I need a new handgun...lets talk guns today. :D

I see your point and respect your experience, but putting a 9mm in her hands is not an option yet.

It's hard for those of us who have been shooting since were children to respect how intimidating guns can be to newbies. She had never even held a gun before we met. She'll need to fire many thousands of rounds before even thinking about carrying anything, so I just want to get that process started. For now it's a .22. Maybe someday a 9mm won't be scary but right now she's carrying pepper spray. We have a long way to go.

 

@JBraun
Not sure if you've already purchased the .22 or not. If you have not, you may also want to look at the Sig229 -22.

It's the regular 229 chassis with a factory .22 upper.
Here's the Sig Manufacturer code: SIG SAUER P229R 22LR CLASSIC (MPN 229R22BAS)
They also make it for the Sig p226: MPN 226R-22-BAS

You can then buy an exchange kit to upgrade it to 9mm.
https://www.sigsauer.com/store/caliber-x-change-kit-p229-1-9mm-blk.html

Controls are the same, regardless of which slide is on the chassis.
Same trigger feel
Same ergos
Same hand placement
different weight (9mm upper vs 22 upper & 9mm weight vs. .22 weight)

 

Well, hell, JBraun, a full-size 1911 don't kick at all compared to just about anything else.

Seriously, your head is in the right place, but bigger isn't necessarily a bad thing. All day long, I'd rather shoot my .45 than my 9mm, tho' a .380 is a good stop along the way.

Speaking of which, here's two to compare from the same reviewer...
HANDS-ON REVIEW: Smith-Wesson M&P 380 Shield EZ - USA Carry Score = 93/100
A Low-Recoil Compact .380 Pistol for Carry - The Browning 1911-380 Score = 92/100.
The first, previously mentioned by skakzulu12, and the second, I found while looking to try and help a bit. It's pricey, but it's as beautiful a gun as I've ever seen. That could matter a lot to your shooter, even more than you might think.

That plastic M&P is kinda scary lookin'. The Browning is available in scary, too, for a bit less money than the Medallion model.
Here are other trim levels with the Browning, to include limited production. (Gotta click in the drop down box on the left for the limiteds.)
Current Production

Take the Browning's slide issue in the review with a grain of salt...fat thumbs on a slide release is a common shooter error. If it's not the shooter, and it apparently wasn't magazines related (my first thought), it could be a defective slide stop.
This guy had zero issues, so I'm putting it on the shooter having a fat thumb.
Browning 1911-380 Black Label 380 ACP Semi-Automatic Pistol

I gotta say, having had a Colt Mark IV/Series 80 Government Model .380, I think this Browning will keep me awake for some time, particularly, if I go shopping for my wife. She loves the way my 1991A1 felt when she shot it and was droolin' over some "pretty" Kimbers afterwards.

 

This thread is soooo much better with pics.

 

@fastfreddie
My gawd is that 1911-380 Black Label Medallion Pro Compact beautiful.
I love that


Ride safe,
AAron

 

Exactly what I say all the time.

Ride safe,
AAron

 

My advice FWIW. Let her shot lots of different calibers so she realizes none of them are going to hurt her if she trains and shoots properly.
380 is a great choice IMO.
One thing to consider when training the ladies...
I have found they struggle more with actually operating the slide than they do with the “kick”. They normally don’t have the hand dexterity to work the slides like guys do.


Ride safe,
AAron

 

Damn, I had never actually seen that Browning before. That is a seriously impressive little peashooter.

 

There’s some super duper hot 380 ammo out now. Std runs 900fps. Underwood +p 90-102gr runs 1075-1125fps in a short ish barrel. Same as std pressure 9mm. I carry it in a Colt Pocketlite. My default for travel (along with a G26) since it gives the most options regarding stealth carry.

 

If you want to put holes in stuff shooting 380 these will go through most anything, lack of penetration will not be problem.

 

Wow that’s cool as shit! To be honest I wanted the SW 22 for myself anyway, and I really like the idea of starting her out with the gun she will wind up with. Interesting...

 

Me, neither. Guess how long it's been since I looked for a gun?
I think I like that Medallion too much.
One of the things that turns me away from 1911s when changing caliber is that MFGs just made the caliber fit the gun...this led to problems. It was stated in one of those links that, paraphrased, Browning started from the caliber and worked the design around it, just like John Browning did when he developed the original 1911. That's worth considering...

 

I like that Medallion too!

I also agree that extra care is required when adapting a a caliber to a 1911 platform that was designed around a 45 running FMJ for military use. The manufacturers recommendations need to be noted, my 9mm Kimber’s aversion to anything under 124 grain for example. I think anything can be made right and trustworthy with tweaking but expecting a 1911 non custom gun to run all ammo flawlessly is a bit optimistic, sure would be nice but reports of a lot of pretty descent 1911’s in the $750-$2500 range having occasional failure to feed issues before sorting are common.

The why after much researching as well as soliciting opinions here and other forums my next 1911 will be a custom gun, I’m not in a rush and I’ve got my Glock 20 nearly ready to use after a series of improvements. I like the one gun, one gunsmith approach from Nighthawk Custom so fuck it, I’ll just order exactly what I want because I can.

 

Spent a good amount of time working with Scott Larousse via phone and email from Nighthawk Custom Firearms, great to work with. The options are endless but given the salt environment from our beach lifestyle I always lean toward weapons of basic stainless for corrosion resistance.

This is the build before the suppressor sights and RMR installation.

 

Oh, thanks so much for mentioning Nighthawk...my wife sees that name and I'll never own another gun.
She's had a thing for Nighthawks (I about shit myself) before she ever, just cuz, picked up a Kimber. If I'm lucky, she won't remember which model was givin' her the warm and fuzzies.

 

Why supressor sights but no threaded barrel?

 

Because it doesn’t need a threaded barrel, I’m not ever going to actually use a suppressor and a muzzle brake isn’t necessary in my opinion.

The real value of suppressor sights is their ability to co-witness with the rmr in case of a battery or equipment failure or simply getting caught in a rain storm which will play hell with a red dot sight.

 

First time my niece when shooting with me she had a Ruger 22, an XD9mm, XDM full sized 9mm and and Xds 45, she liked the 45 the best and shot nearly two boxes of ammo. 17 years old 110 lbs.

 

What ammo? If it was junk ball then sure, I agree. However hornady critical duty would have had different results I bet.

Blaming a caliber instead of the type of ammo is like saying a 200 size tire is better than a 190.

 

These guys are are good, placed order, had what I wanted on hand, added changes, back in the Q at the machine shop for an RMR slide cut, they said it would be sighted in with the new setup and shipped no later then the beginning of next week.