Picked this up today for the wife...

Keltec, but they have some recoil.

I let my wife pick her own and after handling every gun in the store she picked the Taurus 709 Slim. It has turned out to be a great gun and thankfully, we have had no issues with it whatsoever. Also, I was very surprised how little recoil there was from the gun being the size that it is. She has very small hands and enjoys shooting it. She handled the Kel-Tec's but just didn't like the way they felt and I already knew that the only guns she will shoot are the ones that feel good to her.

I agree with most of the fellows on here to small. I know of alot of women carrying 380's and some 9's. They make some sweet looking 357's for women to.

Xd357 wrote:

sidroski wrote:My wife carries a .38 as does my wife.

Your a bad man if you can handle two. I've got my hands full with one.

Can't keep one in line, think it's the other way around. Meant only daughter. Loaned (I thought) a colt cobra 6 shot .38. She swears I gave it to here but if she feels safe and can use it, that's fine. Son in law had an auto that the mag fell out after about four shots according to my daughter. Bought him a 4" .357 for a wedding present along with some ammo and speedloaders.
So +1 on a .357 for a woman. Don't get the small handled one's as the recoil is not spread out like a larger handle will.

If you want her to try a .38, your welcome to give my smith airweight a shot. I owned a keltec pf9 before this and the keltec was almost painful with a hot load, im not exactly a little guy and recoil doesnt really bother me.. but something about that little gun just was just plain unpleasant. The airweight feels like a 22 in comparison.

You shouldn't base what you want to carry by 'what my friend has' ... lots of factors come into play when choosing a caliber for ccw. Size, weight, where it will be carried, can the power be controlled? etc... My wife likes her .25 beretta, and can put all 10 rounds in a 3" circle. When she shoots my kel tec, she's lucky to tag the paper.

I'm getting here to shoot our sig sp2022 more, to get a feel for the round, then move to the kel tec. I would like her to carry a 9mm personally, but she's more accurate with a smaller caliber.

I would have to back up a little on what I said earlier and tend to go with tupelo_firearms on this. If she is scared to pull the trigger it wouldn't be of much use to her. So I guess the best fit would be something she is confident with and trusts in. No matter what the caliber it would be better than nothing.

TankerHC wrote:. Any suggestions on what type of 22 round she should use?

Some of my favorite expanders are Remington Gold. Seems like they are fluted much deeper then many other brands of HP's that I've seen

Very glad this worked out for you by the pea shooter not firing... Personally anything smaller than a 38 isnt worth a dern. But i wont carry anything smaller than a 357. If she wants the 9mm thats fine but Im just not a fan of the 9mm. Theres a reason cops throughout the world dont carry it anymore, it just doesnt have the stopping power. Best advice there are a few shooting ranges around here and there that let you rent and try out various pistols. Let her try out some see what fits and what she can handle. There are a ton of manufactures out there that make compact 40's 9's and everything else under the sun. My own mother carries an old Colt 1903 hammerless 32 auto, she'll shoot the fleas off a dogs hind-end at 15ft. All because it fits her and she can control it.

GOOD LUCK...

Try a s&w .38 special airweight with crimson trace grips with the pressure switch just below trigger guard. Just a suggestion.
That my ol lady's thug thumper.

Good to be in like company.. my wife carries a .357, but loaded with .38 for SD. No need to make a mess.

I carry a Keltec pf9 it has a thin grip and is liteweight, but I also carry a beretta 21a with cci stingers at times it is super liteweight. I hit pretty will with both at close range. I feel that You have to have confidence in what You carry. I have that in both. Hope this helps and She finds what She likes.