Looking for pistol options for my wife...

Slapshot said:

Might want to try a HK VP9 if you can find a range that rents them.

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John 177 said:

I think you answered your own question. TX22, either the standard or compact.
Ronald Reagan was nearly taken out with 1 22lr in the armpit.
If your wife can get half a magazine's worth of 22s into center mass I think you have a winner.

I have my various HD guns but in reality, I know I could put 10 22s into the face of a threat with my S&W 22 Victory. Keeping a 22 reliable really is not that hard.

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[QUOTE="ks2 said:

A revolver in 38 Special could be a consideration.

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Rich J said:

What kind of shooting does she plan to do with it, primarily? Carry? Range? Competition? Bullseye? Training classes?

A large gun shop near me (Shooters World, Orlando FL) has a "demo rack" of at 60-70 pistols, all lined up sitting on dummy barrels attached with cable. You can quickly move from pistol to pistol, handling each one, racking the slide or pressing the trigger. They are organized by brand. They have almost every single conceivable modern polymer/steel pistol on this rack. Is it possible you can find a gun shop with a similar setup near you that ya'll can visit?

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bw210 said:

Has your wife tried the "clam" hold? Hold the slide weak hand with palm and thumb and push the frame with strong hand thumb web.

My father couldn't rack any of his/my autos due to hand arthritis. Afterwards he could rack anything. Play with spring weight a bit and even better. Just throwing that out there in case you weren't familiar with.

That being said my M&P's are some of the easiest to rack autos I have have fired. Added plus is you can change out to solid guide rod and run different weight 1911 springs.

Another option, which I am slowly migrating towards, is shooting 4"/6" revolvers with cowboy loads. 700fps'ish is pretty pleasant shooting.

Although you didn't mention, it, 22lr is always fun shooting and most people already have a healthy supply of 22 ammo.

Seriously though, have her try the clam hold. Several people I lnow are back to shooting after using this technique.

Hope she finds something she likes.

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switchback said:

Two completely different actions, as I'm sure you know. While I see many struggle with slide retraction, I've never seen any that struggle to pull the DA trigger on a revolver. Just reporting my experiences from the retail perspective, ymmv

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Bruceh said:

How about a Glock 19 and with a red dot racking is easy peasy! Has interchangeable back straps for better fit.
If she wants all metal the CZ Shadow 2 is awesome however given the low sitting slide it can be harder to rack without a red dot.

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1911redneck said:

I don’t remember if I posted this before but I can second the m&p 380ez light weight easy to rack and easy to shoot. I bought one toget my kids into shooting especially my daughter she is a petite thing. It didn’t last to long for her she liked my 1911 45acp better lol. Still have the ez fun to shoot

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phxgunrnr said:

From what I have observed from women that I know the preferred carry gun is the Sig 230 (not 232) for out of the box accuracy, comfort and easy to use. I'm sure there are others, but the ones I know like that carry 380's like that Sig.

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HeftyLefty21 said:

I'd defintely look at the Ruger Security-380. Is about the size of a glock 19 with the 15 round mag, super easy to rack slide, etc. I will be picking one up for my lady, and to use as a training pistol for new shooters. Street price is $300+/-. but I have seen them as low as $260.

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JTQ911 said:

I’ve had or shot easily over 100 different models or variations of guns over the years.

The HKExpert jumped out as me the first time I handled it as being insanely easy to rack. I almost thought there was no recoil spring in it.

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JTQ911 said:

Good luck on her finding her Goldilocks pistol on a budget. Won’t be easy.

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JTQ911 said:

Not being rude but there’s 4 pages of suggestions and everything’s being ruled out. The smith and Wessons specifically designed for easy racking I thought were ruled out because she doesn’t want a carry pistol.

That rules out probably 50% more than pistols on market.

Budget is going to rule out a lot.

I believe I remember weight of pistol is an issue.

Just seems like you’re squeezing the problem from every side there’s not going to be much of anything left.

Goldilocks has to be “just right” which is a pretty fair metaphor of what she’s looking for.

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