38 for a lady with small hands?

[Bob A]

I could use some advise. I'm looking for a 38 for my wife. My single six 22 mag is a little big for her hand, so I would like to find something that will fit. Its got to be a wheel gun because she shoots rattlesnakes with shot shells from time to time. In fact, she got 2 last week with the Ruger.

Thanks for your help,

Bob A

[bobg]

 BobA,
         Check out the Taurus. Mine has very small grips on it. It is a 9mm but i think they make it in 38. I just checked it out and i can't find a model # on it.
         bobg

[Devy55]

I bought a Taurus 605 for my wife.  It's a small .38/.357 with rubber grips to give a better feel.

Also, S&W makes a titanium Ladysmith in .38 special.  They even offer one with a built in Crimson Trace laser sight in the hand grip. in case you're interested.

[Ken ONeill]

Ruger SP-101

[Heavy C]

It's hard to beat a S&W J-frame.  I got my wife the 637.  Light and just right for her small hands.

[S.B.]

See if you can find a S&W J framed .38, for her to handle? Maybe even one of the Lady Smiths, they had grips with little roses inlayed. What ever you do, Buy American!

[sherpa]

drop down to a .380

[Mikey]

Smith and Wesson j-frame, models 36, 37 or 38.  Mikey.

[Lloyd Smale]

hard to beat a lady smith even for one of us non ladys

[S.B.]

Link to a Lady Smith.

http://www.marlinowners.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=17802

[Wingman26]

I highly recommend any of the S&W J frame models.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=11101&storeId=10001&categoryId=15704&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=15703&top_category=15703

[S.B.]

Bob, here's a link to an auction, that will be up within 8 hours. Doesn't have any bids, yet?
http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=7973698

[Bob A]

Well, I want to thank all of you for your good advise. I tracked down a local store that could show us the j frame S&Ws the Taurus and the Ruger SP101. My wife handled all of them and wasn't happy. All of the pistols fit her ok but they all had very heavy springs. Hard to cock, even harder to shoot SA. While she was working over the little revolvers, I was happily checking out the Taurus Goucho in 45LC. What a smooth action, best I've seen without being worked over by a gunsmith. I also noticed that the reach from the grip to the trigger is somewhat closer than the single six. The store owner didn't believe me, " How could that little bitty single six 22 have a bigger reach than that big man's cowboy gun?"  He checked and I was correct.
I handed it to my wife and said "try this" She loved it. It fits her hand and is very smooth and easy to cock and fire.
Bottom line, we went in to find a 38 to shoot snakes and left with a bazooka and a smile. Who woulda thunk?

Now I'm going to have to work up a shot shell load. The CCI shot shells for the 45 are kinda pricey. I'm also going to need a good Cowboy load.

Bob A

[Mikey]

Bob A:  OK.  Lots of folks are kind of hesitant to recommend a single action revolver if ti isn't in the list of guns to look at.  But, anyone armed with a single action in 45 should be considered pretty well 'heeled', especially if they can shoot. 

As for the tough springs on the S&Ws - Wolff Springs in PA has the cure for that.  For some reason some factories seem to delight in heavy recoil or trigger/hammer springs - probably a liability concern (liability for the shooter that is if they can't shoot it).  Reminds me of one gusnmith from the former Colt plant who boasted that no 45 left his bench with less than a 13 lb trigger pull - that was just before they went bankrupt the 2nd time...........

As for cowboy loads - try Black Hills for one and drop on down to the Cowboy Action Shooting section and see if there are any recommendations for ammo there.  HTH and Congrats.  Mikey.

[454Puma]

Bob A
 Well if you load your own and cast bullets I got plenty of light reload data! Even for shot shell in 45 LC.