I had a similar experience from someone who has been a liberal ever since I've known her. She actually asked for advice on a pistol purchase. I was floored but recovered quickly.
I recommended similar to what you did but also included the P365.
What I found interesting was that I had let her shoot a P320 compact and she turned out to be a pretty natural shooter.
And that's what she chose, finally- a P320. She said that the P320 felt "natural".

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
Not being sexist... but just talking real world... first thing any woman who is new to guns needs to find out is if she has the hand strength to rack the slide on a semi-auto. Most woman can't on anything over 9mm and a lot can't on 9's....

The same applies to men of a certain age and/or physical stamina. Stereotyping can be a double-edged thing; from what I've experienced in working in a gun shop, many women have trouble with semi-auto slides, but not all do. In fact as a group most don't, at least once they learn how a slide actually works. Over the years I've developed a tendency to pigeonhole a customer more by their physical size than any other factor. But I've also seen that even the short, petite ones can surprise you with their physical strength. I've had more than a few women come back and choose to buy a pistol that to the male ego is considerably more physically challenging than what had been initially suggested, usually by the overly protective husband or boyfriend.

First-time gun buyers are a HUGE part of the gun business; after all a person has to start somewhere. I would argue that they are actually the MOST IMPORTANT part of the gun business, specifically from a political standpoint and having a powerful influx of new blood in the gun-buying masses. As one of those so-labeled "goddamned gun counter ninjas", I make certain to feel out and glean as much information about their intent and expectations for this new weapon, and get a general perspective on their plans for future training before pointing them in a general direction in choosing a gun. Often (depending up their past experiences) I will suggest renting various firearms and trying them out with live fire before making a final decision.

But I've also found that people are lazy and too often want shortcuts. The most dreaded and innocuous question I face is "what would YOU buy?" If it's not the end of a long, tiring business day, I often will try to deflect from answering that and tell the newcomer that each person is different at that there's no absolute 'right' choice that fits all. When that doesn't deter them from insisting on an answer then I given in and tell them ("Glock if you must know"). Usually that takes me down a path where I wind up having to explain why. And more often than not they end up choosing a Glock rather than go through the 'trouble and hassle' of making a more vetted and analyzed decision, even after I explain the various caveats in going down this path (ergonomics, trigger, trigger, trigger).

Consequently I personally wind up selling a LOT of Glocks to newbies as a result, regardless if it's truly the most 'right' answer or not. Whaddayagonnado? The masses have become so conditioned to want things now...(sigh)...and as I get older it does get harder to actually give a damn.

Anytime someone ends up recommending what they prefer over what’s best for the new shooter, the one making the recommendation is in serious danger of assisting in a very expensive error. It’s simply not about what the ‘counter ninja’ prefers. It should always be about what’s best for the new shooter. Please stop making it about you and concentrate on the buyer. Answering with something like: “it’s not about me, it’s about you” and then make the best recommendation possible. Which is: take them to your range with a competent trainer and 4 to 6 options to try out. If you don’t have a range or a competent trainer, send them elsewhere to a shop that does. That’s how you make it about the buyer instead of the seller.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:

Any reason why you didn't suggest a plain old revolver? I don't know anything about your friend, but sometimes simple is better. Mrs. Sigmund's HD gun is an eight shot LCR-22.

My wife is not a "gun person," but she does recognize the need to be able to protect herself.

I asked her why she was not carrying her P239. She replied that it was not easy to cycle the slide, and for somebody who was not really into guns, the controls (de-cocker, slide release, magazine release) were things that she did not want to worry about in a stressful situation. She stated that a revolver would be simpler and better for her.

We looked at, fondled, and dry-fired several. She settled on a Ruger LCR DAO in .357 Magnum, which she keeps loaded with .38 SPL; she is much happier with it now carries it at all times.

In my sexist opinion , ergonomics is about 80% of the equation in getting the right gun for women. In men, it's about 60% BUT it should be 80% ,too !!