My wife has decided to get her carry permit and i'd like to find her a Shield 9mm, XDs 9mm or maybe G26?

[three5seven]

Recoil in the small frame polymer 9MM's is a problem for most people, myself included. IMO, the G26 is a great carry option so far as size, caliber, etc. but it's a little chunky. Generally, you can't go wrong with a Glock. However, you may want to consider a large .380 like the Walther PK380 for your wife, especially if she is new to shooting. It holds 8+1 and the grip is good for small hands. Not to mention, the price is easy on the wallet. 

[PackinMama]

Let her try it with the extended magazine. Makes it feel a lot nicer in the hand....more to hold onto.

Too bad you're not in East TN....you could come over here and she could shoot both the Glock 26 and the Sig 938.

[jgradyc]

Here's my take on the G26. The early Gens felt like a potato in my hand. I just couldn't get a grip on it with my small hands. I now have a Gen4 G26 with the adjustable grip. It fits my hand much better. Yes, it is accurate. The trigger is nice, but it is still a fat, thick, double stack gun. The trigger is problematic for purse carry because if the trigger gets caught on keys, lipstick tube, etc, it could AD. If it's in a purse or on the body, the G26 should have a dedicated holster that will hold the gun securely until needed.  Yes, there are tens of thousands of Glock owners who carry without a holster and haven't shot themselves... yet. Google "Glock leg" to see how common this is.

 

If she carries on her body, the G26 is hard to wear comfortably if she is a small person. I have a 30" waist so for a gun this size, I'm limited to the 5 or 6 o'clock carry position for IWB, which makes sitting in a car uncomfortable.  That extra quarter inch in thickness is really noticeable compared to my single stack handguns. You'll probably have to pay $500 or $550 for a used Gen4 G26.

 

That's just my opinion. Feel free to completely ignore it, bash it, whatever. It won't hurt my feelings.  :rofl:

 

There are a lot of handguns to consider. The Walther PK380 is a sweet gun. So is the Kimber Solo.  The Kahr PM9 has a long trigger, but it's relatively smooth. I don't have a shield yet, but it would seem to be a good choice. I carry a Taurus 709 Slim. It has a manual safety, so that's either a plus or minus... you decide, but it's noticeably easier to carry than the G26.  

 

One more opinion. I don't think you should rule out single stack handguns. They are thinner and a LOT easier to carry comfortably. In my opinion, 6+1 or 7+1 is enough firepower. She can always carry a spare mag in her purse. That also makes the gun lighter, which makes it more comfortable to carry all day.

 

Again, just my 2 cents.  Good luck. Let her make the final choice. It's her carry. If she doesn't like it, post it for sale here and buy her another gun. Keep doing that until you get it right.  :up:

[Luke E.]

 We spent some time at On Target looking through different options, some that she's inspected and fondled before and some new stuff. Some were to think, some to smal, some to big, some with poor triggers and some with grips she didn't like as well as some not fitting her hand. The Sig 938 was to small and she didn't like not being able to get more of her hand on it and the G26 she shot down because of it being to thick. They had a good selection of compact and and smaller pistols so we just started on one end and made our way to the other end. She didn't mind the compacts as far as the ergonomics were concerned but stated that she wouldn't carry one of them on her person which leaves her purse and The purpose was to find something that she could carry comfortably. The next case we came to had mostly pocket pistols and while she thinks they are "cute" she didn't like how little of her hands were in contact with the gun. I think it would have been hard for her to spend time regularly shooting such small guns that are in my opinion miserable to shoot (most, not all) so it didn't hurt my feelings when she moved on. The next case had quite a few Springfield XD variants in it and the compacts were again "to heavy and thick" and I mentioned that they also made a smaller model (the XDs) but that I didn't see one there. The guy behind the counter said to hang on just a second as he unholstered and cleared his personal XDs for her to check out. She really liked the size of it and was able to manipulate the slide without struggling but after handling it a bit she said that she was afraid the grip would be a little rough on her hands but that it wasn't a deal breaker. We got to the Shield and she noticed that the size was similar to the XDs but liked that the grip was a bit more tamed. She approved of the trigger,sights and weight as well. After coming across the shield she really had no interest in anything else but we moved on just in case something else might suit her. When we walked out the Shield is what she had settled on and I thought to myself that I had it narrowed down to 3 pistols that I thought would best suit her and I was wrong about one, close about another and right on about the 3rd. Unless something comes up and she changes her mind, she will be the owner of a new S&W Shield. Thanks for all the input folks.

[Luke E.]

Here's my take on the G26. The early Gens felt like a potato in my hand. I just couldn't get a grip on it with my small hands. I now have a Gen4 G26 with the adjustable grip. It fits my hand much better. Yes, it is accurate. The trigger is nice, but it is still a fat, thick, double stack gun. The trigger is problematic for purse carry because if the trigger gets caught on keys, lipstick tube, etc, it could AD. If it's in a purse or on the body, the G26 should have a dedicated holster that will hold the gun securely until needed.  Yes, there are tens of thousands of Glock owners who carry without a holster and haven't shot themselves... yet. Google "Glock leg" to see how common this is.

 

If she carries on her body, the G26 is hard to wear comfortably if she is a small person. I have a 30" waist so for a gun this size, I'm limited to the 5 or 6 o'clock carry position for IWB, which makes sitting in a car uncomfortable.  That extra quarter inch in thickness is really noticeable compared to my single stack handguns. You'll probably have to pay $500 or $550 for a used Gen4 G26.

 

That's just my opinion. Feel free to completely ignore it, bash it, whatever. It won't hurt my feelings.  :rofl:

 

There are a lot of handguns to consider. The Walther PK380 is a sweet gun. So is the Kimber Solo.  The Kahr PM9 has a long trigger, but it's relatively smooth. I don't have a shield yet, but it would seem to be a good choice. I carry a Taurus 709 Slim. It has a manual safety, so that's either a plus or minus... you decide, but it's noticeably easier to carry than the G26.  

 

One more opinion. I don't think you should rule out single stack handguns. They are thinner and a LOT easier to carry comfortably. In my opinion, 6+1 or 7+1 is enough firepower. She can always carry a spare mag in her purse. That also makes the gun lighter, which makes it more comfortable to carry all day.

 

Again, just my 2 cents.  Good luck. Let her make the final choice. It's her carry. If she doesn't like it, post it for sale here and buy her another gun. Keep doing that until you get it right.  :up:

 

 She will get a gun that she likes and like you said if this Shield turns out not to be it, I will either sell it or keep it for me (i'm planning on picking one up for myself at some point anyways). She seems quite excited about her choice so i'm hoping that she is happy when she gets it for her Christmas present..

[RED333]

Way to go Luke, letting her pick her Christmas gift is a win, win.

[Joe357]

Just one word about the shields, they are very tight. So,when she first tries it, it maybe hard for her to rack the slide or release the slide stop. This will loosen up with some shooting and become very manageable.

[Luke E.]

Way to go Luke, letting her pick her Christmas gift is a win, win.

 

 Thanks! I always let her pick what she gets if she is willing but sometimes she gets in the "he needs to put some thought into it" moods  :ugh: . I didn't even spend any time looking for a used one, just called a friend with an FFL and he said he'd have to look at the books but thought he could sell it to me for about $250 + tax & fees. That leaves plenty of money to get the frame ceracoated her color of choice (Tiffany Blue) as well as buy her a holster for every possible carry scenario.Earlier  I was looking at the spandex type rigs that wrap around the stomach that have a pocket for the pistol. After looking around some today I found 4-5 different type rigs that I would like to pick up for her. I also started a thread last night in the women's section asking for their input and I see I have some reply emails in my inbox so i'm gonna boogy over there to see what they have posted for me.

[Luke E.]

Just one word about the shields, they are very tight. So,when she first tries it, it maybe hard for her to rack the slide or release the slide stop. This will loosen up with some shooting and become very manageable.

 

 I noticed they were not only tight but the slide did not move smoothly either. She was able to rack the slide fairly well so after I tear it down and polish all the bearing surfaces and put a few hundred rounds through it, she should be good to go.

[Guest TNSovereignty]

Sounds like the Shield is the wife's choice, and it sounds like she's had a lot to choose from ... well done.  My wife chose the Walther PPS over some of the others mentioned here, and she actually preferred the mag extraction of the Walther.  Just another brand/model to check out if you're still in "shopping mode."

[Luke E.]

Sounds like the Shield is the wife's choice, and it sounds like she's had a lot to choose from ... well done.  My wife chose the Walther PPS over some of the others mentioned here, and she actually preferred the mag extraction of the Walther.  Just another brand/model to check out if you're still in "shopping mode."

 

 There wasn't a Walther PPS in the case when we were there (that I saw anyways). I actually picked up her Shield today so now I have to take the frame in for some color. Part of me wants to show it to her now since she already knows that she is getting it.. I would have to take it back and get the color put on and then I would wait until Christmas to give it back to her. I guess i'll see if I can just forget about it so I won't be anxious to give it to her now.

 I did put 50 rounds through it this afternoon though because I've seen where a lot of folks have had trouble running 115gr projectiles until they had a few hundred rounds down the pipe. I'm happy to report that it functioned flawlessly for all 50 rounds. 

 Thanks again everyone for all the input!

[Duck]

I shot a Shield in 40 today, anyone can shoot a Shield. It handled so much better than my Glock and 10x better than my S&W Sigma that was a pile of crap. I am going to have to get one, I can't quit dreaming o the gun.

[SonnyCrockett]

My wife carrys a Beretta Nano,in pink...I liked it when I saw it because its free from slide locks and safetys 

its slick looking and heavy duty built ,the trigger while stiff ,its deliberate and cant go off by mistake like a glock 

it was less than 400 bucks,made in USA 

 

:usa:

[Stainless]

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/72434-shield-9mm-359/

[Luke E.]

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/72434-shield-9mm-359/

That's the best price I've seen on the Shield. I've got a good friend with an FFL and he happened to have a few in stock. I ended up out the door tax, background and all for less than this sale price so I felt pretty lucky. If he hadn't of had one I was planning to go the PSA route as well.

[TNRat]

What does your wife want? Carrying is a huge responsibility. Is she interested enough in doing her own research to determine what she would like to carry?

 

ANY new pistol owner should not waste money trying to trade in the first pistol on the second pistol, which should be what they want. ANY new pistol owner should waste that money on renting the various firearms available whether they may have an interest or not and then shooting those firearms to determine whether they like the firearm.

 

I don't know how many times I have heard a man tell a woman, "you 'need' a 38 snub," watch them purchase that snub and then go straight to the range with a 158 grain LSWC loads that are high pressure. The woman gets a big surprise when she rolls that trigger back for the first time and it is usually not good. If it works for them that is great but I have seen advanced shooters that did not like shooting something that jumped around in their hands and burnt the hair off their fingers at every round.

 

I have shot a lot of 38 snub and a lot of G 26/27. These guns are not for novice shooters but advanced shooters willing to shoot every month if they want to be competent with their firearm. When you spend that kind of time getting to know your weapon you can win some money on the range from people who do not believe how well they perform.

 

I can only recommend someone take it slow and go with what feels good in their hands and shoots good as well. They will stay involved in the industry for a longer period of time when taking that route.