What guns are women buying?

I have a regular shooter who bought a Glock 19 as her first gun. It really doesn't fit her, but she chose to stick with it, and she shoots fairly well. The problem is, she's got the mindset to be a great shooter, but the hardware is holding her back a bit.

We've had a few discussions about something that could help her break through that, but she insists on keeping what she's got. Recently, however, an acquaintance of hers gave her a weatherbeaten S&W Model 10. She had me check it over, and I gave her a few pointers on double-action shooting.

After two cylinders and a bit of coaching, the lightbulb went off, and the great shooter came out. Seeing her ear-to-ear grin made my whole week.
 
Mother - Baby Browning, S&W 36, S&W 13, Remington Model 1100 LT-20 Youth.

Sister - Seecamp LWS32, S&W 3913LS, Remington Model 1100 LT-20 Youth.
 
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XDM

My wife bought her a xdm 9 3.8 so when i say some thing about goin shootin she is up and out the door waiting on me. . .
 
My wife bought both a XD40 Service and a XD40 Subcompact. The Service is her house gun, the Sub is her carry gun. She also enjoys shooting her AR, her Remmy 700 in .243, her 20ga pump, and my CZ75 SP01.
 
according to the summerish of 2011 issue of shooting industry news. the most common/popular/pushed to women handguns are light weight semi autos in the compact/subcompact size with miniscule sights and miniscule barrels and round counts that make a man with a 6-7 shot taurus revolver feel like big man on campus.
 
My oldest daughter (now 30) has the 357 K frame she got when she was 16.

My second daughter (now 24) came and went thru my gun safes when she was 21 and left with a full size 1911 45. She said all the rest looked like toys. She actually laughed at the 380 and snub nose 38.

My youngest daughter doesn't have one of her own yet. She just shoots whatever some one puts in her hand. Including full-auto.

My wife likes K frame smiths. One by the bed, one in the car and one in the tv room.

A good friend of mine that only likes 1911 45's just bought a pink LW revolver for one of his girls. Anything to get her shooting. Her little sister took it and showed her how to shoot!!
 
Good thread!
My Gal Pal mostly enjoys full size firearms, her current stable includes a polished nickle Colt Series 70 sporting Ivory stocks, Glock 19, Glock 26 and a S&W340 in her purse from time to time.
 
The woman I helped at the range yesterday was considering a Kel-Tec P32 and P3AT, after she had trouble gripping and had been hammer or slide bitten by a Beretta .25.

She liked my K-frames (I let her shoot one of my S&W 65s), but thought they were a bit big.

Showed her a S&W 60 with a rubber grip, not sure if Hogue, Trausch, etc looking at it; covered/padded the backstrap and provided a little finger rest. She was considering that and an SP101 when I left the shop. Don't know what she opted for.

I've seen a lot of customers in various shops try to select guns for really odd reasons.... Seems to me a lot of people, not just women, buy guns without finding out first if they like shooting them. I highly recommend both checking out corneredcat.com, and renting or borrowing a bunch of different types to see what each person actually likes shooting.
 
Hhmmm....Not that I own any firearms, but a friend of female friend of mine purchased a SA Range Officer at a gun show last week. The choices were between a H&K M-23, a FNH-Tactical, and the Range Officer. The Range Officer won out.

The biggest problem with men & guns as I see it is that they keep trying to foist .380acp & 20ga stuff on us. 9mm in no smaller than a compact frame is the smallest caliber I'll go for in pistol. I find .380acp recoil to be excessive in the ultra-small packages that are so popular now. Same with 20ga in a shotgun (although a female friend of mine used to walk the property with one); to me, a heavier 12ga has no more perceived recoil than the 20ga that my friend used to carry on the property.

Personally, I don't mind firearm recoil but I would prefer to get the biggest bang for whatever recoil I have to endure--Patrice :cool:
 
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If they are smart: whatever they can shoot accurately and they are comfortable with.

For my wife (which she picked herself from the what I already owned), that is a Glock 23. She has told me that it fits her hand well and I have seen her shoot it well.
 
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Patrice, within reasonable limits, I don't mind recoil either.

But I have more faith in multiple good hits on target than in the efficacy of a single round of anything (from a handgun, anyway).

So I prefer guns that don't have enough recoil to interfere with rapid, accurate follow-up shots.

Generally, this means my carry upper limits are .40, .45, or .357, depending on the platform, unless I'm in boar/bear territory and feel a need for something with more weight and penetration.

This is not to say I won't carry a 9mm or .38, as I often do, in smaller platforms. Again, I prefer something I can shoot quickly and accurately, as opposed to something with a theoretical "one shot stop" capability.

I think more practically minded women probably think in those terms, and carry a compromise of power and controllability.
 
I own a Ruger SP101 for my daily carry and a Redhawk Alaskan for when I'm heading into the woods. I like pink for some things like clothes but just doesn't look right on a gun.
 
Something bad has happened to them or someone they know
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Maybe in that guy's neighborhood. Most women I've seen the last couple of years who are buying guns for self-defense aren't doing so because of anything specific. They just think it's a prudent measure in general.

Many are just buying them for the enjoyment of shooting. Sure, I still see some who want little to do with shooting but get pressured by Mr. Expert Spouse, but I fear that will never change.
 
I can't speak for all ladies but, my wife really liked the Stoeger Cougar in 9mm, and Ruger SR9c. She also has an affinity for SA six guns.
 
I bought a Springfield XDm 9mm 4.5" for my first handgun (and I'm a 5'3" , 110 lb female) -- I felt it would be a nice range and home defense weapon. Moreover, figured the long sight lines would help learn to shoot more accurately.

Took it to the range last week and had a *great* time. Had to warn my husband that he might be seeing some serious ammo bills soon. (We have to live apart for 6 months -- figured I should warn him about the new line items on my budget).

I can't carry at work so CCW with this was never an issue. But after a 1000 rounds or so I will start looking for a smaller CCW -- maybe the new XDS .45ACP? :D
 
My wife just purchased a Ruger LC9 as her EDC. It replaces her SP101 357, which she decided after carrying it for 2 years is just too thick to conceal in an IWB holster.

In the house she prefers her GP100 357 or my old Glock 17 (a 20 year old early gen 2 model).
 
After trying all of my different pistols, my girlfriend KEPT my Sig p6. She said it was easy to shoot, fit her hand and the recoil wasnt bad. I was proud of her decision. Well thought out. Maybe she did learn something from all my rantings. Or maybe not.:D
 
My wife of 42 yrs now, she's 62 at present, has a S&W Model 36 with a 3" bbl in .38 Special, a S&W M-637 in the same caliber but with the 1-7/8" bbl, and a Ruger Single Six in 22 lr. She carries the 637, because of its light weight and shorter barrel, but the heavier, all steel, M-36 is her bedside gun. Rod
 
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