the Beretta or the SIG, which ever on fits your wifes hand best...Ruger GP100. No racking required.
First of all, for hobby shooting for a new shooter, there are several important considerations.
Is the pistol reliable and will it stand up to repeated use? This pretty much eliminates Bersa and Taurus semi autos. They break. I’ve been working in gun stores for twelve years, I’ve spent years sending guns back to those manufacturers over and over again.
Is it fun to shoot? This pretty much eliminates the Glock 30. Although it is very well made, it is a lightweight .45 and has a bit of recoil. The ammunition costs more and the recoil can make it jam in the hands of inexperienced shooters. It is not a beginner’s pistol for those reasons and one more.
The Ruger SR9 has a similar trigger to the Glock. Both of them are short trigger pulls and not very heavy. They are easy to fire. Most of the accidental discharges we’ve seen are caused by new shooters with Glocks. The Smith and Wesson M&P and the Springfield XD have similar triggers. Absolutely not one of these guns was unsafe. The person handling it had not spent the time to learn safe handling and trigger discipline.
As far as reliablity, most of the makers you listed are solid. Beretta, Ruger, Glock, and Sig all make excellent products and stand behind them.
But the triggers on the Beretta and the Sig differ from the Glock in one important aspect. It takes a long, heavy pull to fire the first shot. This helps to prevent mistakes. The P226 is available in 9mm or .40 Smith & Wesson and the Beretta 96 you liked is also available as the 92F/S in 9mm. The 9mm ammunition is cheaper than the .40. The difference in recoil is negligible in full size handguns. The .40 is more effective than the 9mm, not to knock the 9mm because if you put quality ammunition in it, the 9mm is very effective. The stories about ineffective shots with 9mm handguns are often because the gun was not loaded with hollowpoints.
Then there’s the safety. If you forget that the safety is on when you need it, your gun will not fire. You will be hosed. Most police departments do not issue handguns with safeties for this reason. Safety is in the way the gun is handled, not in a lever or button that can fail. How many times have you heard the saying, “I thought the safety was on.”
Personally, I’d get the Sig.
I’d go with the sig myself. If you can swing an extra $299ish as an investment, you can get a 22LR kit, and shoot 22s through it until the cows come home. 1000 rounds will just about pay for the kit, and your wife will enjoy shooting it allot more at first...
Sig
Sig Sauer P229 SAS or DAK .40 caliber with medium grain federal hydra-shok/remington golden saber/cor-bon nosler ammunition. Grain amount is dependent on how fast you can recover when shooting. You can adjust that later.
Best holster for concealment would probably be one of the crossbreed holsters. Best license for concealment is from Utah. Best holster for open carry would be the blackhawk serpa holsters.
If I’m being too general, let me know. I can post more detail. Take care.
my advise is to check them all out, some are easier to handle than others, all depends on what you feel comfortable handling and that is important. I don’t like a huge gun. I have a sawed off side by side at home and a 38 for CWP. but then I am a good shot and CAN hit my target, only missed 2 on the range test.
the Beretta or the SIG, which ever on fits your wifes hand best...There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Bersa autos. I have owned a couple including a really old .380 which was one of the most accurate pocket pistols I have ever fired.
I am not familiar with the Beretta 96 or the Glock model 30 but I have used a lot of similar guns from Beretta and Glock and I would be surprised if there is anything wrong with them.
A great one which you haven't mentioned is the Browning Hi-Power. If you can live with single action and a so-so trigger they are reliable as all get out and easy for me to hit with and they fit my hand better than any other gun.
Go to an International Defensive Pistol Association shooting match.
Don’t buy a Glock.
Shoot before you buy.
The best handgun to carry if you could have only one gun, is the gun you would actually carry.....
A gun will do you no good if it is left at home or in the car, that is if you are serious about personal protection at all times......
I have a Bersa. It’s very light on the recoil and is good for a newbie. I use it for heat wave carry, when it’s too hot for an extra layer of clothing. For home defense, though, like some of the other posters here say, you’d be better off with a shotgun.
I will post your choices in order from the best to the poorest.
To consider:
1.) Glock M30 (although considering you are looking for a home defense and not a concealed carry handgun, I would go with the full size Glock 21-SF)
2.) Sig P226
3.) Beretta M96
Run away from:
Bersa Thunder and Thunder 380, Ruger 9mm model SR, Taurus PT-92
If your are trying to get your wife into hands-on shooting practice, I would recommend you to pick a 9mm Glock 17. The grip is slimmer and easier to grasp for a woman hand; the recoil is a lot more manageable with less muzzle flip than that of the 45ACP cartridge fired in the G30/G21 and a lot less “painful-snappy” than the 40S&W cartridge fired in the Beretta M96. When used with the right 9mm hollowpoint ammo, a Glock 17 just as deadly as a 45 or a 40, but is a lot more manageable and female friendly.
Do you and your wife have experience with semi-auto pistols? Know how to clear a jam? Familiar with magazines, safeties, etc.? I don't mean whether or not you've shot them before. I mean have you shot several hundred (if not thousand) rounds out of auto pistols similar to what you intend to purchase. If not, do you intend to shoot several hundred/thousand rounds after the purchase, to familiarize yourself with the weapon?
If the answers to the above is “no”, then you need to reconsider. Shotguns are great for defense, assuming you and yours can handle the recoil. Contrary to popular belief, a short barrel will not allow you to just point at the target and count on “spread” to hit it. At 50 feet and closer, that spread will likely be less than 6 inches. You better aim. In addition, a standard pump shotgun has it's own operational requirements. If something goes bump in the night, and your adrenalin is max’d, will you remember if there is a round in the chamber... or if the safety is on or off?
Revolvers are an excellent choice for the average person. Load it and put it in your night stand (assuming no unauthorized access here). Bump in the night occurs, pick it up, line it up with the target, and squeeze the trigger. Repeat until there is no longer a threat. The .38/.357 mid sized revolvers are a good compromise between effectiveness and control.
Try to find a gun shop with a range. Rent a few different types of guns and you and your wife try them out. If you are not experienced with handguns, go get some professional training. If I'm being presumptuous with this long-winded advice, and you both are well-trained individuals, please forgive me, and consider this a reply that may have benefit to others that have with less experience, who are also considering a self-defense firearms purchase.
Best Regards, HW
I like what sig226 posted. I would add that an important thing to consider is how well the gun fits in the hands of everyone who may use it. It might be the most well-built gun in the world, but if it is too big or too small for your hands, then consider a different gun. The gun should fit in your hands so you can hold it straight and comfortably reach the trigger. If you find that you unconsciously turn the gun slightly left to reach the trigger (assuming you are holding it in your right hand), that means the gun is too big for your hands. You will never be able to aim properly or handle the recoil well if the gun is too big or small for your hands. I found for example that the Beretta 92 is too big for my hands but the good old 1911 fits perfectly. I am not a fan of the Glock style trigger. I prefer the SIG myself.
Not mentioned, but a Beretta still, the PX4 Storm. I just got a .40 S&W model and really like it. Smooth action. Decocking safety. Easy to disassemble/reassemble. And all models (.45, .40, and 9mm) come with three backstraps for different sized hands. Husband can shoot and then change to smaller backstrap for wife to shoot.
Similar questions to this are springing up a lot these days, and my best answer is to get a gun you are comfortable with. Surprisingly, look and feel do matter, because you want a gun that is around you, not locked up in a box in the back of the closet and forgotten.
This is far too often the fate of the great big “hog legs” usually used in the same sentence as the words “stopping power”, that actually very few people are as comfortable with compared to smaller guns.
If these are your choices, the Sig is the best bet.
Or... just go buy the one that you like the best.