CT380 vs P9 or S9 recoil?

[Ralph III]

Hello Everyone,
I have been considering getting my daughter a CT380 and would like some input. Is this a pistol that a teenage girl or young lady can handle? I mean what is the recoil like in comparison to a larger P9 or S9?

These are my options:

1. I can go ahead and get her a CT380 if viable.
2. I can get her an S9 but only if the recoil is similar to what a CT380 would be.
3. I can give her my S9 and get a P9 for myself. I'm leery of this option because I really like my S9 and the trigger is perfect for me at 5.5#. So I'd hate to end up with a p9 that had a 7# trigger.

The deciding factor really comes down to recoil management though. I've been teaching her to shoot with a Bersa Thunder 380 which has light recoil. I'd however like to move her over to the Kahr line due to the consistent trigger

God Bless,
Ralph

[Bawanna]

She should be able to handle the P9 or S9 with ease. I'd definitely get her a real caliber gun. The slightly larger size will be much more fun for range and still completely workable should she decide to carry it at some point down the road.
More of an issue is the difficulty in working the slide, many find this challenging.
If you should get a P9 I'm certain it won't have a 7# trigger and if it does just get a 5# striker spring and it should be better.

Many folks think young girl, tiny little mouse gun, I don't subscribe to that. I'd actually lean towards a revolver to begin with, a 3" would be my first choice.

[I_Like_Turtles]

It's really hard to buy a firearm for someone else. No chance for her to try something out first? Let her try your S9 out.

Personally, I do not feel .380 has the mass needed for adequate penetration. I used to carry one, stopped, sold all my .380's.

Good luck!

[DavidR]

If she’s going to conceal carry I say CT380 all the way. It’s highly unlikely that a young woman, assuming she dresses like most young women, can conceal an S9.

On YouTube, Hegshot87 has a video where he and his wife talk about concealed carry for women. It’s enlightening.

And 380 is completely adequate for personal defense.

[Ralph III]

Thanks for the input!

Let's please not deviate from the original question though because modern ballistics show the .380acp to be an adequate self defense round. I've shot one for years at various targets and no way would I ever want to be on the other end of one. But yes, 9mm is more potent and that is why I carry it.

The question is how does the CT380 compare to the S9 or P9 for that matter in regards to recoil? Because it is smaller I would think the recoil would be similar to the 9mm models in which case I would get her the later. Otherwise, if it has quite a bit less recoil then I'd opt to get her the .380acp.

She hasn't been able to shoot my S9 yet and it may be a while yet, given the current situation, but I am leaning toward getting her a 9mm at this time.

Thanks,
Ralph

[berettabone]

Please don't take offense to my question...…………......…...…...your not going to let her choose what she shoots?????????

[Ralph III]

Please don't take offense to my question...…………......…...…...your not going to let her choose what she shoots?????????

No offense taken and you are correct. I will add some details because a few others may find it helpful.

My daughter has only just begun to shoot and she wouldn't have a clue what is best for her. Whereas I have been shooting for nearly 50 years and I know my daughter quite well. My father didn't ask me what I wanted to shoot at age 6 when he first started taking us boys hunting. He used his experience to decide what would be best for us at that time. Nor would I leave it to someone who has no experience with guns to make such a decision.

*A DA/SA semi automatic is not the best gun for a beginner to learn with nor consider carrying, IMHO. You have two completely different trigger actions which is best left to someone with quite a bit of experience. It could be easy for a beginner to forget when the gun is in SA mode and that would then be a very dangerous situation.

*A DA revolver is an excellent gun for a beginner to start with or carry.

*A DA Kahr is even better I feel because you have a modern gun with a DA only trigger. So you get a gun that she could eventually carry which has a very safe and consistent trigger.

So the question for me at this time is whether to get her a .380acp or 9mm. When she is older and has greater experience she could always buy something different if desired. That won't happen though so I'd like to get her something she will keep and master.

God Bless,
Ralph

[DavidR]

I have a CT380 and a P9. Not an appreciable difference in felt recoil.

[I_Like_Turtles]

I notice that people on this site really like the .380.

I taught a female coworker how to shoot. I figured "new shooter, new gun owner, revolver would be best for her." It would be actually, it's best for most people because most do not clean their firearms that much, they don't shoot that much, and they will not shoot enough to familiarize themselves with the malfunctions that a semi-auto can have.

However, I found that cylinder blast scared my friend! She could not get past it. So, I suggested a Glock 19. We rented one and she shot it very well that day. That's what she ended up buying. A Glock 19 is not too small and not too large....it's about the right size for self defense and even carry. She wasn't going to carry it though.

Now in our case, we were in a large city with several indoor gun ranges. The one we used had a large number of handguns for rent. Thus, it was easy for us to rent the weapons she needed exposure to in order to make the right choice for her.

****
A year later I moved away and she called me once at 2 AM. Apparently someone had tried to break into her house and she had loaded the weapon BUT DID NOT KNOW HOW TO UNLOAD IT. So I was right, she did not practice with her chosen weapon enough to know how to use it. I did tell her that just before I told her how to unload it. I did recommend she keep it loaded in the future (in safe place, etc.).

***

I don't think the OP made any mention of how the weapon was to be used. Kept at home? Home defense? Carried? It's hard for women to conceal carry a firearm....most will put it into their purse which is a bad place for any weapon. My GF and I have discussed this. She is very petite, 5'2", and very fit. She may well end up with (cough, cough) a small .380 but since she doesn't (yet) live in USA, we can't test out what she likes. She plans to carry though which I think is essential. I view a marriage as a "team" and both team members must be armed so they can function as a team.

[berettabone]

No offense taken and you are correct. I will add some details because a few others may find it helpful.

My daughter has only just begun to shoot and she wouldn't have a clue what is best for her. Whereas I have been shooting for nearly 50 years and I know my daughter quite well. My father didn't ask me what I wanted to shoot at age 6 when he first started taking us boys hunting. He used his experience to decide what would be best for us at that time. Nor would I leave it to someone who has no experience with guns to make such a decision.

*A DA/SA semi automatic is not the best gun for a beginner to learn with nor consider carrying, IMHO. You have two completely different trigger actions which is best left to someone with quite a bit of experience. It could be easy for a beginner to forget when the gun is in SA mode and that would then be a very dangerous situation.

*A DA revolver is an excellent gun for a beginner to start with or carry.

*A DA Kahr is even better I feel because you have a modern gun with a DA only trigger. So you get a gun that she could eventually carry which has a very safe and consistent trigger.

So the question for me at this time is whether to get her a .380acp or 9mm. When she is older and has greater experience she could always buy something different if desired. That won't happen though so I'd like to get her something she will keep and master.

God Bless,
Ralph

I would then say, that I would start her out on the largest caliber that she could handle. If she doesn't have any yips, 9mm is the lowest I would go.