Need a new handgun for the Mrs.

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Ok, let me give you guys some background here, so you can get a feel for what we are looking for.

The Mrs. is about 5'9", and reasonably strong for a lady. She has a definite interest in firearms, and enjoys assisting me with cleaning my Bull Twenty. Lately I have been thinking that while my rifle is a wonderful range firearm, and is very versatile, but it is not "as easy" to wield for the Mrs. as a good pistol would be. Plus, if i am at the range, she is alone at home with our daughter with no protection, and I have to say that even though we are in a nice neighborhood, I am uncomfortable with that.

She has stated that she has fired revolvers in the past, and is very comfortable with them, however, she did handle a few different semi's at our local gun shop, and she state the way she liked those felt too.

So here is some criteria:

She prefers a medium, to full size pistol.

Pistol must have decent magazine capacity.

Pistol must have a "decent" round size (.40, .45, .38 - No mouse rounds please)

Pistol must have a smooth linear trigger pull without excessive weight.

Charging action must also be reasonably light, or easy to operate.

Pistol must have a good reliability record.

Any feedback you guys can provide, would be wonderful. Also, anything that can be had in girly colors (I know I know, the sexiest color IS black, but don't try to convince Mrs. "purple" that that is the case) would be a nice bonus.



Thanks in advance!

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Do you have a price range?

Semi-Auto
From Glock:
Glock 22 (full size) 15 round capacity
Glock 23 (compact/medium size) 13 round capacity
Both are .40 cal S&W and ammo is typically in abundance.
There is a subcompact but that would be smaller than your specs. You can pick these up anywhere from $300 (used, usually police trade ins) to $500. New will typically be $500 to $600. The quality of these guns are only questioned by the ignorant.

Generally any of the full size or compact glocks chambered in .40 or .45.

Same goes for Springfield XD series and the Smith & Wesson semi-autos chambered in those rounds.

Revolvers:
Ruger GP100 .357 magnum or .38 special (designed naturally to fire both as all .357 mag revolvers) so the Mrs. can choose to carry either type of ammunition, a mix, or whatever. Only 6 rounds though.... and it cost anywhere from $600 to $700.

If money is no issue and she wants a high capacity revolver:
Smith & Wesson 327PD, 8 round .357 and .38, typically found with a 4inch barrel although there is a 2 or 2.5in model as well. These guns are expensive in the $1000 range but they are lightweight in design and great and you may typically find them at dealers under $1000.

Also, consider the S&W Nightguard series in, .357/.38

If you really want her to have more than 6 rounds (or more than 8 in the case of the S&W 327PD) then you'll have to go with a semi-auto and I highly recommend Glock, Springfield, S&W.

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I myself personally never have liked Glocks, even though the only one I spent any amount of significant time with was a Glock22 .40.

I believe it was the tri-dot sight I disliked the most. Although it could have been simple allegiance to the M9 impacted my cerebral cortex. Who knows...



I will check out the pistols you have mentioned. Thanks for your time!

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It sounds like she is willing to go to the range and try some out so that would be her best bet. There are so many good options it is hard to go wrong.

As far as caliber, when she shoots different guns/calibers she can decide which ones she feels comfortable with. Decent capacity differs for each caliber. 7-15 for 45acp, 10-18 for 40SW and 12-20 for 9mm.

How is she going to use the gun? Is she going to carry it? OC, CC, in a pocket/purse or in the night stand only? I would recommend the biggest one (full size, caliber) that she is comfortable with unless she has a CC requirement.

As far as color, I wouldn't bother. I did NOT get my daughters the pink version of their gun (on purpose). I would show her stainless steel guns with rosewood, cocobola wood grips and see if she likes that. Of course stainless may be heavy for her. (helps with felt-recoil though)

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45acpForMe wrote:

It sounds like she is willing to go to the range and try some out so that would be her best bet. There are so many good options it is hard to go wrong.

As far as caliber, when she shoots different guns/calibers she can decide which ones she feels comfortable with. Decent capacity differs for each caliber. 7-15 for 45acp, 10-18 for 40SW and 12-20 for 9mm.

How is she going to use the gun? Is she going to carry it? OC, CC, in a pocket/purse or in the night stand only? I would recommend the biggest one (full size, caliber) that she is comfortable with unless she has a CC requirement.

As far as color, I wouldn't bother. I did NOT get my daughters the pink version of their gun (on purpose). I would show her stainless steel guns with rosewood, cocobola wood grips and see if she likes that. Of course stainless may be heavy for her. (helps with felt-recoil though)

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Thanks for all the input. Yeah, I am planning some range time for both of us actually. The only hinderance of course is that we have a 1 year old baby girl, and know next to nobody up here that we can rely on to watch her on a regular basis. So therefore it's one parent or the other off doing their thing. I might be able to have a buddies wife watch the little one for a couple of hours while we get her acquanted with a few different sidearms.

I am appreciating the feedback. This is primarily to have a ballpark idea of what exactly to eyeball in advance. I was battalion trainer for several weapons platforms, but alas I have next to no pistol experience. So I'm just kind of reaching out to broaden our horizons and set some goals. Thanks!


Edit: Is Sig Sauer really as good as claimed? Quality/Reliability/Ease of maintenance is very important.



Thanks again!

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slowfiveoh wrote:

Edit: Is Sig Sauer really as good as claimed? Quality/Reliability/Ease of maintenance is very important.

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Yes!

As far as accuracy, reliability it is one of the best I have owned. It also has a good reputation. The one pictured is my favorite pistol. Other 1911's with longer 5" barrels rival it for accuracy but breaking down the Sig is 10x easier and it has less parts to clean. Cleaning my 1911 takes 10 minutes, the Sig takes 2. Of course they aren't cheap. Other brands I have "heard" of that are on par with Sig are H&K's and most 1911's. 1911's have a crisp single action trigger so she probably won't like that based on your comments unless you get a Para with a LDA (light double action) trigger. Other people swear by revolvers (no jams when your life depends on it).

Cost is always an issue but if you shoot a gun and fall in love with it you can usually find a way to afford it. People say "How much is your life worth?" and while that is true, you always want to shoot the gun you are most comfortable/accurate with.

A cheaper gun that I have is a Taurus PT145 which has a longer lighter trigger pull. The Sig is 8+1 where the smaller Taurus is 10+1 (45acp) and has a thumb safety. There are so many good brands though it is hard to go wrong. Some people with swear off a certain manufacturer because of lemons but many others love the same gun.

Again she will need to determine what "she" is comfortable with. Unless she wants you to make the decision it might be worth backing off and letting her ask the questions to see what she is more interested in. Whatever she is more comfortable with will determine how often she will practice and be able to use it properly.


Taurus PT145 Millenium Pro (45acp, 10+1 DA/SA, thumb safety, loaded chamber indicator)

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I for one am a seious fan of the 1911....my actual carry gun is a Springfield 1911A1 in 45apc. I bought for my wife a Bersa Thunder 380 Plus.

I know you said no mouse guns but this gun has a little larger grip because of the 16 round stacked Mag. Also, it is a great conceal gun yet with 15+1 of corbon +p jhp's. These hot rounds are putting the little "mouse gun" on the same level as the standard 9mm. Something to consider. BTW, the Bersa's go for around 240.00 for a 7+1 and around 350 for a 15+1.

Now I know several woman who shoot 45's in 1911's.....just sayin...

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I have a buddy with a 1911. Pretty nice pistol, and I actually like the beaver tail safety too. I have thought about one, but i am simply trying to keep the options open. 1911's aren't cheap, but then again, the saying goes. Know what I mean?

Maybe this upcoming week i will take her to the local range here, and let her go hog wild until she finds "the one".

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Personally I would stay away from .380 acp's. There are so many other good options in "full size" 9mm or even better 40& 45. Plus I have yet to see any store having any .380 in stock.

New 1911's range in price from $500-$3000 with the majority mid-range $700-$1100. Taurus & Rock Island make decent low cost versions. I just thought the SAtrigger didn't meet your requirements. One other thing is "usually" smaller 1911 cost more than full size versions. I would also think their recoil would be worse than a full size model but haven't shot any. All my 1911's are 5" barrel.

Remember there is no law against owning more than one gun. You can buy for onepurpose such as a full size for home protection and add a CC smaller one in the future. When I started acquiring guns I bought a midsize which was too large for most CC and wound up buying smaller guns until I found the "one" that is my main CC gun (the Taurus). I then started buying larger full size guns like Sig P220, 1911s that I OC more.

One other note, with a small child at home invest in a gun locker, gun safe. I got a $99 gun locker from walmart (it won't stop a hardened criminal but it prevents my kids from getting to the guns). There are also small (1 or 2 gun size) safes for $100-$300 that you can keep next to your bed that have key + keypad or fingerprint readers. That way as your daughter gets older you can have easy/fast access to the gun without endangering her or her playmates as they visit your house. I use a $100 safe for the back of my Explorer since I don't havea trunk.

Edited to add: I don't enable the keypad and only use the key so that my kids don't sit there playing with it trying to figure out the code.

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I would recommened a Taurus Millennium. Its very smooth and takes care of business.

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The advice given earlier for taking your lady to the range and having her try out different pistols is spot on. If possible find a range that rents guns and spend (invest actually) the money for a bunch of different pistols in different calibers. She will find the one pistol/caliber combination that "fits" her the best and that she is most accurate with. Far better to spend a little and buy the right one than to waste a lot of money on a gun she doesn't want to use.

One thing I'd like to add to that... I know you didn't want any "mouse" calibers. But if your lady is super accurate with a lessor caliber than what you might have in mind...... well.... accurate shots with smaller bullets are more effective than missed shots with bigger bullets....

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While my primary carry gun is one of my Glock 23's, I do have others in my carry stable from which to chose a fine reliable defensive arm. Your criteria is rather specific and would suggest to me a really fine feeling and handling pistol such as the M&P40 Smith and Wesson. Out of the box, the trigger is over-weighted in my opinion. But it smooths out to a very nice feel after working it for around 2000+ times (not dry firing but working it from rest without the striker in its cocked condition). This is what I did to mine and it really paid off with a very nice feeling trigger for a duty or carry pistol. Also, the fact that the gun comes with three grip inserts for different hands is a real plus. The slide is easy to rack and has no binding or "catch" feel to it so it doesn't require a lot of hand strength to work it. Another nice feature is the magazines are easy to load to full capacity. They don't offer a lot of resistance to inserting rounds.

Have her try this gun out for feel and size, and if she can, go to a range where she can rent one to fire it. While not a full size, it is larger than a Glock 19/23, so it may just fit her needs to a 'T'.

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My wife would tell you to go with the XD subcompact. Springfield just came out with the xdM in a subcompact and that is what my wife wants next. It is called the 3.8

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45acpForMe wrote:

...Remember there is no law against owning more than one gun. You can buy for onepurpose such as a full size for home protection and add a CC smaller one in the future. When I started acquiring guns I bought a midsize which was too large for most CC and wound up buying smaller guns until I found the "one" that is my main CC gun (the Taurus). I then started buying larger full size guns like Sig P220, 1911s that I OC more.

One other note, with a small child at home invest in a gun locker, gun safe. I got a $99 gun locker from walmart (it won't stop a hardened criminal but it prevents my kids from getting to the guns). There are also small (1 or 2 gun size) safes for $100-$300 that you can keep next to your bed that have key + keypad or fingerprint readers. That way as your daughter gets older you can have easy/fast access to the gun without endangering her or her playmates as they visit your house. I use a $100 safe for the back of my Explorer since I don't havea trunk.

Edited to add: I don't enable the keypad and only use the key so that my kids don't sit there playing with it trying to figure out the code...

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Well, she "is" only 1 year old (In fact not 1 until next Monday!), but we already have a safe anyways. Like I have said before too, we don't really know too many people up here so not too many playmates for her lol.

Quick access is definitely a consideration. I am considering the biometric safe.



Bikenut wrote:

...One thing I'd like to add to that... I know you didn't want any "mouse" calibers. But if your lady is super accurate with a lessor caliber than what you might have in mind...... well.... accurate shots with smaller bullets are more effective than missed shots with bigger bullets....

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This could not be more true. As an Army Expert on several platforms, I personally agree wholeheartedly with this statement, and my combat experience certainly mirrors your comment. Remember Fallujah?



Ok so maybe I "do" need to consider some mouse rounds, or potentially even a 9mm, and just make sure she gets some good range time.



Lets open up the window of opportunity here. Something full-size, reliable, not too heavy a trigger pull, and any round is ok.

What do you guys think of Kel-Tec?

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Bikenut wrote:

...accurate shots with smaller bullets are more effective than missed shots with bigger bullets....

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While this is true, don't believe that any mouse-gun will do. Try them before buying. I have a NAA 32acp which is tiny in my hands. You would think that since it is a smaller caliber the recoil wouldn't be so bad. WRONG! The recoil tears at my trigger finger enough that after 25 rounds I dont WANT to shoot it anymore. It also has a very short barrel which makes it not so great as far as accuracy. At 3 yards I am lucky to hit within 3-4 inches of where I am aiming. Translate that out to 7 yards and you might not hit the paper (or perpetrator) at all.

So if you do decide on a smaller "more controllable" caliber, try the gun first and see how the recoil and accuracy are. Many of the smaller guns are designed for CC mode with a big trade off taken away from accuracy and shooting-fun.

I also have a Kahr MK40 which is more accurate and more fun than the NAA. It still has some recoil. It is another one of my CC guns and is a good gun. Would I recommend it? Not for your first/only gun especially since its capacity rivals a revolver.

Choose the biggest gun (barrel length, capacity & Caliber) that meets your criteria. I can shoot my Sigs all day and enjoy it. That enjoyment translates into how much practice your wife will WANT to do. Practice with a life-saving-device such as a firearm is essential to having it actually save a life! The more she likes shooting it the more she will practice and be able to use it properly.

Now my daughters have a Walther P22 (I own it since they are 11 & 13) and it is a good size for them. The caliber would be my main issue with that gun, because it is accurate enough and has a low recoil. It is DA/SA and the DA pull is too much for either of my daughters. So I/they have to cock the hammer before pulling the trigger the first time. Any normal person would seriously reconsider any action after being hit with any size bullet including a 22LR but thieves/rapists & murderers aren't your rational thinking "average person". You have to be able to stop the attack and a larger caliber gives you a better chance of doing just that. I don't want to get into a caliber pissing match and I am simply saying try different calibers and see what she can handle and choose the largest she can.

From what you have said so far I would recommend starting out with the Taurus. The same gun design/size is available for 9mm, 40, and 45. You get more capacity with the smaller calibers but 10+1 is nice for 45acp. Price starts around $350. If price isn't an issue you can look at the S&W MP line, Springfield XDm's and such. Sigs and 1911's will cost you more.

Edited to add picture: If you really think she would like color...... (yuck) The reason I didn't get color on my kids (it was available in hot pink) was that I NEVER wanted them to think of it as a toy. I grabbed the picture from another thread, so there are other "what gun to buy for the Mrs." threads out there to read.

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I have to state that actual combat experience really does prove the old adage though, that a well placed round is worth countless missed rounds.

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As someome who has seen combat....never needing to fire any rounds ever is the best of all outcomes.

You & the Mrs should read this.....might help....just sayin.....

http://www.gunthorp.com/Terminal%20Ballistics%20as%20viewed%20in%20a%20morgue.htm

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I have a Kel-tec PF9 . I like this little pistol a lot and it is more than accurate enough . I can hit a 6 inch gong at 50 yrds. 5 out of 7 shots. However , due to its very narrow profile , it does hurt after about 50 rounds .

It works great for a hideout gun , but it isn't a gun you want to shoot all day long.

I think the Glocks are good guns , I just don't like the grip angle. Everyone has given very good ideas. Now all you need to do is take her out and rent a few guns , and burn some ammo . What could be better ???? :celebrate

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UMMMMM....being snowed in with enough food & a fire in the fire place!! :dude::quirky:monkey

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I'd suggest the Ruger sr-9, my girlfriend can easily shoot it. It has a very very slim grip, with interchangable grip peices for prefrences, and it can hold 17 rounds.

I have shot up easily 400 rounds in mine and have never had a jam.