Give her the Glock, it’s 9mm so it’s way cheaper to shoot, more rounds in the gun and it’s lighter and easier to use being a striker vs double action for the 1st pull, that takes practice

I love the P229 and carry one daily, but it's not a gun I'd necessarily recommend to a newer females shooter as a first handgun, especially in .40.

The Glock 19 is always the "easy button", but it may not be the best for her or her needs, either.

If you're anything like most of us here, you probably have a pretty good selection of stuff already. I would have a conversation with her about what you're wanting to do for her, and find out what her goals for it would be and how she's plan to use it. Then have her handle the guns you've already got and see if there's something she takes a liking to. If she finds a few that appeal to her, take her to the range and let her shoot them. Maybe there will be one that she really falls in love with.

If she doesn't find "the one" in your collection, maybe it will at least point her towards a genre or platform that she likes. That can give you some guidance on what you're looking for at the LGS so you can at least go in with a plan and not be purely at the mercy of the counter commando.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 92fstech,

Another in the Glock camp.

Give her the Glock. I think the P229 is going to be to heavy for her or give her the money to buy what ever gun she wants. Don't get me wrong I love my P229 and definitely hate Glocks but the Glock is lighter

When it came time to send my three daughters into the world, we spent a lot of time on the range, each of them shooting the handguns in my safe and selecting the one that worked best for them.

Being on the petite side, a double stack like the Glock 19 or P229 were non-starters in their small, girly hands.

One of the girls walked away with my much loved HK P7, another with an old beater P6, and my girl with the smallest hands took my appropriately elegant Beretta 86 with the tip-up barrel.

Losing those guns was a lot easier than accompanying each girl down the aisle into the care of a younger man; but I knew that when the chips were down, they could take care of themselves.

Trust your daughter. She’ll choose wisely if you don’t push her too hard.

HoWink

I voted G19. The day my son was born, I had just purchased a Gen 3 G19 that morning. The day he turns 21 (he is 17 now) I will happily gift that to him.

Chris

quote:

Originally posted by HoWink:
One of the girls walked away with my much loved HK P7...

Talk about a girl w/ expensive tastes.

^^^^
I was thinking refined taste. I love the P7 but if the P229 is an older design, the P7 is a boutique gun. But one of my favorites.

Hwy, she “paid me back” by marrying a very talented brewer, who also happens to be a super young man. So now I I have free beer and a buddy to drink it with for life!

quote:

Originally posted by Jeepster09:
Is this for her to carry? Or home use?

The over riding factor, the first question I ask when someone asks me about buying a gun. If for home use (or camping), the G19 is great, a G17 would be great as well. But for carry, there are better options for a small female.

I agree with taking her to a gun store to browse and handle different handguns, even revolvers.

quote:

Originally posted by BB61:
Rather than buying her something for the house that she may or may not like, I’m going to give her a handgun.

Same idea can be applied with giving her that 19 or 229. I vote money so she can get something she is comfortable using.

If she hasn't shown any interest in any of your guns - Don't do it - Get her something more in line with a wedding present. Not a Gun. You can do that anytime.

Does she have shooting experience, and is she recoil shy? If she's good to go I'd give her the 229, wider choice in loading's, if you want to get a 9mm barrel it's doable, and it's a Sig. And I'm not anti Glock, i have a 17,19,and a 21, i just like a hammer. The wife was L.E. and finished with Glocks, she shot my 226,229,and 239, all in .40, now she carries the 229 and the O.D.19 i bought her one year for our anniversary is now in the bedside lock box.

sig 365 or 365xl.. maybe a rose edition

When I bought my daughter her first pistol, she shot every 9mm/.380 pistol in the LGS rental case and held up a Gen 3 Glock 26 and said, “This one”. She loves that pistol.

The suggestions about trying on other guns for size, as well as training are spot on in my opinion. Maybe give both your daughter and new son in law the funds or a gift certificate to some quality training nearby, if they don't have much experience to start with. Then you can help them go buy their first guns when they choose what they are leaning towards comfort wise.

Nice gesture regardless. I'd rather give someone a firearm than a countertop mixer.

I voted for let her buy her own, and a lot of responses are very good - is she already a shooter? Is she comfortable with a certain type already?

A couple things I have learned on the rare trips to the range that my not a gun girl wife accompanies me on:
Tiny guns are NOT the answer. The smaller the gun the harder to shoot accurately, the harder to manipulate controls, the more recoil. And they tend to be running on the edge reliability wise.
When my wife joins me she can shoot all my handguns and then shoot her choice more.
Her choice - all steel full size 1911. In 45.

If a women is going to purse carry ( I absolutely hate that idea personally) then a bigger gun is better
For on body concealed carry it depends. Some women refuse to dress around the gun or change personal style to accommodate carry, then we might need to look at smaller options. But if at all possible something medium to full size works better

I get to tell my story on this topic.

When my daughter was 14, we took her first trip to the range.
She had been helping me clean and learn about firearms for a few years prior.

We rented her a filthy WG P228 rental range gun.
Started with one round at a time, then 2 then, and so on.
Her first shot was at 2 or 3 yards.



Years later I bought a nice pristine WG P228; original box, paperwork, and test target.
Shot it, cleaned it, put it in the safe, with the intention of it being her wedding gift from me.
She was 18 when I bought it.



10 years later she got married and I gave her the gun.
She was very surprised.
Also gave her a Galco Miami Classic for the Sig I bought from a forum member.

I gave the new SIL one of my SW 686+ revolvers that I bought years ago for this occasion.
Way before he was even in the picture, I just had her husband to be in mind.



She previously bought a Ruger MAX9 a couple of years before she married.

She will end up with my Gen 2 G19 and one of my Gen 2 G17s before everything is said and done.
Probably sooner than later, I never shoot them.



She will also receive most of my firearm inventory when I pass.
My son will get a couple, but he isn't into firearms like my daughter and her husband.

You can't go wrong with the G19 if I had to pick one for your situation.
If she isn't already purchasing 40cal ammo, I see no reason to put that on her.
To me the only good thing about 40 is being able to run 357sig thru it.....

Along with money I'd throw in an older 2-4inch 38 Special or 357 mag. Easy to shoot and perfectly suitable for all home defense needs, and.. the new husband (or anyone else) is less likely to appropriate it since it's ancient tech and less appealing! Chances are, she's going to be busy making a family and such, and NOT practicing shooting, and a good revolver is the simplest thing to pick up and use effectively, even if she hasn't touched a gun for years since the manual of arms is so simple. Also easier to check if loaded since she can see all the cartridges from the side.

It's the kind of gun she'll chuck into the dresser drawer and never think about unless she truly needs it and never consider selling regardless of her financial conditions since it wouldn't fetch much on a sale anyway. That being said, on the off chance she does need it, it's most likely to just work even after sitting collecting dust for years. If she is a gun girl, she'll want to buy for her own particulars like CCW, etc, but that old revolver will likely still be in the top dresser drawer providing comfort forever.

quote:

Originally posted by RGRacing:
If she hasn't shown any interest in any of your guns - Don't do it - Get her something more in line with a wedding present. Not a Gun. You can do that anytime.

^^^^
That’s a fair point that we have already covered. I made/painted for her a flower vase with a “Love Dad” on the bottom. My wife made her a quilt and my wife told me we’re giving her a Kitchen Aid. This is for HD and camping and possibly CCW.