There are a million lists on the Internet of what pistols are a good choice for women. What could possibly be different about my list? These are all pistols that are great first pistols, not just a list of tiny handguns for women.
I will of course admit that I am a man, not a woman, and do not have first-hand experience as a woman dealing with the physical and mental aspects of shooting a pistol. I do, however, have an enormous amount of second-hand experience helping hundreds of women learn how to deal with the physical and mental aspects of shooting pistols.
A huge misconception is that smaller guns are easier to shoot. This is false on every level. Even if a woman has relatively small hands, the idea that a small subcompact gun is better than a full-size pistol is almost always untrue. Small guns kick harder and have less to hang onto. Anyone with small hands will have no trouble gripping a full-size gun. If she can reach the trigger, it's not too big.
In every co-ed Intro to Handgun class I teach, there are always more women than men. In that class, I provide six different pistols that are all distinctly different in some way. This is to help them decide what type they like the best. It is not required, but many of them bring a pistol of their own to shoot at the class. They either picked it out themselves or it was a gift from their husband (or dad, or boyfriend, or grandfather, etc). In most cases, they have not shot that pistol much if at all. This has given me the chance to see nearly every gun on the market that commonly ends up in the hands of a woman. Most importantly I then see them shoot it and give feedback as to whether or not it is a good fit for them with a more informed opinion after learning the basics of properly gripping and firing them.
Based on the mountain of anecdotal data I have acquired over the last seven years (as of this writing), here is an unranked list of the best first pistols for women. It will include all of the pros and cons of every model because no pistol is perfect. Keep in mind as you read this and wonder why I made some of the choices I made, it is a list of pistols that are good to learn on and women tend to like more than others. Also note that this list would probably
Beretta 92X
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love the Beretta 90 series of pistols, and those who don't. But why is the newest iteration of the gun made most famous by Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon and Bruce Willis in Die Hard a good first gun for women? The weight and the grip.
While I will admit, this isn't usually the favorite choice of most women in my classes, they rarely dislike it. Another double-action/single-action pistol I have Intro to Handgun students shoot is the CZ P-07, and while men and myself love that gun, women generally don't care for it.
As for the positives of the Beretta 92x, the grip is the first thing that stands out. Beretta's Vertec grip, which removes the hump from the bottom two-thirds of the backstrap traditionally found on 90 series guns, is more adaptable to more people. If your hands are on the smaller size it is more manageable to pull the long double-action trigger. I also find it is easier for most people, myself included, to keep the bottom three fingers of their firing hand locked in and still, which helps prevent dips of the gun right before it goes off. But if you desire, you can always replace the grip panels with a wraparound grip that returns the Vertec grip to a more traditional shape. The checkering of the front and backstraps and the rough texture of the plastic grips make it one of the best factory grips on the market, really only rivaled by the Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 grip texture.
The extra weight of the aluminum frame is also something that makes this a good pistol for a new shooter. While a Glock or Smith & Wesson will be in that 25-27 ounce range, the full size 92x weighs in at 33.3 ounces. Added weight along with the geometry of the grip in relation to the barrel and slide give the 92x a recoil impulse that most newer shooters describe as "really nice" or "softer."
Glock 19/17
Of course, the Glock 19 is on this list. If someone put a gun to my head and said "What pistol could I buy that I am the least likely to hate?" A Glock 19 would be what I tell them. Pistols of this size are oddly called "compact" and that's a deceiving descriptor for a new gun owner. They are smaller than "full-size" guns like the Glock 17, but the difference in size is about a half inch on the barrel and slide and a half inch and two rounds in the grip and magazine. When sitting side by side, the difference is really a matter of personal preference.
The Glock 19 fires the universal favorite 9mm Luger, which is powerful enough for self-defense, and soft enough to be really enjoyable to shoot. It's as reliable a gun as there can be. Operating it is as simple as any semi-auto handgun there is. It allows the shooter to get as high of a support hand grip as they want, allowing them to tame recoil a great deal with their hands. Most importantly it has a large enough frame and grip that a new shooter can learn to get a proper grip on it. Hands on a pistol are like tires on the road. The more surface area of your hands you can get on the pistol, the better you will be able to control it.
I have only seen a couple of negatives with new shooters and Glocks and one of them is silly. Some women, and men for that matter, find Glocks to be ugly. I can't argue that they are not sexy-looking pistols, but I've never seen a sexy hammer either so that's no bother.
The only other negative of a Glock is that the factory sights are not good. They are functional, but unless I am putting a red dot on top of a MOS model, I always replace them with a set of Dawson Precision fiber optic sights. Some people like fiber in the front and rear, I prefer a fiber front and solid black rear.
Something else of note on the Glock 19 is that it is usually the first centerfire semi-auto students shoot in my intro class. They start with a .22 and .38 Special revolver that are both pretty soft shooting. Often times people will perceive the Glock as being snappy. When that is the case I will have them go back and shoot it again and they will realize that it wasn't, it was just their perception since it was the first one they shot.
I do have some slim and subcompact models included in this list, but I am apprehensive to include the Glock 43x or 48.
Smith & Wesson M&P Shield/Shield Plus
Smith & Wesson knocked it out of the park when they created the M&P Shield back in 2012. It was a subcompact pistol with a slightly staggered magazine that allowed you to carry 8+1 rounds. But more importantly, they created a pistol that removed the bulk from the gun without sacrificing too much of the gripping surface area.
The original gun had the shortcoming that all version 1.0 M&P's had and that was a pretty smooth grip. With the M2.0 changes made, the texture was roughed up substantially and improvements were made to the trigger. Then in 2021, jumping on the "subcompact-pistol-capable-of-holding-a-dozen-or-more-rounds" bandwagon by unveiling the Shield Plus. All they had to do was leave it the same except slightly widen the grip and magazine to accommodate more ammunition. The physical changes were so subtle that they still fit in the same holsters as the old Shield guns.
The feature that really sets this gun apart is that when you look at the side of a Shield, it has plenty of space to get both hands on it to really control it well. This is what is lacking on guns like the original Glock 42 and 43, and especially the Sig Sauer P365. The latter of which is incredibly popular. It was the first subcompact to boast 10 or more rounds in the magazine. But the grip on it feels as thin and skinny as the handle of a wooden spoon. It makes for a great carry gun, but not a good first gun for anyone. It's hard to learn to shoot on a tiny gun and it's easier if the grip is bigger.
To me, this is the best subcompact gun on the market, but it isn't perfect. The lack of stippling high on the grip can make it hard to keep your support hand on the gun. Gun companies continue to leave that area smooth on most pistols and I don't understand why. Skateboard tape is a quick and easy solution.
The only other negative of the Shield is also what helps make it incredibly soft shooting for its diminutive size. The recoil spring in the Shield is notoriously heavy. That absorbs a lot of recoil, but it does make it hard to rack and lock open manually. Using the right technique can help a lot with this. Smith & Wesson came out with the Shield EZ to combat this problem. It's generally marketed towards women but it has one problem. Because the trigger is a single action instead of striker-fired, a grip safety was added to make the gun drop safe. If it is held and fired one-handed it's not an issue. But the grip safety is small enough that with a good and strong two-handed grip, the upper part of the firing hand isn't completely engaging the grip safety. This has happened predominantly with women who don't have a lot of flesh in the webbing of their hand between the thumb and index finger. The non-EZ Shield are better all the way around.
Springfield Armory Hellcat
Springfield Armory XD pistols are okay, they just don't trip my trigger. Their 1911's are pretty sweet. But the best pistol they make right now is the Hellcat.
I don't own one of these but I got the chance to run 50 rounds through one after a class and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's one of the few polymer pistols with sufficient grip texture going most of the way up to the frame. It also has a significant amount of real estate for the support hand. It's almost as good as the Shield in the subcompact category. I thought the Hellcat was a little snappier, but I wasn't able to do an A/B comparison so it could have been in my head. If I owned one I would probably end up liking it just as much as the Shield.
Another feature it has over the Shield is the aggressive rear and front cocking serrations. I like to grab the slide forward of the ejection port and that doesn't work well with the Shield.
The only bummer about it is that it's on the pricey side. A standard base model (without micro-optic cut) is going to run you north of $500. The M&P Shield Plus is right at $399.
Canik TP9SF
Of course, I have a Canik on the list. And for a woman buying their first gun they will more than likely be happy with the way the TP9SF shoots and its price.
Some guns on this list are well over $500 or $600. That isn't an outrageous price, but when you can get a pistol of the same quality that sits on store shelves for $379, this is a gun to take a hard look at. (Scheels also has it in black for the same price.)
You could substitute this gun for any other Canik SF model and you'll be happy. It's a full-size pistol, which is ideal to learn on, that comes with a fantastic trigger, good sights, and again it's only $379.
Smith & Wesson M&P
The second generation of Smith & Wesson's M&P pistol is a dandy. They are very comfortable to shoot, they are reliable, they come with good sights, and they are available in optic-ready models as well as the basic version.
In all honesty, M&P's are a Glock of a different flavor. It has the same solid reliability, better grip texture, is simpler to field strip for cleaning, has a better out-of-the-box trigger, and it is generally a sexier-looking gun if that matters to you.
It's tough to find a negative with the M&P. Why they don't have a larger share of the law enforcement market is a wonder to me.
