!

I'm 5-8 and 132#, so could handle the Beretta, Glock etc. But with the Stoeger I can almost wrap my fingers around the grip; I like the secure feeling it gives me.

Fran

[G21forme]

What's the intended purpose? Home defense, range only, or ccw weapon? This is really the first thing you need to decide however there are of course great choices that will work well for all 3. For example I have a g26 for summer carry, a modded g34 for competition and a g21 for the house and winter. As far as brands go HK, glock, sig, xd, walther, smith (stick to the m&p line) and you won't be disappointed, find a good gun store and handle everything you can get your hands on and find something that fits your hands and then go to the range and rent a few of your top choices. Just make sure you dry fire your test guns to find a trigger you like.

try these

glock 19/23 17/22
HK usp usp/compact
sig 226 229
xd compact and service models
walther p99 or an s&w 99
smith m&p 9/40

I didn't list 1911 because .45 is expensive

p.s.

eta
Just saw your price range so the hk/sig/walther are out but you should be able to find a glock/m&p/xd for 5-change only thing is I'm not sure about glocks as far as the whole "mass compliant" bull shit. If you like the ergos of the p99 check out smiths sw99 because walther makes frames for smith but they make their own slides (last time I checked) and I wanna say it's 100$-150$ less. iirc

[Ducrappy]

Congrats on getting the wife into shooting Spence

I personally love my Sig P229 and P239, but my girlfriend has a problem racking the slide on both.

A lot of the guys on SigForum.com say that their wives really like the new P250, as the slide is easier to rack than all of the other sigs, but these are just a tad over your intended price range.

Are there other pistols that you can rent at the range? If so, let her try as many as possible and let her choose. Try not to steer her away from anything based on your feelings alone, even if she likes the Beretta.

FWIW, my girlfriend enjoys her Walther P22, but that's far from a 9mm

Oh, and work on her grip next.

[Omahastylin16]

i recommend the S&W semi autos. I have both a sigma and and M&P both in .40 caliber and both come in 9mm as well. the sigma is a lil eh for feel, just like a glock, but its very reliable and shoots well. The price tag is also reasonable at right around $400.

The M&P on the other hand is my favorite handgun, very comfortable to hold and comes with 3 different sized grips for you to decide which you prefer. It was named handgun of the year in 2007 and has had quite a bit of attention in handgun magazines

[MattyC]

Get her the S+W model 500 snubby. Fits in her purse and nobody will f*ck with her. Just kidding.

[Ducrappy]

Originally Posted by MuddyBlonde

My method isn't very scientific (and forgive me all you gun experts for taking this approach!) but just like a pair of boots, the fit has to be right. So when I was in the market I held as many pistols as the store had.

This is great advice

[mondos06cbr1000]

H&K baby....

but whatever feels better for her..

but i agree, M-9 sucks balls, I hate the fact we carry it

[dhuze]

I love the XD series. I have small hands (they are great. They make small boobs look bigger) and it is one of the few double stacks that I can hold comfortably. The XD-9 has a 16 round capacity and they just added a thumb safety.
I also have a Taurus PT-908 which is a single stack and holds 8+1 I believe. Taurus's have a lifetime guarentee and are made in Florida even though they are technically Brazilian , but so is the Springfield XD.
I hear great things on the Glock , but The ones I shot failed to chamber on almost every magazine and did not impress me one bit.
I never shot any of the S&W MP's, It was between that and the XD and I went with the XD because it got great reviews.

[dhuze]

Originally Posted by MuddyBlonde

I'm certainly no expert but own a handgun and am pretty good with it. My method isn't very scientific (and forgive me all you gun experts for taking this approach!) but just like a pair of boots, the fit has to be right. ................... (There's a term for that, I forgot. Something about stripping.)...........


I'm 5-8 and 132#, so could handle the Beretta, Glock etc. But with the Stoeger I can almost wrap my fingers around the grip; I like the secure feeling it gives me.

Fran

That is great advice. I buy most handguns that way, but I also buy some just because I like them. The Mass state police switched to Sigs Because you could get the same handgun in small , medium, or large frame to better fit the individual officers while keeping them all the same.

If you have small hands a revolver will always fit.

Did you mean field stripping?

[DaSpence]

Thank you all for your advice. We ended up going into some gun shops yesterday and she held quite a few pistols and the Taurus is the one she liked the most and also the Sig. What are your thoughts of buying used? Pawn shop? There were some nice Sigs at a pawn shop that we went to that were around $450...But for that I also could get a new Taurus. Thanks.

The guy at the gun shop said he wouldnt reccomend an XD because of the internal safetys I believe he said it would be easier for her to handle having an external safety....My wife keeps telling me that she wants something that we could both use but I rather have her fitted to the gun over my own wants.

BTW that gun is for range only

[SSearchVT]

Have you looked at some of the 22's - if you're looking to get good at targets, the small, light, easy and cheap to shoot route might be the way to go. The handgun itself can be picked up very inexpensively - and won't lose very much on a trade or private sale.

[dhuze]

Originally Posted by DaSpence

Thank you all for your advice. We ended up going into some gun shops yesterday and she held quite a few pistols and the Taurus is the one she liked the most and also the Sig. What are your thoughts of buying used? Pawn shop? There were some nice Sigs at a pawn shop that we went to that were around $450...But for that I also could get a new Taurus. Thanks.

The guy at the gun shop said he wouldnt reccomend an XD because of the internal safetys I believe he said it would be easier for her to handle having an external safety....My wife keeps telling me that she wants something that we could both use but I rather have her fitted to the gun over my own wants.

BTW that gun is for range only

A used Taurus is still warrantied for life. I don't know anything about sigs.
The safeties on an XD are similar to a Glock. It has a grip safety and a trigger safety. which means the gun will fire if you are holding it and pulling the trigger. They just added a thumb safety recently so it will have 3 now. I don't consider a grip safety or the trigger one safeties myself since all you need to be doing is holding it. They only prevent accidental discharge from bumps or drops.

If she has small hands and your are larger You will have no problems with a smaller gun, but she would with a larger one.

[dhuze]

Hey you need to change her grip too. Don't have her put her hand under the magazine. She should be using the "push pull method". Hands over each other with her right thumb on top of the safety. The right hand pushing forward while the left hend pulls back. That is a more stable and accurate way to hold and shoot a handgun. You may as well have her place her feet about shoulder width apart with her left foot slightly forward too. That is the Isosceles stance.

[DaSpence]

Originally Posted by dhuze

Hey you need to change her grip too. Don't have her put her hand under the magazine. She should be using the "push pull method". Hands over each other with her right thumb on top of the safety. The right hand pushing forward while the left hend pulls back. That is a more stable and accurate way to hold and shoot a handgun. You may as well have her place her feet about shoulder width apart with her left foot slightly forward too. That is the Isosceles stance.

The push pull method was the first grip I showed her and she didnt like it, she said she felt more comfortable doing the 'cup and saucer' grip...Im going to try to get her to drop the habit I regret showing her an alternative because the hands over eachother I believe is a lot better.

She was funny because when we went to return the pistol she told the guy next time shes gonna shoot the shotgun and the M4....Since we are coming back to MA next week for 2 weeks we are gonna buy a pistol when we come back to Texas. I will let you know what we get. Time to do some researching


Thanks again all!