I was wondering if I could get a few opinions. I am planning on buying a new pistol for my Fiancee, for target practice and as a house gun for her. Now here's the tricky part.
She's a Marine and works for the military police. She's trained to shoot well but she wants to shoot better, and she's been shooting a Beretta M9. She says the weight is just right, but the recoil and accuracy isn't what she likes. I let her try my Walther P99 and the recoil was too snappy.
Any suggestions on a full size pistol that's about the size of a M9, but in a different caliber and hopefully fairly accurate?

I may be the only one here who thinks so but I find the Berreta accents recoil anyway. I Don't have enough experience with lots of different models but I find I have a lot more control shooting my 1911 in 45 than a friends Berreta in .40.

Try the Beretta Brigadier with a rail and mount the light and laser on it. A little more weight up front might make enough difference for her. I like mine! She's used to the weapon, and it's a great shooter.

The Beretta and the SIG series all have a high center of axis for the bore. They are not as fast to recover with and accentuate the recoil. I have had great luck with ladies of all statures with the 1911 (in 45). Another gun to look at would be the Glocks. They are very fast to recover and shoot well. I don't like them and don't even own one, but that doesn't mean they aren't a good gun. Best bet is to try as many different guns as you can. That's where a range with rental guns can be nice. From your location, I suspect you may have a problem unless you both get back to the states on leave

I'll also throw in w/ a 1911. It is one of the more user friendly designs. Even a novice can shoot it w/ confidence w/ just a bit of instruction. You might try one of the XDs in 9mm or a HK USP. If she can handle the girth of a Berreta she can handle the USP.

First off. I've been going to an indoor pistol range about ten yrs and helping lots of folks learn to shoot.
Main thing I see way too much of is women that have just bought a new self defense gun to carry. These store clerks on commission need to have them shoved you know where and shot a few rounds.

They'll sell a never shot a gun before young woman a one inch, Titanium light weight .357 and full charge ammo.

One in particular was sent to me while I was on a break. She was in tears scared mostly to death. The R/O that brought her over handed me the gun and box of shells. It took a couple hours to get her calmed down so she wasn't scared of the guns. Mostly I told her she had a wonderful gun but, it was too light weight for the powerful shells they sold with it.

Had her handle my 6" K 38 til she was very comfortable with it. Then we went in and had her snap some dry fires in both mine and hers til she was ok with it.
Then, had her watch while I shot plinker loads in mine so it wouldn't scare her. Once she saw what it would do. Had her shoot it til she got the hang of it and was hitting well. Think about 150 shots, maybe more.

Then I shot some of the same in her gun to show her how much better they worked. When we were done she'd shot at least 50 rnds of my lite cast plinkers in her gun and was plumb comfortable with it. I also had her watch while I shot a cyl full of her .357 stuff. Tell you what, my own hand was stung bad with that stuff.

Don't ever, and don't ever let anyone else let some beginner start off with hot stuff even with a bigger gun. Some a/ho's think it's funny to see them get beat up, or knocked down by this stupid stunt.

Thats a lot of why there's so many women afraid of guns. Use your heads guys! They'll love you for it and become shooters and gunnies we can all be proud of.

For you, I'd say take her to the range and let her shoot every gun you can get hands on. Nearly everyone will let a woman shoot their gun. Just be aware of the ammo they hand you. And have her dry fire enough til she's comfortable with the gun. And if there's any hesitation at all, let her watch YOU shoot a couple of the same thing so she knows it's not gonna hurt her.

You'll make a happy shooter out of people if done this way.
For a carry gun, I'd sure not want my woman to pack anything less than .40 cal. BUT: use your head on the power of the loads too.
Find a gun she likes and can handle well, long before time to go shopping to buy one. You and she will be much happier and a lot better shooter if you will.

Good luck,

George

Thanks for all the suggestions! Now I'm in a toss-up because the 1911 9mm and Beretta Brigadier are both awesome ideas, now I have to see which one she likes the most! I've let her handle a lot of pistols and of all, she feels most comfortable with the Beretta frame. I'm fully comfortable buying her a Brigadier, and I think she'll like it ever better because it'll be her own pistol.
And thank you georgeld, I completely agree with you. I remember watching my brother try to play a joke on his ex-wife by firing light .45 colts in his Redhawk, than stuffing some hot loads in the cylinder and watch her take a shot at it. She would not fire any pistols anymore, and it bothered me to see that. My Fiancee grew up never firing a firearm before she joined the military, and I have made sure she will never get scared like that, and thankfully she hasn't.
Plus in 3 monthes, we're transferring to sunny San Diego, so I'm sure there'll be so much better shopping than here!

One other to consider is a CZ 75. If she can get a grip on a Beretta, the CZ is worth a look. They are similar in size, but the CZ has a steel frame to provide a better balance with more weight felt lower in the hand. Grip circomference is slightly less. Outside of some polymer framed pistols, you won't find anything with a lower bore axis. $ for $, probably the most accurate 9mm to be forund. The SIG P-226 may edge it a bit, but the CZ is more comfortable to shoot and a few moderate priced modifications like a trigger job can make them plain oustanding. One thing that often gets overlooked is the lock time of the pistol. CZ's are about as good in this regard as you can expect from a DA autoloader. It is possible to get a trigger that can rival some 1911s. One reason they are becoming more and more popular with competition shooters. The manual safety DA model has something to do with this also because it will allow you to shoot two different events with the same 9mm pistol. The decock version of the 75 is the BD. Similar size pistol with a bit more mass although weight is nearly identical to the Beretta! For a compact, the P-01 is definitely worth a look, but is decock only with a forged alloy frame. Lighter weight bullets in the Beretta is another option!