Hi again ugly dog,

I forgot to mention in my earlier posts.....another very good recent option is the Springfield XD. My brother-in-law got one for himself in .40 S& W...and liked it so much (his wife too....except a little intiminated by the "quick recoil impulse").....that he went out and bought her an XD in 9mm. Both of his XD's are the mid-sized model....(4" barrel I believe). I shot both of their's....and so did my wife. They are a great handling pistol.....and priced lower than Glocks, Sigs, etc. But they are very much worth "a look"!

Prior to the Springfield XD he had purchased for his wife, she had a Kel-Tec P-11 chambered for 9mm. She did NOT like the Kel-Tec as she found the recoil too "sharp". But she can shoot the "eyes out of a snake" with that XD (figuratively speaking of course)....and you couldn't "take it from her"!

A very servicable defensive pistol. User friendly.....easy "in and out of battery"......very reliable.....and priced right! Give them a look. (And I don't even own one yet....but that's about to change!)

And no matter what 9mm you find that "she likes".....keep a decent .22 auto for cheap, frequent, practice! And the reason I say auto, instead of revolver.....is she should practice with an auto in rimfire....if she is using an auto for defense. It reinforces magazine loading, unloading, manipulating slides, clearing stoppages or malfunctions...if they occur.....etc. (I have my wife start nearly every session with 50 or so .22LR's.....just to reinforce good habits. Then she moves to her "defensive handguns". Once again....good luck!

Dave

I bought a 9mm a few years back. Strictly a target/plinker I wanted something with a little more pop than my 22. The 9mm was my choice 'cause brass is free, bullets are cheap and a little powder goes along ways.
I got a good price on a Baby Eagle made by Magnum Research, it is reliable, easy to take care of and accurate, all I really need in a gun

Keep in mind, the only good gun to get is the one that fits the hand. AGain, don't worry if it's not a "SIG" or "S&W".. just get the gun that is comfortable and worry less about brand and cartridge.

Sig's followed by the Beretta model 92's.

What about Steyr handguns? The trapezoid sights seem fairly functional.

I like the Steyr M40. From the bench, I didn't quite get groups as good as my friend's H&K USP Compact, but that was a 9mm. I haven't had a chance to sit down and compare the M40 to other .40S&W pistols, but I'm very satisfied with it. The only thing that I didn't like was it's tendency to jam while shooting some of the "cheaper" loads (Rem/UMC jammed it badly every time). I shoot Winchester at the range and use Federal at home--no problems whatsoever.

By the way, the sights are wonderful! It took me about 100 rounds to get used to them, but now I can align my shots so much quicker. If only they made a trapezoidal night sight!

Congratulations on getting your wife into handgunning, or at least willing to defend herself with a handgun. It took me three years of having guns around and casually talking to the wife about handguns before she tried one. After that, she had to have her own which she chose all by herself a Springfield XD-9. I have shot that gun as well and let me tell you it is every bit as good as a Glock and more accurrate in my opinion.

To ad another handgun into the picture, try the CZ-75. it is a nice little 9mm semi that is very accurrate too. It is also light on the pocketbook!!!

Good luck!
Matt

Ugly Dog I understand why you want a 9mm when you gave your reason. They are cheaper to shoot and good for punching holes in paper.I thought you were after a gun mainly for protection.Yes the 40S&W cartridges are more expensive then the 9's.If you handload there wouldn't much difference in the two.I do like the 40 for my carry gun.I've read where there was to many incidences where the 9 just didn't have it.
Ruger Redhawk

I am curious on why everybody likes a Sig so much? I don't have one, but do have berretta, glock, colt and Smith. I know I can outshoot my buddys Sig with my Glock 27. And his has a 4" barrel. I just wonder what is so great about a sig. I know glock is light with tough material. Kimber is well machined and known for accuracy, well S&W is getting there slowly, and a beretta was just made famous by the military. And hey a colt also made famous with decent accuracy and used in US for years and decades. I was looking at sigs a long time ago, and could figure out why its so much better than the brands mentioned.

Big Country. As for me I just feel a little more quality in the Sig. I have had all of them. All the Glocks, most of the Beretas, All of the rugers as well. I like them all but the Sig is the last one I would give up. I quess its just the old Ford vs Chevy, Magnum vs Standard thing.