I need to find a handgun for my wife. Recent events in the news finally has her wanting to a) Learn to shoot, and b) get her own gun.

My wife weighs less than 100 pounds, so I want something easy for her to not only hold and aim, but something without a large amount of felt recoil. Also not looking for .25, .380 etc. This will not be a carry weapon but for home.

I plan to take her to a club so that she can try out several, but I am hoping for some recommendations to get us started in the right direction.

Since the gun is for her obviously cost is irrelevant.

Why not a 380 for home? If it's bigger the recoil will be a turn off.

My daughter is getting my Taurus Titanium Model 85 revolver, smooth double action, no hammer and very light. I will get her some wad cutters to practice with and Hornady Lite critical Defense for carry.

Oh yea, I'm replacing it with the new Kimber Micro .380

Walther PP or PPK, another option that is a lot like those is the Bersa Version. For the home would also get her a Youth 870 20ga shotgun.

My wife prefers a 3" 1911. She's 5'2" and about 110.

Take her to a range that does rentals and let her try a bunch out. Cheaper than buying a $600 pistol she won't shoot.

Kmon I have the 20ga. Youth done. I am leaning towards a revolver for her.

Cast I had an LCP and found that it was quite snappy as well as having a bad trigger. Are there other .380's that are much improved on those 2 points?

That is why I recomemded the Walther and Bersa. Both are larger and heavier than the LCP. We got my Sister a Walther, some good friends wives shoot the Bersa an love it. None of those ladies are very big.

A 357 double action revolver loaded with 38s. Let her hold several at a gun shop to see which is most comfortable. If she gets used to the recoil of a 38, she may want to try 357s in it.

Paul, start her off with a .22 revolver. No recoil and building confidence is key. Let her work from that platform initially and see how she progresses.

Don't let her size/stature fool ya. Plenty of 100 pound women out there shooting 45's...............

Keep it safe and fun. Everything will fall into place.

Thanks kmon, I will look into those. Janie, I have planned to start her out on my single six .22 and move up once she is comfortable and confident.

I got my daughter a S&W Airweight, found some grips that she liked and it worked out great.

My wife is same size. Thru trial and error

My pick and opinion
A thankless no safety or decocker mid size with narrow grip 9mm. I would skip the 38 revolver due to the long trigger pull. Again xd, glock, or something like the new hk vp9 or sig 320.
If you must go revolver look into a 22 mag with vmax. An easy pull trigger was clutch

My wife ended up getting a ported 9mm after i told her not to buy it... But she can shoot lights out with it !

Ruger LCRx 3"

This was the first thing that came to my mind. No slide to worry about racking, no jamming, common caliber. It can be loaded light enough for children or with a heavy .357 load. From a practical standpoint, no home should be without one. I like a Ruger revolver based on build quality and reasonable price. There are certainly other options.

Great choice. Glock or the new smith and Wesson models

I have been leaning towards revolver for simplicity. When she becomes more comfortable and if she decides on SA, I already have options for her. I do like the idea of the larger sized smaller calibers as well.

There's an Airweight in the classifieds that just went on for $350. Seller says less than 100 rds.

My wife carried a Beretta .25 for a few years, until she started worrying about not having enough stopping power.

Next she tried a Charter Arms .38 spl snubbie - but it bit her hand and she decided to part with that one, too.

In the end, she wound up liking a full-size 1911 Govt model in .45 ACP. - And she ended up being very good with it.

Smith

38 or 357 would be a great choice. 3"-4" barrel is a good combination of weight, recoil and balance.

If you're looking at a semi, my wife loves my XD-9. Fits smaller hands well and has very little felt recoil. Accurate and reliable.

My wife loves her Sig P238. The cool part is now she can pick up my 1911 and know exactly what to do with it without fumbling around.

Great minds think alike!...LOL

That's what I got for my wife (S&W Mod 19). I'm a reloader so I load lighter loads for target & plinking. I make sure she goes to the range with me every so often & she really enjoys shooting a few boxes. For home use I recommend that you don't get a fly-weight or snub-nose revolver. Even in .38 SPCL they have an annoying bark & bite and you want to encourage regular practice.

FWIW

Patriot, I have and XDSC-9 and love it. Hopefully she gets to the point of wanting it then maybe I can get something new for me.

I am going to start taking her to the club to shoot and while there we can look at some revolvers.