I'm trying to help my daughter, who wants to get her CHL, find a new carry piece. She likes the simplicity of a revolver, but does not like the recoil of my J-frame nor the LCR. She also finds the trigger on both very difficult to pull. She actually needs both index fingers to shoot them.

She shoots my wife's P238 just fine, but with the difficulty in finding .380 ammo, the cost of said ammo, and the 238's manual of arms, it's not really a candidate either.

I know she can pull the trigger on a P250, but it's my understanding the P290RS has a heavier one. How much so? Is the slide difficult the rack compared to the 238? FWIW, she doesn't have much problem with the Shield, but just can't seem to warm up to it.

Other candidates are the Kahr CM9 or XDs9, but I like the re-strike capability of the P290RS, along with the "safety" of the long trigger pull and the ability to cover the hammer when holstering.

Obviously, the choice will come down to what she can operate comfortably, but if the trigger on the 290 is comparable in pull weight to a LCR or J-frame, and/or the slide is harder to manipulate than the Shield, it's not going to work for her.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks for the link!

I do see your post in there about the slide being tough to rack though. I guess we'll have to find a store that has one when she comes in for Thanksgiving. I know recoil is a subjective thing, but if you've fired a Shield, how would you compare the 290 to it?

FWIW, she has a Taurus TCP, and has no objections to it's recoil, but it's just too small and she shot the Shield better.

SIG rates the trigger pull of the

p290 @ +/- 9# (it's DAO)

and

p250 @ 5.5 - 6.5 #

We'll just have to go to the store and have her try one. I believe in some cases, grip size, shape, and trigger type can have an effect on what the trigger pull actually feels like.

Thanks.

One of the crappy things about her TCP is the essentially non-existent sights, so it's good the 290 has real ones. Although she has small hands, the TCP is actually too small, so she wants something a bit bigger, but not too large as she's very small herself.

Thanks again for the info.

The P-250 Chambered in 9mm is easy for women to rack the slide.
Also with the small grip frame fits my wifes small hands very good

My wife carries the P290 in .380.  The slide is easy for her to rack.  Ammo, Luckygunner.com, ammunitiontogo.com, ammoman.com  all have lots of .380 ammo.  Get a 500 pack of ball to practice with and then a couple boxes of Winchester Silvertip and you should be good to go.

OK I handled two today. One was the .380, the other 9mm.

I thought the trigger was fine on both, but the slide was much easier to rack on the .380. Will have to wait and see if my daughter can work the slide on the 9 when she's in next.

I do have another question or maybe concern about the P290RS though. On neither pistol would the slide lock back on an empty magazine. Does the 290 not have that feature?

I could not recall if it does for sure so I just tested mine. Mine does lock back on an empty mag.

I have found most SIGs to have "tight" springs/slides when they are new. My opinion is the slide gets easier to pull back after a couple hundred rounds of shooting.

You mentioned she likes the P238. Why not the P938?

While the slide will likely become easier to rack, it still should lock back on an empty mag if it's designed to do so. It's not  a design feature I'd require on this type of pistol, but I am concerned that two new pistols might be exhibiting some sort of QC issue. Since yours does lock back, it would seem there may be an issue with both the pistols I handled.

As far as the 938 goes, I'd prefer something with a different manual of arms for her. I started with BHP's so it is not a big deal for me, but IMO it is something that requires more practice and muscle memory and can be less forgiving.

Best

well if you do decide on a 290rs, find a ffl that can get you the lipsey deal

p226 or p229 extreme and p290rs for 959 (+ what ever the dealer adds)