...........

[POLICESTATE]

I would say compact 45 ACP of some sort, whatever feels comfortable to carry and shoot, and lots of practice at the range to get used to the recoil.

[rgs1975]

S&W J Frame (steel, not airweight) with a 3" barrel in .38 Special. Have her dry fire the hell out of it for a while and the DA trigger pull will get better. Or, have a smith lighten the DA pull a bit. Put grips on it with nice rubber backstrap to help with recoil absorbtion.

[Stealth]

9mm Semi-Auto.

I recommend checking out websites to see the many types.

Sig Sauer
Glock
Springfield XD
Ruger
Smith and Wesson

The next thing is have her check out a local store and hold some of the handguns and see which ones fit her best / feels right to her.

Good luck!

[pigman]

.38 spl or .357 loaded with .38 spl

[Miltiades]

Metal frames better for "limp wristing"

I'd agree with Stealth above on a 9mm semiauto. If limp wristing is a problem, I'd stay away from polymer frames. A heavier aluminum or steel frame is less likely to cause the failure to cycle known as "limp wristing" because it has more inertia which provides needed resistance to the cycling of the slide.

Some candidate guns that come to mind are the Sig P239 in 9mm, several S&W semiautos such as the 3913, several CZ compact 9mms, or the steel frame Kahr K9. None of these guns have much recoil, in my opinion.

[rkt88edmo]

Even a .22lr shouldn't be counted out. S&W has a new airweight 8 shot J-frame .22lr coming out (looks like the 442). Doubt it will make the CA roster though, so maybe check out the S&W 317

[AbbyCat]

I decided to get a Kahr P9 instead of the PM9. It is only about 1/2" larger, but the extra grip room makes a big difference. Another one to take a look at is the S&W M&P compacts.

[Trapper]

I'd go with a 3" S&W model 60, loaded with 38spl ammo. it has decent sights, is fairly light weight, holsters and speed loaders are available. My second choice would be a Sig 225 or 239 with standard velocity ammo.

[JBird33]

Ruger LCR man. Can't be limp wristed, light as hell, and she won't give a damn about recoil if she ever needs to use it.

If you're interested in an auto, I have a Kahr PM9 you are both very welcome to test out if you want to if you provide the ammo I can meet you guys out by those rocks any given sunny weekend man. Maybe you could show me that awesome bullpup of yours in exchange! PM me if you want to give the Kahr a try sometime. Personally though whenever I think of women and a self defense gun I want to say revolver for simplicity alone.

[JBird33]

Forgot to add, FWIW, my girlfriend loves my PM9. Recoil isn't bad at all on it.

[ontmark]

A good J Frame S&W Stainless steel revolver in 357 or 38special 3 or 4 inch barrel with rubber grips. Don't need +P rounds.

[S.A.]

Glock 26 ,xtra mag and don't let her out of your sight.

[lawaia]

I just re-read your post, and realized I missed the part about being most concerned with 2-legged animals. That changes my recommendation. I would say go with the G26 or maybe a G19, depending on what fits her hand better. Glocks are lightweight, and the 9mm round should be sufficient as well as low recoil.

[BigBamBoo]

..........

[PatriotnMore]

Thanks for all the input. Still not sure what way we are going to go. Not sure why a lot have recommended a 3" .357/.38....that is what she is carrying NOW....guess that was overlooked in my original post.

My buddy has a 8 shot Taurus 22 mag revolver w/4" barrel (model 941 ??) that we are going to go shoot.

Again...this is purely a hiking and plinking gun for HER. A basic deterrent for those TWO legged types who think a pretty girl in the woods is a easy target.

Thanks again

Was that something she experienced, or just in case?