Wife is 5' and 95 lbs: Can you guys help me shorten the shopping list?

[langenc]

Cajun has it right. Take HER and let HER pick out HER gun.

 

[BrianB]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. Like i said originally, now I can take HER to pick out HER gun without having to look at every stinking thing in the store. It helps to start with a short list.

Much appreciated.

 

[gotarheels03]

Sig P6 from Dan's Ammo. Inexpensive single-stack 9 should be good for small hands.

 

[varoadking]

As important as grip comfort, her ability to rack the slide is even more critical.

While I consider a stock Glock pretty easy to rack, my 21 year old daughter - about you wife's size - cannot rack the slide on a G22.

I'd suggest a well tuned revolver to deal with that issue...if it becomes one...

 

[Shooter57]

Take a look at the Bersa line from the thunder 380 up.

 

[wuchak]

Ruger SP101 with 3" barrel and hogue grips chambered in .327 Federal Magnum.

 

[spyderdude]

I would recommend the Beretta 92FS. It is one of the softest and accurate 9mm pistols around. Not to mention the looks are great too.

 

[Fishman777]

My 2 cents...

I would try a few things and see what she liked the best. In general, I would avoid looking for a very small, light gun. While these guns look cute, they can be a handful to control for a petite person that is new to shooting. I would target guns that have slim grips and have a little bit a heft to them. The cartridge, weight, and grip of the gun will in large part determine the recoil of the gun. If she can get a good grip on a gun, she will feel more comfortable shooting it.

I think that revolvers are the best platforms to learn on, but many people view them as being a bit old-fashioned. If she is okay with a revolver, here are a few revolvers to consider:

Ruger GP100 3" - shoots .357 and .38 special. It has small, compact grips and the gun has enough heft to tame recoil. I think that this would be the best revolver choice for a petite gal. I think the GP100 design is the most durable, most reliable medium frame revolver ever manufactured. They are also easy to shoot, and are very accurate.

Ruger SP101 3" - in .327 magnum (also shoots all of the rest of the .32 handgun ammunition). In spite the press that states that the .327 magnum's recoil is tame, I've heard of a few people that said that they were suprised with the amount of recoil that the gun produced. If it were me, I would go with the 3" GP100.

Smith and Wesson also makes a lot of great revolvers, but I don't have that much experience with them with the exception of the 686p and the 617. I like the Ruger DA revolver design better, but S&W makes excellent revolvers as well. I would avoid their little snub-nosed revolvers. Small, light revolvers have more muzzle blast and the recoil can be a little much for a new shooter. They are great if you CC, but here in Illinois, that is irrelevant.

Some autoloaders with smaller grips:

I think that the Sig p250 would make a lot of sense in your situation. You can order the slim, compact grip frame and it would probably be just about perfect for a petite gal. The nice thing about the p250 is that you don't just have cheesy looking grip panels that you change, you change the entire grip frame. The gun would have a nice, smooth, long DAO trigger. It also has high capacity magazines. I think that they are 16+1, if I am not mistaken. It is about the same size as most of the other compact pistols out there, but it is a little heavier. For a range gun or a home defense gun, this would be an advantage.

Sig p239 have slim grips. My wife tried a p239 a few years ago and had problems racking the slide. They are excellent guns, but I wouldn't get one of these. They are expensive, and you could probably find a very good gun with more capacity for less.

Glock 19s are great little guns, but the grips might be a little thick for her.

HK p2000 would also be worth looking at. P2000 grips are really nice and they have adjustable backstraps.

Beretta used to have a Cheetah model that had a tip up chamber, so the slide didn't need to be racked. This gun might still be available, I kind of lost track of it. The gun is small, it is reliable, it fires .38 acp.

The Beretta PX4 storm would also be worth looking at. These guns have slim, medium, and thick back straps as well. The rotating cylinder does a nice job of taming recoil.

The Beretta 92 series are excellent guns, but unless you find a vertec, the standard grips will be *much* too large for her.

SR9 has very slim grips. It shoots well, and it seems to be reliable. I've never had faith in Ruger centerfire autoloaders, but I wouldn't hesitate buying this one. Midwest guns, just west of Chicago has one in their rental case.

CZ line of handguns have pretty thin grips. They have justifiably earned very good reputations.

Kahrs have good reputations, but they are very small and light. The recoil might be a little harsh for her in such a light gun.

I'm sure that I've left out a few good options, but these are the ones that I'd focus on.