Wife wants to start shooting!!

[ws6guy]

My wife has never been against guns but never has shown much interest either. However lately she has decided that she would like to take a training class, purchase a hand gun, and get her LTCH She is in the process of getting a couple of friends to go with her to a class, probably the ladies only one at Parabellum. We're thinking that maybe this weekend we might head down to Bradis to kick the tires to see which ones fit her the best.

I think we probably need to stay with a revolver because she has a very hard time racking slide on my XD9 and CM9. I'm not much of a pistol guy and especially not a revolver guy, are there any that we "must" try out? I honestly don't see her wanting to carry any time soon. Most of her clothing wouldn't support carrying and with little kids the purse carry is out of the question. So I'm thinking something more full size so it's more enjoyable to shoot and if she wants to carry later on we'll look at other options.

Edit: It's also been a couple of years since I've been to Bradis (no gun funds). Are they still super busy on weekends? We'll probably have to bring the 2yd and 5yd kids with us.

 

[Bigtanker]

Best thing she can do is take the lessons BEFORE buying a gun. I think Parabellum can do this but I'd check with them first. This way she can see what kind of pistol she can work and shoot best. With proper instructions on how to rack a slide, she will have a few more choices when it's time to put down the cash. Also she won't buy a gun she doesn't like and you aren't stuck in a buying/selling routine trying to find tbe perfect gun.

Congratulations and keep us up to date.

 

[Dean C.]

If she has a hard time racking the slide on a semi automatic have her try a 9mm 1911 they are some of the easiest operating slides out there bar none. The Springfield Armory EMP is a really good choice and will give her a good trigger as well so making center mass shots will be significantly easier than with say a double action revolver.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Coach just started a ladies intro class at Parabellum. Coach is spectacular and I highly recommend him.

https://parabellumfirearms.com/classes/ladies-guided-shooting/

And Coach can show here effective ways that she CAN rack the slide. For women it takes more technique to overcome their inherent weaknesses in the muscle groups used to rack a slide.

 

[Citizen711]

Your personal gun budget is about to take a sizeable hit, but it's so worth it.

 

[SmileDocHill]

You guys been fighting recently followed by a long period of the silent treatment? Just kidding, you are a lucky guy.

 

[pudly]

Congrats. Definitely give her the chance to choose- revolver or semi. The class and some hands on be selecting a firearm will definitely help. Here is something that might help.

[video=youtube_share;kbayNc6D9HY]http://youtu.be/kbayNc6D9HY[/video]

 

[Cerberus]

My wife has a hard time with slides as well. Some that I know she can rack are most Walthers, my daughters Sig 228 (but it is over twenty years old and broken in) and some CZs. She tried most at the NRA convention. Of all the the different pistols she tried, only 2 actually met her comfort criteria (she set it not me), the Walther P22 and the Walther PK380. She found trigger reach was an issue on many. She also finds the feel of small revolvers to be fine, and the trigger reach as well, but I don't think she would like the recoil of the .38 Spl that is chambered commonly in small revolvers.

And never, ever, ever under any circumstances poo poo the idea of a .22 if that is what she likes best.

 

[ws6guy]

Thanks for the input. I'm definitely going to let her make all the decisions herself. Ideally I would love for her to pick out full size 1911 since I've been wanting one for awhile
I'm going to have her try to rack the slides with different techniques to see if she can find something that helps. Once we take the class I'll let her try out both of my 9mm and my 22/44 lite so she can get a feel for size.

 

[pudly]

Hopefully, the Lady's shooting class will offer some hands-on with various guns for additional exposure/experience. In fact, I'd ask about that when she registers.

 

[Twangbanger]

Just one example of how Parabellum is helpful to newbies...they occasionally have a "9mm petting zoo" session, where you pay a flat fee and get to fire many different types of 9mms on their range as part of the class. They have good instructors, a range, and plenty of other classes...plus a gun shop. For what you are trying to do, Parabellum and Beech Grove Firearms would be my go-to local gun shops. Since Beech Grove's range is out of order at this time, I would recommend just trusting Parabellum for the whole deal. Their gun prices seem to be right in line. They keep limited inventory, but have a huge rental wall of choices to try, and can of course order what you want (yes, I'm biased! They are a good place).

 

[Fordtough25]

My wife has never been against guns but never has shown much interest either. However lately she has decided that she would like to take a training class, purchase a hand gun, and get her LTCH She is in the process of getting a couple of friends to go with her to a class, probably the ladies only one at Parabellum. We're thinking that maybe this weekend we might head down to Bradis to kick the tires to see which ones fit her the best.

I think we probably need to stay with a revolver because she has a very hard time racking slide on my XD9 and CM9. I'm not much of a pistol guy and especially not a revolver guy, are there any that we "must" try out? I honestly don't see her wanting to carry any time soon. Most of her clothing wouldn't support carrying and with little kids the purse carry is out of the question. So I'm thinking something more full size so it's more enjoyable to shoot and if she wants to carry later on we'll look at other options.

Edit: It's also been a couple of years since I've been to Bradis (no gun funds). Are they still super busy on weekends? We'll probably have to bring the 2yd and 5yd kids with us.

My wife had a hard time racking the slide on my semi auto's as well, except the M9 but she didn't like the weight! She ended up trying an M&P 9mm full size and fell in love with it, and she can rack the slide with ease. Teach the push pull method of racking and she will have an easier time I would say. Bradis rocks for sure, and congrats on the wife being involved!

 

[OkieGirl]

+1 on taking her to Bradis to shop. I've had my kids with me several times in there.

There are a few techniques she can use to make nearly any slide easy to operate. Once that problem is tackled...let the shopping begin.

Make a short list of what she likes and then take her to a range where she can rent them. This will make sure she is comfortable handling and carrying what she purchases. Oh, and probably something important to mention, be ready to shop for holsters too. She will want to try a few different styles depending on the outfit so she will have the access and concealment she wants and still dress comfortably.

 

[Hop]

How about a FREE ladies only class with the Revere's Rider instructors!
Upcoming Events ? 1-day Ladies Only Basic Pistol (Indianapolis, IN) ? Revere's Riders

Several RR rifle instructors are also NRA certified Pistol instructors (including me).

 

[ws6guy]

How about a FREE ladies only class with the Revere's Rider instructors!
Upcoming Events ? 1-day Ladies Only Basic Pistol (Indianapolis, IN) ? Revere's Riders

Several RR rifle instructors are also NRA certified Pistol instructors (including me).

Cool! We'll see if this fits into our schedule.

 

[foszoe]

My wife has never been against guns but never has shown much interest either. However lately she has decided that she would like to take a training class, purchase a hand gun, and get her LTCH She is in the process of getting a couple of friends to go with her to a class, probably the ladies only one at Parabellum. We're thinking that maybe this weekend we might head down to Bradis to kick the tires to see which ones fit her the best.

I think we probably need to stay with a revolver because she has a very hard time racking slide on my XD9 and CM9. I'm not much of a pistol guy and especially not a revolver guy, are there any that we "must" try out? I honestly don't see her wanting to carry any time soon. Most of her clothing wouldn't support carrying and with little kids the purse carry is out of the question. So I'm thinking something more full size so it's more enjoyable to shoot and if she wants to carry later on we'll look at other options.

Edit: It's also been a couple of years since I've been to Bradis (no gun funds). Are they still super busy on weekends? We'll probably have to bring the 2yd and 5yd kids with us.

My advice, let her make all the choices. Your job is to present facts to help her make an informed choice. If all of your statements are made without 2nd person pronouns you are probably on the right track.

 

[russc2542]

yup, I'd also agree with all the advice about letting her decide. I made that mistake recently (I knew better, brain fart moment). My wife likes her Chiappa MC14 (Beretta 84FS clone. Blowback .380, built like a full size but at 3/4 scale. Not a fantastic gun but decent and cheap), I got her an actual Beretta 84FS only to find the recoil spring's stiffer and she rides the heel of her hand on the slide, on the open-top Beretta slide that means it bites. There-after the gun was evil and she didn't even want to handle it. My wife's about 96lbs and not athletic so racking the slide is a big issue for her too. My wife's OK with my full size XDm and HK P30 (both 9s) once they were worked in a little and she realized she could do it.

 

[STEEL CORE]

My wife shoots her Glock-17 well, and I then got her a Glock-43 for carry and she did not like it (or the Glock-19/26 either), but...we got a Glock-42 and like Goldilocks luck, she found a carry Glock she liked. I practice twice a month, (today is my range day by the way)my Glock-22 gets todays work out, but she enjoys getting out and practicing too, so even though in reality, "I" am the person she is most likely to ever shoot, it pays to practice.

 

[hps]

Take her out and get her comfortable handling a handgun, the more she handles it the more comfortable she will be. Teach her firearm safety its HUGE!!

My experience with females that cant cycle the slide is because of lack of confidence. You can teach her!

 

[johntheplinker]

My wife recently decided that she wanted to get a handgun for SD also. She was interested in a revolver first also, but one shot of a very light 38 loading changed her mind, real fast. A 9mm was not much better, plus the problem of racking the slide She tried some 22lr and found it easy to shoot and with a couple of tries easy to manipulate. After "trying on" a few different 22s she found one (Walther P22, lime green at that) she liked that fit her hand really well. Since then she has shot about a box of ammo almost every weekend, and is getting quite good. Now that she has some experience and confidence, we're about ready to go do some shopping for something with a little more oomph.
So my advice would be to start with a 22 and get the fundamentals down, then, and only then, move up to something more powerful. Bad habits once learned are harder to unlearn than learning it right the first time.