Posted: 1/18/2010 8:07:59 PM EDT
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Heres the story:
I took my girlfriend shooting for her very first time (has shot shotguns but never a handgun before). I brought along my new S/W M+P 9mm compact and rented her a P22. She was very intimidated at first but after a few pointers was truly enjoying the experience. She tried out my gun a few times but was turned off by the recoil and found the gun too intimidating. Heres the question what do your wives/girlfriends carry? She is a very petite girl and may have a hard time getting comfortable handling a large gun. Her father is considering buying her a PPK/S .380 I have no experience with this weapon so I could use any input regarding the possibility of it as a viable carry weapon for her. Thanks for your responses! |
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Quoted:
Heres the story: I took my girlfriend shooting for her very first time (has shot shotguns but never a handgun before). I brought along my new S/W M+P 9mm compact and rented her a P22. She was very intimidated at first but after a few pointers was truly enjoying the experience. She tried out my gun a few times but was turned off by the recoil and found the gun too intimidating. Heres the question what do your wives/girlfriends carry? She is a very petite girl and may have a hard time getting comfortable handling a large gun. Her father is considering buying her a PPK/S .380 I have no experience with this weapon so I could use any input regarding the possibility of it as a viable carry weapon for her. Thanks for your responses! One trip is a start but don't rush it! Keep her behind the 22 and she'll get used to it and be ready to go to the 9. Patience!  Don't worry once she gets comfortable she will be the cause of your ammo woes.
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| The PPK/S is a very viable weapon choice. I would rather my wife carry that than nothing at all. It's a good size for most women's hands. That being said, my wife has a Glock 19. She doesn't carry it but she shoots it and enjoys it. But I myself have contemplated a PPK/S or even a Sig 232 (similar type gun) and would certainly feel safe carrying either. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Heres the story: I took my girlfriend shooting for her very first time (has shot shotguns but never a handgun before). I brought along my new S/W M+P 9mm compact and rented her a P22. She was very intimidated at first but after a few pointers was truly enjoying the experience. She tried out my gun a few times but was turned off by the recoil and found the gun too intimidating. Heres the question what do your wives/girlfriends carry? She is a very petite girl and may have a hard time getting comfortable handling a large gun. Her father is considering buying her a PPK/S .380 I have no experience with this weapon so I could use any input regarding the possibility of it as a viable carry weapon for her. Thanks for your responses! One trip is a start but don't rush it! Keep her behind the 22 and she'll get used to it and be ready to go to the 9. Patience! Don't worry once she gets comfortable she will be the cause of your ammo woes.This^, my wife has a Glock 23, 27 and a P3AT. I used a reversed method w/ her, she learned to shoot w/ a Glock 20  so everything else is cake, Y(H)MMV.
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My opinion...The PPK/S has as much recoil as any of my 9mm (including M&Pc). It is the one pistol I have (smaller than a 44 mag) that makes my hand hurt after 50 rounds. While it is a good size, don't think it will be any less intimidating than a 9mm when fired.
My wife went from a 22 to a full size 9mm with no issue. She now has a Kahr 9mm (and it recoils about like the PPK/S). Just take plenty of time with the 22 first. |
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Quoted:
Any suggestions for a step between the .22 and the 9mm or a good beginners service caliber weapon? There really isn't a decent in between. Just don't start her off on the 9mm shooting +p rounds or any self defense rounds. Stick with the target ammo and let her be the pace setter. There is one thing you could do and that's go to a longer barrel 9. That will have more weight and less perceived recoil. a Glock 17 or even a 34 would fit that bill fine. Then get her back to a 19 sized gun. The best way to get her trained is to have her take a class from someone without you there. This takes the stress of "doing perfect" in front of the mate out of the equation. I've seen this work time after time getting a wife to shoot and enjoy it. |
| Keep on .22lr so sh can learn basic shooting fundamentals and get over the loud noise and recoil. When and if she's ready she can rent different handguns to find one she feels comfortable carrying. That's the easy part. Finding a comfortable mode of carry is much harder for women since they're built different and dress in tighter clothes. |
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get her comfortable shooting hanguns/guns in general; for this stage, stick w/ .22lr as the recoil is minimal, noise/blast is low, and its cheap––take her to the range/get gun time as much as possible
get those fundamentals down (safety, shooting fundamentals, etc) with those "out of the way", go back out and try more guns in more diff models/brands/calibers; generally, i'd stick to 9mm if its auto and .38spl if wheelgun; stick to full size/full weight guns and avoid the pocket rockets/airweights guns for now––nice recoil/blast and handling guns they tend not to be if your GF seems to be intimidated by the blast, have her wear double ear plugs and muffs, this tends to aid greatly in getting the flinch out if its blast induced personally, i've trained up several women relatively quickly w/ 9mm autos, including G19s, BHPs, Beretta 92s in SA, and XDs; most tend to prefer the G19 or BHP, due to a variety of reasons, including recoil handling or simply that thier hand and finger can control everything naturally the SW MP is another great option; as to calibers, for now, i'd get her use to 9mm, then work up to .45acp and .40sw and see how she likes em the main thing: keep her interested and keep shooting "fun" for her so she will keep going out there and hitting those targets! from there, what to carry becomes relatively easy: have HER pick out a gun SHE is comfortable shooting and can handle well that is RELIABLE: from there, its up to her on what she is willing to trade in order to carry a gun that may save her life...its a lifestyle choice and she must make that decision imo, the G19/G26, SW MP/c are the best options for women carry autos; SW J-frames are great options also as long as they are full weights the main thing w/ carry guns is TO GET PROFESSIONAL TRAINING and for her to continously practice proper skills |
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Thanks for all the responses guys!
Her instincts are surprisingly good and likely attributed to her previous shooting experience (competitive shotgun). I gave her plugs and muffs the first time out but being indoor with some nasty cannons next door didn't help much. Our next trip out will be to an outdoor range with some fun interactive targets and hopefully less noise... ha ha Being stuck in Kansas means I can't go buy a P-22 even though I'd like to. I really think she is gonna get sucked into shooting if I can just keep her interested. I'm gonna do my best to let her move at her own pace and just hope to help guide her as best I can. Oh and I'll post a few pics from our next shooting outing. Ha ha |