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[sfe187]

two things accomplished last night. 1. she will give the range a try. 2. will go to a gun shop for a test drive.

i don't want to put too much pressure on her but whatever she feels comfortable i'll go with. is she wants the thumb safety, no argument here lol

thanks all for the input, looks like shield is the front runner so far

[CouchOperator]

Hi power would be another option.

[Cokebottle]

CA Shield has one .. no one uses it, but it's there.

I use it. I practice with it as well.

I re-holster IWB seated in the car.

[sfe187]

just read up on Kimber Ultra CDP & Covert and EMP as well. Very interesting.

Anyone have knowledge on Kimber? I gather from other forum posts that Kimber is overpriced?

[edgalang]

As a first and possibly only pistol, I'd go with striker-fired.

[gorgo331]

+1 PX4. You can't get the compact in CA, but the full size is nice. You can also get low-profile safety levers, or ones that feel more like the 92 series.

[timbo399]

USP in fullsize or compact

^^ USP9c. Bought mine used and trigger is not as bad as people say. Love fact on V1 can go cocked and locked as well, if you choose not to decock after chambering first round.

Love my HKUSP9c- semi compact package with the feel of shooting a full size 9mm. Going to get a second one soon, just to have.

[Cokebottle]

No point in buying a little gun for home defense. Guys tend to want to buy women little guns. But little guns are harder to shoot.

I'd rather have a big gun that's a little too big for my hand, then have to try to shoot one of those micro 1911s, which aren't exactly paragons of reliability, either.

This.

Also consider her ability to operate the action.
If this is for the home and not for concealment, then size and weight can be your/her friend both in handling and stability for follow-up shots.

Seriously, a couple of good "home defense" guns would be the Ruger GP100 (loaded with .38spl) or a Beretta 92FS.
Both are solid, heavy guns with a large grip that is easy to hold, and if she has issues with operating the action on a semi-auto (very common), the 92FS is very easy to operate due to the long barrel not requiring such a stiff spring.

That long barrel (and I would also suggest a longer barrel in the GP100) also helps immensely with sighting and accuracy.

[jazman]

It sounds like a revolver would be better for her.

100%. Call it a day.

[IVC]

two things accomplished last night. 1. she will give the range a try. ...

This is a game changer for all of the recommendations.

Nobody (and I mean nobody) would ever recommend ANY gun to someone who hasn't been to the range and doesn't have at least the basic skill to handle one. You didn't mention it in the OP, but it's beyond critical that she doesn't try to use a gun for the first time when in a self defense scenario.

[squeeze]

My first thought was a Shield. Mine has a safety and I use it about 50%. Hope town is correct: a bigger/heavier gun is much easier to shoot. It took me quite awhile to get proficient with my Shield. PX Storm great right outa the box. Mine feels and shoots like a "big" gun.
IGNORE EVERY THING POSTED ABOVE.
Take her to a range and rent, rent, rent many guns and pistols and calibers. Maybe cut a rental deal with them if you plan to purchase through them. LET HER DECIDE WHAT SHE LIKES or you'll eventually be shooting alone.

[tbc]

Shield and then training.

[Tiberius]

Not all manual safeties are the same. Some, like the Shield, have a very small lever that for some is hard to hit.

In contrast, the HK USP line has a good-sized lever that is relatively easy to operate. Also, the USP full size has some sort of recoil-reduction system, which might be nice for GF depending on her experience.

The Beretta 92 (and similar) have a slide-mounted safety that to some operates "the opposite" from the 1911-style on the USP. You can think of swiping a thumb "forward" to deactivate both Beretta 92 and 1911 safeties, though. The Beretta is a nice big heavy metal gun which damps recoil well, but which is large for the 10 round mags allowed in Cal.

There are also after-market safeties for Glocks, which supposedly don't affect the warranty. They're called Commonelli or something like that.

Might be good to put a few in her hand and check what she can reach. The Shield is a great gun but lots of folks seem to ignore the safety. There may be an after-market extended safety lever for it out there by now.

[jyo]

Like several others have said, I vote HK USPc (compact) in 9mm and DA/SA---really nice smaller pistol---mine has been 100% reliable for many, many years...

[sfe187]

i originally wanted to stay with a 9mm so i don't have to stock a new caliber as most of my personal collections are 9mm.

she has small hands and have trouble with a full size. but yes, we will rent and give her rang experience. she was actually on turner's site looking at pistols and saying "oooh this one is cute and this one is pretty" and i'm like omg somebody HELP ME!!