New Gun

[ketilla]

I am new to INGO so I may be in the wrong forum! That being said, my wife and I are looking for a couple of concealable handguns. We don't have a lot of money and we are wanting to buy new. I think we want to buy .380. So now my question is what gun would be a good one to buy? We are looking for a gun under $400 (if possible). Thanks for your help.

 

[halfmileharry]

I think I'd go to the S&W Shield in 9mm. Very dependable guns and ammo is much cheaper than .380.
Not saying all .380s are not dependable but there are a lot of .380s that have failures to feed and eject.

EDIT: WELCOME to INGO.

 

[straight-shooter]

+1 the S&W shield. Very comfortable grip that's easy to hold on to and control. 9mm is less expensive for cheaper range practice which is very important owning a self defense pistol if your on a budget.

 

[ketilla]

9 mm

I think I'd go to the S&W Shield in 9mm. Very dependable guns and ammo is much cheaper than .380.
Not saying all .380s are not dependable but there are a lot of .380s that have failures to feed and eject.

EDIT: WELCOME to INGO.

Hey,

I don't think I mentioned in my original post that my wife is brand new to shooting. She has, day before yesterday, shot a Taurus PT22 and liked that. She is a small woman with small hands so I don't think she would be able to handle a 9 mm. I was thinking 380 hoping that the recoil would not be much more than the 22.

thanks

 

[halfmileharry]

Hey,

I don't think I mentioned in my original post that my wife is brand new to shooting. She has, day before yesterday, shot a Taurus PT22 and liked that. She is a small woman with small hands so I don't think she would be able to handle a 9 mm. I was thinking 380 hoping that the recoil would not be much more than the 22.

thanks

Try shooting one of the small .380s. They're a handful to shoot. I carry a P3AT as a back up and it's harder on my hands than my Glock 19 with 147 or 135gr HydroShoks. It's harder to handle than my full size 1911 with 230gr ball ammo. The small .380s are NOT easy to shoot.
This is a very experienced opinion. The Shield doesn't have nearly the hand punishment as the smaller .380s.
My next choice IF YOU MUST have a .380 is the Bersa. Decent guns but large enough to tame some of the .380
Your best bet is to rent a couple of guns.

 

[ketilla]

We will go to the gun range and rent a couple of guns and see how she does! Thanks again.

 

[Hop]

++for a 9mm Shield. Mine has been fantastic. All my male shooting buddies have liked it. My daughter likes shooting it too. One lady friend thought it was a bit much. She liked then bought a 9mm M&P 9c instead then ended up trading that on a .380 Bodyguard for better concealment (she says it's a handful by comparison).

 

[Mgderf]

Try shooting one of the small .380s. They're a handful to shoot. I carry a P3AT as a back up and it's harder on my hands than my Glock 19 with 147 or 135gr HydroShoks. It's harder to handle than my full size 1911 with 230gr ball ammo. The small .380s are NOT easy to shoot.
This is a very experienced opinion. The Shield doesn't have nearly the hand punishment as the smaller .380s.
My next choice IF YOU MUST have a .380 is the Bersa. Decent guns but large enough to tame some of the .380
Your best bet is to rent a couple of guns.

^This
The Bersa Thunder .380 does a fine job of taming the recoil, and they are reliable. Still more expensive than 9mm, but...

 

[straight-shooter]

Yep, when I purchased a Ruger LCP .380 and let my wife shoot it, she just handed it back after one shot and said forget it. On the other hand she shoots the shield and other 9mm handguns with no trouble. It's just that .380 is a smaller casing with higher pressure causing more recoil and "snap" vs the 9mm.

 

[gfb]

Yep, when I purchased a Ruger LCP .380 and let my wife shoot it, she just handed it back after one shot and said forget it. On the other hand she shoots the shield and other 9mm handguns with no trouble. It's just that .380 is a smaller casing with higher pressure causing more recoil and "snap" vs the 9mm.

+1 for the lcp if you want something cheap, decent, and easy to conceal.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

I carry a Ruger LCP. It is a very small .380 and is very easy to conceal.

Unfortunately, it's small size, light weight, short sights and looong trigger pull make it difficult and unpleasant to shoot. I would be totally shocked if your wife found it easier/more pleasant to shoot a pocket sized .380 (Ruger LCP, Kel-tec P3AT)than a compact or subcompact sized 9mm (glock 19, 43, shield 9mm). Personally, I shy away from having new shooters shoot the tiny .380's because they are so unpleasant and difficult to shoot (even painful) that they can ruin a new shooter's opinion of firearms and their own ability. Pocket pistols are hard to shoot.

I strongly suggest shooting a variety of firearms before buying one. I have no experience with the 9mm Shield that people are suggesting, but they are very popular with people who's opinions on handguns I respect.

One thing I wish I had done earlier in my firearms experience was taking training. If I had taken some good handgun training courses earlier, I would have made more informed purchases and it would have saved me quite a bit of money in the long run.



Welcome to INGO and good luck!

 

[2in1evtime]

I think I'd go to the S&W Shield in 9mm. Very dependable guns and ammo is much cheaper than .380.
Not saying all .380s are not dependable but there are a lot of .380s that have failures to feed and eject.

EDIT: WELCOME to INGO.

Like halfmilelarry says stick to 9mm

 

[Reverend Dreed]

My wife has a Bersa 380 and I have a ruger lcp, they seldom get used as she prefers her shield in 9mm and I prefer my shield in 40 cal. I actually listed my ruger and a small taurus 22 mag revolver for sale on this site's sister site to the south, as I live in ky. The ruger has had only 2 mags of ammo run through it, solely because it is not pleasant to shoot.

 

[jglevyjr]

I really like my 9mm Shield. I also have small hands. I bought a 9mm KH P30, a much larger pistol, and EXPENSIVE, because it had interchangeable grips for width AND length so a small person could handle it. Turns out I still like the Shield much better. It's accurate and reliable (I've shot over 1,000 rounds through the Shield). Still in perfect condition. Single stack, so makes a good easy to conceal carry gun.

 

[Tomc1947]

If your considering a 380, try a Kahr CT380, around 300, dependable, 7+1 and a very manageable recoil.

 

[bigelowe]

So here's my story. I own several pistols of various calibers. My wife thought my Bodyguard 380 was cute and wanted to shoot it. She did, and it wasn't too bad at. Then I let her shoot my 9mm shield,upon which she declared that that was much better for her comfort wise. Too make a long story short, she now carries a glock g19 daily.

 

[Leadeye]

Check out the Old Colt auto's like the 1903. Still good pocket guns.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

So here's my story. I own several pistols of various calibers. My wife thought my Bodyguard 380 was cute and wanted to shoot it. She did, and it wasn't too bad at. Then I let her shoot my 9mm shield,upon which she declared that that was much better for her comfort wise. Too make a long story short, she now carries a glock g19 daily.

Funny how many carry stories end with the person carrying the G19.

 

[eric001]

Just to be different, I'll suggest the Walther PK380... 8+1, not as concealable as the small 380's, but very little felt recoil and mine so far has been very accurate and reliable.

 

[Bapak2ja]

Hey,

I don't think I mentioned in my original post that my wife is brand new to shooting. She has, day before yesterday, shot a Taurus PT22 and liked that. She is a small woman with small hands so I don't think she would be able to handle a 9 mm. I was thinking 380 hoping that the recoil would not be much more than the 22.

thanks

My daughter-in-law is extremely small, under 5' and can't make 90lbs after a huge Christmas dinner. She started with a Glock 26. She liked it just fine until she fired my son's Glock 19. Once she fired the 19 my son had to trade with her. She is very accurate with both, but prefers the 19. Both are 9mm and she handles them just fine. Both are easier to handle than the .380s I have fired. Try the 9mm before you buy.