Some would argue that a fully loaded G-19, weighing only 88% of the L-frame is a significant decrease in weight. Except that you listed the EMPTY weight of the L-frame, but at least you rounded up. Smith & Wesson lists the weight of the 7 shot @ 34.5 oz. Add 7 Corbon 125 grain JHP's, the weight becomes 37.78 oz. Let's round that up to 38 oz, as a heavier bullet would easily exceed that. NOW the loaded G-19 is 81.5% the weight, nearly 20% less. But Glock cites the loaded weight is 29.98 oz. Rounding up to 30 oz, it now becomes 78.9% as heavy. Many folks would view that difference as significant. And besides, flat guns carry easier than round guns, as a general rule.
The cylinder thickness of the L-frame is 1.564" compared to 1.18 for the Glock, just shy of 1/4" difference in thickness. Again, many folks would consider this as significant.
They do have advantages, but they also have disadvantages that have been overlooked. As I previously stated, the recommended L-frames only hold 6-7 rounds, so right away there is the capacity disadvantage. These rounds have a long, hard, often gritty trigger pull standing in the way of even modest accuracy. While the trigger pull can be lightened and smoothed, it's still a long hard pull, especially compared to a tuned (or untuned) Glock trigger. And after your 7th shot, you're reloading......providing you brought a speedloader. Meanwhile, the Glock shooter is firing shots 8 thru 16 if necessary. Even a 7 shot revolver must reload TWICE to get 16 shots fired. (providing you brought TWO speedloaders!)
Some other disadvantages are weight, trigger reach, recoil (with full power loads) and muzzle blast.
The OP asked for a semi-auto. Throwing the untrained inexperienced girlfriend into the mix is really a red herring. She needs to start with a different gun, or as suggested, a .22 conversion kit on the semi-auto.
If the person will not practice shooting or drills, then honestly, ANY gun would be a poor defense choice.
Why do flat guns carry easier? They both require a holster, they both have to be concealed in some manner, so what is the difference. I carry two revolvers on my belt daily and there isn't any way I can see that a flatter gun would be easier. And yes I carry a third in deep concealment and 2 reloads for each. I am a pessimist...lol.
Capacity isn't the issue so many make it out to be for a civilian. If you are so inept that 6-7 round rounds won't solve the problem then having 3 times that amount likely won't either. It is a proven fact that when equipped with a higher capacity firearm there are more misses per firefight than with a revolver. (look up what happened when NYC switched). Police often become involved in gunfights at much longer ranges than what a civilian does. Average for civilian is 10 feet or so, 3-4 rounds fired, over in under 4 seconds.
Trigger reach can be changed by simply changing from an L-Frame to a K-Frame or changing grips. If the hand is so small that is still a problem it will be a problem with most semi-auto's as well. Add to that the fact that someone with such small hands may have trouble limpwristing the handgun which will cause a jam in the SA that it will not cause in the revolver. Recoil can be addressed with a simple ammo change such as going to a 38 SD load.
As far as practice, shooting is a perishable skill as are reactions to malfunctions. Immediate action drill for a semi-auto must be practiced as much a shooting to maintain muscle memory to react to a failure to feed or failure to extract, etc. With a revolver there are no malfunction drills needed, if it doesn't go bang do to a bad round you pull the trigger again. And any problem that will put a revolver out of action will also put a SA out as well so claiming something like squib rounds is a moot point. The point is if your time is limited for practice then you are better off learning to hit what you are aiming at then splitting the time between target practice and malfunction drills.
There is also one factor I hadn't mentioned before. Massad Ayoob and other have talked to criminals who have attacked people. the majority admitted to them a revolver has a higher intimidation factor than a SA because they could see what was going to hurt them and they left the area quickly. Police officers have reported the same thing, they couldn't really describe the BG but they could tell you what kind of bullets were in the revolver. The best ending to a gunfight is for there not to be one at all.
I will point out in my initial post I did suggest a 9mm as well.
I think if I was going to carry a handgun that weighed in the area of 35 ozs, but carried twice the capacity of a revolver, it would be an easy choice for me.....
As a firearms instructor, I detect no advantage in ease of use for a revolver over a semi-auto. They are apples and oranges, with positive and negative points. For safe usage, familiarity is the key, not action type.
Ease of shooting, however, my nod goes to the auto, not the revolver.
If I had a dollar for every time somebody recommended a revolver to a noob, I could buy a used but not abused K frame. I don't agree with the advice, for many reasons.
Andy
See above for my arguments for the revolver...I give reasons...not just say I have them. I too am an instructor and I will go ahead and post my basics...
I am a NRA certified Law Enforcement Instructor in Rifle, Pistol, and Shotgun. I am a NRA certified Instructor in Certified Pistol, Home Firearms Safety, Personal Protection, Range Safety Officer. I am also a school trained H&K Armorer for rifle, pistol, shotgun, and submachinegun. In addition I owned my own gunshop with ClassIII for over 20 years. I am a graduate of schools ranging from Ayoob's LFI classes to several of Farnham's, as well as a handful of other instructors. I have been competing for many years with my best accomplishments including winning the Midwest Regional in NRA Action Pistol, The ISRPA Indiana Skeet Championship, the Midwest GSSF Glock Regional, and several State Action Pistol Championships. I also won the Original Jungle Lane Full Auto shoot three times as well as some other various full auto and suppressed matches. I am an NRA High Master.
I am mostly retired these days, I still teach firearms but I do it pro bono. I don't compete nearly as much as I did before the degenerative disc disease destroyed a good portion of my lower back. I simply cannot shoot 200 rounds of 12 gauge needed for trap for instance.I still shoot a good bit but not the 50,000 thousand rounds a year I shot when I was actively competing on the national level.
My proudest accomplishment is still my service to my country as a 19D.
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