Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Women comprise the fastest-growing segment of new gun owners in America, and I am often asked for recommendations when ladies begin shopping for a gun for the first time.
The Well Armed Woman discusses the most popular guns being purchased by women today—this is a well-written article and I agree with its comments 100%.
Buying a handgun is a very personal decision and there is no single "right gun" for women. Having said that, a lot of women get pushed toward the wrong gun by salesmen or others who wrongfully stereotype women as not being able to operate the slide on a semi-automatic and who have bought into the "all women should have a revolver" myth. Women also get pushed toward very small, very light and/or very short-barreled guns that can be much more difficult to shoot comfortably and accurately due to increased recoil and muzzle rise (and decreased sight radius) compared to larger, heavier, longer-barreled guns of the same caliber. This is a very common misconception—that small, light, short-barreled guns will be mild to shoot. In fact, the less a gun weighs and the shorter the barrel, the more violent it will usually be to shoot.
Operating the slide on a semi-automatic can be difficult for some people (men and women alike), but those problems result from improper technique far more often than issues with hand strength. In my "Ladies Only" training courses at Tactical Firearms Training, women are constantly amazed at how easy it becomes to operate the slide on a semi-automatic as soon as they learn how to grip the slide and operate it with two hands—by pulling back on the slide with the entire support hand and pushing forward on the grip with the strong hand.
Trigger pull is also a significant consideration, and many women regret purchasing hammerless double-action revolvers and "double-action-only" semi-automatics with very long, very heavy triggers that are extremely difficult to shoot accurately for many people - particularly new shooters. That doesn't mean those are bad guns - just that they may not be the best choice for a first-time gun owner.
The process of selecting a gun should always start with determining the purpose of the gun, for example, will it be a personal protection handgun that is carried daily or a gun that will be used only for home defense? Will it simply be a "plinker" used for target shooting at the range? The answers to these questions will have a huge impact on the types of guns that that should be considered, including the caliber, size, weight, barrel length, sights and accessories that will work the best for that person.
With respect to the guns discussed in The Well Armed Woman article, I would put the Glocks, Springfield XDs and Sig Sauers at the top of the list for a woman shopping for her first gun, with a huge caveat that many other guns (including revolvers and DAO semis) may be a better choice for individual women.
The key is to identify the purpose of the gun, discuss the process with knowledgeable gun owners, then handle and shoot as many guns as possible before making that very personal decision.