So, been after my older sister to get a Pistol for years. Recent events finally convinced her.
She came over and shot a few of my pistols and settled on a G19 Glock.
Several folks told her to get a small revolver. That was the first myth that we busted. She did not like my SP101 at all, even with cowboy 38s in it.
She caught on to the mechanics of the Glock very quickly. Reloads, grip, muzzle discipline....she got it all.
Of course, I had no doubts she would catch on quickly. After all, I grew up with her and I know she’s not incompetent. We operated the same farm equipment growing up.
Anyway, we went to the gun store a few days ago and she now has her very own Gen5 G19.
Ammo has been a different story. Luckily, her little brother has, ahem, a few extra rounds laying around.
Today she took her first shots with the new pistol. We went through the takedown and reassembly, initial cleaning, oiling, etc..
And she is pretty good. Since we were shooting at steel we did t go through the whole TX LTC course. We just backed off to 15 yards and plonked away. I’m gonna say she got at least 90% of her rounds on the steel silhouettes. And at least 60% on the small 6” round steels.

It was very hot on my little makeshift range, but I think it was productive.
She even mentioned possibly shooting some competition with me sometime.

Do I even need to mention the pistol was 100% reliable?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hudr,

The most surprising part of your story was that your LGS had a G19 Gen5 in stock. Was the price fair or marked up above normal street pricing?

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
The most surprising part of your story was that your LGS had a G19 Gen5 in stock. Was the price fair or marked up above normal street pricing?

$585 OTD. Fair in my estimation. This is the same LGS I’ve been buying from for over 20 years. They have never been ones to mark up due to scarcity. He stacks inventory pretty deep. Ammo has been flying out of there recently.

$585 OTD is in line w/ MAP pricing, which is a great deal given circumstances.

Are you going to let sis try out your 10mm next time? Maybe her new G19 is a gateway to a G20/40?

It’s weird. Some stores are stripped bare and others are chocked with inventory.

I stopped in a local store yesterday, which was stripped bare last time I was in. Yesterday, they had quite a bit. Plenty of rifles, and the cases were filling back up with handguns again.

I expect to see some good used bargains coming up in the near future, after all those who panic-bought decide they don't need it, and take it back to the shop. Looking forward to that.

Congrats and good job!

I finally took my youngest sister to the range yesterday as well! (she's 34) Let her try my 43 and my gen4 19. Her husband was there as well so he tried it out too.

Well, she kept my 43 and her husband went and bought 3 guns. They're converts now. Finally.

One more sibling to convert.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
$585 OTD is in line w/ MAP pricing, which is a great deal given circumstances.

Are you going to let sis try out your 10mm next time? Maybe her new G19 is a gateway to a G20/40?

It was miserably hot. But I may let her try out the G40 with the RMR on it.
She did like the suppressed Marlin 1894CST.

quote:

Several folks told her to get a small revolver.

I hate this advice.

It's almost become a meme.

It's not that a small revolver can't be the right gun for some women, it's that anytime a woman asks what kind of gun she should look at, "small revolver" automatically comes up.

Half the, well let's be honest, men, who give this advice don't even know why they're giving the suggestion of a small revolver.

The reason why a person would not want a reliable, modern semi-automatic is primarily down to a lack of upper-body strength making it impossible to rack the slide. But an initial lack of strength can be made up with proper technique.

I can tell you that most of the women who come into my store can rack the slide if they push with their dominant and and pull with their non-dominant hand. It takes some training and familiarization, but once they get it down, no problem. Most men tend to have sufficient upper body strength so that they don't have to be as efficient as opposed to, say a 98 lb woman. But I have also had elderly male customers or those with disabilities that had to use the same technique.

The more of us, politically, the better. I do not want half the population of our country thinking that we gun-owners are 100% men and 100% condescending chauvinistic assholes.

So, glad your sister enjoyed herself.

quote:

Originally posted by LDD:

quote:

Several folks told her to get a small revolver.

I hate this advice.

It's almost become a meme.

It's not that a small revolver can't be the right gun for some women, it's that anytime a woman asks what kind of gun she should look at, "small revolver" automatically comes up.

Half the, well let's be honest, men, who give this advice don't even know why they're giving the suggestion of a small revolver.

The reason why a person would not want a reliable, modern semi-automatic is primarily down to a lack of upper-body strength making it impossible to rack the slide. But an initial lack of strength can be made up with proper technique.

I can tell you that most of the women who come into my store can rack the slide if they push with their dominant and and pull with their non-dominant hand. It takes some training and familiarization, but once they get it down, no problem. Most men tend to have sufficient upper body strength so that they don't have to be as efficient as opposed to, say a 98 lb woman. But I have also had elderly male customers or those with disabilities that had to use the same technique.

The more of us, politically, the better. I do not want half the population of our country thinking that we gun-owners are 100% men and 100% condescending chauvinistic assholes.

So, glad your sister enjoyed herself.

There are several reasons a revolver is recommended to new shooters. Easy to see that it is loaded or not. If it doesn't fire, simply pull the trigger a second time and you're firing another round, has a safe trigger (heavy DA), doesn't jam, cleaning it isn't as necessary for function as it is on a semi-auto, cleaning one is super easy with nothing to take apart, it's simple, it's worked for 100 years, and in most cases of personal protection (1 assailant at under 7 yards) it's plenty effective.

Jimm123x;

I think what LDD is getting at is the habit of dismissing auto loaders for women out of hand. We all know the advantages of each platform.
“Get a woman a revolver” is right up there with “revolvers don’t jam” as far as I’m concerned.
Yes, we know revolvers are immune to limp wristing, and VERY ammo tolerant. They don’t get stove pipes, etc.
but when they do jam, you nearly always need tools.

My Ruger SP101 is brutal with 357 magnums. It’s better with 38s, but still worse than a 9MM. . It has a long, hard double action trigger pull.
Main thing, IMO, it weighs as much as a fully loaded G19 yet has a third of the ammo capacity.
People talk about the ease of reloading a revolver...how about not having to reload?
I’m not knocking revolvers. I have several and carry them from time to time.
But, my sister, like a lot of folks, is not a gun nut. She wanted a solid, reliable, reasonable accurate and reasonably priced SD handgun. And her G19 (and most of its “clones”) are the Toyota Corolla or Honda Accord of the handgun world.
The Glock G19, IMO, is “handgun, SD, one each”

It boils down to this: when people I know ask me what handgun to get, my first suggestion is to try to find somewhere to shoot some. Fondling that pink SCCY or tiny LCP in the gun store doesn’t have much to with how comfy it might be to shoot.

Relevant anecdote;
My sister tried the back straps on her Glock. She thought the Medium w/ beaver tail felt the best when just handling the pistol. When she shot it, it rubbed her palm raw at the base of her thumb. We removed it, the hot spot went away AND she shot better.

I’m not trying to pile on Jimmy123x. We did try the revolver first, and with light loads. But the G19 checked more boxes for her.

Wow. Sorry, that kind of turned into a rant. And again, not directed at anyone.

quote:

Originally posted by hudr:

Several folks told her to get a small revolver. That was the first myth that we busted.

Different people, different preferences.

My wife went through a couple of 9mm semi-autos, a Walther P99c and a SIG P239. She did not care for either of them, chose not to carry them. I asked her what she wanted to try next, she said "a revolver."

Off to the gun store, first thing the sales guy wanted to offer was a S&W LadySmith Airweight, "great for carrying in your purse."

I told him to forget about that -- she would fire one round on the range and that would be it.

My wife looked at and fondled a selection of J-frame size revolvers, finally settled on a Ruger LCR DAO in .357 magnum to carry, loaded with .38 SPL. Trigger was smoother than any of the S&W choices. Even though she is carrying .38 SPL ammunition, the .357 version of the LCR is a bit heavier than the .38 version, less recoil felt, and the option to use .357 ammunition. She never carried the semi-autos, but she never leaves the house without her revolver.

Another woman (my insurance agent) asked me to take her shooting, her first time. She tried my SIG P228 and P239, but she liked my S&W Model 65 best, and she shot it more accurately, even shooting DA, than she shot of SIGs. She wants something similar but DAO.

I too have seen a lot of the ladies, especially the over 45 yr old crowd, chose revolvers when given the chance to shoot different platforms. Many of them like the ease of operation and many have trouble racking a slide.

In the LCR the .327 Fed is a good choice as the option of starting out with .32S&W rounds. almost like shooting .22. The can work their way through .32S&W Long, .32 H&R mag to the .327 Mag.
Plus they get 6 rds instead of 5.

Possibly more for you than your sister, but after upgraded sights, this is the best addition i've found for Glocks:
https://tangodown.com/vickers-...gger-vtct-002-gen-5/

It gives a REALLY NICE trigger to the pistol, and if you go whole-hog with a Ghost 5.0 Tactical connector, it become much more responsive.

My sister asked me to meet her at the gun store again today.
She wants another handgun.
Also/and NOT instead of....

She looked at a Hellcat, an M&P EZ9, a few P320s and several others. She even asked to look at the SiG “Tribal” 1911.
She also wanted to know if I thought it was a good idea to have a different caliber or two, given the recent shortage of 9MM.

Oh, she is now seriously considering a Glock G48 w/ night sights.

And she wants to come over and shoot some of my 45ACP Pistols. She likes the feel of my P220s.

And yes, she wants to try the G40 with the RDS.

She is also asking about bulk ammo storage.

This is escalating quickly.

Good on you, sir!

I’m surprised you found a LGS with any inventory to look at. Our LGS is two stories and the only thing left in inventory is high end 1911’s like Wilson and Nighthawk.

quote:

Originally posted by hudr:
My sister asked me to meet her at the gun store again today.
She wants another handgun.
Also/and NOT instead of....

She looked at a Hellcat, an M&P EZ9, a few P320s and several others. She even asked to look at the SiG “Tribal” 1911.
She also wanted to know if I thought it was a good idea to have a different caliber or two, given the recent shortage of 9MM.

Oh, she is now seriously considering a Glock G48 w/ night sights.

And she wants to come over and shoot some of my 45ACP Pistols. She likes the feel of my P220s.

And yes, she wants to try the G40 with the RDS.

She is also asking about bulk ammo storage.

This is escalating quickly.

Awesome! She might benefit more from an Advantage Arms G19 upper, a good pocket light, larger HIGH power flashlight, and a couple of good utility/defensive blades, rather than another ~$500 on another gun, plus mags & ammo.

That is being a good brother to make sure that she doesn"t "get taken down the garden path". Keep up the good work. .........................drill sgt.

I've introduced a few women to handguns and every one of them took to it after getting over the initial hesitation. I had no doubt any one of them could quickly drill a whole in center of mass very quickly.
I have also learned the importance of letting her choose her own handgun. Give advice only when asked, screen out any gun counter bull**** and let her choose.