Small 9mm for the wife - need recommendation

[finalcut]

My wife does not like the XDs : )
Oh well - I'll carry them!

She wants a very compact 9mm that can possibly shot 9+P.
Also wants Decocker / Safety ( not just Decocker - must also have trigger disable or safety like an H&K USP compact )

So you may have noticed that I mentioned the H&K USP Compact - I love it, but she would like some thing even smaller if possible.

Any suggestions & links please?

 

[ugaarguy]

The decocker & safety preference excludes all that I know of that small except the recently discontinued S&W CS9. http://www.northeasttrading.com/cs9_large.html

 

[CPshooter]

Beretta PX4 Storm compact? everything you need and very high capacity...

Walther P99c or HK P2000SK.. they just don't have a SAFETY.. still have decockers and DA though. sorry no links.. gotta get to bed ASAP.

 

[Navy87Guy]

I agree with the PX4 Storm -- but don't limit yourself to compact models. My wife loves my full-size PX4 with the small backstrap installed. (For reference, she's 5'2" with pretty small hands). The compacts may offer a smaller grip, but they tend to be harder to handle I found my Walther P99C (I bought it because I thought my wife would like it!) to be very "snappy" - so I got rid of it and kept the full size. My wife hated the P99C from the start.

The PX4 is very easy to shoot - the weight and rotating barrel system significantly reduce recoil and muzzle rise. My second favorite would be the P99. My wife's second favorite is a Ruger P93 -- which most people would label as "bulky".

Try to get her some different pistols to at least hold, if not shoot. She is the only one who can tell you which one is right for her.

Jim

 

[finalcut]

Try to get her some different pistols to at least hold, if not shoot. She is the only one who can tell you which one is right for her.

Agreed.

 

[KrankyKraut]

You can get S&W "Ladysmith" models in 9mm auto and .38 (revolver). Both made for womens' hands, etc. In fact, unless she must have a 9mm auto, I'd have her look at revolvers, especially Smith K-frames. They are superbly balanced and so simple to use. Require no strength to rack the slide, are very accurate, and always on the ready.

 

[Will Fennell]

BHP

My wife settled on the Browning HiPower. 13 round 9mm.....very slim grip, positive thumb safety, low bore axis, single action trigger....what's not to love

Only mod's needed is removing the mag disconnect[ helps the trigger pull quite a bit ], and possibly bobbing the hammer. Add night sights if you want....

 

[MICHAEL T]

S&W 3913 lady Smith. 3913 little bigger than a PPK/s and very nice shooter. I ve had a 3913 and is my 9mm carry pistol. when I want a DA/SA pistol.

 

[everallm]

One possible option is the CZ RAMI 2075 in 9mm.

It's not a decocker but as it is DA/SA, firing pin block as well as manual safety, comes with both 10 and 14 round mags and comes with a "pre-melted" smoothing of all protruding surfaces, may be worth a spin.

 

[Ghost Tracker]

Here's another vote for the S&W 3913. For your crtieria, I can think of no better choice. In fact, I'm still mad I didn't buy a really nice example when I recently had the chance.

 

[Alan Fud]

Here's another vote for the 3913 ...

 

[Mortech]

Aother vote for the 3913 , great lil summer CCW gun .

 

[rde]

Another vote for the CS9.

 

[The Canuck]

Take her out to the gun store to try them all. Let her pick the ones she likes the feel of. Then take her to the range and help her try them out. She should be the person to make the final choice. She has to wear it and she has to practice with it so that if (Heaven forbid) she has to use it, it will be a gun that she liked and practiced with and carried all the time.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

The S&W 3913 is still made, either in "Ladysmith" (I personally find this one quite attractive) or the "tactical" version, or you can get a used one. It meets the criteria set forth, having a decocker/safety as well as a magazine safety.

If you take the decocker/safety requirement out of play, I like the Kahrs for a slender grip and easy to manage DAO trigger.

 

[sgb]

S&W 3913, fine handgun. Also look at the used Sig P6's on the market.

 

[MIL-DOT]

all the chicks,
love my G26.

 

[O.S.O.K.]

try before you buy

I would strongly agree with going to a range that has rentals and trying several models or checking friend's guns before making the purchase.

And I would strongly recommend that she look at the Kahr-9 - they make several models in different finishes but all are excellent pistols and will fit her hand very well. No, they are not decocker, etc. but that is a plus in my book. She needs to understand that under pressure, all people tend to have trouble remembering anything more than "point and squeeze" unless they train very often and correctly in the function of their decocker/safety model pistols.

My carry pieces are all of this type even though I shoot a lot.

My current on the road/carry piece is a CZ-82 (9x18) and I keep it ready with one in the pipe and the hammer down (long, double action pull for the first shot, single action thereafter). At home, I use my Kahr-9 which is an older one that is all steel and electroless nickel plated.

The newer "safe trigger" models and revolvers are the best option for personal defense IMHO.

 

[jsbethel]

Another vote for the S&W 3913LS. My girlfriend likes hers very much.

 

[chipperi]

The Taurus 24-7 or millenium are decent guns. Just a question if used for ccw why would you need the safety at all? I can understand the decocker. Also alot of people are recomending the S&Ws, I carry a 4516 and the 1 thing I dont like about all Smiths is the mag trigger disconnect. If you would ever need to do a tactical reload against multiple attackers you would be screwed as you cannot fire the round in the chamber with the mag out.

 

[Dean407]

She needs to hold a bunch. I picked the HK P2000SK because it fit my small hands very well with the small back strap attached. SIG 239 as well.

S&W M&P 9c

Just go to a large gun shop and ask the sales person to show her guns that will fit small hands in 9mm.

 

[Pilot]

HK P7 PSP. There are surplus ones on the market now, so this is the time to buy one. $600 - $675 will get you a very nice example. Compact, safe, slim, accurate and reliable.

 

[Pete in VA]

90% of the recommendations here don't meet the basic characteristics the OP asked for, "very compact 9mm with decocker and safety". Why recommend a Glock or an M&P if those are the criteria?

 

[don95sml]

You might check out the new Springfield EMP. Quite pricey right now, but it sure is an attractive little gun.

 

[Kindrox]

Is your wife looking for a gun with a specific safety because she intends to use the gun loaded, hammer down, and safety on?

If so, is she looking to have the safety on because a gun makes her nervous and mentally having something called a “safety” just “feels good”?

I ask because I went through this with my wife and now I am hearing in from a friends wife. My wife did not come from a gun owning family and so she though that if a gun had a “safe” position, not using it would leave the gun in an “unsafe” position.

But a few trips to the range where she used the safety taught her that when she used it, she never was sure if it was on or off when she wanted to shoot, and showed her that fumbling with it takes a few seconds, when the point of having a gun for protection was that when you need a gun, you need it NOW. If you have time to play around with a gun you may have time to leave instead.

She saw the light, and saw that with the hammer down, that gun was safe because there was no realistic way the hammer was going to cock itself without her knowing.

My opinion is that gun safety’s kill. I saw a tv show about police training. The officers had been directed to carry with the safety on, but in shootouts where being found dead with the gun drawn but with the safety on. Some of the officers had bent the trigger mechanism they had pulled the triggers so hard.

The lesson was that in times of stress like your going to experience if you need the gun for self defense, your mind and body are going to act without a great deal of though. If your wife gets caught with the safety on, she might end up just like the cops in the show.