# My Wife's First Handgun



## odel0022 (Feb 22, 2013)

My wife and I went to Gander Mountain the other day for our first serious look at getting her her first gun. We are most likely looking for a subcompact or compact in .357, .380, or maybe at max 9mm. She is a bit sensitive to recoil, that is why maybe a .357 would be good, but if she practices enough with a 9MM maybe she could handle it better. She also isn't against a .38 Special Revolver. She will rarely be carrying in her purse, most likely just stored in the nightstand. She will want to be able to bring this gun to the range every month or so for training/practice with me. Price range would be < $450. The Gander Mountain salesperson really pushed her toward the Bersa Thunder 380DT however stated this gun wouldn't be good for consistent range practice. She enjoyed the feel of it, especially the rubberized grip with fingergrooves, but was deterred due to the range use limitation. Salesperson also said more and more people are using 22's for personal defense, but I think that will be out of the question as we already have a .22 for cheap range practice/training. She really likes the feel/size of my S&W M&P .22 but wouldn't mind something a bit smaller in case she does decide carry in her purse.

Original thoughts would be a Glock 32/33 or M&P Compact or Shield...

Any thoughts or recommendations?? Thanks for the input!


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

odel0022 said:


> My wife and I went to Gander Mountain the other day for our first serious look at getting her her first gun. We are most likely looking for a subcompact or compact in .357, .380, or maybe at max 9mm. She is a bit sensitive to recoil, that is why maybe a .357 would be good, but if she practices enough with a 9MM maybe she could handle it better. She also isn't against a .38 Special Revolver. She will rarely be carrying in her purse, most likely just stored in the nightstand. She will want to be able to bring this gun to the range every month or so for training/practice with me. Price range would be < $450. The Gander Mountain salesperson really pushed her toward the Bersa Thunder 380DT however stated this gun wouldn't be good for consistent range practice. She enjoyed the feel of it, especially the rubberized grip with fingergrooves, but was deterred due to the range use limitation. Salesperson also said more and more people are using 22's for personal defense, but I think that will be out of the question as we already have a .22 for cheap range practice/training. She really likes the feel/size of my S&W M&P .22 but wouldn't mind something a bit smaller in case she does decide carry in her purse.
> 
> Original thoughts would be a Glock 32/33 or M&P Compact or Shield...
> 
> Any thoughts or recommendations?? Thanks for the input!


"She is a bit sensitive to recoil". What was the gun she shot?


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

If the two of you buy a .357 Magnum revolver, I strongly suggest that it have a three- or four-inch barrel, and that she does not fire any .357 Magnum ammunition through it.
Find the mildest-recoiling .38 Special loads that are available, for her learning experience. I suggest either full-wadcutter target loads, if you can find them, or otherwise very-heavy-bullet, low-velocity loads.
She can switch to .357 Magnum loads later, if she feels that it's necessary, when she has sufficient experience to handle them.

A medium-long barrel will help soak up recoil, make aiming easier, and will help eliminate "the twist" that short-barrel revolvers deliver.
Heavy bullets going out at low velocity deliver recoil that feels more like a slow push, rather than the "shove" or "jab" of a light, fast bullet's recoil.

Rather than spend $450.00 on a gun by Taurus, a company which has a spotty quality-control record, buy a gently-used, better-quality pistol instead, for instance something by S&W.

I believe that a beginner should be faced with a consistent trigger action, for instance either SA or DAO (or a revolver's DA). The Traditional DA (TDA) of many semi-autos, which requires a switch from a DA first shot to SA subsequent shots, makes learning trigger control much more difficult that it ever needs to be.


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## berettatoter (Sep 1, 2011)

odel0022 said:


> My wife and I went to Gander Mountain the other day for our first serious look at getting her her first gun. We are most likely looking for a subcompact or compact in .357, .380, or maybe at max 9mm. She is a bit sensitive to recoil, that is why maybe a .357 would be good, but if she practices enough with a 9MM maybe she could handle it better. She also isn't against a .38 Special Revolver. She will rarely be carrying in her purse, most likely just stored in the nightstand. She will want to be able to bring this gun to the range every month or so for training/practice with me. Price range would be < $450. The Gander Mountain salesperson really pushed her toward the Bersa Thunder 380DT however stated this gun wouldn't be good for consistent range practice. She enjoyed the feel of it, especially the rubberized grip with fingergrooves, but was deterred due to the range use limitation. Salesperson also said more and more people are using 22's for personal defense, but I think that will be out of the question as we already have a .22 for cheap range practice/training. She really likes the feel/size of my S&W M&P .22 but wouldn't mind something a bit smaller in case she does decide carry in her purse.
> 
> Original thoughts would be a Glock 32/33 or M&P Compact or Shield...
> 
> Any thoughts or recommendations?? Thanks for the input!


Don't quite understand here. You said she is recoil sensitive, which my wife is too, but the .357 is not really an option for a recoil sensitive shooter. I feel the .357 Sig is less in recoil than the .357 Magnum, but still. You might want to check out Ruger's new LC380, if you can find one. I am a 9mm fan to the max, and the recoil of a decent size pistol in 9mm is not bad at all, but can be a bit much to a novice in the sub-compact sizes. My EDC is the Beretta Nano, and although I have no problem with it, my wife does not like the snappy recoil of such a small 9mm.


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## new guy (Nov 16, 2010)

The Bersa is a very nice gun for the price range. I just picked one up myself. Recoil is less than a 9mm and just a little over a .22. I bought the Bersa Thunder 380 with CTC Laser Grips at Gander for $450 plus tax. I also have an M&P .22 pistol that I use solely for range time. While a .22 is better than a stick, it is not a good choice for self defense. If recoil is an issue for her as you stated, I would stay away from anything Glock. Glock makes a very good gun don't get me wrong. But in my personal experience, Glocks have more recoil than other pistols. My boss' wife has an M&P Pro Series 9mm and it has very little recoil. Way less than any of the 9mm Glocks we have shot. I don't know why the salesman at Gander deterred you from the Bersa. It is an exceptional gun at a great value. It is small enough to conceal in a purse, and small enough you can hide it in a glove box or console.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

berettatoter said:


> ...You said she is recoil sensitive...You might want to check out Ruger's new LC380...


"Get a little gun for the little lady" is a definite error, particularly when the lady in question is recoil sensitive.
Small pistols, even those firing "wimpy" cartridges, are very difficult to control. The small size actually magnifies the effect of felt recoil.
If you feel that a .380 is appropriate, which it probably is, you need to find your wife a medium size (or larger) gun with which to learn accuracy and control.

The Gander Mountain salesperson may have recommended against the Bersa because he didn't have any in stock, so he wanted to sell you something he had. Salespeople do this.
He also may believe that Bersa guns are not well made. (I have no opinion on this possibility, due to lack of experience with the brand.)
I believe that Bersa sells .380s only with TDA triggers, which I believe to be inappropriate for beginning shooters. However, I may be wrong about this.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

odel0022 said:


> My wife and I went to Gander Mountain the other day for our first serious look at getting her her first gun. We are most likely looking for a subcompact or compact in .357, .380, or maybe at max 9mm. She is a bit sensitive to recoil, that is why maybe a .357 would be good, but if she practices enough with a 9MM maybe she could handle it better. She also isn't against a .38 Special Revolver. She will rarely be carrying in her purse, most likely just stored in the nightstand. She will want to be able to bring this gun to the range every month or so for training/practice with me. Price range would be < $450. The Gander Mountain salesperson really pushed her toward the Bersa Thunder 380DT however stated this gun wouldn't be good for consistent range practice. She enjoyed the feel of it, especially the rubberized grip with fingergrooves, but was deterred due to the range use limitation. Salesperson also said more and more people are using 22's for personal defense, but I think that will be out of the question as we already have a .22 for cheap range practice/training. She really likes the feel/size of my S&W M&P .22 but wouldn't mind something a bit smaller in case she does decide carry in her purse.
> 
> Original thoughts would be a Glock 32/33 or M&P Compact or Shield...
> 
> Any thoughts or recommendations?? Thanks for the input!


Never take for gospel, what a salesperson might tell you......no matter what they're trying to sell.

Some of the most uninformed people in firearms I've met, are those selling them.


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## new guy (Nov 16, 2010)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> "Get a little gun for the little lady" is a definite error, particularly when the lady in question is recoil sensitive.
> Small pistols, even those firing "wimpy" cartridges, are very difficult to control. The small size actually magnifies the effect of felt recoil.
> If you feel that a .380 is appropriate, which it probably is, you need to find your wife a medium size (or larger) gun with which to learn accuracy and control.
> 
> ...


The Bersa Thunder 380 has a DA/SA trigger. I'm new so I don't know what a TDA trigger is?


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

new guy said:


> The Bersa Thunder 380 has a DA/SA trigger. I'm new so I don't know what a TDA trigger is?


"TDA trigger" is just a shorter way of writing "DA/SA trigger."

SA = Single Action (old Colt's "cowboy" revolver, M1911 semi-auto, _etc_.)
DA = Double Action (modern revolvers which give you the choice of all-trigger or thumb-cock action)
DAO = Double-Action Only (some S&W-style "hammerless" revolvers which cannot be thumb-cocked, and some Kel-Tec-style semi-autos which require long trigger pulls)
TDA = Traditional Double-Action (semi-autos which fire the first shot with a long DA pull, and subsequent shots with a lighter SA pull)


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