Looks like a join date of 12-25-2014 so today makes 10 years.

I don’t comment much but read a lot. This forum has the most informative subjects of any forum I frequent.
The discussions have led me to spend a lot of $$$ on firearms, flashlights, knives, etc., with no regrets. Thank you for everything.

History:
Our 25 year daughter has just moved back to our home town. She got an undergraduate degree in North Georgia then worked for two years in Athens and is now attending a new med school here in town.

She expressed interest a month or so ago in acquiring a firearm. Subsequent discussions yesterday showed a continued interest in a weapon since she lives alone in an apartment complex. We had the discussion x3 about her having/carrying a weapon being one of the single most important decisions in her life and the responsibility that goes along with that decision.

We took a firearms class long ago which was done professionally by a young soldier. I certainly learned a lot and she and I went home and shot a good bit behind the old house. We moved since then and can’t shoot legally behind the new house.

She’s tall and thin and wasn’t able to easily rack the slide on my CZ 75 compact but was able to do so on my P238. My SP101 in 357 was a curiosity to her but not something of interest. My Sig C3 wasn’t part of yesterday’s show and tell.

Question:
We are going to shoot my guns at the local range soon but thought I’d ask the membership here about which firearms to rent if they are available at the local range.

Merry Christmas,
Billy

First, congrats on hitting the 10-year mark! This place is awesome.

I would have her try whatever appeals to her in the rental case, but suggest sticking to the “regular” defensive calibers (9mm, .38 Spl, .380 ACP, etc.) as opposed to something larger with more recoil.

To relate my own experiences, my younger daughter carries a Ruger LC9S Pro. She carries it in an IWB Kydex holster and it pretty much disappears under an untucked shirt.

Several years ago I bought my wife a Ruger LCR in .38 Spl, thinking that the light weight (13 ozs. empty) would appeal to her and encourage her to carry it. She shoots it very well, but after 2 cylinders of .38 she’s done. She says it hurts the web of her hand. So a few years later I bought her a Glock 42 .380. She shoots the G42 very well also, and doesn’t complain that her hand hurts. She doesn’t carry it, but she does transport it when she drives alone to our place in Pinetop, AZ.

Your daughter may prefer a revolver to a semiautomatic pistol or vice-versa. S&W makes some pistols that have an easy-rack feature that may be of interest. I don’t have any experience with them, but maybe they’ll have one to rent.

Hope this is helpful. Merry Christmas!

You didn't mention any striker-fired guns, so I'd recommend having her try some of those.

If racking the slide continues to be a problem, I'd have her try the S&W Equalizer.

It sounds like your daughter has a good head on her shoulders and that the two of you are going about this in the right way.

If someone is struggling to rack a slide, a CZ is probably one of the worst platforms to start with. The grasping surface is small due to the low-profile nature of the slide and it's hard to get a good purchase. There are some benefits to this from a shootability standpoint, but it does make the slide harder to manipulate. She may find that she has a much easier time with a Sig or a Glock with a taller slide profile.

Unless she is somehow otherwise physically challenged, racking the slide is often more of a technique thing than a strength problem. Have her try grasping the slide over the top behind the ejection port with her whole hand...fingers on one side, palm on the other. Her dominant hand should still be holding on to the grip of the handgun. Then instead of putting all of her effort into pulling the slide to the rear, hold it in place (or pull slightly to the rear) and push forward with the hand that's holding the grip. That should cycle the slide with less effort.

Another option would be to try something with an optic mounted on the slide. Using the optic can provide additional leverage, and provided it's of decent quality and properly mounted, you're not going to hurt it by using it to rack the slide. The two things I would caution with this technique is make sure no buttons are getting inadvertently pressed (don't want to be turning your sight off when you're charging your gun!) and don't block the ejection port with your hand because if you do while trying to clear a malfunction, you're just going to create a worse one.

Yes there are guns out there that are marketed specifically to have easier to rack slides, but in my experience none of them are particularly great and she'd be leaving a lot on the table if she has to exclude most of the normal handgun platforms on the market. This would be especially unfortunate if her struggles could be resolved by a simple change in technique.

I definitely think taking her to the range and letting her try a bunch of guns is a good idea. Find something that she likes, fits her hands well, and is comfortable with operating all of the controls. Then get some dummy rounds and have her practice malfunction clearing at home. It's good practice for keeping the gun running, but it will also help her refine her technique and get her comfortable with the administrative functions of operating her new gun.

https://www.smith-wesson.com/products/shield-ez

EZ are designed for those with limmited strength.

Based on my wife and daughter-in-law’s feedback after shooting all my little micro 9’s, J-frames, and small 380’s, they both prefer either the Glock 42 or my new S&W Bodyguard 2.0.

They shoot both little pistols very well, can rack the slides and understand the controls after I explained the proper techniques.

Although neither of the ladies feels comfortable enough to carry yet, both are completely safe and capable drawing and firing from IWB appendix position.

Good luck with your search, and Merry Christmas

Walther PDP type F has a very easy to rack slide.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
https://www.smith-wesson.com/products/shield-ez

EZ are designed for those with limmited strength.

What I was going to suggest,they offer them in 380 and 9mm,.

You may consider putting an optic on her pistol. I have a P365 and my wife couldn’t rack the slide. Once I put the Holosun on it, she had no problem racking the slide.

If she likes and is familiar with the P328, maybe another one of those will do the trick.

Let us know what she ultimately decides.

quote:

Originally posted by mrvmax:

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
https://www.smith-wesson.com/products/shield-ez

EZ are designed for those with limmited strength.

What I was going to suggest,they offer them in 380 and 9mm,.

+2

I bought the EZ 380 a couple years ago for my at the time long-term GF. She could easily load the mag, rack it, and shoot accurately to 7 yds.

I was worried that being softly sprung that you could "out run" the slide in rapid fire. I gave it my all but couldn't "out run" the slide. 100% reliable from the 1st round too.

BTW, before buying we had rented at 2 different ranges every 380 and 9mm that fit her hand and by far the S&W EZ was easiest for her to load the mag, rack it, and shoot.

Plus... a .22 for enjoyment! The wife CAN shoot anything we own, but her favorites hands down are an H&R model 940 revolver and a Winchester model 69 bolt action.

All the things to choose from, and she goes for something made during FDR's first term.

Shooting your guns will help her narrow down what calibers she can effectively shoot. Then it is just a trip to a few gun stores. Have her pick up every one they have in a particular caliber. The one that feels good to her hand will be the one she should take to the range to shoot/rent to see if she wants it or not. Bigger ranges have larger inventory to choose from.

Mrs. Mike was fine and good with a simple Keltek in 380 and had it for years-then a kid in SC got ahold of moms gun that was in a purse while she was grocery shopping and you know how it ended. So Mrs. Mike then wanted a gun with a safety.

She found the S&W bodyguard series works for her, hers also has a built in crimson trace laser. S&W has an “E-Z” series that’s very easy to rack the slide, FYI.

All of the above but importantly..what fits in her hand comfortably

quote:

Originally posted by urbanwarrior238:
All of the above but importantly..what fits in her hand comfortably

This... But also ensure that it is set up in such a way that she doesn't have to greatly compromise her grip to reach and operate the controls, while at the same time not interfering with them while shooting.

Get her one of those spring hand grip exercisers.
Your grip strength is an important part of shooting well and one of the easiest muscles to strengthen in my experience.
I keep one on my car console and find that to be a good time to use it.
I’d also suggest her having a small fire safe, especially in an apartment. Any time it’s not in her immediate possession, it goes in the safe.
My preference for firearms would be a 9mm P365 of some variety or a S&W Shield.
Both are great carry guns and easy to shoot accurately with reasonable recoil.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Get her one of those spring hand grip exercisers.
Your grip strength is an important part of shooting well and one of the easiest muscles to strengthen in my experience.
I keep one on my car console and find that to be a good time to use it.
I’d also suggest her having a small fire safe, especially in an apartment. Any time it’s not in her immediate possession, it goes in the safe.
My preference for firearms would be a 9mm P365 of some variety or a S&W Shield.
Both are great carry guns and easy to shoot accurately with reasonable recoil.

Great advice by all here and the hand strength is definitely part of operating the pistol. I have a question to pose of the collective and, hope it helps the OP and his daughter decide on a carry gun. Concerning the Glocks and new shooters. There is no room for mishandling the Glock such as, holster today, drop in the pocket book tomorrow. The actual handling of the Glock requires one to be aware at all times of its operation. New shooters are not always up to speed on its importance. So, why is the Glock always offered up by knowledgable gun people as a prospect for a newby as their carry piece ?

New shooter or old shooter, the safety rules are the same. A new shooter has to overcome inexperience, but the rest of us have to fight the complacency that is the result of familiarity. I'm not sure one is more dangerous than the other.

Great answer and you could not have said this better 92. Thank you. Perhaps it's just the abundance of Glocks in society and the number of ADs we read of.

I suspect Glocks are commonly mentioned because they are user friendly in many respects.
Easy to shoot, tolerant of minimal maintenance, the lack of a safety takes away an issue of needing to remember an extra motion in a stressful situation, etc.
Most of those are covered by several guns today that maybe were not a few decades ago.
92fstech is completely right about the safety rules but I suspect complacency can kick back in much earlier than the safety habits can be learned.
Hopefully she'll have most of the interest to learn as much as possible.
When I first bought a gun and considered carrying I also tried to learn as much as possible, recognizing the seriousness that's required.
What I soon found out is that the more I learned, the more I realized how much I didn't know and needed to learn.

This expression, often attributed to Mark Twain, is another to keep in mind.
"It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so."