9mm recommendation for Daughter

[wcd]

My wife has smaller hands and she was looking to upgrade from her LCP ( Glad to see her make the change all on her own. ) Well she wanted to try my backup a P365 and she ended up going with that.

Women seem to have different requirements for edc. Although she would carry her LCP she hated shooting in it. Much happier now that she has her own P365 because she enjoys practicing with it , which is huge.

 

[gregkl]

There's an almost brand new S&W EZ 9mm in the classifieds.........

that would be perfect.

This is what I would lean to. I have Shields and the smaller 9's can be overwhelming for some shooters. I think the EZ9 hits a sweet spot in comfort, easy to actuate the slide and still being a 9 mm.

I know the common thought is to have her shoot everything. Personally I think it adds to the confusion for a new shooter or someone getting their first pistol. These aren't Trap guns that rely on a good fit to be able to be on target and mitigate recoil.

If you put something like an EZ in her hands and she can grip it and rip it, then buy it. Why get caught up in paralysis of analysis?

 

[Dean C.]

^^^

Agreed , most new shooters honestly probably have a hard time discerning much after just a few rounds through a rental. I am sure like most here the more and more I shot what I liked evolved. But starting with a good proven platform like the Shield , EZ or P365 is never a bad place to start.

 

[DadSmith]

My DIL, son and I went shopping for a handgun for her. She has really tiny hands. The Ruger LCP2, and the S&W Bodyguard fit her hand the best. I explained that she will need to expect a lot of recoil because the gun is so small, and she'll need to practice a lot with it to get use to it.

I'm going to let her try the Shield 45 and the TP9DA, also the Ronin 1911 45acp today and see how she likes them. We couldn't find a Shield 9mm for her to handle. Are the Shield 9mm the same size grip as the 45 or are they smaller circumference?

 

[BehindBlueI's]

My daughter is looking to buy her first handgun. She is looking for something in 9mm. She is a tad short at 5'-1" and likewise her hands aren't very big. I have an M&P 2.0 Compact that fit her hand decently with the smallest back strap installed, but she says it feels too fat to get a good grip.

The Shield and/or Glock 43 and/or Glock 43X are good places to start. How's her grip strength? Any issues running the slide? Don't eliminate revolvers from the running, especially for small hands. Specifically the .38 LCR, which has a trigger only slightly heavier than a Glock, is lightweight, comes out of the box with usable sights, and utilizing wadcutters is a fairly low recoil option with a round that will still penetrate to the important gibbly bits. The grip can be tailored as small as she needs to go.

 

[Cameramonkey]

^^^

Agreed , most new shooters honestly probably have a hard time discerning much after just a few rounds through a rental. I am sure like most here the more and more I shot what I liked evolved. But starting with a good proven platform like the Shield , EZ or P365 is never a bad place to start.

You dont want to throw everything on the wall at them. That will be too confusing. Start with coonfingering a handful at the counter to see how they fit the hand.

Once they have what feels good down to 2 or 3, stick with that. Based on my experience, she will find one she likes better than the others because she likes the way it feels, and more importantly, how accurate she is with it. It was obvious with my wife. She tried 3. She liked all to varying degrees. But when we put the G19 in her hands, her accuracy was hands down MUCH better with that one.

 

[Angrysauce]

You'd likely be best served with staying on the larger side on the sub-compact range. Think 43x/48 over the 43 or P365X/XL over the P365. They have thinner frames and are lighter than compact or full-size handguns, but not too light or small in the hand. OG Shield 2.0 might be a good one too. The EZs get over hyped, the grip safety is extra, lighter recoil springs make recoil snappy; if you're not disabled or severely physically limited the regular Shield is fine.

 

[Lee11b]

Agree with the try before you buy. I got my wife a Smith & Wesson Performance Center Shield EZ 9mm. It is a little bigger for concealment, BUT it is just plain EZ!!!! EZ to rack, load, and shoot. Only complaint is the 1911 style grip safety, but their are different one's available.

 

[gregkl]

You'd likely be best served with staying on the larger side on the sub-compact range. Think 43x/48 over the 43 or P365X/XL over the P365. They have thinner frames and are lighter than compact or full-size handguns, but not too light or small in the hand. OG Shield 2.0 might be a good one too. The EZs get over hyped, the grip safety is extra, lighter recoil springs make recoil snappy; if you're not disabled or severely physically limited the regular Shield is fine.

That's interesting and good to know. I have never shot one, but I know two ladies who have them and are really happy with them.

Personally the P365 is a very small pistol in my opinion. I considered one until I held it. It may fit a small hand very well. But I wonder what the felt recoil to such a person would be like compared to a 48 or a Shield. I would also stay on the larger side. A Shield is as small as I will go and I'm used to them now that I have been shooting them regularly for several years.

 

[Brad69]

Wife has a G45 likes it better than a 19?

Women I can’t figure em out!

 

[STEEL CORE]

Got my wife a Glock-43 when they first came out, not too happy cause she says it was snappy.
No one mentioned a Glock-42 in .380, I got her one, and she loves it!!!

 

[thunderchicken]

The Shield and/or Glock 43 and/or Glock 43X are good places to start. How's her grip strength? Any issues running the slide? Don't eliminate revolvers from the running, especially for small hands. Specifically the .38 LCR, which has a trigger only slightly heavier than a Glock, is lightweight, comes out of the box with usable sights, and utilizing wadcutters is a fairly low recoil option with a round that will still penetrate to the important gibbly bits. The grip can be tailored as small as she needs to go.

I'd say her grip strength is average for a young lady. She hasn't had any trouble working the slide on my .45 Shield or M&P Compact 2.0. She has handled an SP101 pretty well with 38spl in it but her complaint with it would be the weight. I will have her give dad's LCR .38 a try and see how she likes it.
She has really been eyeballing a Ruger LC9S and SR9C the last two times we were out looking around. She doesn't mind shooting my wife's Bersa .380 so that might be another option for her first handgun.

No matter what I do, I'm just along to help guide her into finding what she wants.
Since I will have some vacation time coming over the next two weeks, I think a father daughter range date maybe in the cards. Oh and she doesn't know yet but I bought myself a Ruger EC9S (basically the same as the LC9S but with fixed sights) and will have her try that too.

 

[Amishman44]

Women seem to have different requirements for edc. Although she would carry her LCP she hated shooting in it. Much happier now that she has her own P365 because she enjoys practicing with it, which is huge.

BINGO...that's right on the mark...women DO have different requirements (expectations) for EDC.
Fit, feel, and comfort are higher on their (most anyhow) list of priorities vs caliber!
My wife has a narrow hand with longer fingers and she likes larger grips, such as Beretta 92, etc.
Her first pistol was a Model 84 Cheetah in .380 that fit in her hand perfectly, but was too large for pocket carry. We had to work to help her find a pistol that was small enough for pocket carry, yet provided a sufficient-sized grip for her to hold onto comfortably that wasn't too 'snappy' (caliber-wise) when she shot it. After several tries and different pistols, she settled on a S&W 351C DAO in .22 WMR with a 'fat' wood grip that she could actually grasp and had to teach her how to hold and shoot a two-fingered grip! We had to work through and address and whole new set of variables, but we got through it and it's been her 'work' EDC for the past few years!
Patience (on my part) and letting the woman (wife) decide, for herself, what is comfortable and what is not, is the key towards encouraging a positive and supportive approach to EDC.

 

[NHT3]

Now that we're already at the rental wall from what you have said about her my suggestion would be Shield plus or Glock 43X/48 (you cover the difference, nice Christmas gift dad)
Absolutely let her make the decision after time on the range.

 

[Fixer]

The wife just picked up a Glock 43X with night sights. She loves the feel of the grip. It's thin but not too short to get a full grip. We have tried a few smaller 9mm's that just didn't fit the hand well enough to shoot comfortably. The daughter seems to like it as well. Still looking to get to the range with it to run a few rounds thru it.

 

[gregkl]

Though I like my Shields, I have to say that my Shield Plus has the hardest to drive slide of any pistol I have owned or shot. My 2.0 Shield is noticeably easier.

Yes, I can do it, but I have to do it with purpose. Gives new meaning to "grip it and rip it".

For that reason and how hard it is to seat mags, I still favor my 2.0 Shield over my Plus.

 

[tackdriver]

Lots of good advice above! There's no one perfect gun. How does she really plan to use it most? Home protection, glove box that gets carried once in a while, range gun only, or strapped to a thigh or belly rig? Important to consider for men, but I think even more so for women. There are lots of great choices on the market, but some better for one thing than another.

Only my opinion, but finding something she will train with is most important. With training comes comfort, accuracy, and confidence. Within reasonable limits of course. If she's comfortable with it, and confident with it, she'll find a way to fit it into her lifestyle.

When my oldest daughter went through this, everywhere she went tried to steer her to the "Lady S&W" type models. I strongly urged her rent a few before listening to them. (I didn't think it was a good choice for her.) One rental and couple of 38 +P rounds and those were off the table. She ultimately fell in love with shooting my Hi-power, and bought a used one. I wouldn't recomend it as a lady's EDC, but she likes shooting it (practice is fun), and is confident with it. It's mostly a home defense and handbag carry, and she was OK with the trade off - confidence and competence vs. size and weight.

I've become a P365 and P365XL fan lately. I'm trying to get her to the range to try them, incl. an XL with a red dot. If she likes them, they're probably a better fit. I'll be happy to purchase her BHP to fund her new P365!

 

[marvin02]

The SR9C was mentioned above, if you try one make sure she can rack the slide. I love my SR9c, but it has one of the more difficult slides to rack.

When getting my wife's gun, for home defense, we went to the range 5-6 times. I let her pick and tried to just stay in the background. She choose an M&P 2.0 9mm with a five inch barrel. I would never have guessed that would be the winner, so be flexible.

 

[jwamplerusa]

She has really been eyeballing a Ruger LC9S and SR9C the last two times we were out

Thunderchicken, while I really like my LC9s pro, it is snappy with self-defense loads. I would recommend she shoot a couple of magazines of +P loads before she makes a decision on the LC9s.

It is a very compact flat 9 mm and conceals well. As with all things however there are trade-offs, and in the case of the LC9S it's lightweight results in a pretty snappy gun.

 

[bdj357]

Personally never shot one, but my friend bought a S&W 9mm EZ for his petite wife and she raves about it. His biggest complaint is she is going through his ammo!!!