Number 9
Nothing ! Its the screams you need to get used to. Lol

august
9mm Parabellum is fairly light in recoil. The heavier the gun, the less recoil you'll feel. If you are concerned about shooting the gun, don't shoot it. Start on a .22LR pistol instead.

Anonymous
I shot a .45 and a 9mm for my 1st time with one hand and nothing happened, well I can't say anything for girls.

Kid with a 12 gauge 11.0
9mm has a very light recoil,and if anyone hit themselves in the head it is not because they couldn't handle it it is because no one taught them how to handle it.

The Philippines is the richest country ever
Not as bad as a rifle's

M'kay
its not bad at all. if you get a tiny gun it will kick a little more. my sis shoots a .38 special and she's tiny.

Orion589
personally.. its all about your shooting technique really, im 5'7'' 130 pounds with barely any muscle and a skinny frame and the first time i shot a 12 gauge i put more than 15 rounds through it and as i was standing correctly with the proper stance i wasnt even bothered by it. so realistically it doesnt matter your gender as a smaller framed woman with proper technique can fire a .44 magnum better than a bigger man with no real technique. so as long as ur standing properly, holding it correctly and squeeze, dont jerk the trigger u should be ok (:

IDF
Is not too bad actually. You can handle it .

Fatefinger
Negligible.

WC
Everyone handles recoil differently. Some find the near non existent recoil of the .22LR round hard on them. Most shooter would find the 9mm round mild and easy to manage.Recoil is NOT going to bother you if you do not keep dwelling on preconceived ideas that things are going to be rough on you.

Glacierwolf
In the US Military - women have no problems firing the 9mm. I have had 10-12 year old fire 9mm in our Junior shooting program. When I taught womens Pistol Classes - women from 17-73 had no issues with the 9mm. (Although I did have on 73 year old granny that just loved my 44Mag and fired it until we ran out of ammo. That was a surprise. I dont think she realized she'd fired almost $90 in ammo!!) On a scale of 1-10 for pistol power and recoil - the 9mm is just a 2 or 3. This is why it is so popular - the recoil is light - yet it still have plenty of power to drop an attacker in one shot. What more can you ask for? Enjoy your shooting time!!

smokehillfarm
Not bad at all. Keep in mind that 9mm was strictly an oddball European caliber until the 80s, when the police departments and military were having a hell of a time with women qualifying on their duty weapons -- .45 auto, .357 magnum, etc. As a result, instead of insisting that women learn to use adequate firearms, the politically correct leadership in the Defense Department and most police departments looked for a caliber that might still stop a bad guy ... maybe ... but that was flimsy enough in recoil that women wouldn't scream and run away from the firing line. Thus, the 9mm became "standard issue," to the consternation of old gun handlers throughout the Army, Marine Corps and police departments. I predict, therefore, that you will have little trouble with this caliber. HOWEVER -- and this is really important -- make sure you are doing your first shoot with someone who is VERY experienced with firearns. The only time people get hit in the head, etc., is when they went to the range with a complete idiot who shouldn't even be allowed near a gun. If this is just some friend with a gun, and not a regular shooter, don't go. No reason your first experience has to be a bad one.

Christopher H
Recoil in 9MM is very light. But that is assuming a full sized pistol. Small, sub compact pistols firing a 9MM can be a little abrupt. The biggest thing is to not be getting too worked up about it. Managing recoil is not that difficult. My youngest daughter was shooting my .40 S&W when she didn't weigh 80 pounds. Yes there was recoil and her hands yanked back and up a little but she simply ignored it and concentrated on aligning up the sights for the next shot. The recoil didn't hurt so why be worried about it? With a little practice most people can learn to manage recoil and by that I mean deal with is in such a way as to get back on target quickly. Few handguns have what I'd consider punishing recoil. My daughter even shoots my .44 Magnum some. The recoil issue is mostly how you chose to respond to it. not the recoil itself. Don't get freaked out by it. A 9MM is pretty tame all in all. My daughters have been shooting since they were about 9 or 10 and my oldest uses a 9X21 (the standard 9MM is 9X19) for five years shooting action pistol matches with me. She had no problems staying on target with her race gun and she shot pretty well. You can too, if you have the right mindset and the right training. Good luck.