Never pick out a gun for your spouse!

I can't count how many times I've seen this post on one of the gun forums I spend time on. "What gun should I buy for my wife to conceal carry?". First some disclaimers... I am a guy and I am writing this from a guy's perspective, but this could just as easily be about a wife not picking out a gun for her husband. Also, in this post I'm going to voice MY OPINION about some brands of guns. This is my opinion and should not be interpreted as a fact. Ok, hopefully I just avoided a libel suit when I get around to calling a Hi-Point a pile of steaming poo.

There are a lot of guys out there that love to shoot, but have wives that just aren't into it. Those guys usually end up trying at some point to get their wife into shooting. This is done out of love and a desire to keep their wife safe. It is an admirable goal, but guys usually go about it wrong.

First of all, you will hear all the time about what is the right gun for a woman to shoot. This is B.S. There is nothing that makes one gun better than another for a particular gender. There are guns that are better for people with smaller hands and there are guns that are better for people that are more recoil sensitive. In general, a higher percentage of women probably fit that bill, but you can't make that assumption about someone you don't know. When these questions get asked on a forum, we have no idea what the poster looks like. For all we know, his wife could be the starting linebacker on a semi-pro football team and he could be so small and dainty he makes a male figure skater look macho.

Second, no one can choose a gun for someone else. There are a few features that are universal. Yes, you want a gun that is reliable. Yes, you want a gun in a caliber that will do the job. However, you also want a gun that fits the shooter's hand and the only way to determine that is to take the shooter with you and let her try a variety of guns and decide what fits her the best. We may think that a Glock 19 (just using that one as an example) is the greatest gun that was ever made and that Gaston Glock was feeling the inspiration of the lord almighty when he designed it. That doesn't mean it will fit your wife's hand.

I'm not saying you sit back and let your wife pick out that pink and gold Raven .25 as a carry gun. If you are an experienced shooter that knows about which gun companies make good stuff and which guns aren't worthy of being tossed in a dumpster you should impart your knowledge on your wife so she can make an educated decision. Certainly steer her away from the Hi-Point / Jennings case and down to the Glock / Sig / HK / S&W / Colt / Ruger / Taurus / Browning / FN /etc... cases. However, if she chooses a quality brand that fits her it does not matter if you like that gun or not. It's NOT FOR YOU! If you want her to get into your hobby then let her pick her gun.

Also, don't try to force her to go with a caliber larger than she is comfortable with. If she doesn't feel that she can control a .45 and likes a 9mm, I don't care where you fall in the caliber debate. Let her get the 9mm! If you force her to get the .45 she won't enjoy shooting it so she won't shoot it and all the time and money is wasted. There does need to be some balance here. Feel free to strongly discourage her from a .22 or .25 for concealed carry. You've got to use some logic here and find that balance.

Also, while we are on the subject... husbands should not teach their wives to shoot. Get a friend that is an experienced shooter to help or spring for a professional class. I have seen a lot of husbands try to teach a lot of wives to shoot and it almost never works. In fact, I see a husband that attempted that every time I look in the mirror. It just doesn't work. I was lucky that I have a friend that is a much more patient teacher than I am that helped my wife break some bad habits and clean up her technique when we all went shooting together. Ego gets in the way when you are teaching your wife. Also, most of us aren't qualified to teach regardless of what we THINK we know.

Ok, my rant is over. I hope you took it to heart because it will save you a lot of grief and will make the likelihood that your wife will enjoy shooting a lot greater. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.