The real answer:

We don't know. Women come in all shapes and sizes and have a variety of preferences and goals in shooting. About the only thing we have in common are a couple of x chromosomes.

But to help well meaning guys narrow it down..let's have a thread to help..and help avoid the weekly question..and keep in mind, these apply to all shooters, not just those with boobs.

1.) Does the person want a gun? If the answer is no, the best answer is no gun at all. You wanting her to have a gun doesn't count. In this situation, the best I'd recommend is teaching her to use one of yours in case of a home invasion or zombie attack, but bottom line: She doesn't want a gun..she shouldn't have one.

2.) Has the person ever shot a gun or shot enough to be comfortable with one? If the answer is no, you're not even close to the point of buying a gun. She needs to find some quality training and get a feel for a variety of guns before she can choose one.

3.) What is the purpose of the gun? Self-defense? Fun? Plinking? Home-defense? Competition? Zombies?

4.) What physical limitations might the person have? If she's not missing a hand or doesn't have a disability like arthritis, or something similar, there's no reason she can't shoot a semi-automatic, despite the widely held belief that women can't rack the slide on semis.

5.) Lighter guns recoil more. The laws of physics still apply, regardless of estrogen levels.

6.) Putting the word Lady in a gun's name, or painting it pink does not make it the ideal gun for a woman. Those are marketing ploys, not realities.

7.) If a woman can handle driving a car, she can figure out how to clean a semi-automatic firearm. If she wants a revolver, cool..but that needs to be her choice. Revolvers have limited capacity. If she's comfortable with 5 or 6 rounds, that's her call. Personally, I'm not that good a shot and prefer to have a few extra rounds to make my point if necessary.

8.) The best pistol for a woman might be a rifle or shotgun, if she's not going to carry it. Personally, I hate shooting pistols. It's a chore. I like shooting rifles. Part of shooting is enjoying it. She needs to figure out what she enjoys.

Ok, let's hear from the rest of the women here..

I like everything you said.

I will add that no man would want someone else choosing his firearm through forceful suggestion of a person who has more knowledge and skill. Same goes for a lady. She will be the best equipped when you allow her the space and freedom to pursue the firearm she likes best.

And some ladies LIKE pink guns. I'll tell you that if that's the only way she will learn and shoot, buy her any pink gun she wants. You're a lucky guy to have your lady with you voluntarily ;)

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Good suggestions.  

I'd also add that it usually isn't a good idea to teach your own wife/gf to shoot.  Find her a class for women or get a trusted mutual friend to help her, but doing it yourself is asking for strain on the relationship.  

It can not be stressed strongly enough that all women are different and prefer different firearms.  Do not push her towards a gun that you think is best for her, and do not assume that she can't handle a specific gun because she is small.  The recoil from a .45 probably won't break her.  The size of the gun is more of a problem when she is concealing it.

The truth!!

This is also a good idea. I'm helping my buddy teach his wife right now. He started her on a S&W Sigma .40cal. Needless to say she hated shooting... well it wasn't shooting she hated it was that sigma. I took them both to my local range. I started her out on 2 rounds fired from my XD subcompact .40  she cried and whined about the kick and the sheer concussion of the 3" barrel.

I did this for a reason then I let her shoot 1 round from my glock... her next 100+ rounds were fired from my 9mm Glock 17 RTF2 which she completely fell in love with.

Now the wife who never wanted to even see us clean our guns... wants her own Glock and doesn't wanna miss out on going to the range with us.

Let her decide on who teaches her, too. I know women who are only comfortable with their husbands/BFs teaching them.

I was just ranting (love you guys, really) about this the other day...  what a great thread!    

no one-size-fits-all answer - she has an opinion - etc.  




ETA:  "love you guys" was directed at the guys, not the girls in the thread - ladies, you KNOW I love you.    but I didn't want anyone's feelings hurt that I was ranting about a "what to I get her" thread.    I was sleepy, hungry, something.  I rant.  it's what I do.  

Any recommendations for a good shotgun?  I'm considering buying one but I don't know anything about them and I'd like to choose something relatively light and easy to handle.  I'll be going to some classes next year with a few friends.  At this time, it will be a home defense / range practice gun.

Check your email.




 

Thanks!

I went to buy me and my g/f new guns and picked her out a .38 s&w, she saw it and said no quickly, she picked out a taurus 24/7 oss tactical .40 so i bought the same gun but a .45 for myself and honestly ended up falling in love with the guns, and she shot the large framed gun great, first day out knocking over cans at 25 yds, suprised the heck out of me, now she is taking over my ar15, once again suprised but loving it. So next week i'm going to get me another AR and giving her my current one, main thing is she's comfortable with the guns so she shoots them well. She shot my 8mm mauser about a year ago and said she would never shoot another rifle, so glad to see that it didn't turn her off from long guns all-together.

my wife just picked out her first handgun and she piced out a glock 19 with factory night sights and is very happy with it shes taking the weapons permit class soon as well

 very cool!!!  tell her we said that she needs a screen name now.  

A gun is like a pair of shoes. You have to try them out before you find what fits you best.

Also, you can always have any pistol/rifle/shotgun/etc colored with Duracoat or any other Finish. Find something she finds comfortable, then you can paint it whatever color she wants. Sure it's about $100 more than stock, but if she's shooting, and she's happy with it... isn't that what you're going for anyway?

Such a letdown... I was hoping you were going to tell me what gun to buy

Just a little harder please.....



( I'll leave now before I get in real trouble....  )

Well if you insist here goes. first I would suggest a Colt Lawman. Great for carrying under a jacket. I would also suggest the S&W 25-2. A great revolver for laying down the law. I would also suggest the S&W M&P in 9mm. If you are looking for something in 380 I would suggest the Sig 232. Of course if you must scare people then a V-16 long slide in 45 super just may rock your boat.

Hope this helps.

My daughter and I wanted to learn to shoot and become licensed carriers.  We started off by taking a local NRA pistol course.  Turns out we were the only 2 people in the class, so we got some really good training one-on-one with our instructor.  He brought several of his own pistols to let us try, he was really great.

We  also rented some different pistols at the range and tried out several before deciding on "ours."  We didn't have anyone in our family that was a shooter, so we had to get outside help.  And it turned out well.

I ended up getting a .380 Walther PPK, my daughter got a 9mm Glock.  I had a little trouble for a while getting .380 ammo, but I had already purchased "enough" so I didn't ever run short.  When we took our CHL class, we were the 2 best shooters out of a class of 20.  

I'm really happy with my Glock 19.

I really wish I could get my wife away from FB long enough to sign up here and check out this forum.  I have been doing my best to help her find a handgun she really likes.  She has a 5 shot snub nose .357 she got for home defense after I went away on a trip.  I don't think she really cares for it, but she agrees that up close, its better than a pointy stick.  She had a Colt Pony .380 that recently she decided she didn't like because the trigger pull was long and heavy.  So we sold the Pony and agreed to find her something else.  The only other thing she has really shot is my FNP-9.  I don't know if she really had an opinion for that one.  The one gun she really liked is the Walther P22.  She really seems to like the grip and the way it feels.  She doesn't have large hands so I think she would like a smaller pistol.  And one thing is for sure.  She hates the color pink.  Now make it purple, and you have her attention.  

Small hands don't mean a small pistol. Small, light pistols suck to shoot. They have their uses but fun isn't one of them.

Maybe you should let her try a rifle. Like I said up there, I don't enjoy pistols. Love me some rifle shooting, though.

She actually does very well with a rifle.  I try to get her to shoot any thing and everything whenever I can.

I've always compared buying a gun to that of buying a pair of shoes.  It's all in the fit. If it don't fit then you don't buy it no matter how good or neat it may be. Can't hit what you are shooting at if it doesn't fit in one's hand properly. Of course coming from a barefoot country girl YMMV.

Take her to a range where she can try several pistols and decide which she likes best.  

My wife is about 5’3”.  I decided to teach her how to shoot a .32 Mauser HSc my dad brought back from WWII (now lost in a tragic boating accident).  I thought that since it was a small gun with small caliber bullets (not much recoil), she would be able to handle it.  At 10 feet, she could not hit a 3’x3’ piece of cardboard.  When I gave her my .45 M1911, she emptied the magazine into a 4” circle.  While not precision shooting, I would not want to be a BG on the muzzle end.  Her reaction was “I like this one.  Can we get me one of these?”

Could you elaborate on this please? (Along with any other ladies who may have had similar experiences). I will be taking my gf to the range soon and we will be renting. For the same reasons you stated I was going to start her out with a .22. When she tried the .45 did she do anything differently than when she shot the .22, such as changing her grip or stance?


 

What's fun is the guys at the range asking what you are shooting and seeing their faces when you tell them 45 or 44mag.

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Or an M1.

True. Maybe not best idea comparing guns to shoes in the female forum unless you wanna whole bunch of guns that will kill your hands the one time you wear I mean shoot it.
Seriously tho a lot of good info here to maintain a healthy relationship. Mine luckily likes to shoot. Were shooting 22 she has shot 9 and .45 a lil much for here. I could kill my dad for letting her shoot his python or my uncle for his n frame both in .38 now she wants one $$$

I got my girlfriend a Browning Buckmark a while back and last weekend we bumped things up to a Beretta PX4 compact.  She seems to enjoy shooting quite a bit and the PX4's frame matches her own short and curvy build :3

As stated on another board, the way a guy needs to buy his (new shooter) lady a gun is:

When she is ready to buy, take her to lunch.  Take her to the gun store.  Introduce her to the correct counter help person/store owner (very important, IMHO - make sure it's someone who doesn't talk down to newbies and women, etc).  Hand her the credit card.  Go browse the ammo racks.  Check in every fifteen minutes or so to see if she's excited about something.  When she's picked something, go back to the ammo rack and get a bunch of ammo for the gun she's picked.

Sign the credit slip, if your name is on the card.

Too easy.  Let her do it.  She knows how to buy stuff, you don't need to do it for her.

If your lady is already a shooter, she'll tell you what she wants.  Just make sure it shows up for the appropriate birthday/holiday/event.  :D

Defcon pointed me over to this forum.  For the ladies I have a question.  I know there is no be all end all CCW for ladies.  I want to get my wife her own CCW and I think just getting her out to the range with me is a great starting point to show her how fun shooting is and something we can do together, not just something I do.  What I'm interested in is what do y'all currently carry?  

I want to do some research and merely point my wife in the right direction when we decide to get her a gun.  She has shot a few of my guns before but not for a while.  She likes my 92FS as the slide is easier to manipulate than my XD SubCompact, which she likes the look of.  I dont see her grabbing up my 1911 but hell who knows.  She does keep bugging me about a .50 DEagle .  I give her the 'not sure if serious look'.

I carry a Kahr PM9, but it kicks like a mule.  I love it, but all my friends hate it.  sooooooo, ymmv.  

Glock 19, usually. Glock 17 if I can get away with it.

Donne, do you get the same recoil when using the seven round mags or does the extra little grip negate some of the recoil for you?

thanks
9's

I hold onto it pretty darn tightly, so the recoil is mitigated with each of the magazines, but no, I haven't noticed a difference between the two...

I don't comment a lot, but when I do, it's usually to +1 someone else.   Here, I think DragonGoddess makes an excellent point!  

Let's face it - guns have price tags and the depreciation goes into effect as soon as you blow your first rounds through them (just like scuffing up the sole of a pair of D&G pumps - you don't get to just return them after they've given you blisters).  
I guess what I'm saying is, you don't want to throw a few hundred dollars at something she may not appreciate - in other words, a gun shouldn't be a surprise gift...

Unless you know what she wants... and that's the trick to find out!  


Personally, I began to benefit from visiting the range with my husband, who's an officer.  He and his buddies had a really good collection to play with - lots of calibers - and no one minded sharing the opportunity to put live ammo through them.  (Which is way better than just cuddling them at the gun store)  Being able to compare on the spot - what they weighed, how they kicked, how to control them - was really the best way to go....

Just my $.02~  :)

personally for a hand gun i like to go small cause i wear tight jeans. I like the Ruger LC9 (in black). Just for fun... I am a fan of the Ar15 that my company makes. My man prefers his AK-47.

I'm in the "shop for a gun like you shop for shoes" camp (as stated upthread).
What feels great to me, may not feel so hot to someone else. Just because I said "New Balance sneakers are the bombdiggity", you wouldn't go out and buy a pair without trying them on to see if YOU liked them. Our hands are just as different as our feet... try all the guns on, first.

Personally, I like to carry a 1911. I usually rip the stock grips off and slap some slim ones on. But I rotate my carry between a 3", 4", and 4.25" currently, depending on what I'm wearing.
Here's a helpful site (skip on down to "Choosing Firearms") : http://www.corneredcat.com/Contents/

I have an FFL and sell a few handguns in my pawnshop. I see guys dragging their ladies to the gun counter all the time. They always seem to steer the woman –– usually an inexperienced shooter –– toward the ultra-small guns like the Kel-Tec P3AT or Ruger LCP. In the past I have tried to suggest that consider something larger/heavier. I based this advice on comments that others have made that those small .380s had a lot of recoil.

Despite giving this advice nearly every day, I realized I had no personal experience with this size package. (My wife has a .32 Kel-Tec, and I have shot that.) I decided it was time to experience it myself. We had a used P3AT in the store so I took it to the range. All I can say is "DAMN!" I managed to put two magazines of practice ammo into a reasonably small group at 7 yards but after that, I was done. I could barely hold onto the little thing.

So, with two magazines experience with the LCP/P3AT size .380 pistols, I have this to say: THIS IS NOT A GUN FOR A BEGINNER! These are deep concealment/back-up guns for the experienced shooter. Ladies: do not allow your man to talk you into one of these. I do not believe you will like it. I'm a 250-pound guy and an experience shooter. I did not like the P3AT at all. Do NOT want . . .


BTW, this experience came after introducing my wife to pistol shooting a couple of years ago. When she decided she was ready to learn, we went to the range with a variety of handguns that I thought she might like (or that I wanted her to try). My wife has small hands and suffers from pretty bad arthritis in her hands and fingers.

Basically, this was her reaction:

Ruger Mark II Government Target .22 –– initially, she thought it was too heavy. It quickly became a favorite. She started calling it "my gun."
Bersa .22 –– she liked this one, too.
Smith and Wesson Model 65 .357 magnum –– she liked this one, too (loaded with .38 special, standard velocity). Initially, she complained that the grips were too large. I bought smaller grips and this became another "my gun."
Smith and Wesson 638 Airweight .38 special. –– I think she managed one cylinder and said, "never again."
Glock 19, 9mm –– recoil was too snappy for her. She did not like it.
Browning High Power, 9mm –– Better than the Glock, but still too snappy
Kimber 1911, .45 –– I think she fired one round. It scared her.

At some point, I picked up a Kel-Tec P32 just for her to try. She likes it and now considers that absolutely "her gun." In fact, she keeps it in her dresser drawer and maintains it herself.


Personally, I think my wife's P32 is too ineffective to rely on for self defense but I accept it in the spirit of the best gun being the one you have on you. She doesn't carry it often, though. She does however carry a can of pepper spray and a Taser C2. The Taser is good because she works in a posted building so guns aren't  allowed. The Taser is not considered a weapon so she's GTG.

FWIW, at my store, I try to steer the ladies toward the Bersa Thunder .380. It's probably bigger/heavier than most woman want to carry, but it's big enough and heavy enough to absorb recoil and hold onto while firing. It's also a good size for a lady's hands. Honestly, this is another recommendation that is based purely on theory (I haven't actually shot a Bersa .380), but my customers say they (and their wives) like them. I do own a Bersa .22 that is the same size, and I like it. My wife does, too.

A couple of other points I'd like to make . . .

1.) I believe the reason the tiny .380s are so popular with guys is because they don't want to make a commitment to carrying a gun. They want something they can put in their pocket. That is the overriding consideration. You can't do that if you want to carry a "real gun." Almost any gun can be carried concealed with minimal discomfort/inconvenience IF you're willing to adapt your clothing choices to carrying a gun. Loose fitting clothing, untucked shirt, heavy belt and a good holster . . . all of this and more are necessary to carry an effective gun. I understand that it's one thing for a 250-pound guy to get away with this. It's something else for a lady to adopt this "look." That's probably the reason for the popularity of purse carry for women . .. . but that raises all sorts of security/safety issues. Just another example of how women do not have it easy . . .

2.) I want to reinforce the Taser C2 idea. If a person (male or female) really isn't comfortable with the idea of using deadly force, the Taser is one of the most effective self-defense tools on the market. It fires leads up to 15 feet away and incapacitates an attacker for 30 seconds. Taser recommends that you fire the device, drop it and run away. File a police report and if the cops don't recover your Taser from the scene, send a copy of the police report to the manufacturer. They'll replace  your unit free. Again, in many jurisdictions, a Taser is not a weapon, so they can be carried in posted buildings (we live in a state capital, so this is an important point, what with all the government buildings around here.)

Better to take her shopping and let her decide what feels right in her hand, rather than guessing. Choosing poorly can be expensive.

Bring your checkbook with you, sometimes we have better taste in weaponry than men do.   Example my EX. wanted to get me a CC for my B-day,  I picked a .45 ACP 1911 Kimber Ultra Tactical.     His orginal plan was an 9mm XD SubCompact.    

My girl has small hands.... not good for jerking off.. but makes sense for an 1911 style 22, 9mm.
She owns an STI Target Master now... and I tell to grip it with 2 hands firmly

This isn't the GD, we don't need that info here.

.38 pink snubbie FTW

Very good info here. I'm an instructor and what I tell female students isn't much different from what I tell guys just getting into shooting. Try a number of different guns and what works for you is the answer. You can't do that in a gun shop. You need to rent them at a range or find folks that will let you try their gun.

I also have a list of places to refer women, corneredcat.com, faliaphotography, limatunes always come to mind first as they have a wealth of information for women. The latter two are on YouTube but due to their recently announced policy YouTube may remove them and we may all have to go search for them somewhere else.

We were in a gunshop and my Wife saw a particular model Ruger 10/22 and told me that she liked it. I told her to buy it and I think that she thought that I'd do the paperwork, no . . . I pointed to the counter and told her to buy it if she wanted it. We own 2 other 10/22s so she was very familiar with them and likes them. We were in another shop and she liked how the Sig P938 handled (but never shot it). So did I so I ordered one as LE (~$200 cheaper than that shop price) but she hasn't shot it yet. I'm thinking that rubber Hogue grips are most appropriate for it because I'll admit that after a few mags, my hand stings. So I'll change out the grips and then ask her to give it a try.

It's a lot better to help them try out a number of guns and then let them buy it for themselves. If it is a gift, buy a gift card for your favorite gun shop so she can use that to do the purchase.

There's a good article in the latest USCCA magazine where the female writer tells us guys to let her decide if and what she wants.
It's akin to her telling us what car to buy and us telling her what purse or makeup to buy.
My wife doesn't mind me having guns but she's afraid of going to the gun range, so I don't push it.
I'd like for her to be able to handle one of my weapons if I'm not around and something goes down, but that's not her style.

Agree with you.