One of the biggest mistakes I see are people thinking that women should carry light weight handguns. The idea is that if it’s not really light they won’t carry it.
It’s far more important that a woman carry a gun they are comfortable shooting and are willing to practice with enough to attain and maintain proficiency.
The handgun, pistol or revolver absolutely must fit her hand so that:
- the trigger reach is not excessive (pad of the finger for an SA only pistol, and all the way to the first joint with a DA/SA pistol, DAO pistol or DA/SA or DAO revolver);
- she can get her fingers far enough around the grip to properly control it (thumb and middle finger should be able to touch or very nearly so); and
- the sights are visible and close to being aligned naturally when she raises the pistol to her line of sight.
Similarly she must be able to rack the slide on the handgun (although there are some techniques such as bracing the shooting arm against the hip while holding the slide with the weak hand and then pivoting the him hole pushing the pistol forward to rack the slide held in the other hand).
The DA trigger pull must be manageable whether it’s on a DA pistol or a DA revolver. And again, being able to get the trigger finger on the trigger all the way up to the first joint is essential.
Cartridge considerations are secondary or even tertiary.
In general recoil springs are lighter for locked breech designs than for blow back designs and in most cases a locked breech 9mm will be easier to rack than a blow back .380, but a locked breech .380 ACP pistol will generally be very easy to rack as is a blowback .32 ACP.
The Kimber Micro is light, compact and easy to rack, but the cartride is one many consider to be marginal. Hornady XTPs will expand and penetrate 12” in ballistic gel, but they need 1000 fps to do it and that’s a stretch in a 2.75” barrel. Choose the load carefully. Recoil is about the same as a Walther PPK/S, even though it’s a lot lighter.
The Kimber Micro 9 is slightly larger and is 9mm. But recoil can be objectionable. However, I bought one with the slightly longer threaded barrel and a compensator. That compensator is surprisingly effective and puts it high on the list for a concealed carry handgun with reduced recoil.
A steel frame Model 36 or Model 60 is a good choice, especially with .38 or .38 +P ammunition.
The Ruger SP101 is also a good choice and with about 5 oz more weight compared to a model 60, it even more recoil friendly.
The small frame Taurus pistols like the 85 and the 9mm 905 below can also be good choices, but quality is all over the place so buy it and try it for you depend on it.
I’ve been very impressed with the Taurus 856 Executive. It’s a bobbed hammer DAO revolver but the trigger is very smooth and light weight for a DA revolver. It’s equal to the triggers on my two Kimber K6S pistols that cost twice as much.
My major objection with the 856 executive is that the grips won’t work with a speed loader and interfere with ejection of 1 or 2 of the cases.
An aftermarket grip and some carving of a speed loader got it to my preferred level of self defense speed load-ability.
The Beretta 80X also has an excellent DA trigger. It’s a .380 ACP but it’s a double stack pistol that is very well made and reliable. It’s still a blow back design but the wide back strap and weight of the loaded pistol make recoil very manageable and suitably pleasant.
