Newb Pistol Attachment Questions

[CraigS]

I am strong advocate of laser grips/sights but don't see any to fit your pistols. I think I would recommend having her shoot as much as possible w/ what you have. Ammo is at least double price and hard to find now so maybe use the CS9 as a trainer for the 40TSW to help w/ costs. I agree w/ RJ. Both of you walk through your house after dark. Might be best to go to bed for 15 min and then get up. You will be surprised how little light is needed once your eyes have adjusted to the dark. Several small 'plug in the outlet' night lights, a lamp or 2 w/ a 25 watt bulb left on all night are all you need. Our first floor is 28x39 w/ nothing except the staircase dividing it up. The kitchen/dining has the light in the range hood on and the living room has the dimmest setting in the ceiling fan light on. The front porch lights also shine into both areas.

[Skoobie]

I've pretty much decided to swap out one of the guns I've got now for a more modern HD pistol. I realize that adding a light can complicate things but I'm thinking a little further down the line after we've had a chance to train with the weapon. Someone suggested training with the 9mm first due to cost of ammo but in my case that doesn't apply. Of my ammo stock 9mm is by far the least (only a few hundred rounds). And as of right now 9mm is well over $1/rnd in my area if you can even find it :/ I am however sitting on a mountain of 22lr/45acp/40cal.

So I need suggestions for budget to mid-level HD pistols you guys know & love. Something that would fit smaller hands well and has good accuracy/reliability. I'll worry about caliber later after I find out what she really likes. Just need something modern and upgradable (rail attachments). What do you think?

[RJ]

So I need suggestions for budget to mid-level HD pistols you guys know & love. Something that would fit smaller hands well and has good accuracy/reliability. I'll worry about caliber later after I find out what she really likes. Just need something modern and upgradable (rail attachments). What do you think?

Very hard to offer suggestions for other folks, but my wife has shot many/most of my guns, and ended up buying a Sig P365 (10+1) in 2019. She enjoys shooting it. I find it a bit small for me, but it shoots 115 gr FMJ American Eagle to 1" squares at 5 yards. She carries with 115 gr Speer Gold Dots.

If a P365 is too short in the grip, the P365XL is an option (edit to add: The Sig 12 round OEM Mags also fit the P365 very well), as well as both the little Glock (26) and the skinny slimline Glocks (G43X/G48). I have owned all of the preceding, in my search for "the" perfect carry gun. I currently only own the Glock 48. I would however add a slight word of caution, I would not pick them as a "learn how to shoot" gun, except possibly the Glock 48 or P365XL. My thoughts, ideally, would run to two guns, one trype for carry and one larger of the same type "to learn to shoot".

That being said, the default answer around these parts is usually "buy a Gen 5 Glock 19". It will be reliable, accurate, have the most aftermarket options for holsters and sights, have inexpensive magazines, and be incredibly easy to service and source spare parts. In your particular case, if you have a bunch of .40, a new or used Glock 23 might make a lot of sense. Given the current market conditions, one might suspect a .40 Glock could be easier to source than one in 9mm. Or a Police trade-in Glock 22 in fact, but the grip might be a big bigger than you prefer.

[PNWTO]

So I need suggestions for budget to mid-level HD pistols you guys know & love. Something that would fit smaller hands well and has good accuracy/reliability. I'll worry about caliber later after I find out what she really likes. Just need something modern and upgradable (rail attachments). What do you think?

P365XL or G48, both with a TLR-6.

Or wait for the G48 MOS to keep soaking into the market.

[JCN]

P365XL or G48, both with a TLR-6.

Or wait for the G48 MOS to keep soaking into the market.

It seems this is a HD gun not necessarily a carry gun.

I would pick a G19 (or 17) Gen4 with no backstrap for capacity and ease of shooting for a smaller woman.

My wife’s favorite semiauto is a G34 (no backstrap) and she hates shooting the subcompacts and micros.

[TicTacticalTimmy]

Full size small hand suggestions:
HK VP9
HK P30
CZ SP-01 (w thin grips)
1911 (w thin grips)

Subcompact small hand suggestions:
Glock 48 (with rail)
Sig P65XL

I would recommend looking at a full size for HD since you dont gain anything from the smaller size of a compact/subcompact, and lose a lot in terms of greater recoil, greater muzzle blast, worse ballistics. although the P365XL is surprisingly close to a full size in terms of recoil control IME.

[okie john]

Both you and your wife need to take an overview of tactics class. I get the impression that you’re trying to substitute gear for ability, and that’s never a good idea.

You also need to get your wife to a range. I suspect that the first shot from that S&W 40 will cure her of liking it.

As others have said, you probably need less light than you think.


Okie John

[psalms144.1]

Skoobie - welcome aboard, and congrats on asking the impossible question with your first outing here!

Unfortunately no one here will be able to answer any "what's best" questions for your wife without having her "test drive" a variety of pistols.

As many have noted, there is NO free lunch. People tend to think that "small handed" folks need tiny guns to be able to shoot well, when, in fact, the smaller the pistol, the harder it gets to shoot and practice well. Combine small size and light weight with a hard recoiling load like .40 S&W (or +P 9mm, or .45 ACP, or +P 38 Spl), and you're almost certainly to turn a new shooter into a non-shooter, or, worse, a new gun owner unable to safely operate the weapons they own.

I took a pair of new shooters down this rabbit hole over the summer. I showed them a wide range of pistols, from a snubby .38 up through a 5" 1911. Both of the shooters are smaller statured, and older with a variety of life-related injuries. Both loved the "feel" of the HK P2000 and P228 in their hands, but neither had the hand strength to properly operate the DA trigger, and didn't care for the mechanics of operating a decocker. Both of them loved the size/weight of the LCR, but neither cared for the recoil with even the lightest of loads. Both LOVED the feel of the 1911, and the accuracy, but neither were willing to deal with the complicated manual of arms. Both HATED the "feel" of the G19, but hubby found that shooting it compared to all the other options left that as the best choice for him. She fired a small handful of rounds through a variety of center fires, and decided that anything more than a .22LR was more than she was willing to undertake.

BLUF, hubby has a Gen5 G19, better half has a G44. Doesn't mean those are the BEST solutions, just what worked best for that particular couple.

But, if you insist on asking "what's best" - the answer you're invariably going to receive from 95% of the shooting public - neophytes and instructors alike - is the G19. Pair it with a G44 as a "trainer," and it's a very hard combination to beat. If you/she just can't make the G19 work, I'd look at the M&P9C as a striker fired alternative, or the CZ P07 for a DA/SA.

Best of luck with your search!

[BillSWPA]

For small hands, I will add another vote to the Sig P365 or P365XL.

The XL model is optics ready, so you can add a red dot if your wife wants one.

A Glock 19 is often the easy answer for "what gun should I buy" since it checks so many boxes, but the grip can be a bit thick for small hands. I wear a men's medium size glove, and it fits my hand well. Someone with a smaller hand may find themselves having to shift their hand to one side to get enough finger on the trigger.

[That Guy]

An alternative is a hand-held of course in any event (which, many people much smarter than I am tell me a WML is not an absolute requirement for a civilian. I mean, you can just turn the lights on at home, or simply leave a LED light running 24/7 in your living area. That way there's no "turn the light on" required.

As others have said, you probably need less light than you think.

I just this morning woke up to discover that a) someone had once again registered into a system using one of my e-mail addresses, and not one the person doing the registering actually has access to and b) we lost power in the middle of the night. So the house was a balmy 16°C warm, none of the light fixtures worked, and an e-mail had arrived thanking me for staying at the hotel Hilton. Anyways, what this has to do with the topic at hand is that it works as a reminder that you can't always rely on external power. "Just leave a light on" or "just turn the lights on" doesn't solve the problem if the light doesn't work...

As for how much light one needs, it would be dependent on the circumstances and eye sight of the individual, but I guarandamntee you that in some circumstances the answer is "more than the available ambient light in a power outage in the middle of the night".

How much any of my jibbering is relevant to the discussion at hand is an exercise left to the reader. Or as they say, Your Milage May Vary.