What to Look for in Handguns? - Introduction

The primary attributes that everyone regardless of experience looks for in a handgun, apply:


1. Purpose – Does the gun meet the intended purpose of the gun, whether it’s home defense, personal protection, concealed carry, hunting, plinking, competition, practice or whatever. The appropriateness of the caliber needs to be considered.

2. Quality – How is the fit and finish, and the the robustness of the materials used? Is it designed and manufactured well?

3. Price – Budget is a constraint for most people. This is the major determinant for most people in making tradeoffs with all the other features listed here. You may not be able to afford the best quality or the one that is most accurate or easiest to use. Also, don’t forget to consider the price of ammunition for your gun candidate.

4. Accuracy – Does it shoot where you point it, or close enough?

5. Ease-of-use/handling – Is the gun convenient to handle and operate?

6. Durability – Is it resilient over the long-term?

7. Reliability – Can the gun operate effectively a high percentage of the time?

8. Maintainability – Is the gun as close to maintenance free as possible?

9. Vendor support – Does the manufacturer or gunshop provide a service warranty on the product, and for how long?

10. Safety features – Besides complying with law, is there sufficient safety features of the gun?

11. Appearance – Is the gun attractive?

You will need the assistance of a gun-knowledgeable associate or firearms instructor to help you ascertain how your prospective guns rate on the attributes above.

Features that tend to be most relevant to women, and which we discuss more extensively in this chapter, include the following:

1. Ease of use
2. Grip size
3. Overall gun size
4. Recoil
5. Caliber
6. Maintainability
7. Safety features
8. Training

We are not saying that these features are specific to only women, nor are we saying that these are the most important features to all women. We have found that these features tend to be the ones most important to a majority of the women we have talked to. As such, you can take the list above, or a photocopy of this chapter, to the gunstore with you when you purchase a handgun.