9mm opinions for my wife

[Wolfjon 0]

<p>Hey guys, Unfortunatly since we live in the WONDERFULL (sarcasim) state and we have to deal with these long P2P waits and Nics waits. I need to start looking at 9mm for my wife. We just recently got into handguns and had a couple of opportunitys to shoot some various 22's and an H&K .40 which had a little too much kick for her liking. She ended up purchasing a sr22 for her first handgun and so far she really likes it although we have barely put over 150 rds though it.</p>

<p>Now she she picked this up last week we need to start looking at 9mm so that next month can can purchase one and have enough time for Nics to clear before her second permit expires. So the real question is what 9mm so we put on the too look at list unfortunatly based on her enjoying the sr22? We plan on trying these out at either RTSP or someone suggested Pocono pistol. But we may only get 1 or 2 chances to try before we buy, since its hard to get to a range more than every other week due to kids and other life things.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Wolfjon</p>

[Teky0101 6]

Helo Wolfjon,

What type of budget do you have? Does your wife have small hands? I ask this since grip is very important when shooting. If you are looking for a medium budget pistol I would look at the M&P, Glock, Kahr or older XD. Also if you need more time you can take your pistol permits to your local PD and have them renewed. You can only do this once but it will give you more time.     

[nuclearheli 40]

I went through this recently for my wife. I have the luxury of having her hold many different pistols since I get lots of them and must book them into my inventory for customers. Couldn't please her at all. And my handguns are too much for her to handle. One day a customer was selling a refurbished Sig P6 (P225). He had the slide blued and put on new Hogue grips in Aluminum. The gun came out beautiful. He is selling it to another customer of mine so I took it into inventory. Just before he sold it to somebody else I showed my wife a picture of it and she didn't think she would like it. The day it came in to be sold she handled the gun and fell in love with it. I even tried to talk the other customer into another firearm he wanted so I could get the P6 from her, at my cost, but he won't give it up.

 

So I hunted for another P6 and finally found one on Gunbroker.com. Purchased it and immediately sent it to a guy I use in PA, Easton Firearms Refinishing. They completely strip the firearm, clean it and blast it, then paint it. I went for Cerakote black but they have a ton of options. What a beautiful job. The gun looks brand new. I purchased the same Hogue grips and put in the small profile trigger reduced the spring a bit for a lighter pull, and put in a short reset trigger.  Amazing gun, all steel German made Sig. 9mm very accurate. Perfect gun for her.

 

I had $450 for the gun, $170 to refinish, $100 for the grips (that's optional), and a few dollars for the trigger parts.

[Wolfjon 0]

Small to medium budget I would perfer under $500 but if the guns fits so to speak the budget will have to go up. Yes I know I can renew the one time hoping not to have to deal with that but not a big deal if we need too. My wife is taller then average 5ft 9 so her hands are pretty average maybe slighty longer fingers, I think she takes med/lg on gloves, not really sure though..LOL Also I forgot to mention she's a lefty as well..

Also one of her coworkers has a M&P 9 not sure which version so hopefully we will get a change to meet up with them sometime to try that one out without having to rent it.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

I say go for a M&P 9

[Tack Tickle 0]

Probably the softest shooting 9mm.

 

Ok, I'll be first to start it off...

 

GLOCK 19

[RedBowTies88 41]

OK I'll kick it off...

 

 

CZ75/ p07

 

The grip is perfect for smaller hands and mine shoots very softly.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

Softer shooting generally = heavier.  G19 may not be the best....

[illy 1]

SR9? Has the same grip width (maybe a fraction slimmer) as the SR22.

[Bighungry618 450]

I say go for a M&P 9

I second that...interchangeable palm-swells, relatively light, shoots fairly softly (in 9mm), and very ergonomic. Also it has an ambidextrous slide lock and a swappable mag release button for lefties.    All around a very good gun for the money at $500.00 or so

 

Of course I may be a bit biased….

[iCARRY 0]

Just picked up the M&P 9mm compact. With the small back strap on, it fit in her hand perfectly. Very happy with it. Said it was the best Mother's Day gift she could get.

[HolyHandGrenade 0]

We got my Fiancé a G19. Went with the 19 because it comes with 15 round mags. If we lived in America, we would've gone with a G17 though...

 

Although, she shoots my Gen4 G21 just fine too.

[brucin 923]

My wife disliked almost every polymer frame pistol she fired. She shot a Beretta 92FS and fell in love with it. She has smaller hands but prefers the full sized metal frame pistols.

 

If she's happy I'm happy.

[when_shtf 4]

SR9? Has the same grip width (maybe a fraction slimmer) as the SR22.

 

This is what I was going to say. The SR9 is as nice a shooter as the SR22.

[specopsscout 26]

Here's another vote for the Glock 19. My wife is petite and had no problem with reaching the trigger, pulling the trigger or cycling the slide. I can't say that about a lot of the pistols out there.

[RecessedFilter 222]

We can suggest every pistol on the market but ultimately it won't matter. Your wife is the only person that will know if this or that pistol feels "right".

 

With what you said though, and that she liked the Ruger sr22, the first pistol I'd have her hold and even rent if you could would be the Sr9 full-size and compact and go from there.

[Wolfjon 0]

We can suggest every pistol on the market but ultimately it won't matter. Your wife is the only person that will know if this or that pistol feels "right".

 

With what you said though, and that she liked the Ruger sr22, the first pistol I'd have her hold and even rent if you could would be the Sr9 full-size and compact and go from there.

Very correct ultimately it is all her decision. Also like Brucin said up above a happy wife keeps me happy.

My wife however is not one to research or look into anything, So my job is usually to do all of the research and then give her options to chose from. This way she makes the desicions and I help give her input Win Win..

Right now the M&P 9 is definately onthe list too many reviews not to like it. Not sure which version her coworker has but we'll have to look at the fullsized, shield, and compact.

SR9 full and compact.

Glock 19.

CZ75(not sure were I might find this though)

[NJSlick 0]

Can't go wrong with the M&P9

[Wolfjon 0]

Although doesn't the shorter barrels of the compacts have more Kick then the longer barrels or is that more pronuced in the revolver world?

[Krdshrk 3,877]

Smaller, lighter pistols with shorter barrels GENERALLY have a more pronounced felt recoil.

[Smokin .50 1,907]

Although doesn't the shorter barrels of the compacts have more Kick then the longer barrels or is that more pronuced in the revolver world?

 

All of the kids are tellin' ya to buy a pistola because you said "9mm".  So here's the big question:  what is the gun FOR?  If it's for marksmanship training, please consider a 4" barreled .357 revolver that you can load with .38 mid-range wad-cutters, .38 Spl. round nose, .38 +P, and even .357 Mag.  Teach her trigger discipline and sight alignment at ignition while employing single-action and teach her self-defense up-close with double action.  Buy a nice set of Houge rubber grips to soften recoil.  In less than a full box of ammo, she'll shoot as good as you do with your plastic fantastic!  I outta know--I taught my then GF to shoot my Model 19 Smith and she's a crack-shot with it to this day--and that was close to 32 years ago!

 

Where the shots wind-up is what counts.  Grip and recoil control have a lot to do with it.  It's not how "pretty" the gun is or how many rounds it holds.  It's whether or not she can take the thing apart to clean it if you get hit by a bus.  A revolver can sit there for years and "be ready to save a life".  So I ask again, WHAT IS THE GUN FOR?

 

Have a nice day!

 

Dave

Shootist

[Bubba-NJ 0]

Recently bought my wife a Sig P-290. Sub compact size with a double action trigger and she racks the slide easily. I did take her out shopping for it so she could handle as many as possible to see what she liked. Also it was good for her to hear advice from several sales persons. 

[Gunsrlegal 140]

As a woman, I really like shooting the full-size M&P9. It was my first gun and the one I always go back to when I want to do some fun shooting at the range. I have small hands and the small grip palm-swell fits my hand perfectly; the M&P9 also comes with medium- and large-sized palms swells so it should fit just about everyone.

 

It took me about a day to get really comfortable with the slide. There have been some complaints about a "gritty trigger" on the M&P9, but I haven't experienced that at all, I find it smooth. My very first shots were on target and I give a lot of credit to the gun, it really is a nice shooter. I feel minimal recoil, probably because the gun is a little heavy, but that's a good thing. I bought the "breast cancer" edition of the M&P9 so it has pink (and black) palm swells/grips and the awareness ribbon engraved on the slide. This version has different sights than the standard full-size M&P9 (mine has a fiber optic front sight and a Warren tactical rear sight, while the standard full-size M&P9 has a white dot dovetail front sight and a steel low profile carry rear sight).

 

Being we can't carry in NJ, I'd suggest getting her a firearm with a little size and weight to it. I'm finding they make controlling the gun and recoil so much easier than I anticipated. The M&P9 is very easy to field strip and clean after shooting at the range, I actually find it relaxing. It's most important that she feel comfortable with the gun, so let her handle a few while she decides. Remember, she may not be able to coordinate all of the movements right away, like racking the slide or dropping the magazine, but if she likes the overall gun the rest will follow quickly. It did for me and I love my M&P9 with the pink palm-swells/grip.

 

Good luck. If your wife has any questions, ask her post them so a few of us women can answer her directly.

[Wolfjon 0]

We had a chance to meet up with her coworker the other day up at RTSP. Started out warming up with the 22's and for some reason she was all over the place with her SR for some reason... but after a while her coworker pulled out his 2 guns first up was the XD9 She did alright with this one right away kept the grouping pretty tight minus a few strays only had time for 15 rounds on this gun. Then the second gun he pulled out was a PPQ. I tried this 1st and man my 1st shot perfect bulleye with the follow ups within a 2" group. Now for my wifes turn at first she shoot a little worse then the XD as far as grouping however on her second mag she pulled in the grouping a little better. Overall she had no problems shooting either gun hitting the target at 7 meters. using an old style 50yd slowfire target. She still wants to try a few more guns for comparison. She liked the recoil a little better on the XD but she thought the snapier PPQ felt really good as well.

If it were for me I would run out and get the PPQ but since its for her I want her to try some more out hopefully she will pick out something other then the PPQ because after shooting it i may just have to get one for me LOL.

[acaixguard 37]

I highly suggest taking a look at the Walther PPQ. My wife loved mine so much, I ended up getting a second just for her (and as a backup to mine ).

The Glock 19 and M&P9 are good choices too, but be aware that both require some user awareness with current productions. The current run of Glock 9mm's are a little iffy when it comes to extractor function The M&Ps have had a history of inconsistent accuracy and a less than ideal trigger, though I hear recent production specimens are better.

With the PPQ though, you have THE best out of the box trigger on a striker fired gun, and accuracy and reliability too. All that's needed is a better set of sights, which is pretty much the case for any pistol.

[brocglock23 4]

If you are open to suggestions I'd recommend the PX4 compact in 9mm. It's a very soft shooting gun and accurate. Also has 3 grips giving her more options.

[tinman22 0]

my gf has a kahr k9 that she likes shooting. and since she suffers a bit from carpal tunnel due to work, I think the steel frame helps.

[millsan1 3]

My GF has a Sig 229 and loves it.  She is small of stature and frame, and the gun fits her perfectly.  We also purchased the 22 kit for it, which works great.

[gleninjersey 2,141]

I'm going to echo what Smoking .50 said.  Look at .357s.  Revolvers are easy to use, maintain, clean and understand.  .357 is very versatile as you can shoot the easier to handle .38 rounds as well.

 

I am picking up my first hand gun on Saturday.  It is a Ruger GP100 in .327 which is very similar to .357 but with 20% less recoil.  Also just as versatile it shoots .32 rounds as well.  It isn't as poplular a round as the .357 or .38 but I went online last night and found plenty of ammo to be had.  I've read a lot about the .327 and everyone who has one or has shot one seems to love them. 

 

I was originally looking for one in .357 but finding a new GP100 .357  in a 4 inch stainless steel seems to be virtually impossible right now.  The Smith and Wesson .357s are also very nice but more expensive new.....if you are willing to buy used you may be able to find a Ruger GP100 or (for a little more) a used S&W .357.  Regardless, Ruger or S&W or other make, the .357 is a great, versatile gun.

 

If you are set on a 9mm, while I haven't shot any guns in years and years, I did rent and shot the Smith & Wesson M & P at Heritage Guild in Easton, PA while trying to determine what style, caliber etc I wanted for my first (and probaby only for a while) handgun.  It was very smooth and very accurate. 

 

I would recommend renting some different ones with your wife to see what she likes or maybe meeting up with some people from here who have different guns and shooting a few.  Good luck!

[scohen2002 0]

I would recommend the walther ppq m2 in 9mm. If i was going to get one for my wife i would put a laser on the rail and teach her to point and shoot. She would never spend a lot of time at the range so i think a laser would some how make it easier for her to use in self defense. The ppq has 3 sizes of back strap also, so its nice for small hands and feels and shoots great.