Go to a local range and rent guns, start with a 22 pistol it’s cheap, low recoil , and will help you learn fundamentals. Also strongly suggest taking a beginner safety/handling class . Biggest thing is don’t be afraid just be respectful of the firearm

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Take a beginners course at your local range

Rent all the firearms

Buy a 1022/ ruger mk iv

before you buy a gun, and preferably after you take an intro class, go rent as many different guns as you can. small guns are easier to conceal but suck to practice with. the general advice is to carry the biggest gun you can. if you have the budget for 2 guns, get a carry gun and a 22lr, and do most of your practice with the 22. i like the browning buckmark a lot, but the ruger mk IV is a great choice too.

Taking classes is the best first step. It's almost impossible to pick out the right gun for yourself until you have learned the basics of safety, maintenance and shooting.

Once you have some context, it'll be easier to go into a store to hold and rent guns to test and find your personal preferences.

You might want to rethink the "small gun" part. Assuming you're going 380 or 9mm, the smaller the gun, the snappier it will feel. You might want to start off with something mid sized.

However, if by "smaller" you mean caliber, then yes, that still holds true where smaller rounds like a .22lr will have less recoil compared to 380 or 9mm.

find a reputable range and try a few before you buy. and take some lessons for safety and marksmanship.

Start with a firearms safety class held at an indoor range with both a male and a female instructor if possible. Look for one that has different firearms listed that they will have you try. If you like the class and they had a something you tried in class that you liked rent one and try it some more. Also see who else in the class you could make a gun buddy to discuss what you liked and didn't like about certain guns. You don't have to buy the most expensive gun in the store to find one you can shoot well in a caliber that feel comfortable shooting.

Don’t listen to folks who tell you to get a 45 or 357mag.

A 22LR is quite effective too for most situations you are likely to encounter and a good starter to get comfortable with.

Later on, when you feel ready, you could upgrade to something else and keep the 22 for cheap fun days at the range

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I would recommend to find someone who will let you shoot their firearms and or rent a few at your local range that does renting. Overall, just want you to be happy with what you get. Most shops don't do returns, Smaller firearms do tend to be more snappy, this is not a bad thing as they're mainly designed for carry and generally used within 10 ft for self-defense. So this will be up to you to figure out whether you plan to carry this firearm or not considering it's your first, I would recommend something about compact to full size (If you weren't trying to immediately carry this firearm) wouldn't go any smaller than 380 any bigger than 9mm for defense.

Now alternatively, if you solely want this thing for training 22 is not bad and cheaper to shoot, while 22 is not ideal for self-defense, it is better than nothing.

If you’re in south Florida go to declaration defense. The people there will set you up right.

Head to a range that rents guns, sign up for a training course.... then try out several guns in different calibers to see which one you're the most proficient with and can comfortably manage.....then, try and learn absolutely everything you can about your firearm, it's safe operations, and proper maintenance.....

Welcome to the 2A community, happy n' safe shooting 🤘💯

Steps for finding the right one.

1. Learn the basic rules of gun safety.

2. Go to a range and rent a few to shoot based on factors such as caliber, profile, concealability, etc.

3. See what you like and what you dont.

4. Practice as much as possible with all of them.

5. The one that checks the most boxes of what you want (Caliber, feel, weight, concealability, capacity, etc.) Go with.

Now I would recommend nothing smaller than .380 for defence, 9mm (I say this as a 1911 in .45ACP guy) is probably your best bet. I would go single stack, but double stack offers greater capacity and accuracy through volume has its points. I would also go steel frame rather than polymer, yes it will be heavier, but it will mitigate recoil impulse to an extent.

Lastly, when you do make your choice, do as much range time as you can safely afford. Trust me, it will be worth it.

Take a class at a local range that rents guns. If the instructor works for the range you will likely be able to try several of the rentals for free to see what feels best. Do this before buying.

If you are in South Florida I'll be at a range tomorrow morning if you want to tag along.

When you go to a range to rent and try out different guns, make sure to be open and honest with them. Let them know "I've never shot a gun, I have basically no idea what to do, what to look for, what I want, etc. And I want to try out different guns and get your honest opinion on why I should or shouldn't purchase x, y or z" after that, you can come back and say "hey everyone, here's what I did and I'm seriously considering one of these three or four pistols. Of these options, what is everyone's opinion on them so you can help me narrow it down". That should help you find a pistol that fits you well, is reliable, etc.

Smaller guns have more recoil and malfunction easier, if you are new and looking for something small, look at the Glock 42 (380) and Smith and Wesson M&P Shield EZ 380, otherwise get something a little bigger such as a Glock 19 (9mm). And try out several to get a feel for what you like.

Well you maybe getting over your head by overthinking. Having a gun and actually shooting somebody is a huge decision. The liability of shooting prematurely is a fine line that is hard to establish thats the criminal lawyers job. You better think about buying a gun for what purpose. Home protection is essential but to carry IDk, you pull a gun on someone be prepared to use it.

Smoth and wesson Shield 2, or Shield x in 9mm. Smaller caliber, bodyguard 2.0 in .380 acp.

I’d sign up for a ccw class….. you learn a lot on those classes provided they have decent instructors/teachers….. some even provide you with a gun for the class

I’d recommend a .38 revolver. Plenty of power, very light. Smith & Wesson and Ruger make my favorites.

They are also very safe due to their simplicity. It’ll become second nature for you to make sure you have it I assure you.

And if you’re at all like the rest of us, your collection will grow but the .38 is special. No pun intended.

Good luck!

Start by taking a fundamentals class, use a full size gun.

A lot of gun ranges will rent a gun for you to try, but the selection can be limited. Also, some will charge extra if you want to switch guns. If you are near a Bud's Guns store and range their rental selection is pretty good and you can swap out as many times as you like.

You don't carry for when you think you are going to need it, if you think you're going to need it don't go there, you carry for when you are not going to need it!

Not my idea, it's been said a lot, I first read something like it back in the 80's, when even in gun magazines you got the odd post saying you should only carry if you think you were going to need it. I think the comment was by Ayoob who said something like "Well how do you think it's going to look in court when they find out you only took your gun as you were planning on shooting someone? If you think you're going to need it stay at home, and invite your friends round with their guns and have a BBQ."

r/mouseguns

also if you pursue this, check out r/concealedcarrywomen

P365. 9mm. Good capacity. A little snappy though. Personally the p365 xl is better handling.

I like the Armscor revolvers. I bought a .38, 4 inch barrel (less recoil) a few years ago. About $250 now I think. It's a nice gun easy to fire and to clean. I use a one hand stance with my arm pointing at the target. Like the dueling stance you see in old movies. It give your enemy a narrow profile to hit, and it's really easy to get accurate in a short period of time. I'm no great sharpshooter, but I can hit headshots at 50 feet all day long with standard iron sight.

Please don't go too cheap. A glock 43 or 48 are reasonable and reliable.

My only advice is to get the biggest gun you can carry. Smaller guns are significantly harder control and have less capacity. Something like a Smith and Wesson shield is a good starting point if you can only get one gun.

For defense, get a 380 auto. They are better for women because they are smaller and don't kick as much. Buy some target round and hollow points.

Glock 43 or Glock 42 would be a good start. If that’s too plain for you the Springfield hellcat , and sig p365 is also good. My mom carries a sig p238.

No revolvers

Take classes before choosing a gun. You need to not only understand basic safety and operation, but also fundamentals (grip, sight alignment, trigger control). Once you have solid fundamentals, you should try some pistols out by renting them.

Big guns are far easier to shoot. Small guns conceal well, but are difficult to shoot. So you’ll want to find a gun that balances the two.

Here’s what almost no one will tell you. If you plan to use a gun for self defense - and be a PROFICIENT defensive shooter, you need to be able to reliably pull your gun and place 5 shots within the a zone of a USPSA target (with zero misses) at 10 yards in under three seconds. Defensive shooting is about being fast and accurate. And this is VERY difficult for anyone with any gun. Micro-subcompact guns are the most difficult.

The counterintuitive part is that it is easy to believe that a small gun will be easier because your shooting hand can reach around the entire grip. This is the OPPOSITE from the truth. You DON’T want to reach around the whole grip with your shooting hand because your SUPPORT hand is what controls the gun. Your shooting hand only has one job - to pull the trigger straight back without influencing the direction of the gun. That’s it. The rest is your support hand. And there needs to be room on the grip for your support hand to make contact. Otherwise the recoil will have you shooting wildly when shooting fast.

You probably won’t be able to draw from concealment at a range, but try just standing there and shooting that quickly and accurately. I know very very few experienced shooters that can do that with a micro compact pistol, let aline people new to shooting. Put simply, there’s a reason that police, military, and competitive shooters don’t use small guns.

So all of that said, you CAN get that good. But you need A LOT of training and practice. So get A LOT of training first.

If you decide to go with a very small gun, the only two I would typically recommend are the S&W Shield Plus 9mm or the S&W Bodyguard 2.0 .380.

The Shield Plus 9mm is a more powerful (and less expensive) round, but will have more recoil. But that gun handles recoil better than pretty much any others from Glock, Sig, etc. and it does allow you to add a red dot sight, which I highly recommend.

The BG 2.0 is a great little gun as far as recoil management and concealment. But the .380 is generally considered the lowest defensive capable caliber and the ammo is a lot more expensive, meaning people don’t practice with them enough. This pistol is also too small for a red dot sight, so you are stuck with irons.

If you are willing to go to a mid-sized pistol, I’d look at the Ruger RXM. But it’s a bigger gun. But inexpensive, reliable, and much more shootable than tiny guns.

Good luck.

I'd stick with a 9mm sub compact or compact. $300-400 should get you something decent. The rounds are common, not too expensive and with that size you can comfortably conceal carry or still have enough length for a good range gun. Definitely take a couple classes.

Within the same caliber, a smaller gun has more recoil and is harder to shoot. I started on the xmacro comp and it's great large enough to shoot well but thin/small enough to conceal with a good holster and a wedge (I made one from yoga block and Velcro tape). But ultimately try renting a few to see what you like

I would suggest a Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 9mm subcompact or Sig P365 (9mm or .380ACP up to you).

Are you in central florida around Shooters world?

A heavier gun is easier to handle recoil but maybe not important to you. A gun that’s hammer fired vs striker fired (just google these to get an idea) is more reliable imo for personal defense bc you can press it to a body and it would still fire. That sounds a little extreme but if the only situation where you would use your gun is someone grabs you then it’s important imo.

If I was getting a gun for my daughter to carry I’d probably look at small revolvers chambered to shoot 38 special (the bullet is about the size of your usual 9mm bullet but pretty soft to shoot). But like others have said try to go shoot and start with .22. It’s smaller and not much stopping power but very much so still lethal and better than nothing.

.380