You want a handgun that is comfortable to use and gives consistent performance, whether you’re searching for a pistol for competitive shooting, self-defense, or simply for pleasure.
The greatest handgun for you will have the perfect size, weight, and caliber for your purposes, as well as easy to use and fire. While many of the finest handguns for men can also be fantastic pistols for women, the finest handguns for females will also be slim and light enough to allow for a concealed carry in a handbag purse, or any small space.
Whether used for target shooting, enjoyment, or self-defense, the best handguns for women are compact and small, yet strong enough to provide safety.
But before you decide which handgun to purchase for the special female in your life, you should remember the special considerations and features you need to look out for when you are shopping for them.
Best Handguns For Women
SIG P320
The P320 striker-fired 9mm handgun from SIG Sauer offers exceptional accuracy and dependability, as well as remarkable adaptability thanks to a fully changeable grip. Rather than modular backstraps, the SIG P320 provides personal grip modules in a variety of sizes to suit the shooter’s hand ideally. Increased grip comfort can contribute to higher shot precision, as well as make shooting more pleasurable.
The full-size P320 is one of the biggest pistols on the market, with an overall length of 8 inches and a barrel length of 4.7 inches. The P320 may not be a woman’s first option for a conceal and carry firearm due to its weight of 29.6 ounces. The P320, on the other hand, is ideal for target shooters or home defense because of its 17-round magazine and superb sighted accuracy.
The P320 is also offered in a subcompact variant that measures 6.7 inches and weighs a hefty but healthy 24.9 ounces while providing the same smooth and crisp trigger pull as the full-size versions, as well as the same reliable performance. The P320 Nitrogen Subcompact is ideal for concealment or for shooters with tiny hands.
The SIG P320-M17 was chosen as the Modular Handgun System for the United States Army, demonstrating its superior performance. The P320-M17 is available in the very same tan PVD coated slide and grip as the military variant, or in a range of colors and styles in other P320 models. The P320 is a stylish, strong, and dependable pistol for women that falls in the intermediate price bracket.
Key Features:
- Rather large but not too heavy despite its size
- 17-round magazine is great for home defense
- Chosen by the US Army
GLOCK 19
You have probably heard of this gun even if you’ve never gone to a range in your life. The Glock 19 is a well-known 9mm pistol that is ideal for self-defense and competition shooting. While the Glock 19 is bulkier than the other pistols on our list, at 21.5 ounces even without a magazine, you can still carry it comfortably. The Glock 19 is tiny enough to carry undetected yet big enough to shoot accurately, with a total length of 7.28 inches and a barrel length of 4.02 inches.
Newcomers will immediately feel confident shooting this pistol because it has only a few buttons to handle and a reliable trigger pull. The Glock 19 also has great safety features, such as a safe action mechanism that prevents the handgun from shooting accidentally if it is dropped.
Another aspect that makes the Glock 19 one of the best pistols for women is the ability to customize the grip size. The modular backstrap mechanism on the Glock 19 lets the shooter readily alter the grip size to fit their hands pleasantly. The Glock 19 may be easily adjusted to accommodate either right-handed or left-handed shooters.
Since the Glock 19 is such a prominent weapon, grips, holsters, and other accessories come in a wide range of shapes and colors, allowing you to completely customize your firearm. Here is a gun you should purchase if you are looking to truly customize your shooting experience.
Key Features:
- Very easy to customize in multiple ways
- Small enough to conceal and carry
- Reliable and light trigger pull
RUGER LC9S
Ruger’s LC9S handgun improves on its predecessor, the Ruger LC9, by addressing concerns about the LC9’s trigger quality while keeping all of the features that shooters liked. With a trigger pull weight of under 4.5 pounds, the Ruger LC9s delivers a faster and crisper trigger pull. A finger extension on the single-stack magazine gives a larger grip area and helps users with tinier hands have a complete grip.
The LC9s is an excellent concealed carry handgun, weighing 17.2 ounces and reaching 6 inches overall. The LC9s, which is chambered in 9mm, has enough power to serve as a self-defense pistol. The LC9s has various safety features, such as a manual safety, an incorporated trigger safety, and a magazine disconnection, for added peace of mind. The loaded indication notch is another feature that makes the LC9s a great pistol for ladies. The shooter can verify that the pistol is loaded without completing a press check by looking at this indication on the rear of the slide.
The Ruger LC9s is offered in a variety of colors and designs, such as vivid purple, as well as elegant silver and matte black, for ladies who want an appealing rifle. Some variants come with embellished slides for added appeal. This high-quality firearm is both inexpensive and dependable, making it a great self-defense pistol option.
Key Features:
- Trigger pull weight of under 5 pounds
- Comes in multiple colors and designs
- Indicators on the back of the weapons lets you know if it’s loaded
SIG P238
The SIG Sauer P238 is an excellent alternative for ladies looking for a traditional handgun in the .380 ACP caliber. The P238 is a reliable pistol with an all-metal chassis that weighs just 15.2 ounces.
The P238 is easy to shoot and manage thanks to its caliber and ergonomic grip, which results in a lighter felt recoil. But, the 2.7-inch barrel length may make precision more difficult for novice shooters. The SIG P238 is compact enough to fit in a small bag or pocketbook, being only 5.5 inches overall.
While the SIG P238 is more costly, it is a solid handgun that comes in a number of colors and combinations to fit every shooter. The SIG P238 is extremely simple to maintain, as field-stripping requires no tools.
Key Features:
- Weights only 15.2 ounces, making it one of the lighter handguns for women
- Can fit in most handbags and purses
- Sold in multiple colors
What To Consider When Buying A Handgun For Women
When purchasing a handgun, women should consider numerous things, including the gun’s weight and size, as well as how simple it is to fire. Because women’s hands are smaller and their upper bodies are weaker, the finest pistols for women are compact and lightweight.
Recoil
A handgun with a lower recoil are much more pleasant to shoot and won’t tire out the shooter’s arm. When required, lighter recoil enables for more precise follow-up rounds. Recoil is dictated by the gun’s caliber, mass, and length, therefore even small and light handguns can have a lot of perceived recoil. Recoil differs from shooter to shooter and the greatest approach to assess a handgun’s recoil is to practice with it and use it for yourself.
Size
If you want to carry a hidden weapon, you’ll need a tiny, compact pistol that fits inside a backpack or holster. For concealed carry, subcompact or ultra-compact versions are usually the best option. Yet, if a user is looking for a home protection weapon, a bigger handgun may be the better choice, as larger handguns are frequently simpler to fire properly. A handgun’s grip width affects how pleasant it is to handle, and a pistol that fits the shooter’s hand will have less perceived recoil.
Safety Features
Different handguns have different safety features, such as accidental fire protection if the weapon is dropped. A manual safety and a greater trigger pull weight may increase a gun’s safety while simultaneously making it more difficult to shoot. Beginner shooters should look for firearms with suitable safety features and obtain necessary training on how to properly operate their firearm.
Design
Although the functionality and usability of a gun must always come first, there are many various shades and designs to choose from and that should have an influence on which gun a woman chooses. To suit their preferences, shooters can select firearms with textured grips. For even more customization, a range of handgun modifications are available to purchase and upgrade the gun and the way it looks and functions.
Weight
Although heavier handguns have less perceived recoil, they might be harder to aim for operators with thinner, weaker arms. The weight of a concealed carry firearm has an influence on how pleasant it is to carry during the day. Search for a pistol with a mass that allows for comfy shooting and moderate blowback.
