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gun for wife

gumbo21
I have been looking for at a bersa 380, and a walther 22. I would like to keep down my cost while finding a decent shooting handgun. But their are so many bersas. I was wondering since 380 ammo has been expensive and sometimes hard to find if I should look for a 9mm handgun? If anyone has experience with this please give me some good advice. Thanks gumbo
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10 comments

Date Votes
  • nmyers
    You need to tell us the purpose; i.e., plinking, targets, self defense?

    We also need to know how much experience she has, & how much strength in her hands?

    Neal
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  • rufe-snow
    It's for her to use and carry, let her make the decision. Either borrow some guns from friends, or take her to a range that has rental handguns.
    If folks are not familiar with guns, shooting a .380 or a 9mm in a small lite pistol, can be overwhelming. It would be much better for her to carry a .22 loaded with Mini-Mag HP's, then nothing at all. As long as she understands that she has fire and hit multiple times in the COM for it to be effective.
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  • pirate2501
    I have a Bersa Thunder 9 Pro 9MM with a 4.5 barrel. It's a great shooting gun but it's kinda big and heavy for a woman to carry and shoot. My wife carries a S&W 642 Airweight 38 cal.
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  • Gashauler
    My wife used to carry a Firestorm (I think made by Bersa) in .380 ran into problem because she said it was too heavy but also didn't like the recoil. Tried to explain it only gets worse as the guns get lighter (as a side note she would complain if I bought her a brand new Mercedes to drive, that it wasn't the next model up). I personally liked the gun but as I already have a carry gun gave it to my fil who likes it just fine.

    Never had a failure to feed or fire even with the cheapest stuff, back when .380 was plentiful. Fairly accurate even when my wife shot it.
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  • mcaso
    gumbo get the .380 and a pair of good after market grips for the recoil. If she doesn't like it you will have two pistols. My wife is 5'5", 117lbs, .380 or 9mm are not a problem. But my wife shoots. If her gun is just for plinking stay with a .22, cheaper and more fun.
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  • William81
    Take her to a gun shop with a range and let her try out a couple different ones. Then buy her what she likes and what feels good in her hands...
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by nmyers
    You need to tell us the purpose; i.e., plinking, targets, self defense?

    We also need to know how much experience she has, & how much strength in her hands?

    Neal


    +1.

    You might was well say "I need to buy my wife a car, should I get her a Mustang or a Toyota Highlander?"

    My suggestions:

    -Nothing less than a .380 for self-defense.

    -Nothing better than a .22 for pure recreational shooting.

    -The choice will go over better if SHE picks the gun.

    -9mm luger is a fine round for self defense or recreational shooting, if she likes it. For what its worth, its cheaper than .380, more readily available, more powerful, and available in a greater number of guns, though the guns are generally larger and offer more recoil.

    -Don't overlook a .38 special revolver.

    -Try before you buy.

    That's it.
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  • Fatstrat
    You might look at a Makarov 9x18mm Soviet design military pistol. Same approx size & weight as most .380's. But a little more powerfull and very reliable. Made by several (former) Soviet block nations. I think they average in the $200. ballpark, except for the Soviet MFG ones, which are higher.
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  • patisan
    +1 with Rufe-Snow.
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  • badchris
    quote:Originally posted by Fatstrat
    You might look at a Makarov 9x18mm Soviet design military pistol. Same approx size & weight as most .380's. But a little more powerfull and very reliable. Made by several (former) Soviet block nations. I think they average in the $200. ballpark, except for the Soviet MFG ones, which are higher.

    Another Makarov fan here. Only draw back for CC is the magazine release will take lots of practice to become efficient. The magazine itself has a metal guide that protrudes through the side as well. But reliability is an understatement with these pistols. Awesome gun for the $$, although I have not seen any $200 prices for quite some time. Another plus, the 9x18 ammo is still fairly cheap and fairly available.
    And yes, let her make the final decision.
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