I'm in the process of starting up an indoor range and gun store. So far there has been a lot of interest and excitment by women that my wife and I know. Most of these women are very intrerested in getting a handgun for personal protection. Along with the handgun purchase advice they are looking for firearms training.

Since I am a man and have rather large hands, I do not have very much experience with spec'ing out a handgun suitable for CCW for a woman. Any chance I can get some advice on what handguns to offer and why?

Thanks in advance,

Bomber

oooooh where in VA?

come on NoVA!  Momma needs a new place to shoot......

Winchester Area.......any handgun recommendations?

Bomber

oops, sorry...got too over-excited.

I'm no help.  I carry a glock 23.  

wait!  I can help!  Here's a thread we did a while back:

archive.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=71&t=287535

Together w/ the fresh input this thread generates and you should be on your way.

I would say offer a variety, no one selection is good for all women.

What I have that I like:

I love my 1911, I put a short trigger in it and it fits me perfectly even though I've got short fingers, but I did fine with the stock trigger too. I put on women's shooting clinics and for those who attend the longer ones they get the chance to shoot everything we've got and I'd say 80% of them like the 1911 best.

I really like my walther P-99, it runs flawlessly over 5k rounds without failure in the past year. The interchangeable backstrap makes it a nice choice because you can use whichever backstrap fits your hand best. I use the small, my husband uses the large when he borrows it. I've let women use this in the clinics too and a lot of them liked it, my junior shooters really liked this one too.

The new HK P-2000 also has the interchangable backstrap and is a lovely gun, it's also ambidextrous so I know a couple of women who are leftys who have picked them up recently, and it is on my list to pick up soon. HK took the nicest features of the walther and put them into an HK, and you can't really go wrong with HK quality.

I like my P-3AT, it's a great little gun that can be concealed anywhere with even the most revealing outfit.

Don't rule out the little revolvers, a lot of women like them because they're simple to use and easy to understand.

Super input so far. Please keep it coming.

How are you guys concealing your guns? On your body or in a handbag or similar item?

Bomber

My wife really likes her Kahr K9.  Good trigger reach, compact, and enough weight where recoil is no issue at all.  She's indifferent to the Sig P229 with the short trigger.  Still manageable, but she always reaches for the K9 given the choice.  She hates my Glock 22 and 27, criticizing them as difficult to hold because of size.

FWIW.

awsome a new gun store in the winchester area wow thats not too far from me you gotta keep me informed looking forward to a new place to shop hy

Bump for more input......pretty please


Bomber

Well, when I'm in a state where I can carry - I like to go on the body, never know when you won't have your purse with you, and purses do tend to get snatched in some places. My Walther fits nicely in a Blade-Tech UCH, or another leather IWB that I have, the Kel-Tec fits well in the bra adapter or thunderwear or just in a pocket if I'm not wearing something that can conceal the Walther. The .45 lives in a specially designed laptop case that has a spot just for it.

Given that in 87% of confrontations it is the sight of the gun rather than shooting that actually ends the confrontation, if you're going to carry in a purse instead of on the body, I say make it worth while and carry the biggest thing you can handle. I'm still trying to convince my husband that the DE in .50AE should be my purse gun - I shoot it as well as anything else I own, and it is the most intimidating looking gun around.