Revolver for CCW for wife.

A J FRAME from Smith & Wesson would fit your needs i have the lcr and i love it and recommend it.

Wife's CCW Revolver

I was in the same boat. So, I got her a Sig 232. She couldn't rack the slide unless her finger was on the trigger (pistol unloaded). This was a NO NO. She then looked in my safe and said, "What's this one?" It was my S&W 15-4 snub nose. We went to the range and after one cylinder of shooting, she looked at me and said, "It's mine now." At 7 yards, she was steady with the 9 and 10 ring.

I just finished reloading 340 rds of reduced loads for her. That should her busy for awhile.

My wife carries S&W j-frame 22LR, not ideal but far better than a sharp stick or shrill screech. Ruger's offers a polymer 8 shot 22 revolver.

The ole S&W mod.36-1 J-fame with a 3inch barrel would be a nice choice. All steel to help with recoil and still comes in around 25 oz. The 3 in barrel helps alot with a longer sight radius.

Smith 640 comes to mind for current production. As said already 15 for a more classic snub
I own both, they will launch even factory .357 without being punishing.

The 640 can be found no-lock.

J-frames and similar sized revolvers flat out suck for new shooters! If the heavy trigger pull doesn't disuade them, the recoil will.

A friend of mine had the same request made to him by his wife, though this was several years ago. Finally settled on a S&W Model 638 with a 3" barrel. Does just fine with wadcutter loads for practice and Speer Gold Dot 125 gr. +P for CCW. Also picked up for her a concealed carry handbag with an adjustable pocket holster within a side opening for quick access.

My wife shoots my airweight very well, but she shoots her M&P9c better. If she gets her CCW, both will be on it.

I owned a Ruger LCR in .38 once-for about half an hour. That is the time it took my wife to CLAIM IT FOR HER OWN! She loves the thing. It replaced a Taurus lightweight .38 but she likes the Ruger WAY better. Lighter, way better trigger.

Riceman98 said:

So after Fridays shooting my wife told me she wants a gun and to get her CCW.

Her Requirements:
Revolver (has hard time with the slide on autos)
Light (Will be carried in her purse)
Low recoil

The only gun I can think of is the Ruger LCR .38 +P. Do you guys have any other suggestions?

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S&W used to market something called .32Magnum in light-weight J frame not sure if they still do. It's something I would look into.

gtmtnbiker98 said:

J-frames and similar sized revolvers flat out suck for new shooters! If the heavy trigger pull doesn't disuade them, the recoil will.

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A competent gunsmith can fix that sucky j-frame, I've done it more times than I can count.

The only gun I can think of is the Ruger LCR .38 +P. Do you guys have any other suggestions?

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Just a thought, but you might want to consider getting the LCR .357mag, and loading it with .38s. It's a little heavier than the .38 model, which will help recoil reduction and there's nothing that says you HAVE to load .357mag in a gun so chambered.

I just purchased the LCR .357 magnum. I plan to use 38 special +p for cc.

Now, I just need to take it out to the range and shoot it to see how much I like it. I will give a range report after I do this.

-Sue

I have a Charter Arms .44 spl Bulldog Pug. The recoil isnt bad,but for her i recommend maybe a .38 i paid $379 for mine. and yes they are lite. The .44 spl ammo is hard to find,really hard to find cheap. Their .357 is fun,and u could use .38 in it. Fun and cheap,cant beat that with 2 sticks

IMHO automatics are completely out of the question for anyone except experiences shooters. There are simply to many levers and buttons to sort through during the heat of the moment not to mention possibly having to work a slide while under stress.

When my wife got her CHL, I decided on a revolver for her. She wanted something she could carry in her purse so it had to be short and light. I decided on a Charter Arms Pink Lady in .38 Special (available in DAO as well). Let me say my wife was elated when she got it. She had no idea there were pink handguns in existence! With its 2" barrel and at only 12 oz. it's compact and light. But like someone said, you can't have a lightweight handgun AND low recoil unless you use really light loads.

I handloaded some 158 gr. SWC's and at first she and I both had difficulty hitting with it because muzzle flip caused it to shoot high even at close range. We finally figured out how to properly hold it (more grip pressure with the third and fourth fingers) and it's now a piece of cake to hit with.

One other very viable option espcially to reduce recoil is the .32 Undercoverette in 32 H&R Magnum. It too weighs only 12 oz. but that particualr cartridge should recoil much less.

By the way, both these handguns are available in several other colors including stainless and aluminum for the less flambouyant types.

35W

There are simply to many levers and buttons to sort through during the heat of the moment not to mention possibly having to work a slide while under stress.

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I love wheenguns as much as the next guy, but c'mon. Operating a semi-auto does not take a rocket scientist, and there are not at all many buttons nor levers.
Let's look at the ubiquitous semi-auto, the Glock. No safety, no decock lever, so what is there? You rack the slide and pull the trigger. There is a button to release a magazine, but in a revolver you have a cylinder release so that's a draw anyway. It's the same for my Ruger LCP, my M&P, and other semis that I own.

Don't get me wrong, I love wheelguns and have one on my hip as I type this. But i have to take issue with the notion that a semi is too complicated except for experienced shooters.

The only gun I can think of is the Ruger LCR .38 +P. Do you guys have any other suggestions?

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That or the Taurus M85 "Ultra Light" (DA/SA),... However I agree with another poster about the DA trigger (Ruger) pull it may be difficult for her in that DA conf. try several before you buy as previously suggested. The other issue is that most "Snubbie" sized CCW pistols are going to "Kick" one way or another unless it's a .22LR.

19-3Ben said:

I love wheenguns as much as the next guy, but c'mon. Operating a semi-auto does not take a rocket scientist, and there are not at all many buttons nor levers.
Let's look at the ubiquitous semi-auto, the Glock. No safety, no decock lever, so what is there? You rack the slide and pull the trigger. There is a button to release a magazine, but in a revolver you have a cylinder release so that's a draw anyway. It's the same for my Ruger LCP, my M&P, and other semis that I own.

Don't get me wrong, I love wheelguns and have one on my hip as I type this. But i have to take issue with the notion that a semi is too complicated except for experienced shooters.

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Let me qualify my statement. I have a range at my house so friends frequently come out to shoot and that includes husbands bringing their wives to teach them to shoot the new, high capacity 9mm semi-auto they just bought for them. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen these women dismayed trying to figure whether they need to push the magazine release, the slide release, the safety or in some cases the decocker...then there's trying to rack the slide or worst of all clear a jam. All this while under the stress of trying to defend themselves? No way. A couple of the husbands wised up and bought their wives small revolvers simply because you pick 'em up, point 'em and pull the trigger.

The most recent episode was a few weeks ago when one of my wifes friends came by with her new, recommended by a well intentioned brother-in-law, Beretta PX4 Storm sub-compact. She was signed up for a CHL course and couldn't get cartridges in the magazine, couldn't operate the slide release, couldn't pull back the slide, didn't like the baseball bat sized grip (similar to that of a Glock) and when she had managed to shoot it, with help, couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Problem was she wanted to shoot the CHL course with an automatic so she'd be licensed to carry a revolver or an automatic. My own concealed carry handgun is a Star Firestar 9mm that is single action and has a single stack magazine, fairly simple to operate. Long story short, I familiarized her with it, let her shoot it here at the house, then loaned it to her to use in the course. She shot a 235 out of 250 with it. She sold the Beretta and hopefully will buy a .38 revolver.

35W

smith 642 with some low recoil ammo

My own concealed carry handgun is a Star Firestar 9mm that is single action and has a single stack magazine, fairly simple to operate. Long story short, I familiarized her with it, let her shoot it here at the house, then loaned it to her to use in the course. She shot a 235 out of 250 with it. She sold the Beretta and hopefully will buy a .38 revolver.

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So let me get this straight. Wou taught a woman how to shoot well with a 9mm semi auto. A woman shot very well with a 9mm semi-auto, so you hope she buys.......a .38 revolver.

This is confusing. I'm sure glad my wife just gets to shoot and buy whichever guns she she feel proficient with and choses for herself.

I'm editing to add that once again, I actually have a small .38 on my hip right now. I am in no way advocating for semi-autos over revolvers for defensive use I'm just saying that my experience does not match yours and having taught many women to shoot, I've found very little difference between the two platforms.

As my screen name implies, I have no problems endorsing a J-frame (assuming it fits the user's hands and needs) as a defensive, or even casual target-shooting, piece.

But in regard to the issue of difficulty in racking a semiauto's slide, just wanted to throw out a possible solution. The traditional method is to hold the pistol pointing forward, and pull back on the slide with the off hand. I developed such bad tendinitis in my right elbow once that this method of racking was untenable (it actually aggravated the tendinitis, keeping it from healing).

I switched to an alternative method of racking. Hold the pistol in the strong hand close to the chest. Put the off hand over the slide, with the thumb and fingers on the grooves in the opposite direction from which they would normally be placed. Push the slide back with the off hand while simultaneously pushing with the strong hand holding the pistol's grip. This brings to bear the largest muscles of the chest and shoulders, rather than the relatively weaker muscles of the arms. Of course, always be conscious that the pistol is pointed in a safe direction while racking the slide. Using this method, I can't imagine that even the most frail person couldn't comfortably rack the slide of a semiauto.

Okay, having said that -- my wife prefers the S&W 640 .38 which she "appropriated" from me. She had a boyfriend once who tried to cultivate her interest in handguns by having her shoot a piece that consistently ejected spent brass in her face. That left her with a lasting distaste for semiautos in general...


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