A Woman’s Guide To Buying Your First Firearm 

Lady: "Feels kinda of small." Mike: "That's what she said." Lady: 😐 Mike: 😑

She totally straight-faced the “that’s what she said”...well done. She’s obviously immune to your dad jokes.

Her complete disregard for your dad-level jokes was priceless.

I think ever firearms sales person should watch this video.

When Mike was playing the gun salesman he was way too friendly, practical and gave too much good advice and not enough of a know-it-all to be realistic.

I wondered why my wife was groaning and yelling at her computer and she showed me this video. You got a lot of things right, but here are some polite points on her behalf. 4:32 A G19 is not too heavy for her. Concealability might be difficult but the weight won’t be an issue. Gabby Franco is her size and shoots a double stack 1911 race gun better than any of us. Women shooters in the military qualified with those fat, heavy Beretta M9s for over 30 years. 4:50 If you’ve had Glocks since the 90s than you still haven’t learned in over 20 years that striker fired hammerless firearms are not “single action only”. On the Ruger that’s the “exception”, he’s saying the reason it isn’t single action only is because it has a thumb safety. Single action, double action, and striker fired guns can ALL have thumb safeties. The presence or absence of a thumb safety has nothing to do with the action type. Later on she will have to unlearn the nomenclature you are teaching her today. 5:38 “All these guns are single action only” gets followed up by “all these guns have a long trigger pull.” The nomenclature issue is causing problems. If she goes to another gun store and insists on buying a SAO pistol with a long, heavy, safe trigger pull, she’s going to get mansplained to all over again. 8:00 in this video it’s fine because it’s a role play and you two know each other, but guys working the gun counter in real life should make it a habit to ask if it’s ok to touch female customers. “Do you mind if I touch your hand, and I’ll show you how I like to grip a handgun?” There’s also nothing wrong with modeling a grip in front of her and having her follow along step by step, holding the gun she is considering purchasing. “Your employee grabbed my wrist” can be an uncomfortable conversation with the management. 8:40 What does “overcompensating / undercompensating” on your grip even mean? If she misses the A zone later and he says “oh you should stop undercompensating your grip”, what’s the adjustment she needs to make on that? This isn’t an industry standard term that is clearly defined. 9:03 Nice job helping the “newbie” build a correct grip. But when asking “how does that feel” you might consider letting her hold the gun without your hand smothering her grip for 23 seconds straight (yes I counted it). This is what had the wife yelling-is he afraid she’s going to drop the G43 because it’s just SOOO heavy? Is he afraid she’s going to aim it at him? Why isn’t she allowed to hold a pistol both people have verified as clear, without a man’s constant over-protective touching? Notable good things: He asked her WHY she was buying a gun and WHAT her purpose was. He talked about the importance of a quality holster. He encouraged her to seek competent training. He debunked .45acp and introduced the concept of FMJ ammo vs. defensive ammo.

Maybe Amber could do a video on CC placement. You guys could talk about where a female should carry in different situations. Like out walking the dog, running errands or different clothes, like jeans, dresses, shorts, yoga pants or purses, backpacks, fanny packs. Maybe talk about shooting in heels v sneakers. There might be others doing this already but Mike's input is helpful and informative. Amber has awesome questions so a female series would be nice.

When my wife wanted her own pistol we went to Ready Gunner and used their unlimited rental and tried at least a dozen pistols. She settled on my m&p 2.0 compact.

Mike knocked this out of the park. This is exactly the approach that a salesman and new customer should take. Perfect content as usual

Haha, Amber deserves an award for not reacting to Mike's "that's what she said".

My wife and I watched this and she and mike answered nearly every question she had about getting the right gun for her! Thanks guys….YALL ARE GREAT!!

Wow, she asks great questions! And in a way that a beginner, male or female, would ask! Way to make the process more comfortable! Knowledge is power!

This video is awesome. I work in a gun shop and there has never been more first time gun buyers than now. I'll be taking all your advice in this video when helping out my next first time gun buyer looking to defend themselves.

That's what she said!!!!! Mike, your humor rocks.

Such important advice. I can’t even count how many times I’ve been in a gun store and cringed over some dude telling a woman she needs some small .380 or j-frame as their nightstand gun.

Dude this was hilarious. Mike has a sense of humor that I’m sure we all share

Shawn Ryan and Mike Glover are the 2 best guys on RU-vid for leaning and training.

I am Ambers size. I’ll be honest the Glock 19X and the 43 felt really good in my hand. I’ve tried the Sig, Hellcat, Ruger. It was easy for me to rack the slide, it felt smooth. This needs to be watched by every firearms salesman in the world, period. P.S please have Amber on more!! Thank you Mr G!

My gf bought a subcompact pistol and she never uses it because its too small for her to shoot anywhere close to accurately. She bought a m&p 9mm and loves it and actually carries it often.

Good video. When I took my wife to the gun store, the saleswoman behind the counter made my wife feel like she was the only person there. She spent time to make sure that it was a right fit for her, not for me. She didn’t push her towards the pink girly guns, but rather to the ones she would actually be comfortable handling.

I’ve got small hands, and wear extra small gloves. Our .38 revolver has a small and shaped grip. But THIS was SO needed, and I’ve been hoping you’d cover this! Thank you!

Thank you for making this video. As a women; I've been looking, researching and trying out guns for months but this video really shed light on the things I need to look for and the questions I need to ask.

I consider myself a novice with firearms. I have watched your channel for quite a while. I am enjoying and learning a lot more with this series. Learning the fundamentals in anything is so important. I will subscribe just for this content.

Out of all the pistols my wife handled, it was the M&P Shield 9 subcompact that she fell in love with. The grip really seems to favor people with smaller hands.

Mike is always providing good info. And the "European Man Satchel" was a classic 🤣

I found this to be an informative introduction for those new to firearms and will be sharing it with others. The audio quality was very good too.

I have been on both sides of the counter. Actually started out on Mike's side first, as a salesperson, during the height of the gun purchase craze in the beginning of 2020. (Staff were easily making 100-150 thousand dollars a month in sales, per person!) I don't know if women are doing more research these days, let alone going to make a purchase on their own, but back then it was usually a case of being led by a male relative, friend, or partner. I thought it would put the woman at ease a bit approaching a fellow female, but despite what I recommended, they would still refer back to their male counterparts for the 'second' and sometimes final opinion (and 2 out of 3 you could see didn't really know anything other than the very limited experience they had). It was really frustrating for me in so many ways, but mostly I felt like with all the access to information people have these days women were showing up so clueless about where to even start. More specifically, with all the women's rights and empowerment and equality talk why were women still showing up with a male figure as backup? Anyway, this was a good start, IF the woman shows up somewhat informed... These days, if a woman approaches me about getting armed, I will tell her to get to a range that will allow her to try out different pistols. It really does make a huge difference. I get it, though. Not everyone has access to that.

Excellent as always, Mike. Great job, y’all!

Second video I have seen from you all. Great content. Thank you for putting this info out. Safe for 1 is safe for all around.

I was standing at the pistol display watching a woman who was being shown a colt 380, the salesmen was very good at his presentation, the woman was still clueless, her last question was does it come with the bullets installed ? I'm all for an armed citizenry albeit an informed one.

Outstanding Sir. I enjoy observing other people in the way they teach wepon fundamentals. I'm always looking for a better approach when opening that door into the gun world to people. I use a fair amount of your lessons when I'm training my students. Being retired I find a purpose for in training others. Also get a sense of pride.

Shared with my sister. She lives in the Prison called Minnesota and is about to buy her first firearm.

Learned a lot from you guys...I like the fact that you bring in the women's point of view as well...great info Mike and amber....keep it up

Only recently discovered Mike and Fieldcraft... I've been devouring videos on both channels. Sincerely appreciate the good work you and your crew are doing. Cheers.

This video is right on time. So many women, buying a gun for the first time after realizing someone's not always going to save you or your family. Here my governor just signed a bill effectively rendering police unable to protect anyone, and I'm now teaching several women including my sister about guns and how to select a first gun. So thanks for the effective content Mike, and FCS crew.

Glad you touched on the price point...hear a lot of people immediately react to purchasing a firearm as “that’s too expensive”. Well, you’re looking at a gun for a reason (most likely self defense during these tumultuous times); supply and demand affect prices, guns do hold their value if kept maintained properly, and can you put a price on defending you or your family’s life? Once folks get past sticker shock...agree 10 fold, learn to use your firearm! If you can’t take it to the range right away, safely inspect, hold, disassemble, and practice grip use. Great video.

One of our local shop owners Daughter works the counter. She is awesome and extremly knowledgeable!

Awesome content, and information! Thank you all very much

Great video, the 48 series are great carry options as well.

Great video. While the content is excellent, I want to applaud you on bridging the gap between the tactical, and the sincere. The anesthetics of the brand, and the beautiful new shop are all a monument to that well thought out effort. Congrats again to the Fieldcraft team.

He said sig “sawyer” 😂😂😂

Awesome you have and appreciate the HK P7. I have one too, everyone says I paid way too much for it but one of my absolute favorite badass guns in my collection.

You simply cannot add the “ thats what she said” joke to a comment like that, it’s just a natural reaction! Great video. And any women considering buying a firearm and any gun shop dealer should watch this!

Respect for not editing out that dead pan reaction to his dad joke.

I think u have a ghost in the shop 8:14 in the back 😂

The Queen: I'm kind of nervous Mike: *Interesting*

Great person and situation specific to the point video. Full of useful information.

I just started watching your videos and Iove your style! This is good training for a Gunewbie!

awesome video great quality. Thank you for what you're doing here.

My wife is deadly with a G17 and her Springfield Armory 1911, 5". She carries a G43.....

Very informative. Humor and clear straight to the point information.👍🏾

Took my friend to find her first gun. Shot all 9mm. Tried several sizes and weights. She settled with a 1911 9mm single stack. She wanted the full sized barrel and the weight to keep the pistol stable with least recoil in her hand. She felt the smaller sized were too "snappy". 1911 was as smooth as butter in her hands. Single stack would fit better in her hands. Shes now in love with it and in firearms class getting her LTC.

Mike, you don’t slip that “that’s what she said” with the queen!! Nicely done sir. Grip is everything!!!

The construction of 45acp rounds have changed too...people talk about 9mm bullets improving and seem to want to ignore that 45 rounds ALSO have been improved.

Good video sir. I sent it to my X, hopefully she can take the initiative and do what she needs to do.

Mike is use to the ladies saying it's to small. But knows how to work it to full satisfaction. Great job guys, my wife's selection was the M&P Shield 9mm and she is doing well with it, very happy for her. Might have to get a laser system, she is having to much fun blowing through rounds.

Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Great information for anyone in this process. Thanks. Hey Mike, I'd like your opinion on the new mp9c 2.0.

First time I have heard such a good explanation of what to consider when shopping for a handgun. The only thing missing was mentioning the necessity of good training. You can't learn good training from You Tube.

I read the title so fast I thought it said burying Your first firearm😂. Good stuff.

Mike... love the humor throughout. It would be interesting to go into the caliber discussion a bit more, specifically 9mm vs... or even 380 vs...

Great video Mike!

i think we can all agree, Amber is better to look at on camera than Mike is. haha. I enjoy her 'family perspective' as much as Mikes 'tactical perspective'. She brings good content to the conversation. Good stuff both of ya. Thanks.

Great video Fieldcraft crew.

Good video. I like the fact that this was centered around a female purchasing a firearm. I liked it Mike said that how it feels in your hand is important to your confidence and if you will train and carry it every day. I have seen videos from people who are in the industry that say you should just go with a Glock no matter what and how it feels in your hand and everything is an important. I disagree. I will say this. There are a few things I think to consider that weren’t necessarily discussed in the video and I’m sure it was just because it was meant to be an overview. When I first got into shooting and carrying firearms all I bought and purchased were Glock. That’s what I bought for myself, it’s what I bought for my wife that is what we used for years. What my wife found was that the grip, the trigger and ergonomics of the Glock didn’t work great for her and she didn’t shoot them well. I got her M&P shield that she carried for a while, and then when the 365 and the Hellcat came out she went to a range and shot both of them. She came away liking the Hellcat more. I still carry a 19 from time to time but my go to carry pistol for carry is also a Hellcat. Now I have XL two double XL hands, and the 13 round magazine fits just perfect for me. I have found that it’s more comfortable to carry, I like the grip angle and the overall feel of the gun better than a Glock. I can manipulate it much easier. Glock has always at least over the last 25 years or so been the standard as far as reliability goes, there are firearm manufacturers like SIG and Smith & Wesson and Springfield and Canik that are all making guns that are as reliable as a Glock. My advice would be to go in and put all of them in your hand and see which one feels the best to you. Glocks are great guns, but to me personally the grip angle feels unnatural, it feels much blockier then Other firearms, doesn’t point as natural, doesn’t shoot as flat and I don’t like the fact that you have to dump hundreds of dollars into a Glock in order to get it to be a good Carry piece. When you think about spending $600-$650 on a Glock and then having to add $100 in sights, possible Mag extensions to carry more rounds (42,43,43x, 26) there are just much better guns out of the box than a Glock. If you are looking in the Glock 42, Glock 43, Glock 43X or the Glock for 26, I would suggest looking at a 365 or hellcat. You get many more options right out of the box. You get better sites, you get a better trigger and you get more capacity. Just my advice from personal experience, take it for what it’s worth. If you think about the Hellcat versus the Glock 19, you’re talking about 14 total rounds versus 16 total rounds. Yes it’s two more rounds and I’ve never heard anybody who’s been in a gun fight say that they wish they had less ammo, but when you also think about the size to capacity ratio and how easily it is to conceal, I don’t think there’s a better concealed carry option on the market right now than Hellcat. The U notch sight system is so easy and quick to acquire (something very important in a self defense situation)

Great video idea, and I like the way you did it. I may be nitpicking here, but if someone comes to this as a video for a first time buyer, I'm a little worried they are going to leave confused on buying a single action pistol. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a round fired every time the trigger is pulled is semi automatic. If they go to the gun store and ask for a single action gun, that is more along the lines of a 1911 style, where the hammer must be cocked in order for the gun to fire. Just hope you would clarify that a little for new gun buyers.

Well Done, Mike! Love the "That's what she said" Joke! Also, you have touched my sensitive feeling of 45 ACP for older people! LOL! Just Kidding! I carry both 45 ACP and 9MM, but still preferred my good ole' 1911 45 ACP Rounds! It's the Filipino in me. Ironically, considering the history of 1911 Colt Pistols and 45ACP., Filipinos LOVES their 1911 and 45 ACP! Keep it up!

Great stuff don’t forget the lonely revolver. Out of all the handguns out there my wife settled on a .38 revolver.

Mike might not be an ammunition expert, but I'd bet a dollar he has about as much personal experience with various calibers and bullet types as one could hope for. Enough to be able to give recommendations on what drops guys more consistently. I'd also bet it doesn't line up perfectly with what most internet experts would believe...

As someone who sells firearms everyday I agree with this thought process and line of initial questions...but...S&W M&P shield EZ IN 9mm/.380 is one of the top sellers for ladies right now. Extremely easy to manipulate the slide for small frames/weaker hand females..to be fair the top three are the Shield EX, 365XL and the 43x

I like this style of video. Should be helpful to some people that aren’t sure about how to decide on a firearm.

Great content as always guys.

She is awesome as well as you! That was very good information,thankyou

Nicely done. Thanks.

Cheers, lovely vid. Great information.

Great concept I originally bought a MP shield and I'm 6'4" my hand size made it very difficult to accurately shoot the pistol and I reached a platue I recently purchased a P320 c and it was night and day on how I could interface with the pistol

I really think that these are things that everyone should take into consideration female or not but it is all very relevant information thank you for a great video!

thanks for the great info as usual!

Big suggestion for all the men out there.... what works for you will not always work for your wife... when I bought my last pistol there was this good ole boy in there buying a new pistol for his wife as her first one and I just thought " this ain't gonna be good". my wife hates both my pistols but loves the one we let her pick out for herself. you'd be surprised how many guys push their female counterparts into buying something they really don't want because "oh honey I really know a lot more about guns than you do"

That peak at 8:13 lol you got someone creeping lol

I most certainly would have guess Mike mentioning the G19😂. I can’t fault the guy because it’s true. Love FC Survival.

I work at a large pawnshop in dallas area as a sales person this was very educational this helps me everday

Lol. I'm an old guy (64 this month) and love my 1911s and .45 ACP. I also love my SIG P220 in .45. Sitting on my computer desk in a holster is a Glock G21 loaded with Speer Gold Dot, 230 grain. What's on my hip? Right now a Glock G43 loaded with 124 Grain Federal HST. When I go anywhere larger than our 2 stoplight town it's a Glock G19 Gen 2 with the same 9mm HST ammo. By the bed a Beretta M9A1 with the same ammo chamber loaded, hammer down and safety off. I will admit back in the day I was a .45, .44, anything less will just piss em off kinda guy. Then again 9mm defensive ammo also mostly sucked. Take some time to actually study wound ballistics of modern ammo, the legit standards that is, and how handgun bullets actually incapacitate and act in the body and you can be pretty well served with any of the primary SD calibers with good ammo choice. I get a kick out of guys like Mike when they say, "I'm old." Okay, we'll give you the military years are like dog years thing. So compared to the average civilian... you're old. I walk by and dogs go "Owwld! Owwld!"

Great info.....my wife watched with me and she got alot of info . Thanls brotha,

Thank you Mike for all your advice. Just bought my first Glock 19 yesterday cant wait to start my training at the firing range.

Mike, great video. Very educational. I have been a fan of yours for years and signed up for AmCon the day you released the "Get off the bench" video. Keep it up brother. You're an exemplary American 🇺🇲

Great content, all this awareness mind set and firearm safety videos has made an impact in how I protect my family. Keep it up and thanks for your dedication on sharing your knowledge. “That’s what she said “😜

Glock 48, 43X, S&W 9mm EZ and Sig 365XL

wowwww... the perfect lesson for a gun salesman's pitch. gun stores should take a lesson from you, Mike😀😀😀😀 but really, i would 100% recommend this video to my sisters looking for their 1st gun. thanks for another great video lesson, chief!!!

Great video & info. Fwd'ing this to ladies that have asked me about handguns.

Great info - thanks🙏

Excellent video!!! Thank you!!

Love the video .this should go main stream .teach the the rite things

Love that there's a P7 on the table. Great first gun :)

😂 Mike's clumsy interactions with women is so adorable. Haha! ❤😂

Yes modern ammo has advanced 9mm greatly. It’s also done the same for .45 lol.

Good video but I think they missed on something very important. Grip angle. I pistol should fit you. The Glock grip angle is wrong for me. I shot high. I could train through that but why retrain my wrist angle when they are plenty of good options out there that will work for my natural grip.

When I walk into a gunshop, normally I go in and make as if it's my first time. I can comfortably shoot a Beretta Mod 92FS, while the grip is just too big for me, but the weight and recoil works for me. The work around. Then you talk about the CZ Browny 7.65, the grip is too small for me, but I can still work around it and shoot it comfortably. The sweet spot in sized, full sized Beretta PX4 Storm, with the double stack magazine and 17 round capacity. Weighing about 145Lbs on a 5'8 structure, I don't have that much of a conceilment sized body, yet I would know how to carry from a sub compact to a full sized pistol on me. Now why, the little old lady revolver always gets pushed, I do not understand as if it is the only thing that won't intimidate a female, even if I also love revolvers. I've seen full sized Glocks 17 being pushed on a guy that has teeny tiny hands and can barely grip a single stack Glock, but because he is a man, needs to take the biggest baddest pistol according to the gunshop saleman. No explanation on how the weapon works, and he isn't even on novice levels, he is still in conception of life stages. My questions are: 1. How scared are you of firearms? 2. What made you decide on a firearm? 3. Do you have anything in mind, in shape? 3.1. Dirty Harry style 3.2. Cagny and Lacy style 3.3. The firearms the police, law enforcement, or traffic are carrying (South African) 3.4. Something like James Bond 3.5. Or would you like something John Wick carried 4. Any grip issues, hand strength, or arthritic problems? 4.1. This determines the size and caliber of the firearm 5. The purpose of the firearm? 5.1. Just a home protection piece 5.2. Carried on your person 5.3. Range gun 5.4. Maybe interested in taking up sports 5.5. Maybe for when you are jogging 6. What is your budget on the firearm and what is your disposable income like for training 7. Mr/Ms Salesperson, do have a renting facility for the gun buyer to find the perfect grip and caliber of weapon that makes them feel at ease with the firearm? Because remember, if he is taking it for self defense only and doesn't have a comprehensive sportsman license, they'll be stuck with one firearm that may or may not make them feel comfortable, and could end up a white elephant they never practice with. (Self defense license only allows you one firearm in South Africa)

My two cent recommendation for women is the Sig-365. Available with or without an external safety. Best thing is the fire control group (FCG) of the Sig-365 is all models without an external safety can be easily converted to have an external safety. All Sig-365 FCG's are made with the locations for external safeties, including the XL models. 10, 12 & 15 round magazines are available. Aftermarket upgrades are available. Even an aluminum outer shell is now available. Improved strikers and operating springs are being brought to the market. There's all types of holsters to choose from. If you want to competitively shoot in IDPA, USPSA, IPSC there are more divisions to shoot in now. Can shoot in the "BUG Gun" catagory with the flat base 10 round mag only. Must download to six rounds or less. Some clubs have a max of five round in the BUG catagory. Some people use J frame revolvers that only load five rounds. Five round counts equalizes the round count. The "Compact Carry" Division with the 10 round using the flat and magazine bases with finger extension mags. Must load to 10 rounds only regardless of total magazine capasity. The "Stock Service Pistol" division can use 10 or 12 magazines. No more than 10 round per mag, per stage. 12 round magazines with finger extension can be used, no more than ten rounds in both sizes of magazines. Total of 3 mags per stage. Making the Sig P-365 the most vesitile pistol for competition available. Fits the smaller hands of many women.

Great video Mike. What is your take on revolvers for self defense/carry ?

I under this is an informational video but in the real world, less talking will get you to a selection quicker and will less stress. Lay an option out from each size category, let them pick out which one feels best, then discuss options, features, pros/cons within the selected class.