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The man she lived with for years (who's been married 5 times before- that should have thrown up a red flag) threatened her several times. Police reports and a restraining order has been filed but they are only paper.

She asked me what gun to get and I said a 380. I read several places that that was a good CC gun.

She is strongly independent and won't let me buy her one.

My questions are:

1) What is the best CC 380 for the money reliability/accuracy?

2) Names of good FFL in N Seattle

3) Best places to buy a gun in N Seattle that won't take advantage of a woman

4) Would it be cheaper to buy online and have it shipped to an FFL or buy face to face?

5) A good CC instructor in N Seattle

she plans to purse carry.

Is it better to buy out of state then register in WA?
 
Last Edited:
The man she lived with for years (who's been married 5 times before- that should have thrown up a red flag) threatened her several times. Police reports and a restraining order has been filed but they are only paper.

She asked me what gun to get and I said a 380. I read several places that that was a good CC gun.

She is strongly independent and won't let me buy her one.

My questions are:

1) What is the best CC 380 for the money reliability/accuracy?

2) Names of good FFL in N Seattle

3) Best places to buy a gun in N Seattle that won't take advantage of a woman

4) Would it be cheaper to buy online and have it shipped to an FFL or buy face to face?

5) A good CC instructor in N Seattle

1: Get a 9mm instead. Not much more recoil but you get more speed and heavier bullet. Cheaper ammo. The S&W Shield, Glock 43, Glock 26, Walther PPS come to mind if she will CARRY it. If she's just going to have it at home, go bigger because its easier to shoot a larger gun. M&P 2.0/2.0 Compact, Glock 17/19, Walther PPQ, HK VP9, etc.

2: Don't buy guns in Seattle. Seattle charges a tax on guns and ammo.

3: Don't buy guns in Seattle. Federal Way Discount Guns isn't too bad and seem to treat ladies ok.

4: Not a whole lot cheaper and most likely more expensive after shipping/tax/transfer

5: Not sure
 
1: Get a 9mm instead. Not much more recoil but you get more speed and heavier bullet. Cheaper ammo. The S&W Shield, Glock 43, Glock 26, Walther PPS come to mind if she will CARRY it. If she's just going to have it at home, go bigger because its easier to shoot a larger gun. M&P 2.0/2.0 Compact, Glock 17/19, Walther PPQ, HK VP9, etc.

2: Don't buy guns in Seattle. Seattle charges a tax on guns and ammo.

3: Don't buy guns in Seattle. Federal Way Discount Guns isn't too bad and seem to treat ladies ok.

4: Not a whole lot cheaper and most likely more expensive after shipping/tax/transfer

5: Not sure



Ditto to all the above.... :s0101::s0007:
 
Whatever pistol/revolver she decides on, she needs to practice using it.

I've taken many people out for the first time shooting.

If she lived in my area my wife and I could teach her, but I appreciate that's not the case.

What to do?

Look for shooters who live in her area.

Most shooters are very generous folk who're eager to help new shooters.

Women shooters are particularly helpful of other women who need to learn to shoot.

Please have her immediately start looking into this!
 
Several things.

Good that she doesn't want you to buy a gun for her...she needs to decide what will work for her. Size, grip fit, concealment capabilities, safety configuration, etc. are vital to the owner/operator. SMALLER IS NOT BETTER. Yes, I yelled that. Highly recommend having her go to a range, rent some different guns to shoot (with an instructor is a nice touch) and see what she likes and what works for her. (I completely agree with the above 9mm over 380 recommendation, but ultimately it is up to her.) If she is not a shooter currently I can almost guarantee she will be happier by doing this (also a recommendation for male shooters...this is not gender specific).

Having a gun for self defense is a serious commitment. A basic concealed class may be a place to start but definitely not to end. Have her look into groups such as The Well Armed Woman (TWAW). There are several chapters in the area. Everyone considering using a firearm in a defensive manner should have a good understanding of legal considerations along with how to use it beyond punching holes in paper at a range. Honestly, best to learn all of this is not when you are under the stress of possibly needing it in the short term, sorry.

Have her consider other less lethal options, pepper spray, Tasers and other non-contact alternatives. Both of these work at a distance. Showed the above to my wife, an NRA instructor, TWAW chapter leader, and regular shooter for her approval. And by the way...bought her the wrong gun once...once.

Hope the helps and things end peacefully and well for her.
 
While I understand that she won't let you buy her a gun...
It is very important to good shooting and carrying that the person who is to be shooting and or carrying the gun , be comfortable with shooting and carry the gun.

When asking what to carry / caliber / shoot or how to do the same...you will be hit with all kinds of great advice but...
What is great for one person , may not be great for another.

I'd have her handle and "function test " / work the controls on as many guns that she seems to like and if possible have her get some shooting time with the same.
Then have her get the one that she handles and shoots the best with.

Just where this is to done in the Seattle area ...I am not sure , hopefully some folks who know , will chime in.
Andy
 
2nd the above from no regerts and stomper. My now wife and I went "shopping" for a purse carry gun when we were dating years back. We went to west coast armory in Bellevue and rented around 10+ pistols of different sizes and caliber. For her personal preference she landed on the Ruger SR9, she originally was gonna go .380 but decided she liked the idea of a larger double stack 9mm and she also wanted one with a manual safety. Just my 2 cents, if she won't let you buy one see if she will atleast let you rent a few at the range to try out.
 
If she won't let you buy her a gun, buy her some bear spray or the like in the meantime in case (and statistics show he will) the scumbag breaks the restraining order.
Ben's Loans in Renton will get you anything you want at a reasonable price.
 
Glock 42 if she's set on a .380. My 22 year old daughter carries a Sig P365 (9mm), my 24 year old daughter carries a Glock 43 (9mm), and my 30 year old daughter carries a Ruger LCR (8 shot .22lr revolver).
 
First of all, sorry for her bad choice in a beau. There's great advice above.

Bring her down to Portland. Between a few members here, we have > 20 pistols for her to try.
My daughter has been seeking advice from me because she wants to CC starting on her 21st birthday. She works with a bunch of men who CC, they are all Glock fans, tho' one carries a full size 1911. She has shot their Glocks, and like me, doesn't appear to be a fan of the ergos.

I took her shooting with 7 different pistols & calibers: (357 Mag, 45 ACP, 10mm, 40 S&W, 9mm, 9 Mak & 380 ACP).
What she liked, in order of her preference, surprised me (I thought she liked the PPK most, but she corrected me yesterday):
  1. Kimber Custom Shop CDP in 45 ACP
  2. Walther PPK in 380
  3. Remington R51 in 9mm
  4. CZ75 in 40 S&W
  5. GP100 in 357 Mag (said gun was too big)
  6. CZ 52 in 9 Makarov (loved how it shot, did not like the sights)
  7. Witness in 10mm (said it was uncomfortable to shoot)
There were two other 1911's not in the mix, and she wants to shoot the commander sized one.
What we agreed on, as others have mentioned here, is practice, practice, practice.
If she buys gun and doesn't shoot it regularly, it will just get used on her.
After that, we will get her working on concealment and try on my holsters. She's not the purse type - if I had horses, she'd be a cowgirl, through and through, roping calves for fun.
 
9mm at minimum - .380 is the same diameter bullet but slower and in typically less reliable, harder to shoot guns.

Modern subcompact 9mms are scantly larger than .380s if tiny is an absolute requirement, but tiny guns have more recoil and poorer sights.

A "compact" pistol such as a Glock 19, Smith & Wesson M&P Compact, Sig P229 etc gives a good balance of concealability and shootability. Bigger but not too-big grip is easier to hold onto and manage recoil with. Longer sight radius and better sights in general = easier to hit what you're aiming at. Less recoil = easier to hit what you're aiming at plus easier follow up shots. If a bad guy is worth shooting once, he's worth shooting twice, three times, etc until he stops being a threat.

They're also not much more expensive than the micro guns, if at all. A used Glock can be had for about $400 - buy the gun, couple spare magazines (more for practice, than combat) and a pile of range ammo, plus some hollowpoints for social use.

Daughter should also keep her doors locked, her cell phone charged, and she may want to look into an unarmed combatives course of some kind because she many need to rely on her own body rather than a weapon to fight off a bad guy.
 
If its her first gun then maybe a j-frame revolver would be easier/simpler than a semi auto
This ^^^
Very important to think about this ^^^

1) Some women do not like "racking a slide".
.380 means semi-auto and semi-auto means racking a slide.

2) If she is going to purse-carry, then she may be shooting from inside that purse.
A semi-auto needs room for the slide to move back and forth.
Inside that purse the slide could get hung up on something.
If a second shot is needed, it may not be available.

3) For those reasons, I would recommend a revolver with a shielded hammer.
Better performance out of a purse.
No slide racking issues.
Probably in .38 Special
 
The man she lived with for years (who's been married 5 times before- that should have thrown up a red flag) threatened her several times. Police reports and a restraining order has been filed but they are only paper.

She asked me what gun to get and I said a 380. I read several places that that was a good CC gun.

She is strongly independent and won't let me buy her one.

My questions are:

1) What is the best CC 380 for the money reliability/accuracy?

2) Names of good FFL in N Seattle

3) Best places to buy a gun in N Seattle that won't take advantage of a woman

4) Would it be cheaper to buy online and have it shipped to an FFL or buy face to face?

5) A good CC instructor in N Seattle

she plans to purse carry.

Is it better to buy out of state then register in WA?
Some good advise from others above. Additionally I would say it's a real personal decision so she should handle as many guns as she likes in a non-pressure-to-Buy environment. Ideally finding a way to shoot many different guns, as someone said above, is the best. But may not be feasible.

Big box stores often will let u hold many different guns if u tell them up front "I'm not buying today, just want to handle a few guns to see how they feel". Cabelas, bass pro shops, sportsman's warehouse are examples. Go at a time when the place is mostly empty so u aren't taking away employee's time from other customers.

Then research the ones she likes online and /or ask in this forum for opinions on those specific guns and then she can do a second visit for purchase.

Trying to learn enough and buy the right gun in the same visit is just too hard imo for someone new.
 
This ^^^
Very important to think about this ^^^

1) Some women do not like "racking a slide".
.380 means semi-auto and semi-auto means racking a slide.

2) If she is going to purse-carry, then she may be shooting from inside that purse.
A semi-auto needs room for the slide to move back and forth.
Inside that purse the slide could get hung up on something.
If a second shot is needed, it may not be available.

3) For those reasons, I would recommend a revolver with a shielded hammer.
Better performance out of a purse.
No slide racking issues.
Probably in .38 Special


Yup, my wife carried a Taurus ported .357 hammerless in a fanny pack made for carry. She stopped carrying it because it is heavy. So we went and bought a Taurus mouse gun in .380... but she can't rack the slide and it is so small that she gets failure to cycle problems, not good. So I've been thinking about another revolver for her, if she wants to go really lite we might even go down to a .22lr... it's better than nothing.
 
OP, make sure she is willing to shoot the man to protect herself!!! She's gotta cowboy up!

BTW, while she could be injured or killed by a man using his hands, many men like to knife their mates (seems to be a penetration thing), or shoot. But I think any hand to hand training should include knife defense.

Is he big and strong and she not so much? IMO, the bigger the force differential the more likely he will use his fists.
 
She asked me what gun to get and I said a 380. I read several places that that was a good CC gun.

She is strongly independent and won't let me buy her one.

My questions are:

1) What is the best CC 380 for the money reliability/accuracy?

Women tried out various handguns as part of the American Rifleman Ladies Pistol Project. The SIG P238 was the favorite overall.

The SIG Sauer P238 earned the highest overall rank in the survey. Ironically, the little SIG, a .380 ACP pocket pistol, found the most favor with those ladies who have larger hands. It was praised for its effortless slide manipulation, bright sights, single-action, M1911-style trigger and superb recoil management. All of the women shot it well. "We often hear this feedback directly from women who shoot the P238 and from trainers, as well as retailers who sell the gun to ladies," said Tom Taylor, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of commercial sales at SIG Sauer. "It is a visually appealing gun, but more importantly, we believe it is a more functional, accurate and comfortable gun for women to shoot because of its quality, weight and trigger."
The American Rifleman Ladies Pistol Project

By the way, the women did not like revolvers. They didn't like the stiff double-action trigger pull. I have found the same thing when I take women shooting for the first time. Many struggled to even pull the trigger double-action, much less shoot accurately with it. Once a woman is taught the correct way to rack a slide


they preferred semi-autos.

she plans to purse carry.

She should get a purse designed for concealed carry. She doesn't want to be digging in her usual purse in an emergency, trying to find her gun. Many choices available from

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...targid=kwd-36525645621&ref=pd_sl_7vifd81e9g_e

Concealed Carry Purses - The Well Armed Woman

All Concealed-Carry Purses

Concealed Carry Handbags


Is it better to buy out of state then register in WA?

She needs to at least handle the guns before buying one. The best place to do that is at a gun show. All the guns are out on tables just waiting to be picked up and handled. Good opportunity for quality daddy-daughter time.

 
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If its her first gun then maybe a j-frame revolver would be easier/simpler than a semi auto


I hear this advice all the time and after seeing three women make the mistake of going with a revolver I have to say it's not a good choice unless the individual person has handled and shot, with proficiency and speed, vs. a small frame semi-auto. The reason is because of trigger pull in relation to a woman's grip size and strength. I don't mean to sound like I'm putting you down, some people could go this route. I am just relating my personal experience.
 

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