My wife had a Bodyguard first. Then one day at the range wanted to try my new Glock 43 9mm. She liked it better. Gave it to her and ordered a Shield 9. Next time out she tries my Shield and the same scenario. She really liked it. I kept the Glock as its an excellent weapon. But I then ordered another Shield but this time in a PC model. End of story............and we lived happily ever after.
wife wants a 9mm
- Thread starter Doc Holliday 1950
- Start date
carguychris
New member
True, but the two versions are not really the same, despite the marketing. The .380 version is blowback while the 9mm version uses locked-breech tilting-barrel operation. This suggests that the .380 will have snappier felt recoil and a harder-to-operate slide, although I've not handled each version back-to-back to verify this.blchandl2 said:
One potential downside of the Pavona—and CZ 75 derivatives in general—is that the slide rides inside the frame, so there's less exposed surface to grab when racking the slide. The Pavona attempts to address this problem with really prominent scallops on the rear of the slide along with low-profile thumb safety levers, which certainly help, but the underlying issue is still there.
The subcompact doesn't; it has a tilting barrel. Only the full-size and compact variants use the rotating barrel.Cosmodragoon said:
FWIW both the Model 3913 and 3914 were made with both frame (or dustcover) styles. The slanted dustcover was used on the LadySmith and NL versions, which are not always marked as such. (AFAIK the meaning of the "NL" suffix has never been explained by the factory, but Smith fans colloquially say it means Not LadySmith.WVsig said:
) These versions are less commonplace and often command a slight price premium.Another potential option is the double-action-only versions of each, the Models 3953 and 3954 respectively. These pistols are generally cheaper, they do away with the prominent decocker/safety levers, and there is only one trigger pull to learn. The downside is that the shooter must be comfortable with a fairly long and stiff trigger pull, and unlike the 3913/3914, the guns lack second-strike capability and therefore MUST be cleared in the event of a misfire. (Then again, this also goes for almost every type of striker-fired polymer-frame pistol, notably excepting the Walther P99 and copies thereof. It's also generally considered advisable to train to clear misfires rather than attempting to pull the trigger repeatedly.)
Correct on both counts. My daughter has a PX4 Compact in 9 mm. Nicely ergonomic grip, with three sizes of grip included with new pistols. The rotating barrel makes it a very soft shooter. The subcompact does not have the rotating barrel system.
The PX4 line is pretty thick for on-body carry, though. If a woman wants to carry it she is much more likely to carry it in a purse holster than on the body. Men always preach body carry, but a lot of women carry in purses so they can dress the way they want. After 34 years of marriage, I have learned to limit the amount of advice I give.
Something that hasn't been brought up regarding recoil is that a wider grip distributes recoil over a larger surface, lessening the perception of recoil for a lot of people. Thus, some people will perceive the Glock 26 to be softer shooting than the Glock 43, for example.
FWIW, my wife looked at and shot a lot of different pistols and chose a Sig P238 for EDC. "Only" .380 but slim, easy to conceal in clothes, and shoots very well. It is often said that it shoots very well for such a small pistol, but the truth is that it just shoots very well. We have two now, because I became so enamored of hers that she got me one for pocket carry (and so I would leave hers alone). "Only" .380, but it gives you a fighting chance.
Plus, the little Sig is so darn cute!
Sounds like you are doing the right thing by advising but letting her make the final decision. There is no other way to do it, regardless of gender; no one can tell another what is comfortable.
Doc Holliday 1950
New member
I think that we have enough suggestions to make our gun range very wealthy just renting all of the pistols that you all have passed on to us.
This has been a most enlightening experience for us. Thank you one and all.
This has been a most enlightening experience for us. Thank you one and all.
The Nano is surprisingly nice to shoot. It doesn't have a slide lock. No safety. It shoots like a revolver with respect to the trigger.
If she doesn't need to conceal carry the Beretta 92 is great.
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Cosmodragoon
New member
Snyper, this shouldn't be an issue. The low-profile kit for the PX4 also converts the safety levers from "decocking safety" to "just a decocker". In this case, it will matter whether she still needs a manual safety for a DA/SA gun.
Doc Holliday 1950.
A little note on manual safety catches.
Quite a few years ago (1985?) I was really into IPSC competition, at a major match, shooting my Colt .45 1911, pushing speed of draw, on a close quarters stage, a 4 round total course of fire.
I missed the swipe the safety off move, a move I had been doing, many thousands of rounds, in practice, and matches!
The target had completed it's fall away move! I did not get a shot off! My thought on that happening in a real life confrontation? I moved to my recently acquired Glock 17! No manual safety!
Over the years the Glock 19 was changed to, concealed carry, and IDPA matches.
All of the above is on the danger of a manual safety, not on the pick of a pistol. And it only happened to me once, but that was enough.
A little note on manual safety catches.
Quite a few years ago (1985?) I was really into IPSC competition, at a major match, shooting my Colt .45 1911, pushing speed of draw, on a close quarters stage, a 4 round total course of fire.
I missed the swipe the safety off move, a move I had been doing, many thousands of rounds, in practice, and matches!
The target had completed it's fall away move! I did not get a shot off! My thought on that happening in a real life confrontation? I moved to my recently acquired Glock 17! No manual safety!
Over the years the Glock 19 was changed to, concealed carry, and IDPA matches.
All of the above is on the danger of a manual safety, not on the pick of a pistol. And it only happened to me once, but that was enough.
Tactical Jackalope
New member
Brit, again.. We agree or have a similar story on something else.
I remember attempting to take a class with my 1911 about 3 or so years ago. I did exactly as you described and I also had a hard time actuating the grip safety under stress.
So I asked the local LEO / SWAT trainer who was giving the class who just so happened to live in my same neighborhood at the time, if I could go home and get my P226 on our break. I did just that, went home got my 9mm ammo can my P226 with one 18 rounder and five 20 round mags. And completed the class with the gun I had about 8,000 rounds through (at that time) and a few classes taken already with it, with flying colors and confidence.
My muscle memory had been tuned to the SIG Sauer P226 and P229 for several years up until that point. The higher bore axis lead me to grip so high on the 1911 to the point I wasn't actuating the grip safety. The muscle memory was tuned to no external safety.
So for me, I didn't want to try and "fix" something that wasn't broken. I was looking to try and carry a 1911 without full understanding that that would entail. I'm glad that happened, too.
My main weapons of choice today are HK, SIG Sauer, and Glock.
Cosmodragoon
New member
Indeed. To me, extra steps or tasks introduce new opportunities for error. In an emergency, where a second is the boundary between life and death, I only want to worry about one button, lever, etc.: the trigger. I like the "safety" of a DA/SA trigger because it is only adding weight to that one mechanism, which is still operated in one motion.
I don't think I'd seen anyone mention the Springfield XD Mod2. My wife just received hers and shot it for the first time yesterday. Before yesterday she had only fired a gun once before and that was a PT92C .
She likes it very much and shot it very well. This one is a 4.0 with a 4" barrel and a 16 round mag. She was using 115gr factory Federal with it. I shot it also with some 124gr reloads and it was very pleasant to shoot.
She likes it very much and shot it very well. This one is a 4.0 with a 4" barrel and a 16 round mag. She was using 115gr factory Federal with it. I shot it also with some 124gr reloads and it was very pleasant to shoot.
Taurus PT-111 Millennium in 9mm. Lightweight, external safety, concealable and less than $300 out the door. My wife compared it to the G-19 and , not knowing the cost of each firearm, chose the Taurus I think in part to the safety. At any rate, in over 300 rnds at range, not one failure. She intends this to replace her NAA .32 for her purse gun as NAA.32 ammo is becoming scarce.
Mastrogiacomo
New member
I don't find much difference in recoil between the 9mm or .380 - both are mild. I have full size standard Berettas, Beretta compacts and Cheetahs (.380). Personally, I love all my 9mm but I really love the Cheetahs too. Can't go wrong with any Beretta in my opinion...
Laura
Laura