Please stop recommending tiny handguns for women !

[Petrol & Powder]

For as long as I can remember, whenever the topic of handguns and female shooters comes up, the overwhelming majority of males will recommend a tiny handgun. Somewhere deep in the male brain there seems to be a strong instinct to match females with tiny handguns.

I've taught a lot of women how to shoot. Here is a little of what I've learned in the process.

YES, the gun needs to fit the person using it but I’ve yet to see a female so petite that the only gun she could possible grasp was a Baby Browning or Colt Vest Pocket.

YES, concealment might be an issue but that doesn’t mean it needs to fit in a lipstick case or weigh less than a business card.

It doesn’t need to be chambered in 44 Magnum, but we can probably find something suitable that is larger than .22 caliber.

If the gun will not be carried as a concealed weapon, the overall size and weight are slightly less critical. A gun that lives in a house doesn’t need to be concealable.

Upper body strength and hand strength are sometimes an issue for shooters. There are solutions to those challenges, but those solutions shouldn’t start with a North American Arms .22 LR mini revolver.

Not every shooter has the hand strength to accurately utilize a DA trigger, but most can master a Glock trigger.

Tiny handguns are difficult to master.

Cartridge selection should not be driven by preconceived ideas. I’ve seen many women that were proficient with a 1911 chambered in 45 ACP. Most adolescent girls can master a pistol chambered in 9mm.

We should match guns to people; not genders.

 

[Brad]

I don’t like the concept of selecting any firearm for anyone. Hey need to be a large part of the equation. Let them handle multiple firearms. If possible let them try a bunch of them.
I would never dream of picking something for my wife. She got a 686 instead of a GP100 because it felt better to her. I wasn’t about to say a word.

I will say that I agree entirely with the point that really small guns are harder to master. I don’t care to shoot compact guns of any kind and that would lead me to never become proficient with them.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Brad thank you for that point, I wasn't clear in my post.
I wasn't speaking about selecting a gun for someone else, I was speaking about recommending a gun for a female. I totally agree the end user needs to be a large part of the equation. It is the initial "steering" that I was speaking of.

When a female (often one that is new to firearms) is seeking advice, there is a strong tendency for males to recommend a tiny gun. Some woman will even seek that reinforcement.

 

[Winelover]

The reason tiny/concealable handguns are recommended is a response to a carry gun. Yeah, women carry purses and can get away with a service size piece but weight is still a consideration.

Being a handgun aficionado, Cindy has access to a wide variety of my revolvers and pistols. She has shot all my handguns and her favorite is my 6" Python. However, it is not a carry piece, by any means. She shoots more than the average woman and has even successfully hunted with her 7 1/2" 45 Colt BH............she has harvested two deer with the Ruger SA. She is partial to revolvers, due to simplicity and lack of hand strength to operate the slide on semi auto's. No need to disengage safeties, is also a plus.

We have three J frames. Two 642's and a stainless Model 60. The latter was her first purchase. The exposed hammer and weight were it's downfall. It was replaced by a 642.

 

[fiver]

I totally get the point, I see it often enough.

I want a gun for self defense.
you NEED a LCPRT MINI in 25 or 32 acp.
I do?
well I certainly wouldn't recommend anything bigger then the 380, the recoil is brutal
[uhh yeah a 4 oz. gun does have some recoil]

my daughter wants to hunt with me.
get her a micro mini 20 vartag.
we are gonna deer hunt.
oh,,, get her the 22 vartag then.

 

[Brad]

Kinda like giving a kid a 410 for bird hunting.

 

[Bill]

Most of the girls and women I know can not load the mag or rack the slide on a semi auto, so I tell them to get a 38 revolver


Bill

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Kinda like giving a kid a 410 for bird hunting.

/\ SPOT ON /\

We've all seen it.
A .410 is not a beginners gun, it is an experts gun.

 

[CZ93X62]

My wife grew up shooting 1911s, and was PISSED when the Army pulled her 45 and issued a 38 Special. Late in her service gig, an M-11 (SIG P-228) got issued, and she felt better about life. Fast-forward about 15 years, and in 2003 I bring home a P-228 that a friend sold when he retired, in like-new shape. I showed it to her......and promptly LOST IT. Hers now! She does let me clean it and reload for it. I may have repeated that error sequence on Thursday when she tried out the Henry BB steel 357 Magnum with full-value loads. She loved it.

My crazy Spaniard. She named the P-228 "Lucy"--when they name your guns, you know it's gone.

 

[Ian]

We should match guns to people; not genders.

Yes. When I match a new shooter to a firearm they get the full spectrum as I can provide it. A carry/SD handgun is useless if it won'tbe carried and a woman 99.5% of the time won'tpack if it weighs more than two pounds or is bigger than a J-frame snubby. Look at the big picture.

The reason tiny/concealable handguns are recommended is a response to a carry gun. Yeah, women carry purses and can get away with a service size piece but weight is still a consideration.

Exactly. My wife is competent with full-size SAAs and 45 automatics of a few flavors but packs a Model 36 Chief's Special because it fits her LIFESTYLE. She knows the limitations but it beats pepper spray or a baton.

If someone asks for recommendations it is because they don't have the experience to make one themselves. My experience says almost ALL the time a woman will prefer to shoot a Model 10 or even 19 with a 4-6" barrel but won't carry anything bigger or heavier than a PPK, LCR, or J-frame.

You want my opinion, I will likey give it. Take it for what it's worth and consider it among others.

And don't tell me what to do or say, it is rude and out of bounds.

 

[Brad]

Different question- practice.

Practice entirely with the carry piece? Practice with a more “range time” friendly piece most of the time and enough with the carry piece to retain proficiency?

I don’t carry so I don’t really have a firm opinion.

 

[fiver]

and the advice should come with some context.
a person looking for their first gun probably shot someone elses and doesn't really have a clue what they even shot.

 

[Cherokee]

Brad: Most of my range practice time is with full size pistols but my EDC is an XD9C, which I try to shoot every couple months to maintain proficiency.
Lately I have see lots of ladies at the range, usually with a smaller (not micro) carry gun.

 

[Ian]

I see the opposite, too, for which the offenders should be drawn and quartered in my opinion: Hand the innocent new shooter a Model 29 or Desert Eagle .44 and prepare to laugh at them when they touch it off and hurt themselves.

 

[Brad]

I have a standard routine anytime I take a new person to the range. They get 38 specials in my GP100. Heavy enough to mitigate the limited recoil but manageable for anyone I would be interested in taking to shoot.

I agree with Ian too on the loud boomers. No better way to entirely spurious someone on shooting that to scare them or get them hurt on the first time out.

 

[Missionary]

I agree with the advice to start new shooters on the light recoil handguns. Now my wife claims the S&W 357 5 shot Light weight 2 inch (Scandium ?) with 357 loaded to 38 Specail ++p launching a 162 WC.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

For the RECORD, I wasn't disparaging guns such as S&W DAO J-frames chambered in 38 Special. I think they are outstanding tools and well suited for concealment.

My comments were more in tune with the guy that sees a female and immediately starts steering her to something akin to a Baby Browning or a snubnose in .22 LR. ........because she's a girl.

The girl may be cute but that doesn't mean the gun must be "cute". It's not a fashion accessory.

 

[Gary]

This is what my wife and my brothers wife selected:

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I see the opposite, too, for which the offenders should be drawn and quartered in my opinion: Hand the innocent new shooter a Model 29 or Desert Eagle .44 and prepare to laugh at them when they touch it off and hurt themselves.

That has not been my experience when women are seeking advice.

However, I have seen very immature adults pull that stunt on new male shooters.
It is very sophomoric behavior and while those idiots seem to think it's funny, I do not.

 

[RBHarter]

I had this son in-law that was extremely full of himself and a skilled well versed in everything type . I should have said no when he asked for her hand but I didn't want to be the Dad that broke his little girls heart ......... She tells me if I'd said no she wouldn't have married him ... Oh well live and learn .
We were shooting my TC Hawkin with fun little 50 yd can killer RB 40 gr loads and he wanted a go so I dropped in 80 and a 325 gr Maxi ball and casually mentioned that the set trigger was quick . Ok it if you actually feel it it's already gone light , but whatever . The rifle was a good fit on me and I could a dozen or more but you know how those brass butts are with the deep curve . It was just good fun . Of course I'd not do that with an inexperienced shooter , but when they know it all and done it all sometimes you just can't help yourself .