My #5 pick for best all-around women’s pistol is the Ruger Max 9.
Ruger, officially titled Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. has been around a long time and also is one of the all-time most-used dog names in the universe. There is no doubt that Ruger has had some quality control issues and weird new products (see ‘Ready Dot…’ sigh) but overall they have stood the test of time.
When I speak of the top 5 ‘all-around’ pistols for women, I have a couple categories in mind which I will detail in an easy list in order to compare. Those categories are: quality, cost, user-friendliness, red-dot ready, grip width, weight, overall length, round capacity, and beauty.
Number 5 on my Top 5 Pistols For Women is:
- Quality (scale of 1-10): 6
- Cost: $439.00
- User-friendliness (scale of 1-10): 6
- Red dot readiness: YES
- Grip width: .95 inches
- Weight: 18.4 ounces empty
- Overall length: 6 inches
- Round capacity: 12+1 This means 13 if you carry your pistol with one in the chamber and ready to fire.
- Beauty (scale of 1-10): 6
The trigger is long and kind of gritty, and some of the parts feel plasticky. But it has metal magazines which makes releasing and loading them much smoother and it feels sturdy in your hands. The size is very similar to a Glock, a bit narrower and the texture (stippling) is better, and overall a good fit for small hands. It’s very square and flat on the sides which I think makes it look a bit ordinary, but it’s not as bad as some. The weight will increase substantially with rounds in it, so keep that in mind when you are trying them out.
As far as optics, this one is optic ready for direct mounting of co-witnessed JPoint™ and Shield-pattern micro red dot sights. More on this in a future post. Just understand that you will want an optic on your pistol once you grasp what that means and this one comes with it cut for two different kinds.
Overall score: 6* **
*this is a made up score by me
**but also an easy way to understand my opinion of this pistol