GunTalk-Online.com

My fiancée is looking for a CCW pistol. She looked at the Glock 26 and didn't like how short it was - it was catching her in a very uncomfortable spot in her palm. Likewise, she didn't like the new Kel-Tec offerings.

Of all of the guns we looked at the first day, she liked the Glock 19 best, but she didn't like the price tag and the sheer size of the thing, so she didn't even bother firing it.

She is in nursing school, and when she starts to do her clinicals, she will find herself in the wee hours of the morning sometimes walking from the hospital to the car. Essentially, the piece will spend most of its time in her bag in her locker and is really just for the walk between the hospital and the car and vice versa. She is extremely small (size 0-2), but is tallish (5'6) and has very long thin fingers and medium to large size hands.

Any suggestions? We've got a range with a TON of rental pieces, but where to start?

After looking at many different handguns, my girlfriend chose a Walther PPS 9MM. She has small hands so anything with a double-stack mag was ruled out. After looking at, and holding many different models it came down to either a Kahr P9 or the Walther PPS. She chose the Walther based on comfort and fit in her hand and absolutely loves it. Maybe this will help you some.
Smokey

+1 on the PPS or Kahr. maybe look into a Bersa 380 or a PPK, or if you are 100% on 9mm A taurus 702(?) slim 9mm look good too. A buddy has the taurus and loves it. but most of alll get her to fondle every possibilty and go with what she likes, it is her gun to carry.

I'd suggest any of the S&W or Taurus small frame revolvers for peace of mind. If she's very comfortable with semi-auto's, then a Kahr P40 or 9mm would be nice. Don't rule out the Ruger LCP's or the other small 380's for usefulness.. Is the hospital going to allow her to keep a firearm on premises? Something to look into if you don't know..

Is the hospital going to allow her to keep a firearm on premises? Something to look into if you don't know..

Good point, Here in Texas ER entrances are a NO GUN area. Now the other entry's are allowed, unless posted.

Probably best to let her look and try a selection. You might be surprised with what she likes. Shooting a variety is also a good idea. Some of the smaller pistols, like the Air Weights have a bit of unwelcome recoil for some folks.

greener wrote:Probably best to let her look and try a selection. You might be surprised with what she likes. Shooting a variety is also a good idea. Some of the smaller pistols, like the Air Weights have a bit of unwelcome recoil for some folks.

Good point, my girfriend watched me shoot an LCP 380 and wanted no part of it. She would even shoot my M&P 40C but would not shoot the LCP. She fondled quite a few pistols before she settled on the PPS.

We went and shot quite a few over the last 3 days.

She loves the small Sig, but it is $650!
She likes the Glock 19 and 26 as well, but they're pretty big to conceal.
She didn't like the Ruger since it has no safety and the trigger seemed to pull forever.
She also didn't like the way the S&W's fired. Not sure why.
The Beretta little one was interesting, but is a .32 and is very awkward to cock.

I'm going to have her look at the Kahrs since so many people suggested it...

In a stressful situation such as when one would need to draw a weapon, studies show that motor skills (such as flipping a safety) are sometimes forgotten. For this reason, we ruled out anything with a safety. This left us with either a DAO automatic without a safety or a revolver. Just something to consider.
Smokey

I carry a Sig 229 9mm DA/SA. They are well built and very accurate guns. The only thing is that the triggers are not near as good as the German made guns. The SRT does add to some of this, but is well worth it. They are a little heavy for some. Mine has had the action cleaned up and the DA pull in around 9# now with the SA closer to 3.5#. With the heavier DA your not likely to have a AD under stress.

If you can find a used one like the CPO you can pick them up for around 1/2 price. TopGun Supply has the best prices I have found on Sig's.

I agree with smokey, a safety is not required on a defensive handgun, and may not be desired.
In a quality holster, a manual safety is somewhat redundant anyway, unless you're packing a hair-trigger single action without a drop safety. If she is dead set on purse carry, an XD subcompact will fit in most gun purses ... I would advise to get a dedicated gun purse with a Velcro interior section and a holster like CrossBreed's "Ohai" model ... or any Kydex shell holster with Velcro glued on will do the job (that's what was used while waiting for MrsBFD's Ohai) ... I would discourage just dumping a gun in a purse without a dedicated location for the gun and ONLY the gun ... drawing from a purse is slow and clumsy enough without the gun being upside-down and covered with junk.

I'm a big fan of the XD line, two passive safeties are plenty of protection if you're willing to conceal the bulk.
Kahrs generally don't have a safety lever either, although they did add one to a (some?) model to meet some state's silly "safe gun list" requirements.
Any handgun (yes, revolvers too) will have a failure mode, get some snap-caps and make sure she can identify and clear the common ones.

Purse carry can be good and bad as mentioned on getting to the gun. One thing to remember is purse snatcher normally surprise the person, if carrying a gun you may want to carry it very close to your body. And never leave the gun/purse in a shopping cart. Most I know have gone to carrying the gun on their person.

For got to add if she like the Sig P239 there is only 5oz difference between it and a P229-9mm. But you get 13 rounds vs 7, single stack vs double. Now the 229 40/357 is 5oz heavier than the 9mm model. Not sure if Sig's sight shows this difference.

I have found for most Women the DAO Revolver to be the best carry gun out there..
No slides to rack, no chamber feeding problems, limp rist, no slide to bite ya etc..
Nothing but a smooth DA trigger pull..
Any of these would fit the bill..
Gary

S&W 642 940 940 342Ti

The only problem with the J-frame suggestion is a lot of novice shooters have trouble controling the little guys, plus the recoil sensitive folks say they are no fun to shoot (I love my 442 personally)....I've heard a lot of ladies tell me they don't care for the j frame.... the kahr pm9 or cw9 would be a better choice IMHO.....but I stick to what she likes its her gun....

Revolvers are fine and dandy, but anyone willing to take a few minutes to think about the mechanism of a semi-auto and practice clearing some failures can probably master the complexities of operating one.
But yes, for someone unwilling to commit some time to range time and general practice, a revolver is probably the "point-and-click" answer, the failures are rarer even if they are harder to rectify.