In-store Handling

[chances R]

Trying out as many guns as one can takes a lot of the guess work out of the purchase.  TAC in Knoxville, Gunny's in Maryville, and Bud's in Kodak all have rental guns and indoor ranges.  I instruct and would have no problem showing her some guns at TAC is she wanted to meet.  I would do it for a fellow TGO'er  at no cost .... except for rental by the store.  Ammo price is usually reasonable so that is a wash, gun rental at TAC is about $10 and unlimited to the number of guns you shoot in a session.  If interested just give me a PM.

[Guest Dusty83]

my o lady was torn between the shield and bersa bp9cc, she went with the bp9cc because she has really tiny hands and shes able to get a full purchase on it and reach the trigger well. the shield was just a tad to big for her little hands.

 

EDIT: i have just recently bought a cz p07, not the duty but the new 2014 model. it has some features that reduce the recoil compared to other guns. the slide rides on the inside of the frame instead of on the outside like most all other pistols. this means the slide is smaller so it weighs less (in theory) so its less weight flying back when the gun is fired causing muzzle climb when the slide stops at the rear and then goes forward. it also means the barrel and guide rod can sit lower into the frame making it also have less muzzle climb and more of a push back into the hand. and it also puts the top round almost in a straight line with the barrel when it strips a round of the mag, that being said i dont see how it could have a FTF. running tight on fund so ive only put 50 ball and 50 hollow points through it. no problems and its pretty accurate, i had no targets so i just hung a pepsi can in a tree and shot at it and some random trash laying around. the gun is around 500$ mine was 526 out the door and 15+1 of 9mm, has 3 back straps, 2 mags, "cleaning kit", a lock, 3 dot night sights, and a hard case. stay away from it if the serial number starts with A if im not mistaken.

 

seen a dude here with an avatar of its big brother the p09, he/she may be able to chime in and verify what ive said since im a newb and have 0 credibility here with you guys.

Edited March 15, 2015 by Dusty83

[tmauto769]

Unless she is a bigger girl, most compacts are "normal" size for most women. That wasn't meant as an insult just some food for thought. I went through this with my wife, she is small. She had a real hard time racking the slide on a sr9c, so I sold it and she ended up with a 92fs compact. That particular "compact" is far from compact, but she liked my 92a1 so much, I figured that would be the next best thing. She absolutely loves it.

[btq96r]

An update to this to close it out.  She came down this weekend, and we got hot on this.  Saturday was spent driving around the Murfreesoro area to find a gun, visiting a few guns and pawn shops.  After checking prices at a few places,  I asked her if she wanted to save money by getting it via PSA, but she wanted to get a gun that day, and throw in some range time, which we did today. 

 

We ended up buying from Outpost Armory.  They were very cool, letting her work the action and dry fire any model in the store.  As to the individual models, she tried out at least a half dozen, and she hated the action on every brand, except Glock.  And yeah, I didn't know how smooth the action is by comparison, a big deal for a woman without manly hand strength.  The high cost of going to the indoor range here in Murfreesboro made her say just buy it now.  Since it's a Glock 19, and has a great reputation, I was comfortable enough that she would like it, and gave her my blessing to purchase.

 

I was very proud that she insisted that she also get a pack of snap caps with her new gun.  She spent an entire hour straight on Saturday night on loading, unloading, clearing, and dry fire with them.  She only stopped because her hands were getting sore, and she wanted to make sure that she didn't screw them up for the range today.  Her shooting needs work, but she is determined to get there.

[Joe357]

I would add that just being able to shoot the gun that she feels comfortable with is only half the battle. You may also make sure she is capable of field stripping,cleaning and able to reassemble the gun. Some semi's like Glock are very easy while others require strong hands. She may also want to shoot a revolver, much easier to load, clean and clear.

[tnhawk]

Glad to hear she found a pistol that meets her needs.

[btq96r]

I would add that just being able to shoot the gun that she feels comfortable with is only half the battle. You may also make sure she is capable of field stripping,cleaning and able to reassemble the gun. Some semi's like Glock are very easy while others require strong hands. She may also want to shoot a revolver, much easier to load, clean and clear.

 

She had the field strip of the Glock down pat.  Forgot to add that to the list of things she sat down doing Saturday night.  She cleaned it after the range today as well.

 

As far as revolvers, I had a feeling she wouldn't like them.  She wasn't keen on any guns with a hammer, and the hammerless revolvers are a bit rough on the trigger pull.  She's very happy with the feel of her new G19.

[Guest sargekw]

On Target on Thompson Lane, close to Medical Center Parkway, in Murfreesboro has rental guns.  When I first got started I would go in and practice with different ones.  When Ruger came out with the SR9c, that became what I now have as my carry gun.  

 

I don't think the folks at the range would have any problem with you taking her through some practice with SNAP caps and practicing loading and unloading the weapon.

[Jeb48]

If you are only going to have one it is hard to go wrong with a G19. I love mine, I have put over a 1000 rounds through it in about 8 months. I like my revolvers and pocket guns to but if I just want to plink a lot of steel I grab the G19.

[btq96r]

On Target on Thompson Lane, close to Medical Center Parkway, in Murfreesboro has rental guns.  When I first got started I would go in and practice with different ones.  When Ruger came out with the SR9c, that became what I now have as my carry gun. 

 

The cost of a rental at On Target was prohibitive for her. 

 

Since Glocks were the only brand she liked the feel of, and she new she wanted a mid size in 9mm, it was an easy enough purchase before she got any trigger time.  I told her if she didn't like it, she would have little trouble finding a buyer for it.

[espacef1fan]

If I was gonna buy a glock, it'd be the G19. Period

[Luke E.]

Getting her to try them out at a range is on the "to-do" list, but we're at the very basic stages here. Her total experience with guns has been to hold mine, thus, the slow approach to get her into shooting, and more importantly, trained right. It also isn't a right now thing as we both have school and work to schedule around.

My goal is to get her to feel comfortable with the feel and mechanics of about 2-3 models, then go into the test fire mode with the ones she chooses. She has said she doesn't want a compact, so the Ruger and Shield would be out. An SR9 is an option, and I already had the M&P9 on the list.

We'll either do all this around Murfreesboro, or possibly Knoxville (where she lives), which is why I was asking for more of a general consensus of handling shelf guns with snap caps would be acceptable.

I'm in Murfreesboro and have an M&P 9mm. If we can find a time that works, I'd be happy to let you guys spend some time with it. I know you've mentioned the Shield being ruled out but my wife has one and I could bring that along just in case shell give it a try. I could meet at On-Target and they have some other guns to try out as well (looked to be mostly Glocks) or depending on time and weather you could shoot here out behind the house. Let me know if I can help.

edit: sorry, didn't read the whole thread before posting. Congrats on the purchase. Edited March 23, 2015 by Luke E.

[rmiddle]

An update to this to close it out.  She came down this weekend, and we got hot on this.  Saturday was spent driving around the Murfreesoro area to find a gun, visiting a few guns and pawn shops.  After checking prices at a few places,  I asked her if she wanted to save money by getting it via PSA, but she wanted to get a gun that day, and throw in some range time, which we did today. 

 

We ended up buying from Outpost Armory.  They were very cool, letting her work the action and dry fire any model in the store.  As to the individual models, she tried out at least a half dozen, and she hated the action on every brand, except Glock.  And yeah, I didn't know how smooth the action is by comparison, a big deal for a woman without manly hand strength.  The high cost of going to the indoor range here in Murfreesboro made her say just buy it now.  Since it's a Glock 19, and has a great reputation, I was comfortable enough that she would like it, and gave her my blessing to purchase.

 

I was very proud that she insisted that she also get a pack of snap caps with her new gun.  She spent an entire hour straight on Saturday night on loading, unloading, clearing, and dry fire with them.  She only stopped because her hands were getting sore, and she wanted to make sure that she didn't screw them up for the range today.  Her shooting needs work, but she is determined to get there.

 

Glad she was able to find a gun.  Since I carry a Glock 19 I have to say she made a good purchase :).

 

Thanks

Robert