Thinking about buying my girlfriend a handgun for both plinking and personal defense (shes never shot a gun before).  She's petite, 5'2", 105lbs soaking wet.  Had her handling my sig .40 (not shooting, just basic gun stripping and handling).  I think she would be uncomfortable shooting this gun (well see though).  Thinking about a smaller caliber, in a revolver.  Any suggestions?  The smallest thing I've shot is a 9mm, but may want to go smaller than that (I don't want to "scare" her away from this, I want her to have "fun" with shooting first).  Any personal experience in this matter would greatly be appriciative.  Thks  

Glock 19 or 26. Has the ease of operation. Easy to breakdown. Very little amount of parts when broken down. Not too intimidating to shoot. My ex girlfriend had a 26 and it fit her hand nicely and was very comfortable for her to shoot.

Well, it sounds like she will have a hard time with on-body CCW.  I bought my fiancee a SIG 232 (.380).  Nice gun, but fairly sharp recoil in comparison to any of the Glock 9mm guns.  However, it will probably be more tame than a revolver and almost as reliable.

Really, the term "ladies gun" is a misnomer.
The biggest gun she can adeptly handle is her best bet. There is no one gun suited to "ladies" as a blanket proposition.

Example? [red]I[/red] know a lady who owns and shoots a 10MM G[red]lo[/red]ck Compact. Definitley a High stepper-
On the flip side of the coin, I know grown men who whine about a .357-

Whate[red]ve[/red]r she can handle is her best bet.
Be it a .22 or a 10MM.
A well placed .22 is better then 6 [red]miss[/red]ed [red]magnum[/red]rounds.

Nice plug in you got there. LOL

13f, Don’t let her shoot your. 40cal. Revolvers produce less recoil and many women prefer them to a semi. Think .22 or .38spl revolver to start with.

I know both calibers are wimpy for personal defense but she is just starting and besides, in the bible it says a live dog is better than a dead lion. You want her to have something that goes bang. You want her to have something she can practice with without fear or flinching until she becomes proficient.

THISISME

13f-

My wife is the same size as your girlfriend, maybe even an inch shorter.  I was sure I had all the answers.  I figured my Glock 19 would be perfect. Low recoil, small size, etc. Well, it was too thick for her to get a good firing grip.  Surely, my P7m8 was the answer!  Well, she found it hard to cycle, and she hated the squeeze-cocker.  

Remembering what Col. Cooper once said, I handed her my Kimber Classic .45ACP.  Well guess what?  She LOVES it, and now refers to it as "her gun"  (be careful what you wish for!).  I didn't tell her about all the grown men who whine about the "bruising recoil."  Please!!  She loves the nice trigger, sights, etc.  She can cycle it herself.  You REALLY wouldn't believe the groups she gets.  7 rds in one ragged hole @ ~7 yds.  Not bad for a beginner.

My wife didn't like the revolver, except in single-action.  Remember this, new shooters like to be successful.  They don't want to drill and drill for months.  By then they'll give up, oftentimes.  Start her up close to the target, and work on the PERFECT sight picture and SURPRISE trigger break.

The only thing I did to my Kimber was replace the grips with thin rubber grips ( $10 @ Brownells), and I actually like it better.  Hope this helps, feel free to eamil me if I can be of any help.

A lot of women have trouble pulling back the slide on a semi-auto to load a round into the chamber.

(e.g. my 105 lb wife has this problem)

For a house gun I would get her a used S&W 686 with a 4 or 6 inch barrel. She can practise using it with 38 specials and load it with 357 Magnums for personal defense.

My wife loves shooting an old S&W model 15 (38 special).

Biggest problem isn't the weight..holding a handgun at full arms length isn't easy.

My girlfriend shoots my sig 245 and loves it.  Get a .22 and teach her good shooting skills and get her any gun she wants.  

To introduce my wife to shooting, I wanted to get her her own gun in the hope that she'd have more interest that way, so I bought her a Sig P239 in 9MM and she likes it.  It fits her hand and it's accurate and she shot some surprisingly good groups her first time out.

Rich
NRA, GOA, LEAA, CCRN

dogcaller:  That's so funny...that is exactly the same thing that happened to me!!  She didn't like the Glock, but she loves my Kimber Compact.  I did get her the Sig 232, and it''s perfect for her (although she still has trouble hiding it...she has a small frame and wears fairly form-fitting clothing).

One more thing...She HATES revolvers.  That's what I was trying to get her to buy when we went shopping.

I have started out five women on Buckmarks and they all loved them. I know it is underpowered but it is cheap practice and very accurate.

Take a look at the Khar 9, may be a possibility.

13f,
You best bet and what you really should do, is to start her off with a .22cal pistol (or even a rifle and then pistol.) Teach her proper handling and get her marksmanship up to the level it needs to be.  This is for various reasons: The .22 has basically no recoil, it's not loud, it's easy to shoot well (this will give her a positive mindset*) and she can get used to shooting.
Then progress to a .38 revolver (not one of those 2" suckers either) or 9mm pistol... Then let her take a shot at the larger calibers.
When and if she decides she wants a gun, let her pick the model out and you can pay for it.

*This is important... If it too loud, hurts, or she feel uncomfortable with the gun or shooting, you blew it. She probably won't ever want to do it again.
Even better is for you to take her to a 3rd party (NRA instructor or something) and have them teach her. You have a higher likelyhood of success, unless you have been teaching people for a while.

A Beretta 84 in .380 is a great smaller piece.  Take her to a range that rents and let her try out a Glock G26 in 9mm also.  Any of the Taurus or Ruger smaller .38's would also do.  Just my $.02.
Ken

What jgage said. Start her on a 22 and let her shoot it a lot. After she shoots it for 6 months or so and hand her something bigger,I would suggest a revolver because it's simple and reliable and she needs something reliable for a carry gun.

Get her a beretta 950 Jet fire in 25 acp or 22 short. Fun and gentle

Start with a .22lr pistol and go from there.

My wife is small (5'1" and 110lb) but her real problem is that she has very small slim hands.  She can not reach the trigger on a K frame revolvers.  She tried various 380's and 9mm Glocks but didn't like the snappy recoil and could not cycle the slide of my P7M8.  

Finally she shot my SA 1911 in 9mm and liked the feel of the pistol and the recoil was acceptable.  She tried it several more times and was very comfortable with this pistol and shot it very well.  The recoil spring on this pistol was heaver than normal so she had some problem cocking it.  She continued to shoot this pistol for several months and finally decided exactly what she wanted.

Finally a year later her pistol was finally finished by a local gunsmith to my wife's specification.  It is a Colt Commander in 9mm with some modifications for the size and strength of her hand.  In addition to the standard modifications such as Novak sights, Wilson beavertail grip, etc. it had a Detonic thumb safty (it has the lowered shelf), extra short reach trigger, slim rosewood grip, and a little taken off the grip frame and under the trigger guard.  The front strap of the grip was not checkered because even the 30 lpi was too coarse for her hand so I just put a piece of skateboard tape on it.  The recoil spring was changed to slightly lower power one than usual since she only shoot standard 115gr FMJ loads (or my  equvalent reloads) or Federal BP 115gr FMJ (her "self-defense" ammo) and she has no problem cocking it.

Overall it is perfect pistol for my wife.
   

Thanks for the input, you guys save me some dollars to begin with.  I'll probably go back home to the parents and pick up my ruger .22 and let he start shooting with this.
As someone mentioned here, she did have a problem racking the slide on my p239, and it was large in her hands.
Does anyone know of a range in N.C (perferably in the Raliegh/Durham) where you can "rent" various handguns to shoot?  How about a certified N.R.A course in the same area? (I'm no good at teaching the ones I love!)
I want to start this experience for her on a positive note, and hopefully it will grow from there.  Thks

My other half suggests a large bore black powder cannon or if you want faster fire she suggests "MA DEUCE".  If she doesn't want to carry that around she recommends Glock 26.

ID say an HKmp5k with a garter holtser! WOW!
it goes with basic black!

One with breasts?

The perfect ladies handgun:

[img]http://0whome0.homestead.com/files/maadi102.jpg[/img]

I could not agree more. Your job would be to
let her make her choice based upon her comfort
zone. Get her to fire many different guns
and then based on her experience let her pick out the one she wants.

A lot of people forget that the 1911 has a significantly smaller grip size than any of the double stack wonder nines.  Especially with the flat main spring housing, it is perfect for smaller hands.  

As pointed out above, it does come in calibers other than .45 and even small women have mastered the recoil of the .45.

Don't worry about the crack.  If a .45 is loud enough to bother the lady, she does not have enough ear protection.  If her gun doesn't bother her, the guy shooting the .44 in the next bay will bother her.  Women often hear better then men.  I recommend electronic muffs over foam plugs.  She can hear the instructions fine but will not be bothered by the noise.  

By all means, try her on a .22 to start.  But when she starts getting ready to shoot seriously, let her pick out her own gun.  The fit of a gun is a very personal thing.  

It may not fit here, but you may want to try her a couple of Single Action Shooting Society matches after she's had some practice.  There are a number of women shooters there and its fun so she may feel more comfortable.  

Good luck!

PS  There was a trick those of us with limited upper body strength were taught in the Army for cocking the .45. Point the .45 at the floor.  Grab the slide with the left hand.  Push with the right shoulder and back.  This uses stronger muscles than the arms.  

That's not the Gunsite/Thunder Ranch etc approved method but it works and it gets a lot of people over the "I can't do it" stage.  

Sounds like my fiancee (5'2" 110lbs)

I bought her a Lady Smith .357 after trying out over 20 guns at the range. I got new rubber grips for it and night sights and she LOVES it...not bad for a gorl who used to be in HCI in college!
[pistol]

Bulldog

How about a Browning Hi-Power or a Kahr pistols?  I know that Glock 19 is a good choice for women.  Simple and easy to rack for a lot women.