Colt, Sig, Glock, Ruger, Kimber, S&W have all had their share of bad apples, bad years and been put down at times. Every .45 Ruger I've bought or have friends that have bought have to have their cylinders bored to get accuracy. I had to send my .45 Combo in and they had to replace the barrel and both cylinders and yah I love it now, but I was ready to blow up when I paid $500+ dollars for it originally and had to pay $75 bucks to mail it back for fixes. Charter had some bad years during a couple transitions, but I can record that after about 6 boxes of store ammo and several boxes of my reloads, my wife's pink lady is no different than it was in that first picture and I wouldn't recommend it if it weren't. We are still getting good accuracy and due to their lower hammer/grip, you get a lot less muzzle flip than the S&W Airweight which is a heavier firearm. Bottom line is just because you paid more, didn't mean you got more. 8)

Now when I was teaching my wife how to shoot (she knew how with a revolver already!) a semi-auto and the things one needs to know about them, we tried several brands in small caliber working her way up to my 10mm Glock actually.

The thing I noticed about several of those very small auto pistols, was that they will "rack" your trigger finger a bunch if your target practicing with them. I found this to be especially true with the Ruger model!!!

Now for my wife, she liked the Glock sub-compact the best, except for the SIG 239, which had the better feel of the full size grip but she could not hit the target on the first shot. This require more pressure on her trigger finger an thus cause her to pull the pistol downward (shooting low 12") missing the vital zone of the target. I later ha a spring job done on this pistol but she still has a problem somewhat, so the Glock model 27 in 40 cal. is her CCW gun.

I will give you my advice and that is to have her stick with the 9mm Luger caliber! Now first off, the 9mm is much cheaper to shoot and practice with at the range, in order to become good enough with the pistol. It is a much better round than the .380-auto by far, almost twice the penetration into wet news print. If she likes the GLOCK pistols, they have less recoil to the shooter also.

I'm a month tardy in commenting but the answer to this is easy. I'd suggest a 3 or 4 inch K-frame Smith in .38 Special or .357 with moderate .38 Sp. loads. Keep the ranges reasonable and the targets large and you will both have a great time.

If the young lady has NOT been taught to shoot at all, I suggest a small revolver in the .22LR caliber, until she becomes proficient enough to handle the .38-SPL.

Now this round is wicked loaded with "wad-cutters" and the .38-spl up close (under 15 ft) has plenty of power to ward off an attacker. The pistol I choose for my daughter was a Smith & Wesson Air Weight, in the .357-Mag caliber.

A little heavier but it has NO External HAMMER to catch on purse or clothes etc. It also has NO REAR SIGHT, (just a slot cut into the frame) to hang up on and makes pocket carry a "very easy" to do. Later on she can load it up with .375-magnum ammo. It is a great little SAFE REVOLVER, with a lot of quality.

I would opt for a 22 wmr S&W revolver. Cheap to shoot for a lot of practice and there are some potent rounds for this revolver. I own a 351pd and love it but are hard to come by. Very light and very potent. Not cheap but won't lose value. Also own 651 Smith. Holy cow, did the value of that one go up.

I have watched my wife use everything from revolvers only to a Kimber for the home defense / outdoors carry plus .38 specials for social/city carry. Lots of air pistol time at rocks and dogs, at just a pump or two for long range horse or livestock chasing. The whole slide/magazine semi auto drill started with .22 LR target pistols. The small centerfire "pocket" pistols presented their own issues, if single action no round chambered? Double actions required extra coordination of grip and trigger finger. Holsters were a really big challenge. Girls don't do 1 376std/4 inch Galco carry belts. The narrow style shoulder harness bit into skin. The Miami Classic Galco works fairly well. Too much security is complicated, too little drops guns. Your belt holster will not fit with the sweater she wants with those pants. Enjoy the path, buy reloading equipment and save the brass. Take them to gun shows and any where they can try out new options.

I totally agree with the the .38 suggestions. I would also like to throw into the mix another great smooth shooting gun that is expensive to shoot if you don't reload but is worth your consideration. The colt 32-20.

The only problem with the calibers like .22LR or 22WMR and even the .380-auto, 25 cal, 32 cal. is simply this, they are NOT STOPPERS! Meaning you could end up with a cut throat or worse because the attacker got close enough to you. Most any women can fire a .38-spl and using wad-cutters in that pistol makes it very deadly!

Agreed. 380 is absolutely minimum in my book.

I have one of those Charter "Pink Lady" revolvers. I won it for my wife at a FNRA banquet.

Neither my wife or my niece like shooting it - at all. It has too much recoil. That said, I've not had any problems since I put a few drops oil down inside and dry fired it 500 times. There are no disassembly instructions anywhere that I could find and I was too scared to take it a part to work on the trigger, due to all the plastic parts and I thought they wouldn't fit tightly upon reassembly. I asked the factory for disassembly instructions and all I got was an exploded diagram - the same one that's in the owners manual.

Both my wife and niece say my Ruger SP101 is fine. The Ruger costs about $200 more and is worth every penny. The extra weight of the Ruger makes .357 Rounds feel like .38 SPL loads from the Charter.

I also have a Bersa Thunder .380 and a Thunder .380 CC. All the ladies who shoot it love it. (I teach pistol classes.) The CC version fit ladies hands better - the grips are just a bit thinner and it makes a difference for trigger reach.

For a 9mm try the Ruger SR9c, Glock 26, XD9sc, M&P compact, M&P Shield.

Hmm, my wife, 15 year old daughter, 21 year old daughter, sister-in-laws and step mom have all shot it and thought it was quite controllable. Perhaps it is the ammo you are trying to get them to shoot in it? If you shoot +p .38 specials it is snappy, but so is a snubby S&W, Ruger etc. I reload, so I have good loads made up for it though. We really like it anyway. I have fast fired it many times and kept all 5 shots in a 6" dirty bird at 20 yards. Pretty good for a snubby in my book.

I guess I should have said "too much recoil for them to enjoy shooting it", especially after shooting .38's out of full size steel .357 revovlers. I can shoot it just fine, and it find it to be quite accurate... and with more practice I'm sure they would too. Both are beginning shooters and I would rather them not learn bad habits by shooting a gun that they think is "too much".

KelTec PF9

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The SP101 with .357 mag loads is a hand full.

Been there and done that, but is will NOT be the normal.

I have a couple of them -both .357, and a friend's wife has one.

For years I loaded my cast swc ahead of 2.5gr of Bullseye, but with the ladies shooting something a bit heavier for social work, thought I should up the charge a bit to make the difference less.

So, went to 4 grains to come a bit closer to the +P .38 loads.

AS said earlier, the SP101 is worth the money.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

For the purposes the OP mentioned, you could do a lot worse than an older K frame 38 Special service size steel revolver. Many of these guns have outstanding triggers and are accurate and a pleasure to shoot. If your daughter learns the basics & becomes proficient with a double action revolver, everything else will be much easier to shoot. IMO thats the way to start someone out right. A similiar size companion piece in .22 would be nice, or you might start her out with the .22 and later get the .38.

It seems that too many times a first gun or 'lady's gun' ends up being a 38 J-frame which can be unpleasant to shoot in terms of hand sting, and frustrating to shoot in terms of putting shots on target for a beginner.

That's my opinion too. Any new shooter shooting a gun that's inappropriate to their experience level is going to feel inadequate which leads to discouragement and eventually no more shooting. Start them off with a "friendly" gun, mild ammunition, and close-up targets. Success insures they will like shooting and once the basics are mastered, they can move on to more challenging guns and they will be eager to do so.

+1 on letting her choose one she likes. My wife, 4' 11", loves shooting a 6" Python, carries a S&W 442, and shot a 248/250 for her CCW with a Gold Cup. Women are just as mysterious with their taste in guns as with most other stuff!

Adios, Will

People are falling into the same old trap.

Except Range Junky and Will D.

None of us will accept that what another guy likes in a personal defense handgun as gospel for us, WHY do we think we can make that judgement just because the handgun is for a girl???

Let her choose what fits her hands and what she likes. He hands, her likes are different than yours.
Calibers and power level ideas are all good but as for the particular handgun? Nope.
It doesn't matter if you are male or female, if it doesn't fit your hands, if it isn't comfortable, you won't practice, you won't shoot it and you won't be proficient.

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"That way lies madness".

Michael,

Your post is correct in many ways.

However, the person who is to use the firearm needs guidance which comes from knowing something about this person and their skills and desires.

Example, my wife simply is not overly mechanicly inclined and does not desire to spend huge or even reasonable amounts of time on the firing line.

She would not desire to spend the time to learn the operation of the semi-auto. What to do with a failure to feed, what to do if the firearm smoke stacks etc. etc. etc.

For that reason, it is wise to guide such a person to a wheel gun rather then the much more complicated semi-auto.

Very true that a semi is likely to feel better in the hand, but if the person does not have enough hand strength to operate this firearm, or the desire to master the basic skills needed to safely use and carry this firearm, then a much better choice is the more basic and simple wheelgun.

Just the Ol'Coot's opinion.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot