Picking a handgun for the girlfriend?

S

scottycoyote

New member
shes getting her cc permit any day now, and we are beginning the search for a weapon. I realise she needs to go rent some guns and shoot....shes shot several and so far likes the glock 26 probably the best. What other guns would be similar in size/price/weight as the glock? Ive had her look at a sig250 and an xdm. She doesnt like my smith 6906, and she doesnt want a revolver. She will mostly be carrying in one of those "gun toting mama" purses, but she would like to be able to carry on her body occasionally too....prob either a bellyband or iwb. What guns am i leaving out?
 
If you haven't already checked it out, http://corneredcat.com is an excellent resource for new shooters. Among other things, it addresses selecting a handgun.

As far as guns in the size/price/weight categories of the G26, let's see...

SIG P239 (more expensive and slightly bigger than the G26)
CZ PCR (slightly bigger than the G26, but a sweet shooter and still reasonably compact)
CZ RAMI
Beretta PX4 SubCompact
Beretta PX4 Compact (more the size of a G19, but nice to shoot)
Kahr (several models, but only the polymers are near the Glock in price; the all-metal Kahrs cost much more)
S&W M&P9/40 compact (closer in size to the G19)
Springfield XD9 compact

Edit: One advantage to most pistols on this list is that they will accept magazines from their big brothers, so they make nice backup or concealed carry alternatives to some nice full-size pistols.

And I'm sure others will recommend more pistols, soon.

Letting her try out a variety of guns, and letting her choose what she likes best, is the way to go - so you are already on the right track.

Good luck.
 
The Ruger LCR. The best carry firearm ever for a novice woman shooter.
No slide to pull back, no safety to fool with, no not knowing if there's one in the chamber or not, and the lightest double action trigger you've ever felt.
 
She may want to have a look at the Kahr P9/CW9. Thinner than the G26, but not so thin that it becomes unshootable like some others on the market. Single stack magazine, polymer frame.

I have a K9 and while it's all steel and has a bit of heft, it still works great for IWB carry. It also has an unusual quirk...the grip is smaller than a full size pistol's but I have no trouble keeping all fingers on the grip.



On a side note, it's the same gun in the movie The Brave One. :cool:
 
I'd be hard-pressed to recommend anything over a Kahr polymer pistol. The PM9 or the less-expensive CM9 would feel something like a Glock to her but it would be thinner.

Please permit me to go off-topic for one note: Off-body carry is EXTREMELY complicated. And wrought with liability concerns. I'm not saying she shouldn't do it, but she needs to know that the instant she begins doing it, it changes her relationship with her purse. Without a gun in the purse, the theft or loss of the purse could potentially cost her hundreds of dollars. With a gun in her purse, theft or loss of the purse could potentially cost her everything she owns through civil liability if someone were to be harmed by the gun inside it. That seems unfair, but it is nevertheless a reality.
 
Still off topic - sorry moderators

How would you become more liable if your purse was stolen as opposed to a theif breaking in to your home and stealing it out of your night stand or your vehicle? Once the firearm is reported stolen, I would think that your liability has greatly diminished as you are no longer in control of it and an investigation by law enforcement has commenced. Could be totally wrong, but that would be my common sense take on it.
 
Hate to say this but IMO the idea of picking out a gun for someone else to carry is stupid as hell. If they aren't familier enough with guns to go out and pick out their own then they have no business carrying anyway. If they aren't motivated enough to actually do their own research it's a double strike against them. I don't care if they qualify for a permit, doesn't mean they should exersice that right.

LK
 
again, thanks for the input. L_killkenny...im not picking it out for her, im picking it out with her, just trying to get some additional models together for her to check out that i hadnt thought of.
 
If you're carrying it in a purse, you're demonstrating poor decision making about the storage of the gun. If it gets stolen out of your house, you aren't as delinquent in your keeping of the gun.

Remember, the law is fraught with what a "reasonable" person would do. Everything is subjective.

Back on topic, check out the Ruger SR9c or SR40c. Almost the exact dimensions of the G26, offers a manual safety, better ergonomics, better looks, better trigger, excellent Ruger customer support, and supporting an American company.

I also looked at the Walther P99c when making this decision. Never got to hold one locally, but it seems about the same size as the G26 as well, and the trigger is supposed to be amazing.
 
Look at a Bersa,,,

If she is comfy carrying a medium semi in .380,,,
Consider a Bersa Thunder 380.

7 +1 capacity in a frame size nearly identical to a Walther PPK,,,
It's sister gun (Thunder 22) is identical to the Thunder 380.

bersas-lr.jpg


Nice pair to have,,,
One for a protection weapon,,,
The .22 for an inexpensive range plinker.

I own them both and have extreme confidence in their performance,,,
It also doesn't hurt that they are around $550 to $575 for the pair.

Click here please.

Aarond
 
Ruger SR9c - Every single time someone mentions getting/helping a wife or girlfriend or woman a gun, we get the hysterical "you can't (help) pick out a gun for her" but if it is son or buddy or uncle or whatever testerone producing person no one crys about it. For me, it is O.K. for an experienced gun owner to make recommendations to anyone, regardless of their hormone status. Common sense would have the person in question try out guns at a range and get what they like but if they don't know squat then nothing wrong with suggesting somehting like the fantastic SR9c.
P.S. Yes any negligent loss of a firearm in a purse or otherwise could expose the owner to laibility if it is foreseeable that someone could get hurt and they were not reasonable in their actions which cause the gun to be taken, e.g. leaving the purse behind at a resturant or store.
 
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I'm not going to recommend a weapon for her to carry. I would ask that you get her to reconsider the idea of a carry purse. The reason is that there are a considerable amount of purse snatchers out there that are so quick you have little chance of getting the purse back much less the gun. Also at a resturaunt she would have to put the purse down somewhere when at the table. There again no control of the weapon. Someone else could grab the purse and run or remove the gun while she and you are preoccupied with something else. On the body carry is the safest and most secure method of carry. If a waist area holster is not an idea she likes there are many concealment vests that no one really pays attention to. The 511 vest is one that I use to cover my gun (on the belt carry) but has hidden areas for special holsters for your weapon. Have her give it some thought.
 
Qtiphky

Still off topic - sorry moderators
How would you become more liable if your purse was stolen as opposed to a theif breaking in to your home and stealing it out of your night stand or your vehicle?
Click to expand...

There are lawyers who seek to create lawsuits related to firearms.

http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/CtMcClurg.htm
Armed and Dangerous: Tort Liability for the Negligent Storage of Firearms
Andrew J. McClurg* Connecticut Law Review

In this article the author states that storing a firearm loaded is "unsafe" storage. This is done without any support. The article does cite:
In his famous opinion in United States v. Carroll Towing Co.,[103] Judge Learned Hand cast risk-utility analysis into an algebraic formula for negligence.[104] Hand posited that an act or omission is negligent if the burden of avoiding a risk of injury presented by the act or omission (B) is less than the probability of the risk manifesting itself in injury (P) times the gravity of the injury if it does occur (L).[105] In algebraic terms, if B < P x L, an actor is negligent.[106] Hand's formula is purely a risk-utility analysis, but looked at from a slightly different angle. Rather than balance the risk of the conduct against the utility of the conduct that creates the risk (in this case, it would be the utility of unsafe gun storage), Hand's formula balances the risk against the burden of altering the conduct to eliminate the risk.

Unsafe gun storage fails the risk-utility test for negligence, which can be proved by applying Judge Hand's formula.
Click to expand...

It could be another step for an attorney to word a suit against a person who had a purse stolen which contained a handgun that to carry a handgun in such a manner was negligent when the effort to carry on the person's body thereby making it more secure was so minimally burdensome.
 
Qtiphky, it sounds like we pounced on you - excuse us. It wasn't intended as such. We may believe the laws - and more importantly the precedence - are moronic. But unfortunately they are a reality.
 
Depends upon the state

Ultimately, the choice of firearms (especially when there are concealed carry issues!!!!) depend upon the state, as my co-CA-resident in Riverside is well aware of. I am comfortable with my Glock 17 (5'4"; 112lbs.), but agree with others that your girlfriend must be comfortable with whatever she shoots. I suggest that you take her out shooting, try a bunch of pistols, &c., for a bf&gf day out. Trust me, it will work for both of you. ;)
 
Whatever she likes to shoot, renting is the key for first time handgun owners.

My own mother was told by my father and family members to get a revolver. Nope, went with a G26 after a afternoon at the range.
 
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