A pistol for the fw

KPE wrote:

Delivering rounds on target is more critical than “stopping power”.

And recoil or the fear of recoil is one of the biggest reasons why many never are able to develop that required accuracy.

I’ve seen it time and time again at the gun club and across all types of shooters and guns. But especially with a new shooter and a female shooter, I would put recoil as THE consideration and I would consider only the lowest recoiling cartridge options like the 380.

Also keeping in mind that everything changes about a given cartridge when you put it in a super-light, super-compact CC handgun. Out of a full size, full weight pistol, the 9 MM has only modest recoil IMO. But shoot it out of a small-grip, super compact and it can buck like a mule.

One last thought. Guns are a LOT easier to change than are bad shooting habits like recoil flinching. It is far better to go with a lighter recoil level with the idea that she can change the gun later if desired.

Grouse

My wife prefers my Kahr PM9 9mm, but I would also recommend the M&P EZ for a woman, just so much easier to slide.

I shot a Ruger 357 mag SP101 Standard revolver this weekend, it is smooth as butter and deadly accurate. I am not a revolver guy, but that this is sweeeet.

I’d still recommend the FW take the CC class with an auto because most classes will have you shooting in 10 round increments. 10 rounds at one distance, 10 rounds at another, ect. Practice loading the clips too.

She does not need to qualify with the gun she is going to carry.

Find a nice easy to shoot .22 or 9mm. Go out plinking a day or two before the class. Everything will work out fine.

On the topic of accuracy and knock down power. Meh! FW pulls out a gun on 99% of the dumb asses out there they are going to turn and run. Her (and my) greatest threat on any given day are stay dogs.

Good luck!

-J.

Everything I have to say has been said earlier but I’ll call out the ones I’ve learned

1. Let her pick it out, nuff said

2. Recoil, don’t get any of those noisy cricket super small micro compacts. Generally I usually recommend staying away from sub compacts until someone is really advanced with their shooting technique, However there is something to be said for if it’s small enough they you’re more likely to have it with. M&P Shield, P365, small’ish revolver, etc.

3. KISS firearm. Meaning if semi-auto look to striker fired options so every trigger pull is the same. Less you have to learn the less to go wrong. No DA/SA

4. Instructor led training. CCW classes are great but in no means really get you ready for a day to day basis. Ideally it’s not just range training but also includes elements like situational awareness, legal aspects, maybe even simulated scenarios. Not sure in the OP’s area what’s available

KPE wrote:

A good revolver can fail and a shitty semi can run 5k rds without failure, and vice versa.

I have owned and shot revolvers for 40 years now. Never, and I mean never have I once had a failure. Wet, dirty, rusty, crappy ammo, don’t matter.

Pull trigger – Go Bang!

-J.

Jon Jordan wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>KYLE P ERICKSON wrote:</div>
A good revolver can fail and a shitty semi can run 5k rds without failure, and vice versa.

I have owned and shot revolvers for 40 years now. Never, and I mean never have I once had a failure. Wet, dirty, rusty, crappy ammo, don’t matter.

Pull trigger – Go Bang!

-J.

And I own a single wheelgun made by a reputable manufacturer which has failed to fire on two occasions. Last year during pistol league my Sig P250 delivered 2,500 rounds on target without a single failure, and through its lifetime has been fired over 12,000 times with 4 failures to eject, all of which happened on the same day using the same batch of hand loads. You sir are lucky, and your data, just like mine above, is 100% allegory.

I was not telling OP to eliminate revolvers from the decision making process entirely rather consider the fact that a revolver WILL still fail with faulty ammo. And any notion that revolvers are simpler is no longer true thanks to the likes of Glock and some Sig models (and others) with their small handful of moving parts.

Revolvers have their place and they might be the solution for the OP but only he and his wife can actually make that decision. Best to provide him with facts to help him decide. And best that they practice how to handle malfunctions because malfunctions can and will happen with any firearm.