The Right Gun  by Kate Alexander Krueger © 2002, All Rights Reserved Over and over, at gun stores, on ranges and in classrooms I hear well-meaning male shooters extolling the virtues of 2" snubbie revolvers for their female counterparts first foray into shooting.  Please STOP!  Then THINK! Think about the shooter's capabilities.  They are uncertain, unskilled and, for the most part, do not have the upper body strength that comes naturally to men.  Their hands are smaller and softer and their grip is weaker.  Now think about the equipment.  The size is right but the size also makes it more difficult to shoot based on the amount of recoil.  In order to defeat some of the recoil you must add large grips which defeats the size.  The trigger is double action so the pull is long and heavy (12 pound trigger).  Heavy trigger and a long pull require a great deal of strength.  I'll give you that it is simple to operate and easy to conceal.  But what does that matter if the experience is such that they never carry it because they can't shoot it?  While conducting classes on the range I've gotten in the habit of keeping Playtex rubber gloves in my first aid kit.  The female shooters who faithfully brought their 2" revolvers that their husbands bought for them ended with blisters after the first box of ammo.  The ones who continued shooting with them usually had the webbing of their shooting hand bandaged and a fingerless Playtex rubber glove over the bandages to protect the wounds caused by poor grips and heavy recoil. One of the other side effects was a serious case of shooter's flinch and trigger yank.  They knew they had to continue shooting so every time they had to come up to the line they would get a good sight picture, tense up and yank the trigger. Now instead of the positive shooting experience that you hoped they would have you have someone who may never shoot again and if they do they have some bad habits to be worked out.  One example happened a few years ago while I was working with a student in a LFI I class.  Her new husband sent her with her shiny new 2" revolver and 300 rounds of ammunition.  By the end of the first day she was the worst female shooter and as a bonus had blisters in the webbing of her shooting hand.  By day three she was fully bandaged with her yellow Playtex glove in place and was still the worst shooter but now she had a horrendous flinch to go with that open wound.  I stayed out on the range with her to do some remedial training and change her equipment.  At the time I put her into a Browning Hi-Power 9mm and from the first shot her flinch turned into surprise and then into interest.  There was no pain, she hit the target where she aimed AND she wanted to shoot some more.  By day five she went from worst female shooter to first female shooter in the class and couldn't wait to shoot more with her husband.  She sent me a note shortly after saying that her husband traded her revolver for a Browning and she was shooting with him now.  Another example happened just recently and prompted the writing of this little diatribe.  A lovely older woman came to a CCW class here in AZ and she had two guns.  One was left to her a Glock 26 and the other she and her husband purchased as a nice little gun for the lady, a really nice S&W .38 2" revolver.  Well needless to say when we got to the range part of the course she tried to qualify with her revolver and put 8 of the 10 rounds on the target somewhere (not enough to qualify), hated the 12-pound trigger and the heavy recoil.  We had her to try the Glock 26 and she shot her 10 rounds, with much surprise, all in the 9 and 10 rings.  She is now willing to get more range time in because she can handle this piece of equipment and she has had a positive shooting experience which encourages her to do more.  I'm not saying that the 2" revolver is not good for any female shooter BUT what I am saying is that BEFORE you go out and buy your female partner a "…great little gun…" PLEASE borrow one or rent one at a local range and let her try it.  BUT also rent or borrow other types of guns too.  Sub-compact Glock 26, Beretta's, S&W 3913 or some of their newer tactical models, H&K USP, Browning Hi-Powers, or others… There are some terrific guns to pick from BUT let HER do the picking.  Let her first experience be a positive experience.  If you can't show her how to handle these guns then find someone who can.  Make it informal and non-threatening.   I've found that most women who are given the opportunity actually enjoy shooting.