Welcome back to another edition of shooting tips and tricks! Last week, we talked about a few different drills that allow shooters to advance and track their progress. This week, I want to talk about some of the misconceptions in the gun community when it comes to what carry guns to carry as a woman. There is so much bad advice out there, I'd like to take a deeper dive into how to find a good carry gun and a few options that work for me. Let's take a closer look at carry myths for women and how to find a carry gun that suits you.
Misleading Myths
If one thing bothers me most about the gun community, it's the misinformation people give women when it comes to choosing their carry gun. The traditional idea behind finding a carry gun is to have something as small as possible since the majority of gun shop counter employees will say smaller guns are easier to conceal as well as shoot for women. The biggest misconception is the fact women can shoot full-size handguns or anything else besides the common gun shop employee recommendations.
When you talk to various shooters in the gun community, they all have recommendations for female shooters. Still, there are countless women in Ballistic BOS who not only shoot full-size pistols but they are full-weight metal framed pistols for competition. The idea that women can only shoot various guns though is completely false and more women need to understand the pistol market for women is wide open and not just limited to a few different options.
Finding A Gun That Fits Your Needs
The most important thing when it comes to shooting is finding the right gun for you. For the vast majority of people. small guns are not the right option. they have less mass to help control recoil and are typically more violent to shoot. Over the last few months, I have trained several firearms, and switching out to a compact or full-size gun makes learning how to shoot a much easier option than trying to learn with a sub-compact carry gun. It is certainly possible if you're financially unable to purchase different firearms but in general, it is easier to shoot larger handguns at the range than smaller concealed carry-type handguns. Let's take a look at a few great options for women.
SIG P320
When it comes to us ladies buying our first handgun, one of the better choices if you only want to buy one pistol is the SIG Sauer P320 line of pistols. This system is unique to other pistols on the market due to its removable fire control system where you can switch out every part of the gun to create the perfect size pistol you may need. Whether it's a full-size gun for range use and competitive matches or switching out the grip and slide for a smaller compact handgun for concealed carry, the P320 can really do everything with a consistent trigger pull.
If you only want to start out with one handgun, this is a great option since you only need one fire control unit and can purchase the additional slides and frames with no paperwork or background check since the fire control unit is the specialized part. This makes customizing the P320 extremely easy and allows it to be modular. SIG offers the P320 in both a safety version and a non-safety version. This is based on personal preference, but If you're going to carry this gun I would recommend the nonmanual safety variant of the P320.
Certainly, there are people out there who will argue to go with a manual safety for the extra sense of security but in a self-defense situation, it is always going to be simpler without the manual safety. When added stress is present in a life-threatening situation, the fewer steps needed to have your carry gun function is the better route to go.
Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 Optics Ready
Another great option for female shooters has to be the Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 line of pistols, especially with the optics ready is another fantastic option. Smith & Wesson has developed a grip with replaceable backstraps for various sizes allowing for smaller female hands to use a different backstrap which allows them to have a better grip than other pistols on the market.
Being such a popular pistol on the market also makes customizing the M&P line of pistols very easy with several large manufacturers giving aftermarket support to these pistols. Typically the M&P line of pistols are more affordable at other options with their MSRP starting at $599.99 and street prices being less in actual stores. Out of everything on the list, it's one of the more affordable options that offers a combination of features with reliability.
Glock 17/19 MOS
Our last great model(s) has to be the Glock line of pistols. Glock has built its reputation on being bulletproof reliable and always working no matter what. the situation presented. The newer Gen 5 Glocks are some of the most contoured and comfortable in the hand. Just like the M&P line of pistols, the Glock Gen 5 models have the ability to have different size backstraps to allow people the ability to make their grip size smaller or larger based on their hand size.
The MOS variants from Glock also offer the ability to put an optic on your pistol straight from the factory allowing you to customize the pistol over time based on your preferences. From the standpoint of reliablity, the Glock is probably the best rated across the board when it comes to pistols. Another important aspect to keep in mind is the fact Glock is used by almost every police department or agency so aftermarket parts are some of the easi3st to find for any pistol on the market. Glocks may not be the most exciting or interesting option, but they are some of the most reliable and easy to use pistols on the market today.
Overall Thoughts
No matter what make or model of pistol you go with, there are endless options out there that fit the needs you have for a carry gun. These are just a few options that i will often times let people try who take my courses, but there are so many more options out there. It is never a bad idea to go to an indoor shooting range and rent firearms you are interested in purchasing and then getting training with that pistol will make all the difference for new shooters. Find a gun that works for you and train your butt off with it and you will be a better shooter than most people out there! What do you guys think are other great options for carrying? Let me know down in the comments below. I appreciate all you ladies out there and I hope you have a fantastic day. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week in the next episode!