quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:
S&W 642/442 - great for home defense or carry, simple to operate and the long trigger pull is an added safety for new shooters.

I have one of those . Kicks like a little bitch . Doesn't bother me but some people find it objectionable . It's lightweight and will fit a small hand perfectly . Definitely try before you buy .

Sure, let's give the brand new shooter a lightweight little revolver with low capacity, a convoluted reload procedure, minimal sights, a long 12+ pound trigger pull, and greater felt recoil than a large number of other options.

Sounds like a recipe for success.

J -frames would be one of my last recommendations, only slightly above something like a Desert Eagle.

Re: Racking the slide on a semi-auto...

quote:

Originally posted by Oat_Action_Man:
... teach her how to use mechanical advantage.

Blade your body to keep the muzzle down range, hold the slide over the top (not covering the ejection port) and PUSH with the dominant hand. No one ever said you have to pull a slide. You're stronger pushing than pulling anyway.

Indeed.

I'm a fairly big guy and not exactly a 97 lb. weakling, and that's how I rack--every time.

From the fifth post on the first page:

quote:

Originally posted by FlyingScot:
My wife had similar issues, but experience has gotten over some. Racking a tough firearm is still a problem. Her carry is a Walther PPSm2, ...

The Walther PPS M2 would be my recommendation.

Small and light, but not too small and light for recoil to be unmanageable. Trigger is light-ish, but not too light.

Showed my PPS M2 to a friend's wife and let her dry-fire it. She liked it, but could not rack it. "You're trying to do it the hard way," I said with a smile. Try this," and showed her the way OAM suggests. It took her a few tries because she was being too tender with it.

"Give it a good push, with authority. You're not going to damage it. Think about the explosive force of firing the gun. That's far more force than you'll apply racking it. Have at it. You can't hurt it."

I also cautioned her "Racking it that way, just be sure not to let the back/bottom of your palm ride the top of the slide," and demonstrated how you could pinch your hand badly in the ejection port doing that.

By the time I was done she was racking that PPS M2 easily, with a big smile on her face.

Eventually, once the Wu Flu scare is over, I'll be taking her to the range so she can try shooting it.

I definitely recommend against a semi-auto mouse gun or a small snubbie revolver. They are difficult to shoot well and no fun at all at the range.

Lots of good suggestions here. The only thing I would add is that firearms are a lot like shoes in my opinion. Lots of makes and models out there but in my personal experience there are some that are more comfortable to use than others.

I would see what she was interested in i.e. rifle, pistol, revolver, or shotgun and go from there. If a handgun is what she wants then I would make as many available to her as possible and allow her to see what she likes and can handle comfortably.

I wouldn't automatically exclude anything as long as she can safely manipulate it. When my daughter was 12 she was well under a hundred pounds. Her absolute favorite pistol to go shooting with was a M&P 40. She was able to manipulate it well and had no problems loading a mag, racking the slide or handling the "snappy recoil" that was all the rage to complain about on the internet at the time. She shot it better than me.

Give your friend choices and see where she goes.

I agree provide multiple guns to shoot and see what she has the most confidence with.
A full to midsize gun is easier to control and rack than smaller guns, recoil less generally are easier to shoot accurately and have higher magazines capacity.
My wife while not quite that small when I let her shoot every suitable pistol in my inventory had the best results with a 1911 in 45. On single action guns being able to cock the hammer first greatly reduces racking force. Honestly for a home defense gun the best bet is to fully load it making ready to go then keep in some sort of quick access safe.