Best Gun for Beginner/Female

[mhott]

Hello,
I'm a young woman who is interested in getting a concealed carry permit and a handgun for my car/home. This is a relatively new idea for me so I was wondering what y'all would recommend as a good handgun for a beginner and female? I don't want one that is too expensive and not too complicated. Thanks so much for any feedback! I hope you all have a wonderful day! : )

[Appliancedude]

I love it when women join our humble little community. I just wish more of them stuck around

Couple questions. Have you ever shot a gun before? Do you know what caliber it was?

We can give you better answers if we know more of your shooting history

[jack404]

Welcome mhott ,

ma'am i'll explain what i do here , i've done this with many ladies including my daughters

we attend a licenced range that will hire you a range of guns

the instructor or myself will teach the lady the basic of guns and handling and start them on something like a .22 and work through to a calibre thats a bit much and then go back to were they where comfortable

i like to find what the shooter thinks is comfortable with

then try differing model in that caliber

that way they
1 get the most power they can handle with ease and assurity
2 get good practise and a gun they can practise with alone
3 most important of all

be comfortable with their own choice

too much gun can put people off, so its very important to find what suits you , and not some gun sales person would like to sell you

if you have a friend who you can shoot with even better as this makes it a social activity and thats the best side of shooting , catching up with other like minded folks and learning from each other and enjoying your new hobby

I wish you the best in your search

cheers and good luck

1 daughter ended up with a .380 the other a .22 lr , every one is different , find what YOU like and exposure to as many as you can try is the only way to know for sure

[soundguy]

i agree.. shoot many before you buy 1.

[jedwil]

What city/state are you in??

[GunnyGene]

I'd agree with Appliancedude, but also add that you should sign up for a class or 2 before you buy a gun. That will likely give you the opportunity to try out a few different ones before you plunk down your money.

That said, I bought my wife her first handgun about 15 years ago and she had the same questions you do. We settled on a .357mag/.38 special Smith and Wesson revolver (5 shot) with a 3" barrel. It's simple to operate, just pick it up and start pulling the trigger, no slide to mess with, no safeties to worry about what position they're in. Sufficient power to discourage anyone. Fires both .38 special and .357 magnum, which is cheap and plentiful. Price back then was about $300 if memory serves.

Down side is you only get 5 shots, but if you need more than 2 or 3 you're probably going to lose the fight anyway.

You'll need to practice with it a lot, just like going to the gym, until you "get in shape" and can hit what you aim at, or in the usual case what you point at, since in a personal defense situation you likely won't have the luxury of aiming. It will be up close and personal and will happen very fast, and you probably won't be expecting it. You may still be half asleep and in a dark bedroom trying to figure out what is going on.

My point is you need to understand the bigger picture before you pick out a weapon.

PS: I'm not trying to discourage you, but dropping the hammer on someone is serious business. If you live in an apartment or have close by neighbors you don't want your bullets to hit them - know what's on the other side of your target.

[Carne Frio]

Welcome to this fine forum and to the world of firearms.
The best advice I will give to you is to go to Kathy's site
It's called the "Cornered Cat". It is for people just like you.
http://www.corneredcat.com/

[targetacqmgt]

Originally Posted by mhott

Hello,
I'm a young woman who is interested in getting a concealed carry permit and a handgun for my car/home. This is a relatively new idea for me so I was wondering what y'all would recommend as a good handgun for a beginner and female? I don't want one that is too expensive and not too complicated. Thanks so much for any feedback! I hope you all have a wonderful day! : )

20 gauge pump shot gun for defense. Mossberg relatively reliable and inexpensive. Seen to be the most popular for the country girls here in NC.

To practice marksmanship a 22 LR bolt action rifle.

I have yet to find a beginer pistol for a woman that has enough stopping power BUT I am not a pistol expert.

[targetacqmgt]

Originally Posted by GunnyGene

I'd agree with Appliancedude, but also add that you should sign up for a class or 2 before you buy a gun. That will likely give you the opportunity to try out a few different ones before you plunk down your money.

That said, I bought my wife her first handgun about 15 years ago and she had the same questions you do. We settled on a .357mag/.38 special Smith and Wesson revolver (5 shot) with a 3" barrel. It's simple to operate, just pick it up and start pulling the trigger, no slide to mess with, no safeties to worry about what position they're in. Sufficient power to discourage anyone. Fires both .38 special and .357 magnum, which is cheap and plentiful. Price back then was about $300 if memory serves.

Down side is you only get 5 shots, but if you need more than 2 or 3 you're probably going to lose the fight anyway.

You'll need to practice with it a lot, just like going to the gym, until you "get in shape" and can hit what you aim at, or in the usual case what you point at, since in a personal defense situation you likely won't have the luxury of aiming. It will be up close and personal and will happen very fast, and you probably won't be expecting it. You may still be half asleep and in a dark bedroom trying to figure out what is going on.

My point is you need to understand the bigger picture before you pick out a weapon.

PS: I'm not trying to discourage you, but dropping the hammer on someone is serious business. If you live in an apartment or have close by neighbors you don't want your bullets to hit them - know what's on the other side of your target.

What Gunny said

[mhott]

Thank you all so much for you responses! I've shot shotguns and rifles a couple times before but that was a while ago. I want my dad to teach me how to use his 22 rifle around Christmas and there's also a beginner NRA handgun training I'm looking into taking. I talked to my friend and he said I should look into getting a 9mm. He's also going to let me try out a couple of his guns next month so I'll get more experience. And to Jedwil, I live in WV. Thank you all so much, again! : )

[Appliancedude]

Originally Posted by mhott

Thank you all so much for you responses! I've shot shotguns and rifles a couple times before but that was a while ago. I want my dad to teach me how to use his 22 rifle around Christmas and there's also a beginner NRA handgun training I'm looking into taking. I talked to my friend and he said I should look into getting a 9mm. He's also going to let me try out a couple of his guns next month so I'll get more experience. And to Jedwil, I live in WV. Thank you all so much, again! : )

Stick around. Post or not, there is a lot of good info here. And we need more women in the shooting sports.

[mhott]

I've been looking around at these but I need some real shooter's opinions: mouse guns, are they generally good? Or would they not do much damage. I know they're considerably smaller however, a gun is a gun, right? Any help would be greatly appreciated! : ) Also, I think I'm taking a training class during the week of Thanksgiving! Yay!

[ozo]

Mouse guns...and caliber choice...
It's probably the most discussed topic
on any and all gun forums.
Any reliable gun is better than no gun.
Many bad guys are usually that...guys.
If a female that knows how to confidently
handle a firearm, and has to pull it out for
protection, most of them bad 'guys' will most
likely freak anyway.
Generally speaking, and general consensus....
nothing smaller than a 9mm for self-defense use.
Many still use a .380acp and feel comfortable, as
they are easy to handle. In fact, one of the most ...
if not 'the' most reliable .380 semi-auto is a Bersa
Thunder .380 and slightly larger than a mouse gun,
still very concealable and not expensive [except ammo].
A revolver is still my recommendation for most that
are new to firearms. Simplicity in all areas.
Everyone has a unique feel for recoil....no matter the
persons size or gender.
Before you purchase any gun, do your best to go hold
and touch as many as you can at gun stores. This in
itself, will give you a great direction in 'feeling'
what fits you best...in gun size....
Go shoot your friend's guns...provided they are not
monster hand cannons.....
Indoor shooting ranges rent a variety of handguns.....
and you can shoot many sizes and calibers that way.

[ka64]

Originally Posted by mhott

Hello,
I'm a young woman who is interested in getting a concealed carry permit and a handgun for my car/home. This is a relatively new idea for me so I was wondering what y'all would recommend as a good handgun for a beginner and female? I don't want one that is too expensive and not too complicated. Thanks so much for any feedback! I hope you all have a wonderful day! : )

Personally if it is a matter of saving my life or the lives of the ones I love, I want to carry the best there is!!!!

Welcome to the club.

[soundguy]

Originally Posted by ka64

Personally if it is a matter of saving my life or the lives of the ones I love, I want to carry the best there is!!!!

Welcome to the club.

unfortunately.. the 'art' of discreet CC is a compromise.

If I wanted to cary the best possible weapon to defend myself from an attacker.. it would not be easilyl concealed.. nor practicle.

the best weapon to have concealed for protection fits the follow:

1. you are 110% proficient with it in a stress environment, including fast laoding or unlaoding it, clearing a jamb or other OOB situation, while not looking at the gun either due to darkness.. or wathing your attacker / souroundings.

2. you are accurate with the gun at a resonable distance where you might have to use that gun. IE.. no need to be able to pick head shots off at 50 yards with a 1.5" bbl pocket gun.... but you should be able to hit a 6" circle at 6-8' which is a reasonable self defense distance according to most law enforcement sources. A 'throw down' raven or pheonix arms 25 acp can hit a 6" circle at 8' by pointing your finger along the gun slide straight toward the target.. no sights needed. same with most smaller guns. if you can point at the target.. you SHOULD be able to hit it at that range.

3. it needs to be concealed. if you are giving your carry away.. the attacker may see it before you see him. An attacker that knows you are carrying may act more lethally / quicker. better to have an attacker that is surprised when you draw on him.

4. it needs to be on you, and pretty much 100% habbit and always on you where legal. a CC weapon NOT carried, does you no good. we don;t get to choose when / where we will need it.. thus should always have it whenever legally possible.

all that said. i'd take a .22lr over a 25 acp any day. past that.. a 32acp.. and from there anything and up that you can hide reasonably.


that's my take.

[carver]

mhott, Welcome to the forum! I'm with OZO here, but after holding as many guns as you can to get the feel for what's right for you, you also need to shoot as many as possible. I can honestly say that I would not feel under gunned with a .380, or a .38. Both will work, but they have a limited ammo supply. I spent the morning with another member here, Iron Eagle, and his 17 year old dauther. She shot several handgus today for the first time in her life. We started with a .22, then moved up to the .380. Next up was a .38, then a .45ACP. Guess which gun she liked best? The .45! You just have to try a bunch to see what you like best. BTY, the .380 is the smallest caliber most of us will recomend as a Self Defense hand gun.

[soundguy]

funny you mention that.

I'm teaching a buddies 16 yr old to shoot. she's not a pistol girl.. likes rifles.

I took out a bunch for her to shoot. after a day of shooting she had went o the top of the caliber list I brought and chose 30-06 go figure!

[langenc]

Two suggestions-

Go to your local gunshop and ask to hold several guns. Might want to try a small revolver. Heft several/many. Dont get over a 9 mm or a 38 for recoil reasons. Maybe the gunclub you choose will have a range and you could shoot your choice, Better yet ask if the have a 'ladies night' for pistol shooting.

If so, go on that night and ask some shooters to shoot their guns.

Second is like the second suggestion above. Find out what night your local gun club has 'pistol night'.. men or women.

Go and ask to shoot. Anyone that shows up at our club always gets to shoot a few dozen shots, if they want that many.

Do NOT shoot a 'cannon'--357 mag or some such. You will never want to shoot again. Even try to start with a 22.. Dont let someone else select the gun for you-YOU select it. Yopu will be shooting it. Practice, practice and then some more.

PS I didnt see all those responses. It looks like Im right on.

[aa1911]

+1 for hitting up a local gun store that offers classes. Don't be afraid to drop a few hundred bucks for a couple of good instruction sessions if not more.

learning and shooting a variety of guns before buying one is for certain wise advice.

Revolvers are generally easier for most folks to operate, load/unload, perhaps start with a .22 LR revolver and then move up to a nice 38 special revolver.

Stick with S&W or Ruger for revolvers is my .02, both make great small frame 5 shot 38/.357's in more flavors than you can ever want.

and welcome!

[ozo]

I'm just hoping mhott returns
and shares some of her experience
We can use it.....always.

[firefighter1635]

Originally Posted by ozo

I'm just hoping mhott returns
and shares some of her experience
We can use it.....always.

With ya there. I always like to hear what a new shooters experences are, expecially a woman since there isn't that many around here.

[JLA]

A customer of mine. Mrs Menger, Had me do an action job on her Ruger SP101 DA .357 mag. She is a small statured woman in her late 40s early 50s and doesnt have much hand strength to cycle the DA reliably. I performed a basic action job and installed reduced power springs to get the DA pull down. I had my 9 yr old daughter fill in for the small reduced strength hands and I worked it until she could cycle the action easily.

When Mrs Menger picked her revolver up she was excited because she could now easily pull the trigger. She went to the range and proceeded to squeeze off a couple boxes fo .38 special ammo and a cylinder or 2 full of her .357 mag defense ammo.

The handgun fit her wonderfully from the beginning, but you could see a night and day difference between her pre action job targets and her post action job targets. She is a very satisfied customer and, heaven forbid, if she draws on, and kills a badguy trying to cause her or her family harm with that pistol, I am proud to have had the honor to help her better protect herself and her loved ones by making her weapon more user friendly.

I suppose the point to this story is, shop for a gun that fits your hands perfectly. Then if the action/trigger leave a little to be desired, dont hesitate to take it to a gunsmith and have him go over it and make it the way you want it. Its how you make a good gun great, and good shooters better.

[Ruger_Fan]

In my experience most new shooters do better with a rifle in their first few shooting sessions. I taught my niece and my wife with a marlin model 60. The dovetail sights on the model 60 transfer right over to pistol shooting.

If you don't have someone in your life to teach you the basics it's best to hire a qualified instructor. Many shooting ranges have a women's day. One gun club in my area brings in female instructors for a girls day at the range. These courses are often deeply discounted. Once you find a gun that you really like buy that gun and don't let anyone put you off it. Having an experienced haggler will help you get a better price. Then again if you have bought a few new cars you are prepared for the haggling part.

[goofy]

If you are a first time shooter and want to shoot pistols then start out with a .22 cal and work your way up to a cal. that you feels good to you.
Make sure the gun fits your hand and you can load one in the chamber (if it is not a revolver) and the trigger is easy for you to pull.
Mike

[ozo]

Heck......ALL of my SP's needed trigger work....
right out of the box.
Of all my Rugers, for all these decades,
I have never seen such bad triggers....
especially from Ruger.
And only the SP's.