wait a minute...I thought any pistol chambered in anything less than a 45acp, 45 long colt, 357 or 44 Magnum, or 454 cassul was a girl gun? I'll check back later after the flames subside a bit.
"Fit" is probably the most important thing when choosing a carry gun. "Fit" is purely subjective, based on a ton of minute details, and regardless of gender, something that no one but you can get right. Complete wild card.
Funny, A day or so ago on one of the other sights, folks were asking the same question about woman shooters! The argument was about how a small stature "girl" could shoot a full auto power house Battle rifle and not have any problems! I can tell you a few things about that, One, Some one didn't give that lady and preconceived crap about what a lady can or cannot handle, or what a girl should or should not be able to shoot! Next, she was probably shown how to shoot the thing, and then let decide for her self if she wanted to give it a try. My wife has never been discouraged from trying something, and if she dosn't like it, no problem! If she does like it, then she usually wants one of her own! She wanted to try my .375 Weatherby Mag one day, That rifle hits your shoulder at 55 foot pounds!!! I do not care how big and tough you think you are, That rifle will rock you!!! After she touched off the first round and a little shoulder rubbing, she finished off the rest of the ammo I had brought out and declared it to be ready for any thing, all the while she had the biggest grin on her face, and she still brags about shooting a "Real Mans Rifle" to all her friends! Yup, Shes a keeper!!!
It is AMAZING to me how often "Uncle Such-n-Such" taught them how to do all the wrong things when shooting...was at a class once where the instructor had high school aged girls shooting shotguns with the stocks on their biceps!!! Or how often they are sent out with a loaded .44 and pointed in the general direction of the target, and left to fend for themselves. Pretty sure I mentioned this before, but my old lady laid claim to my stock K98 8mm. Nothing ladylike about that gun, the caliber, or the recoil. Most people tend to forget that as far as the equipment is concerned, we are all just people. On a professional level, I wish that a major gun company would get together and design a (small/limited) line of pistols with the ergonomics and caliber choices specifically for females. VERY hard to find a stock gun that a woman can hit all of the controls as easily as a man can.
I agree Axes, My wife complains about that all the time! Why manufacture's haven't jumped all over that, I do not know! One of the reasons my Lovely Bride loves the 1911 so much, it fits her hand well, can be tuned to fit a lot of hands, and has some of the best sites made by the hand of man! Something to be said for the goodness of the 1911 when more ladies I know learn that they can shoot a 1911 far better then the guns they have been told they should be using! She is hooked on 1911 goodness same as her Ol' Man! LOL Another thing, why do some guys try and sell the ladies a 'Youth" size rifle? we have found that most "Man" size rifles fit my wife and other ladies of her size ( very average size, don't tell her I said that) and that there is no need to down size any thing, Including the cal. If I were a bettin man, I would say Ruger is probably the closest to getting this Female thing figured out!!!
A lot of the old guns (PPK, 1911, Baby Browning, Revolvers) seemed to have a handle on what was going on...then the aftermarket started selling grips, people started complaining, and now the classic grip is replaced by a 2x4 on all models standard.
This reminds me of the movie Mr. and Mrs Smith ( Brad Pit an Angelina Jolie) they are under attack in the basement , and he hands her a gun , and she scows a at him why are you giving me the "girl gun"? Ive taught several women to shoot through the years. I start them off with air guns , just getting the basic gun safety issues out of the way ,establish good habits first , then with 22 and what ever caliber they are willing to work up to . One lady was told by her brother to get a S&W light weight .38 spl. truth be told it was especially uncomfortable to shoot, even for me. I let her shoot my .357 mag security six and she immediately fell in love with it , eve with mag rounds, and bought one that day. She kept the S&W but merely as a back up .
As a woman, I have my favorites. Baby Glock 26 9mm for hand gun, (tried a pink Taurus out first though), Remington 7400 semi auto 30.06 for a rifle, and of course my Remington 870 12 gauge pump for my most favorite weapon. I love that... Especially the kick. You know you've fired it for sure. When my hubby works nights, it let's me sleep a little easier knowing it would blow anyone away coming up the stairs.
I tricked my wife into purchasing a Ruger SP101 in 357 Magnum — one with a three inch barrel, and a rubber-overmolded Hogue Monogrip. She's a very gentle woman with fine bone structure; but, know what? I forgot to tell her that 357 Magnum is a tough round to control and shoot well. So, what does she do? She ends up firing that little 357 BETTER THAN most men I know! I showed her how to use it, shot it for her a few times, handed it to her, and she's just taken off with it! All because I forgot to tell her it's a hard thing to do! (I do the exact same thing with all of my female students.)
It will surprise most folks, what a woman can handle, when it is introduced Properly, in the way of FireArms... especially HandCannons... I started AlaskaChick out with a .380ACP with a 3" Barrel.... Then I made the mistake of letting her shoot my Brand NEW Belgein Browning HiPower in 9mm.... I had to save up for a while to buy her a Dan Wesson Stainless .357 Mag Pistol-Park, just to get my HiPower back... Then we traded for a S&W Model 29 8" Barrel 44 Mag, and she had to try it out, seeing that it was the "Dirty Harry" Gun and a Challenge for her.... turned out she could handle it very nicely, for about two Dozen Rounds, before her wrists got sore, and with reasonable accuracy, out to 30 Yds.... Somewhere along the line, we traded instructions with Another couple... He was a local SWAT Team Training Officer, and I worked with his wife, while he instructed my wife... Both ladies thought that this was VERY Helpful, in their shooting Experience..
My wife wanted a Judge for her first. She loves it and is very good with it. I walked in from work one day as she was getting dressed. She called to me but I didn't hear her, when I turned to corner into our room I was staring at a half dressed woman, I didn't notice at first, and a revolver with a tiny red light pointed at me. Learned lesson from then on, yell loud when I enter the house if I don't see her.
It's often the best way of training folk who are close to oneself....it separates the instructor relationship from the marital/kinship relationship. I'm sure my appreciation of and enjoyment of geometry and mathematics would have been different had I had someone else's tutelage other than my dad's. He was not a very patient man, and error was not tolerated very well. Learning G&M was a painful process.
I taught my wife and kids to drive and shoot guns and a host of other things. 1. they have to put forth the effort to push the issue for learning. you can't train some one that thinks they know more than you do . My living example was starter for a good foundation they could observe. Merely giving instruction, and not fallowing the rules your self, teaches nothing. I added the "why" to a lot of things they needed to know. Keep you finger off the trigger till you are absolutely ready to pull it. If you were in the position of puling the trigger and some one behind you bumps you , your premature shot could become a big problem. Be aware of your environment . if people are busy behind you, stop until you can concentrate on what your suppose to be doing . Any way , turns out my daughter is a good shooter, but she's just not that interested in it. My son is good too , he just doesn't have the time to play.
Brand new here. I have A Bersa Thunder 380 but find it too big to conceal properly. I will use the Bersa for home use as soon as my Ruger LCP 2 pocket pistol gets here.
