"Best" Handgun for Women

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"Best" Handgun for Women

Postby oldgunman on Fri Sep 08, 2017 8:48 pm

Because I am trying to start a gun rental business to help people find the handgun that fits them the best, I was fascinated by a study that American Rifleman magazine ran where they took a group of women and had them shoot several different handguns and then rank them. It was a two part study and you can find the results at the following websites:

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articl ... l-project/

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articl ... y-pistols/

The first part of the study ranked the handguns by "general usability".
Cumulatively, the top five pistols favored by the women in the first part of the study were 1) SIG Sauer P238 2) Walther CCP 3) SIG Sauer P320 Compact 4) H&K VP9 and 5) Springfield EMP4

The second part of the study ranked handguns by "concealed carry".
1. Glock 19 (9 mm)
2. SIG Sauer P238 (.380 ACP)
3. H&K VP9SK (9 mm)
4. Walther PPS M2 (9 mm)
5. Glock 43 (9 mm)
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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby Uffdaphil on Fri Sep 08, 2017 10:17 pm

Looks like about the same as for men. I carry three of those listed - G19, VP9 and PPS M2. IMO no .380 is a good choice for defense.There are plenty of nines with similar dimensions.
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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby Holland&Holland on Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:11 pm

Uffdaphil wrote:Looks like about the same as for men. I carry three of those listed - G19, VP9 and PPS M2. IMO no .380 is a good choice for defense.There are plenty of nines with similar dimensions.

Really. What nine is the size of an lcp?

When you need ultra concealed you need snall
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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby oldgunman on Sat Sep 09, 2017 9:02 am

What surprised me was the choice of the glock 19 as the number one concealed carry choice. Although concealed carry comfort is a highly personal thing, in my case at least, I find carrying my S&W bodyguard 380 is much more comfortable and easier than carrying my double-stack springfield xd mod 2 9mm. Size does matter.

However, in close reading of the 2nd study, I noticed that actually carrying the weapon for an extended period of time was not part of the study. I would guess that if the women had to carry a glock 19 all day, every day, for two weeks and then also carried a S&W bodyguard 380 for the same time period, their rankings might have been different.
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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby Holland&Holland on Sat Sep 09, 2017 10:36 am

oldgunman wrote:What surprised me was the choice of the glock 19 as the number one concealed carry choice. Although concealed carry comfort is a highly personal thing, in my case at least, I find carrying my S&W bodyguard 380 is much more comfortable and easier than carrying my double-stack springfield xd mod 2 9mm. Size does matter.

However, in close reading of the 2nd study, I noticed that actually carrying the weapon for an extended period of time was not part of the study. I would guess that if the women had to carry a glock 19 all day, every day, for two weeks and then also carried a S&W bodyguard 380 for the same time period, their rankings might have been different.


Depends on how it is carried. Glock 19 fits well in a purse and is very shootable for most folks. I can see it.
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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby Seismic Sam on Sat Sep 09, 2017 9:37 pm

Interestingly, my druggist down here is a woman about 6' tall, and she wound up with a Glock 19 also. Months ago I came in with a Barrett hat on, and she asked me if I knew anything about firearms :mrgreen: and so I loaned her my copy of Mike Martin's Book.

I have been a staunch advocate of the idea that women can darn near shoot any gun a man can, and that's been proven on multiple "Women First" training classes at OGC for women who have very little experience with handguns. They start of with 22's to begin with, but them move up to 9mm's and 38's, and then 40's, and then 45's in the space of a few hours. My purpose there is to bring the "fun stuff, such as 10mm's. my 500 GI, and a S&W 500 with mid-range loads, which means "only" about 1500 FPS. If I had known back when I was 22 what I know now, my social life would have been a lot more fun! Some women get excited by a 10mm just like male owners do, and my 50 GI puts a big grin on everybody's face. The 500 only gets 3 or 4 women shooting it, but they still find it exciting and want to shoot a full cylinder.

As far as concealment, outside of the office, women have a ridiculous advantage over men because all they need is a Victoria's Secret bra and one extra button undone on the blouse, and they can open carry a DE50 and no man will EVER see it.

The other thing I have been found to be true across the board is that recoil is only a problem for the MOST powerful handgun you have ever shot. Whatever may he been 1st place until you shot a bigger/hotter caliber is suddenly no longer a problem.
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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby raggers on Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:43 pm

CC for women is extremely difficult, except for huge, chunky women wearing big jackets. That's for on-body carry. If a purse or fanny pack is allowed into the equation, no problem.

For guys (like me) who wear jeans and usually have a lot of crap in the pockets, no problem. But I defy anyone to show me where a woman of average proportions wearing indoor clothing can hide a gun bigger than a cigarette lighter.
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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby xd ED on Sat Sep 16, 2017 11:23 pm

raggers wrote:CC for women is extremely difficult, except for huge, chunky women wearing big jackets. That's for on-body carry. If a purse or fanny pack is allowed into the equation, no problem.

For guys (like me) who wear jeans and usually have a lot of crap in the pockets, no problem. But I defy anyone to show me where a woman of average proportions wearing indoor clothing can hide a gun bigger than a cigarette lighter.


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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby Jack's My dog on Sun Sep 17, 2017 7:02 am

xd ED wrote:
raggers wrote:CC for women is extremely difficult, except for huge, chunky women wearing big jackets. That's for on-body carry. If a purse or fanny pack is allowed into the equation, no problem.

For guys (like me) who wear jeans and usually have a lot of crap in the pockets, no problem. But I defy anyone to show me where a woman of average proportions wearing indoor clothing can hide a gun bigger than a cigarette lighter.




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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby Ironbear on Sun Sep 17, 2017 7:33 am

raggers wrote:But I defy anyone to show me where a woman of average proportions wearing indoor clothing can hide a gun bigger than a cigarette lighter.

Women do it all the time. They just have to make the appropriate fashion choices.

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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby Lumpy on Sun Sep 17, 2017 7:42 pm

xd ED wrote:

Someone ought to put strip-tease music to that. :P
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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby raggers on Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:47 pm

I stand corrected.

Looks uncomfortable, though. I wonder if she can go through a whole day carrying like that.

But it certainly is do-able, and I stand corrected.
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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby rtk on Tue Sep 19, 2017 2:39 pm

Certainly a lot of guys commenting on how women carry.. just sayin...
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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby Holland&Holland on Wed Sep 20, 2017 11:01 pm

rtk wrote:Certainly a lot of guys commenting on how women carry.. just sayin...

Well we seem to have scared off most of the women around here so...
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Re: "Best" Handgun for Women

Postby xd ED on Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:50 pm

Image
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