Handgun for wife

[Rocksteady1]

Something small. Stainless with white ivory or shell grips. Any ideas?

Concealable a plus but not a requirement.

[Roland Deschain]

The one she enjoys to shoot and feels comfortable with.

That said I like revolvers for new shooters since they are safe and simple. Pickup, pull trigger, boom...

PS: 4" Ruger GP-100 is great

[sholling]

Ivory is covered by import restrictions and hard to find but you can find pearl grips but real mother of pearl grips are very expensive. Perhaps one of the fancier woods would fit her tastes?

You didn't mention a budget but a Kimber Compact or Compact CDP with custom grips, possibly slim grips (for smaller hands) from Esmeralda or Sarge would be a great choice. Esmeralda also makes fancy grips for S&W J-Frame revolvers. A "compact" 1911 has a 4" barrel for reliability and a small officer's sized grip. Swapping in a short trigger and slim/slender grip panels makes it more comfortable for small hands.

If you'd rather go with a 22 look at a Browning Buck Mark but you won't find ivory or pearl grips.

[Rocksteady1]

Hmmm. No 380s or anything? I doubt she would want to shoot a 45.

[sholling]

Hmmm. No 380s or anything? I doubt she would want to shoot a 45.

A 380 is an anemic round that costs a lot more to shoot than 9mm. You might want to consider a Springfield Armory EMP in 9mm. The reason I didn't bring it up before is there isn't a huge selection of grips.

My advice is to forget pretty guns and let her try a S&W M&P9c on for size. They come with 3 interchangeable backstraps that let you fit it to any size hand including small hands. Make sure they let her try it with both the small and medium backstraps. It's available for $500-550. Review

[chingdaotze]

Small guns are a pain to shoot and new/infrequent shooters can easily get discouraged from practice if they can't hit the target. 4-inch Smith, Taurus, or Ruger in .357, depending on your budget. Load it up with .38's for practice, .38+P JHP's for self defense, and .357's if she's up to it. If she really wants small, then I would say 3-inch barrel minimum. Maybe a S&W Model 60.

Pros of revolvers for new/infrequent shooters:
*Pick it up and pull the trigger. No safeties.
*Easy to check if loaded.
*Cannot be limp-wristed.
*Grips can (almost) be as slim or as fat as you like.
*No difficult slide to rack.
*Failure to fire? Pull the trigger. No clearance drills.

[SoCal Bob]

Take her to a range that rents guns. Let her see what fits her hands and feels good to her. Try a mix of sizes, actions and calibers. If she likes revolvers she may want to try a snub nose, but keep in mind that they have more felt recoil so she may also want to try a 4" like a Ruger SP101 or GP100.

[G60]

The one she enjoys to shoot and feels comfortable with.

This. Let her shoot a few different types, and narrow your selection from there.

Don't fall for the "Revolver, women can't rack a slide" line of nonsense.

[Bongos]

S&W 442.. nuff said .. real basic, small, compact, no snag, no external hammers to mess with, just point and pull the trigger.. 5 rounds of 38SPL (Any of the XTP, Talon, NiCLAD 125-158gr bad boys will do)

[movie zombie]

wasn't there a thread about this a week or two ago?
does no one do a search?

Sir Roland got it right: the gun that fits her hand, one that she has fired and knows she'll practice with, and one that she will enjoy shooting.