Best first weapon for my wife.

[Mr_Monkeywrench]

Im wondering what would be best for my wife. She says shes open to anything, and shes exited about sharing the sport with me, but I was wondering what would be most practical. Rifle or handgun? what do your wives/girlfriends enjoy the most?

[stix213]

Full size polymer handgun in a lighter caliber, like 9mm. I'd suggest having her hold or even rent a few different models to see what she likes.

Contrary to some people's thinking, the smaller 9mm's or .380's can be too "snappy" for a new wife/gf shooter even if they look cute.

A .22lr rifle or a .22lr pistol may be good choices also. Something in .223 if she is into it. I'd avoid larger caliber rifles, and handguns, or anything on the heavy side, unless she tries it first. I'd also avoid shotguns, again unless she has tried it first and likes it.

My suggestions that's all

For example, my brother's wife loves shooting my Saiga 7.62x39, but she will only shoot it from her hip cause it is too heavy for her to shoulder. She has a blast, but its too big of a gun to buy for her for example (she is like 110lb or something). She is afraid of my Glock 26, cause she thinks it is going to fly out of her hands, but she loves shooting my Glock 17C as it seems to be just right recoil and size/weight wise for her even though they are both 9mm.

[Yh8t19]

My girl likes shooting 9mm. shes shot .40 well also but is scary accurate with the 9.

[Mr_Monkeywrench]

I agree about the large caliber. I was thinking of letting her try 5.45x39 because the 74 platform is caveman simple. That or glock. First I would like her to try them out.

[epcii]

S&W J-frame in .38.

[cprieto]

I had my wife try a S&W 686 shooting 38. She enjoyed it but I think the 2 keys were the weight of the gun helped control and recoil in that round and we did good ear protection and outdoor shooting so she wasnt intimidated. Cant get much simpler than a wheel gun. After that she moved up my collection and was shooting the big boys before the day was done. Good luck, it's great when they can share in this.

[al8550]

Probably 9mm polymer handgun

[Jonathan Doe]

My wife likes S&W model 66 with 2 1/2" barrel. It is very manageable with 38 Special ammo.

[Beelzy]

Get her a good knife.......far more practical and easier to carry constantly.

Then get her a pistol to go with it later.

[17+1]

Probably 9mm polymer handgun

My wife likes my Glock 17. She can handle it easily...part of the reason my pistols are 9mm is because the recoil doesn't push her aorund.

OP, an AR with a scope is a good option. Accurate, low recoil, will build confidence if she can shoot small groups with a scoped one.

Ruger 10/22 is also good and cheap...can fix it up as her shooting improves.

Buy something that is accurate and low recoil, something you can upgrade over time with better sights, free floating barrel etc.

She will soon be outshooting you, happened to me, don't feel bad when it does.

[Bluhdow!]

Get her a gun that you want. That way, when she hates it, you'll have a new toy.

Don't be shy about customizing it to your liking. Engravings are also par for the course.

Tell her that while you're happy to buy the gun, she is responsible for buying ammunition and cleaning it up after every outing. This will speed up the transfer process.

[acaligunner]

Im wondering what would be best for my wife. She says shes open to anything, and shes exited about sharing the sport with me, but I was wondering what would be most practical. Rifle or handgun? what do your wives/girlfriends enjoy the most?

What type of shooting?

If it's for fun 22/5.56

If it's for SD, Just lay out everything you have on the table, and let her shoot them, and then let her make the choice.

I thought I knew what guns my lady wanted, I put out J-Frames-Kahr's-Glocks, etc.

She picked the G36 in 45acp. I really thought she would have liked the J-frame, or the PM9, But she picked the Glock 45.

So give it some thought, and hit the range, it's the only way to know what she wants.

acaligunner

[DaveFJ80]

My wife is small (very small hands, small frame) so her shooting my 1911 is too much for her. It's even too heavy for her to hold onto for a period of time. Yes, I know it's sad.

I first started getting her used to my Glock 19 and she was liking that. The recoil was managable but still she needed to work on it. The gun still had quite a bit of kick for her. At the time, it was the only handgun that I had where she could use for HD when I was traveling a lot for work.

Then she tried my GSG 1911 .22LR and refused to touch the Glock again. The .22LR is very soft and easy on beginner or 'fragile' shooters (as I like to call her), and she can learn the basic fundamentals with that and not worry about the weight or recoil. On a similar subject, she also likes shooting my 15-22 rifle, but is still getting used to holding it properly on her small frame.


The downside.... she now wants to use the .22LR pistol as her HD go-to gun, instead of the 9mm pistols that I have setup for her .

[RedFord150]

My wife and daughter both like revolvers. My 4" GP100 has a great trigger job and is very mild when loaded with .38 wadcutters. It is always a favorite of the ladies.
I just picked up a Heritage Rough Rider in .22LR/.22 mag with 6.5" barrel and adjustable fiber optic sights. Both of my girls are really excited to try it. I am really interested in how they end up liking the single action.

[jptopz]

I would go with ether a small frame revolver in 357. This way she can shoot 38s, and she can have 357s for HD. The reason I say a revolver is that it is easy to operate. My wife can't operate the slides on my autos so I leave her a revolver for HD. If your wife can operate a auto than I would go with a 9mm, cheap ammo and fun to shoot. There are many great 9mm autos to chose from.