Author Topic: Pistol for wife - which direction to go (Read 1816 times)

charles p · « **on:** November 22, 2009, 02:51:11 PM »

Wife has a concealed carry permit. Qualified with a 9mm Beretta 92F. Her need is for a smaller pistol that will fit in her purse or car console. I have thought about getting her a compact or sub compact pistol in 22lr on the assumption that she could fire until the pistol was empty, should her need ever arise. My other scenario is that anytime she might need her pistol, the range will probably be very short and she needs first shot effectiveness. On this assumption, I am leaning toward a .40 or even a .45. Right in the middle is 9mm and 380, which might compromise both situations.

What are your thoughts? Should I get her something she might actually enjoy shooting, or should I get her a "man stopper" on the assumption that the range will be so close that she can't miss even if the pistol jumps out of her hand?

gbjeep · « **Reply #1 on:** November 22, 2009, 03:18:42 PM »

I would think you would want as much as she can handle effectively. There's a lot of subcompact 9's out there to choose from. With the right ammo, it should do the job. Plus, she could still empty the mag. I would never trust my life to a 22lr. I know with shot placement it can do it, but it's highly unlikely.

torpedoman · « **Reply #2 on:** November 22, 2009, 03:23:00 PM »

Take a look at the cz82 surplus on the market at about 200 bucks they are real nice guns and shoot very accurately. and hold 12 rounds of 9mm makarov (equal to 380). most dealers will order you one out of shotgun news and just charge you transfer fee if you prepay when ordering.

45-70.gov · « **Reply #3 on:** November 22, 2009, 03:37:40 PM »

DAO simi's are ok

get a smith and wesson 642

its stainless..light and compact..38[enough power] simple to use under stress
no hammer to cock and set up an unsafe situation under stress
no hammer so she will have to practice how should shoot in a bad situation

this is what all my kids carry
i carry the 640 in 357mag [she won't like that]

that berreta 92f is a nice gun
i bet she did good at the range

now think of that nice trigger [compared to a DAO revolver]
that trigger was nice at the range
now put that nice triger in her hands after she is attacked fixing a flat tire or home invasion
did she remember to put the safty on??
did she remember to take the safty off??
did she chamber a round?
now the police are there...her hands are shaking.....the gun goes off accedentally due to that nice trigger

my theory is ''if you need to ask.....stick with DAO revolver''

if you don't think 5 rounds are enough....when is the last time 3 weren't enough??

Tonk · « **Reply #4 on:** November 22, 2009, 07:14:39 PM »

CharlesP......My wife had the same problem, finding a pistol in hot weather to carry and one that would not JAM up on her if she happened to "limp-wrist" the gun. Well, we went through the Ruger LCP, Kel-Tec's and several others with no success in solving her problem.

Alas came along the GLOCK model 26 in the 9mm Luger caliber! No external safety's to worry about nor de-cocking levers either. This pistol has a 5-lb trigger pull and goes BANG everytime the trigger is pulled. Forgetabout those little .380-auto's, they just don't have enough penetration nor kinetic energy behind them. The 9mm Luger is over twice the energy of the .380-auto! 9mm Luger defense ammo has up to 480 lbs of kinetic energy.

Lenny McGill has used the Glock 26 in many of his self-defense DVD's and you can't argue with his success on film etc. The model 26 has twice the ammo in the mag as most revolver's carry. The recoil of the 9mm in a Glock 26 is something most women can handle with not problem. Most revolvers like the Smith & Wesson have a very hard to pull double action trigger and this causes most beginners to miss the target on the first or second shot. I vote for the Glock model 26!

Tonk · « **Reply #5 on:** November 23, 2009, 05:21:50 PM »

Charles P. I should have mentioned that my wife started out with a revolver (snubnosed .38spl) and did very well with this type of handgun. However, when the warm weather came along and her wardrobe change as the temps got up in the 70's and higher, she wanted something smaller to conceal.

Now she has learned to accept the fact that having a smaller more concealable pistol is not always the best choice when your life might be on the line later down the road. Good Luck!

Hook686 · « **Reply #6 on:** November 23, 2009, 06:17:30 PM »

You might take her to look at a .38 +P, such as the Ruger LCR. The nice thing about a revolver is a jam is very unlikely and trigger pull is consistent.

newstart2k · « **Reply #7 on:** November 24, 2009, 03:06:11 AM »

My personal recomendation is the Springfield XD subcompact. Get the one without a manual safety and it is essentially like shooting a revolver plus it is very compact. You can carry with the smaller clip and switch to the larger one for practice or when concealment allows.

My XD40 has functioned flawlessly to date.

The biggest thing I have to remind myself when I'm shopping for my wife is that "I'm shopping FOR MY WIFE." I'll find a handgun that feels great to me and she won't like it at all. Her hand is much smaller than mine. The answer I came up with was to do the research about what was out there from strictly a reliability, caliber and price perspective. Then I gave her the list and let her go to the gunshop and ask the guy to show her each one and explain its operation and get the one SHE wanted. Then she picked the pink one.

Bobby_2506 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 25, 2009, 04:50:23 AM »

I have taught NRA concealed pistol classes for 10 years and what I suggest to all my students is to choose their own gun. The NRA recommends for personel protection a minimum caliber of 9mm or 38spl. Lesser calibers have been used for self defense but shot placement becomes more critical. In choosing a handgun for personel protection the shooter has to feel comfortable with it. If your wife doesn't have a lot of shooting experience, a revolver might be worth looking at. It doesn't have a lot of controls and is simple to operate. She won't have to think about taking off a safety, or if there is one in the chamber. A 38 spl with premium defense ammunition will stop any threat.

Tonk · « **Reply #9 on:** November 27, 2009, 04:07:53 AM »

Charles P.........The very first thing your wife needs to do, is choose a pistol that feels very good in her hands (Use a two handed grip!) I personally believe that a person starting out shooting a pistol with not much experience, needs to stay with a revolver. Many women can NOT opperate the slide on a semi-auto and on those cheap pocket pistols, they will "limp-wrist" the gun causing a JAM.

Ruger makes several very good revolvers, also the "Airweight" model (no hammer or rear sight to catch on clothing etc) in .38spl, it will do the job up close, especially with self-defense ammo. This is the route my wife took and she has graduated up to a .40 cal Smith & Wesson from the 9mm Luger in a GLOCK ok. Good Luck in your wife's choice of pistol.

sixshot · « **Reply #10 on:** November 27, 2009, 06:24:27 AM »

  I teach a ladies only handgun class each year & we lay out 30-40 different handguns for them to try, there's no charge for the class & our club members even furnish the ammo. We have noticed a sharp increase in the number of men doing the dishes!
  Our recommendations are always to try as many guns as they want, we have every caliber on the table you can imagine, upto & including 41magnums, 44 magnums & 45 colts......none of these big guns are loaded with heavy loads, we want them to try them but not be scared, every single lady has tried one or more of the big guns & there eyes light up like the 4th of July when they touch off a very mild load in a "44 magnum" they love it!
  We almost always recomment a revolver for a first gun, nothing to remember except pull & fire, some of the DAO semi autos are quite simple also but unless they are quite well trained its still a little bit of a problem changing mags, racking the slide, finding the mag release, etc.
  When law enforement first started switching over to semis from revolvers there was a rather long learning curve before they became "proficient" with them in the heat of battle. Also, its been proven in most self defense situations that the number of rounds in the revolver isn't an issue, there aren't that many shots fired.
  In the end, it depends on the training, a semi is good & one of the very best is the Walther PPK S, in 380, the women in our class love them, small, lightweight, flat & they can fit almost anywhere, also accuracy is very good for a small gun.
  Training under stressful conditions is a real key, getting into some sort of competition is a wonderful way to get better with any handgun.

Dick

45-70.gov · « **Reply #11 on:** November 27, 2009, 11:14:08 AM »

e: Pistol for wife

GOOD TRADE.....[sorry i couldnt help myself]

while you at the range training for COMBAT

remember the gun will probly be carried the rest of her life WITHOUT INCEDENT

WHAT GUN IS THE SAFEST yet immediately ready to fire with out a thought

the one with the safty? on or off? a hair trigger?
the one with a hammer spur to strike if dropped? [i had a dropped on hammer revolver discharege once]

642 smith........ look it up

NickSS · « **Reply #12 on:** November 27, 2009, 08:18:40 PM »

I had the same problem years ago with my wife and Mother in law. I taught both to shoot accurately with a handgun but my Mother in law just could not pull the slide back on any auto that I gave her to try. My wife had no problem with the semi autos (she still doesn't). So I gave my Mother in law a S&W Model 10 and she keeps it in the house for comfort of the mind. To date she has fired one round from it at a raccoon and she hit it. My wife only shoots when I take her to the range and I noticed every time that I had to remind her how to load and fire a semi auto. She had no problem with a revolver. So today the gun we keep ready to go is a Ruger Security Six with 38 +P 125 gr loads in it. She has nothing to think about if she needs it to repel someone coming at her. She does not carry a weapon as we live in a low crime area and the most likely problem will be from a home invasion. I do carry and even though I am proficient with a semi auto I carry a small DAO revolver in 38 spl loaded with the same +P 38 ammo most of the time.

rogertc1 · « **Reply #13 on:** November 28, 2009, 01:43:08 AM »

Don't rule out the KelTec P32 "IN 32 CAL". I have a DE Mini, LCP and KelTek 3AT in .380 but I still carry my .32 because of the light recoil, weight, last shot hold open, controlability, and ammo capacity.

Badge54 · « **Reply #14 on:** December 03, 2009, 03:01:33 PM »

I have to concur with the "let her pick it out" crowd. I am also an NRA Pistol instructor and have had women show up with their 'husbands' favorite gun. Most end up using one of my smaller framed guns by the end of the range. A few examples include.

Lady number one had never shot a gun before, EVER. Her husband sent her with a S&W K frame 10mm revolver with moon clips.... She ended up shooting a Walther P99 in 9mm.

Lady number 2 brought a Bersa .380 that her husband bought her. He forgot she was left handed and unable to manipulate the safety in her strong grip. Nor could she rack the slide no matter what technique we showed her. She loved the SP101 I let her shoot with soft recoiling .38s.

Another was confused be all the de-cock this push it back up, why is the hammer back... I can't seem to dryfire it in class with a magazine disconnect... She was using one of the greatest little pistols and one even marketed to women at one time as a Lady S&W 3913. Too many controls and nuances. Finnished with a S&W 640 in .38.

My Wife picked out her SP101 because she likes the sounds it makes when you cock the hammer and how the cylinder locks and clicks in place. She has picked out others in the past, Glock 19, S&W 686... but settled on the SP101. And don't think she can't hit what she is shooting at, many at work wonder why I have ever taught my wife to shoot...

Funny how they all gravitated to the revolvers even though we offer S&W M&P in 9mm and Glocks in 9 and .40 and other small framed and full framed guns to shoot in class.

List of guns I think as for the Ladies too. (I hesitate to call them ladies guns, I carry a few myself)
S&W M&P .9, Glock 19, J-frame revolvers, Ruger SP101 or LCR and similar with few to no controls(safety levers, de-cockers).

Nor would I think any thing wrong with putting the laser grips on anything that is carried for self defense.

Badge54

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #15 on:** December 04, 2009, 01:37:06 AM »

a 380 lcp loaded with gold dots or xtps is a pretty formitable little gun. One shot stops are overated. Most people in a situation like that are going to keep pulling the trigger tilll there out of ammo. At least thats what you should be teaching your wife to do. Would i trust my life to a lcp. YUP! i have two of them and keep one in the truck and one in the jeep. There very handy as i dont allways like to carry a bigger gun especially in the summer. I can grap an lcp and stick it in my front pocket. Ill give you one more bit of advice. Fit it with a crimson trace lazer. Ive got then on both of mine and it makes it a breaze to hit with. I couldnt think of a more effective purse gun for a women.

Noreaster · « **Reply #16 on:** December 05, 2009, 03:14:03 AM »

As stated above try stopping in at a larger gun shop and have her pick up everything she can and see what fits best. The Bersa 380 comes to mind. If the gun isn't worn in a holster it's nice to have a manuel safety on it.

Old Fart · « **Reply #17 on:** December 05, 2009, 04:09:36 AM »

Always been a fan of revolvers for this use. They're a little less likely to be emptied out in a hurry in stressful situations.

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #18 on:** December 05, 2009, 09:14:20 AM »

personally at the range a self defense situation occurs at id want a gun that dumped all of its ammo as fast as possible. I train my wife and others to shoot and keep shooting till the threat is dead!! That means shooting till its empty cause i dont think your going to stop and check for a pulse. I to have always been a fan of revolvers and carried j frames for years but ive just seen to many times where a women has to much trouble with a relovers da pull, especially these days when they dont come much lighter then 8 lbs and good luck finding a ruger that even has an 8lb da trigger. Even a grown man will stuggle with a da wheelgun with an 8 lb trigger. My lcps run about 6 which is still to heavy for any kind of precision but lighter enough that they are eaiser for a women to shoot.

Quote from: Old Fart on December 05, 2009, 04:09:36 AM

Always been a fan of revolvers for this use. They're a little less likely to be emptied out in a hurry in stressful situations.

Tonk · « **Reply #19 on:** December 08, 2009, 08:36:27 AM »

Now lets face true facts shall we gentlemen: If you brought 20 women into a room to pick the handgun of their choice, most likely 70% would have never fired a handgun to begin with in their lifes. Also you would be looking at something like 65% who could NOT operate the slide on a semi-auto weather it is a 1911 model or a cheap little Kel-Tec etc.

A revolver does have it's merit's but pulling the double action trigger on most Smith & Wesson and hitting the vital zon on a target at 12 feet away are not going to be a given in most womens abilities. This is something especially true in the elder ladies strength levels.

I do favor GLOCKS in semi-auto's becaue their are NO external safeties to sweep off nor any de-cocking lever's to deal with on the pistol. In the revolver I will give the vote to the Lady Smith by Smith & Wesson in the Airweight model which will shoot .38spl + P ammo.

rawhidekid · « **Reply #20 on:** December 09, 2009, 04:38:17 AM »

I worked at an indoor range for three years. That said, those people mentioning the S&W Airweights can keep all you can buy! Countless people try to fire those revolvers with too hot of a round and come running for bandages!

The idea of something so light to carry apeals to everyone until they try to fire a "personel protection " round. Then they get hurt, every time. I have literally had women crying with blistered hands from trying to shoot those things. Most women carry a purse, make it big enough to carry an all steel handgun, the weight will dampen the recoil and allow her to hit with more than just the first shot.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #21 on:** December 09, 2009, 04:41:11 AM »

How about a 5 shot ladysmith or SP-101 ? shoot wad cutters for fun !

rawhidekid · « **Reply #22 on:** December 09, 2009, 04:58:58 AM »

Now you talking, although the SP 101 usually needs the Houge grips for real comfort. 8)JMHO Lets not forget the six shot Colt Detective Special, you can still find them around and they are a fine firearm. rawhidekid

45-70.gov · « **Reply #23 on:** December 09, 2009, 11:12:54 AM »

Quote from: rawhidekid on December 09, 2009, 04:38:17 AM

I worked at an indoor range for three years. That said, those people mentioning the S&W Airweights can keep all you can buy! Countless people try to fire those revolvers with too hot of a round and come running for bandages! The idea of something so light to carry apeals to everyone until they try to fire a "personel protection " round. Then they get hurt, every time. I have literally had women crying with blistered hands from trying to shoot those things. Most women carry a purse, make it big enough to carry an all steel handgun, the weight will dampen the recoil and allow her to hit with more than just the first shot.

you have more experience than me i am sure

most like the air weights tho in my experience

as far as the purse.....most times thats all the crook wants

now he has a gun and her cash

big hogue grips help

full wadcutters i hear is a good stopper in the snubnose

large meplat as expantion cant be relide on in the short barrel

Swampman · « **Reply #24 on:** December 09, 2009, 11:22:21 AM »

Model 36 S&W

Greeenriver · « **Reply #25 on:** December 09, 2009, 02:23:44 PM »

What ever gun you settle on for your wife, have her cary it on her person, NOT in her purse. On her person, she has it, in her purse, it's gone with the purse and she has just armed another purse snatcher.

I favor a small framed 38 special revolver for most ladies. They can handle it well and it's dead dependable.

Greeenriver

rogertc1 · « **Reply #26 on:** December 10, 2009, 12:40:32 AM »

shot1 · « **Reply #27 on:** December 10, 2009, 03:22:25 AM »

I help teach the handgun permit carry class and about 1/3 of the people in each class are women. Most have never shot a pistol in their life. We start them out learning to shoot with a Ruger MII 22lr target pistol. Then we move them up to small frame 38 special with target wad cutters then up to full pressure SD ammo. I am a real believer in a revolver or a pistol without a manual safety for SD. My wife has a steel frame 5 shot Rossi 38 special with Pachmayr grips that she loads with Federal Nyclad 158 gr HPSWC +P for SD purposes. She picked it out of my collection and took it from me because she shoots best with it. She practices with my standard velocity 158 gr SWC handloads. In a stress filled SD situation you don't need to think, now does this pistol have a manual safety and where is it and which way do I turn it to be off or on. You need to draw aim center mass and shoot until the subject is on the ground or you run out of ammo and then run and call 911.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #28 on:** December 10, 2009, 05:45:33 AM »

Good luck getting a woman to carry other than in pocket book

Broom Rider · « **Reply #29 on:** December 10, 2009, 12:57:32 PM »

When I carry in my purse it's usually my S&W 340PD which is loaded with both 38 & 357 in 125 grain bullets. (yes it's nasty in 357)
If I'm using a holster I carry my 60-7 Ladysmith.
Sometimes I use a 9mm Sig 239 but it's usually more weight than I care to haul around.
I prefer the light J frame, if I ever need to use it in a stressful situation I'll not notice the recoil anyway. I shoot enough to be good with any gun I choose to carry.
With revolvers it is often necessary to change the grip to one that fits the persons hand better. It allows them to shoot better with more accuracy.
I'd suggest getting more than one gun if there's more than one she likes. Go to the range often enough that she gets well acquainted with the guns and their operation. Practice practice and.............practice.
Any handgun in 22lr is a good way to get a lot of gun handling practice.

As far as having my purse grabbed, the only guy that ever tried it now knows better and crosses the street when he sees me. (being tall might be an advantage)