Good 1st gun for my girlfriend?

[calsdad]

I've seen several people shooting P22s at my club. Or, rather, trying to. They always had lots of problems with the gun. Plenty of good .22 semi-autos around, for example Ruger Mk II or III.

I have shot a few thousand rounds thru mine - and purposefully did not clean it for about 700 rounds at one point - and it kept working fine - up until the point where there was so much sludge in the action that it would not cycle any more, and even that got better when the gun warmed up (it had been in the trunk of my car all day in 20 degree weather).

The early ones had some issues the way I understand it. And the brand new ones need some breaking in. I have found that copper coated works best too - the lead bullets tend to gum it up faster.

Maybe I just got a good one.

 

[USMC109]

I personally like revolvers as much as I do semi auto's but there is certainly no gun that is easier to operate or "less complicated" then a Glock.Point,click and shoot!Not to mention the fact that they are undeniably the most reliable handguns on the planet.With quality ammo the gun will never jam.The only time I've ever had a jam in any of my glocks was with crap ammo which was 3 times in one day using the same loads.
Another suggestion would be to have her fire some full size frame guns to get her familiarized with recoil,trigger pull etc...This will also help with not not being afraid so muchor anticipating recoil of a 9mm if that's what she wants to carry.
A glock suggestion would be a G36 in .45 which has a single stack 6 round mag and is very slim.It also has less felt recoil than a G23 or 27 in .40 b/c of the double recoil spring setup putting it pretty close to a 9mm.
I def. agree with everyone else as to let her make the final decision.These are just some suggestions.

 

[HOPHEAD]

9mm?!?!? blah. Do they still make that caliber?

Get her a full size 1911.

 

[Coyote33]

Ruger makes some nice stuff, also S&W. Heck, they are almost ALL nice. She needs to decide how small or large she wants it to be. Usually, smaller means more compact but more recoil with larger being less concealable with less recoil.

If MA laws didn't apply, I'd go for a Kahr or Keltec or Taurus or maybe even an NAA for concealability. I'd go for something else for a fun range gun. Let us know how you (she) makes out.

 

[M1911]

If MA laws didn't apply, I'd go for a Kahr or Keltec or Taurus or maybe even an NAA for concealability. I'd go for something else for a fun range gun. Let us know how you (she) makes out.

While the Kahr will fit many women's hands, many have trouble locking the slide open and/or cycling the slide.

I've got an NAA 32. The NAA is a REALLY bad suggestion for a novice shooter. They hurt to shoot and are hard to aim. They are NOT fun to shoot.

 

[Coyote33]

While the Kahr will fit many women's hands, many have trouble locking the slide open and/or cycling the slide.

I've got an NAA 32. The NAA is a REALLY bad suggestion for a novice shooter. They hurt to shoot and are hard to aim. They are NOT fun to shoot.

Good point(s). Thanks.

 

[Aragorn243]

I realize you asked about 9mm but my wife likes my Model 70 Colt 45 automatic. Has the benefits of being able to easily switch barrels to a 22 for cheap target practice and the higher stopping power over the 9mm.

She isn't that big either and not very experienced with guns. A lot of people say the 45 is too big for a small person or a woman but she would disagree.

 

[jar]

I'd recommend against a lightweight compact first gun if you're only going to have one. Compacts are a lot harder to shoot. I recently got my LTC. I bought 3 guns so far, a ruger 22, a browning hi-power, and an M&P 9c. If I could only have one, it would be the high power.

The heavier weight of the hi-power soaks up recoil. Also, the longer sight radius makes it much easier to aim. The Hi-power has really slim grips for a double stack, so it's great for smaller hands.