I need some imput on a few handguns...

General Firearms Handguns - Semi Auto
1

So the wife and I go out to look at pistols for her. I let her pick out some that SHE likes because I want her to enjoy shooting it. She’s got it narrowed down to the Sig P238 in .380, S&W M&P Shield in 9mm, Springfield xds in 45, and a S&W bodyguard in .380.

So far she’s shot the shield (the only choice available to rent). Given its a dirty old range rental pistol, it jammed 4 times out of 50 rounds. She didn’t like it as much because she wasn’t hitting where she wanted. I think she’s developed a flinch (we’re gonna have to work on).

I’ve looked up reviews on youtube and other sources, but kinda take some of them with a grain of salt. Out of the choices above, which would you pick? Do you know of any bad “known” issues with any of the 4 mentioned? Thanks for your help.

2

Sorry. None of the above. I don’t ascribe to the theory that an untrained and inexperienced person is well served by picking something they decide they like. Like based on what? 50 or 100 rds of shooting?

I would try to create a list of known solid guns that have stood the test of time and trial. OTOH, FWIW I know someone with a S&W Bodyguard 380 and his wife likes it and it has run well for 100 rounds or so. See what I mean? I dunno, maybe it’s solid.

Is the M&P compact 9mm too large for the intended purpose?

Interesting take on the elimination of the Shield. I’ve seen a few reports locally of folks giving up on them for the difficulty of shooting them well. Based on common forum reports last year I thought everyone shot them as well as a full size.

3

My Shield is my EDC but it took me a few trips to get used to it. I’ve got decently large hands and my issues revolved around getting a consistent grip that didn’t shift during the “heavier than glock” trigger pull.

Nonetheless, my 150-200th rounds fired were during the qualification to get it added to my CCW permit (yes in Cali).

Do I shoot my Glocks better. Yes. How much? At 7 yards my Shield groups probably averaged about 1 inch bigger than my Glock groups (1-2") and after adding the full Apex kit to my Shield they are nearly equal with the edge still going to my Glocks.

BTW, in over 500rnds fired in the Shield the only failure I have had was to lock back on empty a couple of times.

4

Her selections are all over the map. I took my wife to various gun stores in town and let her monkey paw what they had. Although we couldn’t test them she kept coming back to a S&W M&P 9FS so that’s what she bought and she likes it. She’s still working on recoil management. (She has back issues) she is comfortable enough to use it for home defense. Maybe your wife should check out some full size or just compact guns. She may be pleasantly surprised with their shoot ability

5

1911’s are always easy to shoot as long as she learns and trains the manual of arms.

If she likes the p238, might want to consider the p938 instead. It’s almost the same gun except in 9mm instead of .380. A little more punch in yet a still manageable package.

6

Her “choices” are all over the map. Everything from a .45 to a .380

Buy her a Glock 19, a real set of sights, a quality holster, and an assload of ammo. Once she’s shot all of that up, she’ll be in a better position to assess what she does and doesn’t want/need in a handgun.

Right now she’s in the position that we were all at when we first started out: “not knowing what we didn’t know.”

I wouldn’t suggest a P238 or P938 to anyone who’s safety I actually cared about.

7

Buy what she wants, what she’s comfortable with. Don’t force your decision on her. If she takes to shooting and enjoys it, get a “real” gun later when she’s had training and practice, and in a better place to participate intelligently in the decision. Push her to something she she’s not keen on and you risk quashing any enthusiasm she has now.

I would recommend the .380. Not because it’s a better gun, but because it’s the least likely to turn her off.

8

The only one of the four you mentioned that I have any hands on experience with is the S&W BG380. When my wife, son and I were at my FFL’s picking up one our guns, can’t remember which, my wife liked the BG380. So I figured for the price I’d get it for her for her birthday. She doesn’t carry, so it’s just a plinker for her.

However, after all of us shooting it quite a bit without any malfunctions (causing it not to go bang) I figured I’d get a little pocket holster and carry it when I didn’t want to or it wasn’t practical to carry one of my larger pistols. I fire 100 rounds of Gold Dots though it and that’s what I carry in it.

After about 6 months we started having a problem with the laser not working correctly. I thought it was the battery. I replaced it and it’s still not working right. It puts out a star like shape. But, in S&W defense, I haven’t contacted them about it yet and I’m sure when I do they will fix as quick as they fixed my SW1911 (told me it was going to take two weeks, took four days!). The reason I haven’t contacted them, lasers really don’t do anything for me and I forget about it until a post like this comes up.

All that being said. . . . .and I know you didn’t ask but, if and when my wife does carry, I would (and already have) have her take a REALLY LONG HARD look at a Glock G26 or G19. I know everyone has different likes and dislikes. However, my experience with my gen 3 Glock’s (G22 (even w/G31 barrel from time to time), G26, G27 and G34) has been 100% reliable every time I pulled the trigger, thousands and thousands and thousands of rounds over the last 14 years. . . . .with one exception. It was a Remington UMC 180 gr. in my G22. It had a good primer hit. I took it out. My friend tried to shoot it in his S&W 4006 and it didn’t on off for him either (I know, probably wasn’t the best idea!). I absolutely trust that as long as do my part, my Glock’s will do theirs. . . . .I have to trust what has always worked for me, can’t help it, YMMV!

Good luck, NYH1.

9

Thanks for the replies. She doesn’t like the thickness of Glocks (believe me I tried lol). I’m going to run it by her again, but it’s her choice. I just don’t want her picking out a high point or similar quality pistol.

10

My wife went through the same thing. She already knew she wanted a 9mm, her previous gun being a Colt Mustang Govt Model .380. We went to Gander Mountain and Cabelas and she tried on handguns. My preferred role was to be supportive and informative. I don’t know how your relationship works, but the idea of saying to my wife “I’ve picked out a handgun for you” is inconceivable. She ruled out all the double-stack magazines right away for having a grip that was too thick and too short. Not enough hand on the grip. She ended up with a Walther PPS and bought a bunch of the 7 round mags, which extend the grip just enough fir her to comfortably get her hand on. I gotta hand it to her…she is not a gun enthusiast, but she insists we go to the range about once a month and in addition to her PTC course, she’s taken at least one defensive pistol course every year.

11

If she is flinching with a Shield in 9mm, that XDS in .45 is going to be a handful. It’s not a bad pistol, but a .45 wrapped in that small of a package equals to pretty sharp recoil.

That’s one you seriously need to let her shoot before you buy.

12

I have the xds .45 and really like it but I can’t recommend it at this time. It’s under a recall and a fix has not yet been announced.

I haven’t even sent mine in yet but springfield says don’t shoot it.

13

I don’t have any experience with the guns you have mentioned, but I do have experience with a wife and guns.:smiley:

I went through this over a decade ago. I owned a bunch of different guns at the time and I just knew which gun she would love. She didn’t.

I just knew she was going to pick the S&W 640 or the Sig P232.

She, instead, picked the Glock. I wound up getting her a Glock 19 for Valentines day right after we were married and she currently routinely carries a G26 in her purse when she is on business trips. I recently got a S&W 642 and she really liked the way it felt, but didn’t like the way it shot. (Although she did put her first round right into the 1" square at 7 yards) With the G26 & Gold Dot 124g +P she can go 5/5 into a 1" square at 7 yards slow fire and easily in an 8" circle firing quick.

I have tried to get her interested in other guns but she always comes back to Glock.

For reference my wife is 5’4" and around 105 lbs dripping wet with small hands and has no trouble controlling the gun.

14

What is her pistol to be used for? CCW, HD, or recreational shooting? If for HD or plinking, the S&W M&Ps, XD, Walthers, etc would be a better choice. There’s also the old SIG P225 single stack if you can find one. Those had about as decent a grip as any modern semi auto pistol on the market. If for CCW, then that’s something if a harder choice. I’ve heard others suggest having a spouse/SO take a basic pistol class before selecting a handgun. Of the pistols you listed, the Shield would be the most shootable in a training/recreation environment in my opinion. If it’s only for plunking, that Walther P22 has a decent grip for small hands, a decent trigger for a poly gun, and seem to be pretty reliable. I think they also make it in 380.

15

I applaud your approach of letting your wife decide what she wants to shoot, not trying to force the “right” decision on her. Here are some basic questions, though, that I’d want answers to before getting too far down the trail:

  1. What is your wife’s experience and comfort with handguns? Has she had any real training?
  2. What’s the intended role for this pistol? Plinking/range fun; home defense; concealed carry?
  3. What’s your budget, realistically?

If the answer to #1 is little/no training/experience/comfort, do her and you both a favor, buy a decent .22 pistol (I like the Browning Buckmark as a trainer), and get a reputable trainer to give her some lessons on fundamentals of shooting. If she’s a new shooter, and she picks up a pistol with little/no training and can’t hit crap, she’ll quickly lose interest. Believe me, I’ve seen this routine HUNDREDS of times before.

If the answer to #2 is anything EXCEPT concealed carry, she’s looking at absolutely the wrong types of pistols. Small, lightwieght, single stack guns are designed to be carried a lot and shot a little. Most, not all, but most, are significantly harder to shoot well because (a) short barrel/sight radius, (b) stout-for-caliber recoil due to light weight and narrow backstraps. As above, a pistol that “feels good” in her smaller hand that doesn’t hit what she’s aiming at, and kicks uncomfortably is going to lead to a loss of interest.

If the answer to #2 is anything EXCEPT “range/plinking ONLY,” PLEASE don’t let her pick the .380. There’s VERY little difference in recoil/controlability (is that a word?) between the .380 and the 9mm, but a SIGNIFICANT difference in performance in self defense roles. I also would urge her NOT to select the .40 S&W or .45 ACP unless she’s an experienced shooter with a lot of training in recoil management.

Your budget is going to drive practical selections. If you’re in the $400-500 range, you’re going to be limited to Glocks, Walther, S&W. If you can go higher, you open the door to base-level but respectable 1911s, Sigs, and HKs.

FWIW, I recently helped a newish female agent through this process. She didn’t care for our issued P229R DAK .40s, and she’d had a G26 that she couldn’t shoot well because the grip was so short and wide she couldn’t get a good grip. She also didn’t feel comfortable with a single-stack due to capacity issues. I suggested she look at the M&P 9c - and she thought it was “just right” in balancing size, concealability, and shootability.

Best of luck to you and your lovely bride in your searches.

Regards,

Kevin

16

OP, the below may or not apply to you in any way.

Men seem to really suck with helping women make intelligent choices when it comes to firearms. I see it in my shop, I see it online and I see it when my friends wives show me what their husbands bought them.

Men typically buy a pistol (that they secretly like) and sell it to their wives as a gift. It is usually in some obnoxious caliber and after a few short shooting sessions, they don’t want anything to do with it.

So here are some general guidelines for men to follow when helping women pick out a gun.

  1. Men, get training and knowledge about firearms. You can’t help ANYONE if you don’t know anything yourself.

  2. Understand that women generally choose guns by LOOKS and then FEEL.

  3. Women (generally) have no idea about calibers and how much recoil they have. So don’t have them shoot 45’s, 40’s, .38’s, 357’s and 380Auto’s UNTIL they have gotten to spend time with .22LR and .22Magnum. Then work them into 9mm guns with SMALL back straps in a full size configuration (1911’s, M&P’s, HK P30, PPQ, GEN 4 Glock, etc).

  4. Women don’t have strong hands and arms. So giving them a gun that is DA only or has some horrific, long 6-7lbs trigger pull isn’t going to work out well. Choose guns with good triggers OR ones that can be easily modified to get the trigger pull weight down to 4-5LBS.

  5. If the women cannot reach the controls (as the gun is too big) OR the gun is too complex (with decockers, etc) pass on it.

So OP, in your list the two best choices are the S&W BG and the Shield. The fact that ANY range rental gun malfunctioned is irrelevant. So don’t base any opinion off of that.

Some other choices would be:

  1. M&PC in 9mm (Apex DCAEK + polish)
  2. G26 (add 3.5 connector + polish work)
  3. S&W J Frame .22 or .22LR revolver (trigger work needs done)
  4. GEN 4 19 (add 3.5 connector + polish work)
  5. HK P30 (V1)

For dealing with a flinch, start doing ball and dummy drills NOW!

C4

17

In extensive experience with ladies and handguns, the following trend as the most popular selections with the highest satisfaction. In no particular order:

Glock 19 (esp gen4)
Glock 26 (esp gen4), w/ extended baseplate/finger rest
SW 3913/3914
SW 6906
Sig P239
Ruger SP101
3" J-frames, esp M60, with smartly chosen grips
3" K-frames, with smartly chosen grips

There are others that are liked, but these are the clear leaders. Calibers are 9mm and 38spl, only.

I discuss several compact and subcompact models in this thread:
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=135400

Do keep in mind that these are samples of one each, and my own experiences. Some of the observations may help. I believe that a properly functioning Shield is a viable choice.

18

My wife is quite petite, 5’4" probably less than 100 lbs. we don’t have a scale, they are way too scary to me. For HD & plinking she moved from my M&P9FS to Gen3 G19. She loves the G19, she’s the most proficient with that auto. I purchased another for her from Grant. I just put Ameriglo CAPs on hers, she likes those sights as much as I do. For CCW she moved from LCP to a 9mm Shield. She can but doesn’t carry at this time, I’m usually always with her when we are out and about. With how she dresses not sure she can conceal anything…:wink:

I suggest a shield 9 for ccw, that would be my choice. Once they get over the limp wrist thing, they run fine, quite accurate and a soft shooter.

19

The Shield and Glock 26 or 19 have been the guns all of the women I’ve taken shooting have preferred.

20

Might throw the Walther PPQ in there. The wife of one of the guys I shoot with has one. It fits her hand well and seems easy to handle for her.