Best semi automatic pistol for woman?

S

scagle777

New member
Looking to get my wife a compact pistol to carry and keep by the bed. Every one that we look at the slide is too much for her to pull. The only one I have found so far has been a Walther 9mm. I would like to find something in the $250-$350 range in a .380 or 9mm. I talked about a .38 snubby but she wants a semi automatic. Thanks in advance
 
Unless you find a good used pistol I think the closest you might find is a ruger LCP in .380. A Kahr might run you a little more but a good weapon IMO. Maybe a Kel-Tec or a Bersa.
 
Last edited:
Have you tried the Hi-Point .380 or 9mm Alot of people are going to say they arent worth your time but after owning one in 9mm for almost 5 years now without a single problem I would have to disagree. You can get one well under what your wanting to spend and they carry a 100% no questions asked lifetime guarantee. Just a thought. Good luck
 
i would like to get a revolver but if it were a semi I would just keep it cocked and locked. I guess we will just shop around and see what is comfortable.
 
What about a bersa 380 or the 9mm. The bersa is around the price range you are looking for. I picked one up in the 380 for 289 with out tax. You might be able to find them cheaper than that.
 
Maybe you can talk her into a S&W Bodyguard in 38. Come with a laser. Ruger lcr is pretty cool and has a really nice trigger pull. Wife likes it. I think most intruders won`t want to stay in the house when lead starts flying.
 
It's going to be hard to find a really reliable, higher power handgun for the money you are wanting to spend....Around here the Ruger LCR and LCPs are going for $385 to $425....Beretta .380s are about the same...

Check your local pawn shops and have cash in hand, you might find what she likes and they will probably deal better than the standard gun shop...A lot of people in this area have been selling nice firearms cheap due to needing to pay bills and being out of work...

Any of your better name .380s with a steel frame/slide can be made to function easier and still be reliable...While I own a couple of poly frame handguns, I've never done much improvement work on them, so I can't speak to that...

I have an older Sig P-230 .380 that is easy to operate and very accurate, within reason (25 yards) and it points very naturally...It also doesn't bite the web of your hand like the Walther PPKs are prone to do..Bersa makes one that is almost identical to the Sig in size and looks...I'm just not sure about the reliability on them..
 
bought the wife a sig sauer .380, great gun single action functions and looks just like the colt mustang, After about a year she went back to her smith model 36. Try the wheel gun anybody you want to use it on won't complain if its not automatic plus .380 bullets are harder to come by than .38
 
thumbup.gif
+ 1
 
Yep that Walther will bite. Also I have seen women get them jammed by not pulling the slide back far enough, gets the round pinched sticking straight up. Then what, throw it at them.
A revolver maybe hammer less seems good with no safety issues. It's shoot or not, no oops.
 
Yup, the old guy bought and trained Mrs CB back many years ago on two S&W J-Frames. She has a 2" and a 3" 38 Special. She doesn't shoot enough to know how to handle an auto and I worry about that. She's not mechanically inclined and a jam, FTF or FTE would be a disaster. The S&W won't act funny because it has a year's worth of closet lint in it and it won't jam.

However, her first line of defense, at the house, when I'm on the road is a short barreled Remington M870. She knows how to shoot a shotgun and I would feel sorry for some POS that came through the front door when she had her 870. BTW, we don't use buckshot either. Her gun is loaded with target loads, a target load with #8 shot at 50' is devastating. After being hit with 1 1/4 oz. of #8's, I doubt any POS will want to come any further.
 
I am a big fan of the KISS principle. (keep it simple stupid)
We all get stupid in high stress situations.
There is nothing easier and more reliable than a double action revolver.

Jack
 
i have the Hipoint C-9
its compact
recoils is minimal
accurate as a 3.5 inch bbl will be
and runs Any ammo i try in it
one jam and that was my fault for over loading clip
 
I agree with Jack philosophically, but my daughter wanted a 1911 (what she grew up with because it's my preference), so I got her a .40 Kimber.

She found the recoil objectionable enough that it curtailed her practice (a necessary component of self defence weaponry IMHO), and wound up "appropriating" one of my .45s (the recoil is greater on the .45 but is spread out over a longer time frame and "feels" softer).

One point (as illustrated above) that is often overlooked is that whatever you get has to not only be effective in terms of stopping power, but has to be something the woman (or man) is comfortable training with. Without consistant and repetitive training, a weapon may become more of a liability than a benefit.
 
The general answer to your question is "the one she likes and will shoot".

I agree with the revolver suggestions unless she can clear jams.

My wife took a couple of months picking her guns. I was there to look them over for condition, she bought them used, but they were all her choices. As part of the process she tried all my guns at the range. She also went to a range to rent guns I didn't have. She learned heavier recoils less, lighter is better to pack, and most important, that she isn't going to be able to manage a Semi-Auto if it jams.

In the end she has 3 revolvers that she picked out. Her HD gun is a 6" S&W 686-1 - I'd have preferred a 4" but she likes how the 6" feels and it is her gun (Mine is a Glock 19).

Her everyday packing piece is a Ruger LCR - she traded her SP101 for the Ruger because it was a lot lighter. Her high volume practice piece is an S&W 17-1 .22LR. I load practice rounds for her 686, .38SP powder charges in .357 brass so it's easier to keep the cylinder clean.

She shoots 4" groups at 20 yards with the 686 and slightly reduced .357 loads.

She traded in her SP101 and bought the Ruger one day while I was at the range. When I got home she proudly showed me her new packing piece.

Works for me.

Fitch
 
Back
Top