Best Handgun For Women

Whether you want the best handgun for women for personal defense, home defense, recreation, or competitive shooting, the gun should be comfortable and easy to handle. The best handguns are slim and lightweight with a comfortable grip, compact yet powerful. The right handgun for you should meet your needs, be the right size for your hands, and be easy to operate. It should have low recoil and be easy to use as a concealed carry weapon.

Below are the seven great options for the best handguns for women.

7 Best Handgun For Women

1. Overall Best Handgun For Women: SIG Sauer P365X 9mm Compact Pistol

• Action Type: Striker
• Cartridge: 9mm luger
• Barrel length: 3.1-inch
• Overall length: 6-inch
• Magazine type: Removable
• Capacity: 10+1/12+1 round

This Sig Sauer 9mm handgun is one of the best-selling compact handguns for women in the United States. It is right-handed and suitable even for an armed woman with small hands. Even though it is compact, the gun fires flawlessly. It is easy to conceal and suitable for Everyday Carry (EDC).

This firearm was developed as a carry-on weapon for law enforcement professionals but quickly gained popularity with citizens for its small size and well-thought design.

The semi-automatic concealed carry handgun is striker-fired with a recoil system. It has an impressive capacity for its small size and chambers 9mm Luger rounds, and the frame and slide are stainless steel.

The polymer grip has a modern and highly functional design with a Nitron-slide finish. It has a sandpaper-like finish for optimal comfort, control, and excellent grip and comes with three backstrap inserts that enable you to customize it to fit your hand size.

It features an undercut trigger guard designed as a cut-out at the bottom of the grip. The position of the triggers offers three main benefits: it allows the pistol to sit lower on your hand, places your fingers strategically so that it covers minimal distance, and offers a high grip of the firearm for better control and accuracy when shooting.

The trigger pull mechanism is short with a light and quick take-up. Some people find the recoil a bit snappy but manageable. The slide stop mechanism is ambidextrous, enabling you to lock the slide with either hand.

It does not have an external safety but an internal firing safety pin. As such, you can only fire the gun by pulling the trigger, optimizing safety. The semi-automatic handgun is fitted with an X-Ray3 for both day and night sights.

Pros

• Suitable for women with small hands
• Lightweight and low profile
• Elegant, high-quality build
• Large magazine capacity
• Easy and quick set trigger
• High-quality sights

Cons

• Has noticeable recoil
• Some types of ammunition jams e.g. colt hollow point defense ammo 124 grain

2. Budget-Friendly Best Handgun For Women: Ruger Security 9mm 4” Blue 15+1

• Action Type: Hammer fired
• Cartridge: 9mm luger
• Barrel length: 4-inch
• Overall length: 7.24-inch
• Magazine type: Removable
• Capacity: 15+1 round

The Ruger Security-9 has a compact and rugged construction. The slide and barrel are made of hardened alloy steel, while the grip is glass-filled nylon. The frame is textured to provide a comfortable non-slip grip. It is widest at the bottom of the handle for a secure grip. The chassis is black anodized aluminum that makes the frame rigid, and the gun has a blue matte finish.

Its compact design ensures easy concealment while optimizing shootability. The handgun has a 2/15 round capacity magazine that ensures you have enough rounds to fire whenever needed.

It has a hammer system hidden within the slide, which is much easier to rack than most pistols. One of the most outstanding features of the Security-9 is that the trigger is neither a traditional DA nor a single-action (SA). Rather, it has a precocked DA that provides a trigger pull that feels short, like that of an SA pistol.

This gun has minuscule external safety with a serrated edge. There is a trigger safety lever on the trigger shoe, which prevents unintended trigger travel. The trigger safety ensures that you can carry the gun safely without having to engage the manual thumb safety.

The Ruger Security-9 is simple to disassemble, and you don’t have to press the trigger. There is easy access to accessories for the gun. It comes with 30 holster options for compatibility with accessories from manufacturers like Blade-Tech and CrossBreed.

For its price, this gun offers an excellent feel of the trigger. It has a short and crisp trigger, but some users find the trigger reset a bit too long.

Pros

• Affordably priced
• High quality
• Made in the USA
• Lightweight and compact
• Excellent performance

Cons

• Considerably slower trigger reset

3. Best Premium: Glock 19 Gen 5 FS 9MM Pistol Pink

• Action Type: Striker fired
• Cartridge: 9mm luger
• Barrel length: 4.02-inch
• Overall length: 6.85-inch
• Magazine type: Removable
• Capacity: 15+1 round

The Glock 19 Gen 5 9mm is one of the most popular handguns and possibly the best concealed carry handgun for women in the United States. It is suitable for personal defense, home defense, and competitive shooting. Although the gun is much heavier (21 oz) than most other handguns on this list, it is still lightweight. The size is small enough for concealed carry but large enough for accurate shooting.

This gun follows the FBI’s regulations on civilian firearms. It is an upgrade of the Gen 4 Glock 19, with a refurbished trigger, magazine well, rip, barrel, slide, and finishes. Overall, the handgun has a high-quality build, has a large magazine capacity, functional accuracy, and is highly reliable.

This Glock pistol design incorporates a dual recoil spring system to minimize recoil and is fitted with a super light trigger for easy use. It has a minimalist design with few controls, making it suitable even for beginners.

One of its most outstanding features is the safety action system, which prevents accidental firing even if the handgun drops. Although the new frame design does not have finger grooves, it still provides excellent grip.

The gun has a customizable grip size through a backstrap system that enables you to adjust the fit to your hand size. It has four removable straps, and you can fit them with medium or large straps, with or without a beavertail. The bottom of the grip is blocky to prevent the gun from slipping off your hands accidentally. The top is rounded for optimal comfort when using the gun.

Furthermore, it has an ambidextrous slide stop lever making it suitable for both right and left-handed shooters. It has an enlarged reversible magazine catch that enables faster reloading. The crown of the barrel and the rifling are modified slightly for enhanced precision.

This particular Glock 19 handgun has a pink finish, but the model is available in different styles and colors to suit your preference. Its accessories, holsters, and grips are also readily available.

Pros

• Comes with 3 rounds of magazines
• Large capacity
• Easy-to-find accessories
• Ambidextrous
• Available in a variety of styles and colors
• Minimal recoil
• Compact and powerful
• Customizable grip size
• Reliable and versatile

Cons

• Does not have a trigger safety
• Some people find it big and heavy for a concealed carry

4. Best Value for Money: Smith & Wesson M&P 380

• Action Type: Hammer fired
• Cartridge: 9mm luger
• Barrel length: 3.675-inch
• Overall length: 6.7-inch
• Magazine type: Removable
• Capacity: 8+1 round

The M&P 380 Shield EZ is a compact and lightweight everyday carry designed for safety and ease of use, succeeded by the popular M&P pistol line.

It is a blowback-operated pistol. Unlike similar pistols with a stiff recoil spring that makes it difficult to use for people with limited hand strength, this gun is engineered to require minimal force to rack the slide.

The slide is easy to rack. The load chamber on top of the slide lets you know when the gun is loaded. For easy loading, it has thumb studs on both sides of the magazine that let you pull down the follower as you simultaneously load the magazine. This gun has a single track with an eight-round capacity.

The rear of the slide is textured with deep serrations to provide excellent gripping when racking. The grip is angled at 18, which offers a natural point of aim and better recoil control.

The M&P 380 has an optional manual safety feature that is easy to access and clicks in place fast, whether turning it on or off. The safety is ambidextrous and placed such that the thumb of the firing fingers sits on the safety lever, and you can easily deactivate the gun.

To enhance safety, the gun also has grip safety features. Unlike its predecessors, it has a single-piece trigger rather than a double-piece trigger. The single-piece trigger makes it drop safe and minimizes the risk of accidentally firing the gun when holstering it.

This handgun is easy to disassemble. You simply open the slide, remove the magazine, turn the takedown lever at a right angle, and pull the slide off.

Pros

• Thin and lightweight
• Easy-to-rack slide
• Ambidextrous
• Light trigger for an enhanced shooting
• Minimal recoil
• Suitable for people with diminished hand strength
• Comes with two magazines
• Reversible magazine
• Available in manual safety and no manual safety options

Cons

• Some people don’t like that it has a grip safety

5. Best Revolver: Ruger Wrangler 22LR 4.62”

• Action Type: Transfer bar firing mechanism
• Cartridge: 6 rounds cylinder
• Barrel length: 4.62-inch
• Overall length: 10.25-inch
• Magazine type: Fixed
• Capacity: 6-round

The Ruger Wrangler is suitable whether you are a first-time or seasoned shooter. At an affordable price, you can have a handgun that is elegant, sleek and shoots accurately.

It has a single-action wheel gun compatible with the readily available and inexpensive .22LR rimfire ammunition. The frame is made of aluminum, while the grips are polymer.

It is fitted with fixed sights and is a fun and easy gun to shoot. It is quite accurate with 35 yards with virtually no recoil. The trigger is fast, light, and crisp. As such, it is suitable for people with small hands or who lack finger or wrist strength.

It is available in three colors – black, burnt bronze, and silver.

Pros

• Super affordable
• Descent performance
• Accurate within a 35-yard range
• Easy to use
• Easy-to-find ammunition

Cons

• Limited capacity

6. Best 1911: Springfield Emissary 1911

• Action Type: Striker fired
• Cartridge: 9mm luger
• Barrel length: 4.24/5 -inch
• Overall length: 7.75/8.4-inch
• Magazine type: Removable
• Capacity: 8+1round

The 1911 pistols are not suitable for everyone. They are heavier and bigger than most handguns, making them difficult to conceal. They also require shooting technique mastery and regular maintenance. With that said, they are powerful and accurate guns.

The Springfield Emissary 1911 is a defensive pistol with custom refinement. Its frame, barrel, and slide are forged steel, and it has an outstanding two-tone finish with a stainless steel frame and blued carbon steel slide.

Beneath the barrel is a full-length guide rod that ensures accuracy and precision when shooting. It also balances the muzzle to minimize flip and for recoil management. Its skeletonized hammer provides superfast lock times, ensuring faster shot-to-shot recovery.

To resolve the issue of concealability, the Emissary is available in two barrel sizes – 4.25” and 5” with the 4.25” handgun being more suitable for concealed carry.

The grip has pineapple-grade like deep cuts, which offer a firm non-slip grip even when using the gun with wet hands. The trigger guard is oversized and square-shaped for a comfortable feel, while the trigger is flat with gentle curves at the top and bottom for ergonomic handling.

This gun features custom-grade iron sights for easy targeting. It also has tritium and luminescent front sight pairs reinforced by the U-Dot rear sights for easy targeting even in poor lighting conditions. It comes with two eight-round magazines.

Pros

• An attractive-two tone finish
• Shoots accurately
• Mid-price range for 1911 pistols
• Excellent grip
• Available in two-barrel size options

Cons

• Heavy and bulky
• May not be suitable for beginners

7. Best Super Compact Handgun: Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard .380 Pistol with Crimson Trace Laser

• Action Type: Hammer fired
• Cartridge: 9mm luger
• Barrel length: 2.75-inch
• Overall length: 5.3-inch
• Magazine type: Removable
• Capacity: 6+1 round

The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard is one of the smallest handguns on the market. It is suitable for everyday carry even by petite women. It is sleek, compact, and lightweight. It has an ergonomic design for easy handling.

This gun is super compact. Its barrel is 2.75 inches long, and overall it is 5.25 inches long. It is less than an inch thick and can fit inside your pockets. You can also conceal it at your belly, thigh, or ankle with an appropriate holster. It weighs 0.75 pounds without the rounds, and even with the rounds, it is considerably lightweight.

It has a sturdy and durable construction. The frame and barrel are stainless steel, the grip is a polymer, and the trigger is plastic and flat. It has a matte black finish that makes it look sleek and stylish.

The semi-automatic handgun is hammer-fired and double action. The trigger can pull up to 9.5 pounds and is smooth and crisp. It has both front and rear sights with fixed slides.

It has a cutout that indicates when the chambers are loaded. To further enhance safety, it has a manual safety feature located on the left side of the top of the frame. As long as the safety is activated, the gun cannot fire.

An interesting aspect of the safety feature is that it does not protrude and sits almost flat on the frame. While this is a great benefit when concealing the gun, as the safety will not press against your body, it takes a bit of effort to move the safety up.

The gun comes with two magazines and four base pads. Two of the base pads are flat, while the other two are extended. Each magazine can hold up to six rounds of ammunition.

Pros

• Super compact and lightweight
• Sleek and stylish
• Sturdy and durable
• Strategically placed safety
• Accurate

Cons

• The trigger is too big for the size of the gun
• Not suitable for people with bigger hands

Best Handgun For Women: Conclusion

There is a wide range of handguns suitable for women on the market. If you’re looking for the best handgun for women, some of the top brands to consider include Glock, Sig Sauer, Springfield, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Walther, and STI, among others.

When determining the right handgun, consider its primary use and your body and hand size. Also, consider the ease of concealment, availability of accessories, and compatibility with different ammunition. Ultimately, the handgun should be lightweight, compact, durable, and accurate. Its price range should be within your budget.