Carry gun for the wife.

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When I worked at an indoor range I had the opportunity to spend some time with husbands/wives on gun selection. The choices and suggestions were limitless but there were a few favorites among the decided ones. Here they are:

Auto Pistols:
Glock 42
Bersa Thunder .380
Sig P238/938
Bersa Thunder .22
Ruger SR22 pistol


Revolvers:
Ruger LCR (.38 special, .22 magnum, or .22 lr.)
S&W 442 (priced well)

The LCR revolvers have a fantastic trigger for a stock revolver. With mild .38 loads or a .22 magnum, recoil would be more manageable. The Glock 42 is very controllable to shoot and fairly easy to operate.
 
WK,

I did not misread your post. You clearly state in Post #1 "I feel certain we are bringing home a J-Frame size wheel gun." That eliminates other frame size revolvers such as the Colt P.P.S. and Detective Special which are larger 6 shot revolvers.

In your same post you mention that she wants a small semi-auto. You state she doesn't like the .380 so you want a .32 caliber for her.

Perhaps you should read what you post but calling me out.
 
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Mrs. WK has started talking about getting her concealed carry permit and we are to go shopping soon. She likes the looks of small autos but doesn't like the snappy recoil, even of a .380, been there, done that a couple times. We may look at 32acp if she really wants to get an auto, but I feel certain we are bringing home a j frame sized wheel gun, most likely a second tier gun like Taurus or Charter. On wheelguns I am plenty gun savvy, and can put her onto several good guns that she can try. On tiny autos (what she thinks she wants) I don't know much. Looking at guns the size of say a keltec p11 and smaller in 32acp or 22 mag. Any suggestions for mild recoil pocket autos?

My first thoughts are to run her through the g42 (.380) and hope it doesn't stick, followed by keltec p32, NAA guardian, and any used 32acp guns I can find. I can hand load for her in 32 but will not tool up for 380 unless it's a taurus mini revolver.

On wheelguns I will put her into a 32 cal or 38 cal of any flavor and hand load for her target ammo. In this realm I'm hoping for 32hr mag or 327 fed but expecting 38spl. Not ruling out 22 mag or 17hmr here either.

Anything I'm missing that needs put in her hands? Kahr, Sig (she likes the rainbow 238), ruger...any suggestions are welcomed.
Have you guys considered the LC380?

It might be a schoach bigger than wanted, but it will be more powerful than a 22 magnum or 32acp; and should be very light recoiling because it's a .380 in a 9mm sized gun.
 
If you've not looked at corneredcat.com, please do. There's a very good reason it is cited so often. To be explicit, it will show how to fit a gun to her and that knowledge will be valuable when the two of you go to handle guns. I'd add that finding out what grip angle points naturally for her is the critical first step. Once you find that out with a full sized gun you can then start to pick from all the handguns with the same or similar grip angle. I've taught many women to shoot and the first thing I find out is what they point naturally. It may be a CZ75 or Sig like my wife points or a 1911 like our friend Ginger points or a Glock like my daughter points. By finding out what the individual points naturally they can then go on to what width and reach to trigger matches the details of their hand. A handgun that is properly fitted to the individual will be more accurate initially and enjoyable to shoot than one they have to work around. You'd be surprised by the number of petite women that pick a heavier caliber handgun that fits them properly.

If your wife has a small hand she may find that single stack semiautos or smaller frame revolvers are easier to grip and therefore point. Look at the guidance on determining what grip angle fits and go from there.
 
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That would be 9 kinds of awesome if she chose a .480 Ruger for her carry gun.

One of the Ruger Alaskans in .480, handloaded with Titegroup powder and cast bullets would be pretty soft shooting due to its weight and still pack a heckuva wallop on a bad guy. One of the starting loads on the Hodgdon website shows a 420 Grain LFN at 862 fps. Ouch.

She might have to get a larger handbag :).

Just my funny but still serious .02,
LeonCarr
 
If you've not looked at corneredcat.com, please do. There's a very good reason it is cited so often. To be explicit, it will show how to fit a gun to her and that knowledge will be valuable when the two of you go to handle guns. I'd add that finding out what grip angle points naturally for her is the critical first step. Once you find that out with a full sized gun you can then start to pick from all the handguns with the same or similar grip angle. I've taught many women to shoot and the first thing I find out is what they point naturally. It may be a CZ75 or Sig like my wife points or a 1911 like our friend Ginger points or a Glock like my daughter points. By finding out what the individual points naturally they can then go on to what width and reach to trigger matches the details of their hand. A handgun that is properly fitted to the individual will be more accurate initially and enjoyable to shoot than one they have to work around. You'd be surprised by the number of petite women that pick a heavier caliber handgun that fits them properly.

If your wife has a small hand she may find that single stack semiautos or smaller frame revolvers are easier to grip and therefore point. Look at the guidance on determining what grip angle fits and go from there.
Best advice so far.
 
We went shopping today. Small shop with a lot of choices (and an incredible stainless stoeger luger for 800 bucks) tried literally every small auto in the shop. Some just felt funny (thin guns mainly) but all had the same downfall of a hard (for her) to rack slide. Of the bunch the pk380 was the closest gun to working but she saw .380 and put it down. Then we looked at revolvers, and a standout favorite was the bodyguard 38. When questioning the 5 round capacity, the shop owner pulled out a 22lr ruger, and proceeds to talk about the 22 mag version which can be had for 425 and tax. The wife still wants an auto but is now leaning towards the lcr. She asked if they made any small revolvers in 22 mag that "don't feel like a toy" about the same size. I can borrow an lcr for her to try out, and now I have a good excuse to buy factory style grips for my smith because she doesn't (I don't either) like the pachys that are on it.
 
My wife carries a S&W 442 snub nose. She's 4' 11", 100lbs. Has recently decided after an advanced concealed class that it's no fun to shoot a lot. If your wife is recoil sensitive, a small revolver isn't the way to go. She needs to find a gun that fits HER, have someone who understands the proper grip to help her find a gun that fits her hand then borrow/rent one and shoot. My wife recently tried out a S&W Shield, Glock 42, Sig P238. The P238 won pretty easily. Fits her hand perfectly, softest shooting. A .380 round isn't the first choice, scoring a hit with a .22 is better than missing with a .44 magnum.
 
Here's a short list of carry handguns I've bought for the wife over the years -- each one personally handled and chosen by her -- then discarded before she settled on current carry pistols: Walther PPK/S; Makarov (.380); Beretta 3032 Tomcat; Taurus Model 85CH; S&W Model 60; S&W Model 442 (she's good with J-Frames, she just likes autopistols much more); and finally, a Ruger LC9 ... I'm sure there are more; I just can't recall them at the moment.

My wife suffers from some arthritis in both hands and wrists. Right now, her current carry piece is a SIG P-238 -- it's light, fits her smallish hands well, has great night-sights, she can easily rack the slide, and the trigger pull is terrific, just sweet. She is a minute of paper-plate (8") shooter with a full mag at 15 yards with this pistol. As my wife got used to shooting 1911s with me back in the early '90s, she's fine with Condition One cocked'n'locked carry and loves a good SA trigger pull.

For the range, the wife's favorite gun of all is her (formerly mine) West German SIG P-228which she sometimes p acks in a Galco Miami Classic. She typically carries a S&W M&P-9 Compact in a Blade-Tech OWB when she wants a bit more pop and capacity. But she's always got at least that SIG P-238 Extreme in a Kramer Belt Scabbard or inside her dedicated gun-carry purse.
 
Sign wifey up for a Women's Personal Defense class, make sure the instructor knows she has, in your own words, "....experience and ability with a j frame revolver". Put any of these .380 micropistols up against a S&W 642 and then hope she picks the right one!
 
If it is to be her gun let her choose it. Those are words of wisdom gained during 56 years of marriage.

My wife wanted a Walther PPK and that is what she got. She's happy so I'm happy for her.
 
Some just felt funny (thin guns mainly) but all had the same downfall of a hard (for her) to rack slide.

Has been repeatedly repeated here:

I'd bet your wife most certainly CAN rack a slide, but you need to read this first and teach her:

http://www.corneredcat.com/article/r...ack-the-slide/

Best of luck

If the both of you have yet to read this site, you are wasting your time and setting her up for failure
 
My wife can't rack any of the semi autos I have or had. That's something you might want to try before you buy anyways.
Edit: Sorry ... I have read over some and see this has been mentioned.
 
gun selected, found, bought...

We went to another shop today, messed with a few and when she picked up the Glock 42 she was happy. Right size, right weight, wrong action but everything else was right. She wanted sa/da but everything else was perfect...until she saw the price tag. Her heart sunk and she puffed up the bottom lip a bit. Shop owner put the gun back in the case and she turned to walk away, but I stopped her. She worked EMS professionally for several years and has an active EMT license. I asked her for her work ID and grinned at the shop owner a bit. He chuckled a bit and said that he got a shipment this morning of 6, and he immediately went to get one. Mrs WK asked what was going on, and I told her the $489 gun she wanted was going to be $340. She got happy real quick. Pocket/purse holster from Galco, and 2 boxes cheapo ball to practice with for $414.

I hate the fact that it's a glock plastic wondergun, but it fits her perfectly, and she points it very naturally, almost to instinct. Being a glock I know it's super reliable and will do well.

Now if I can just get her to quit taking "Charlies Angels" pics and practice with it I will be all set.
 
My Wife went thru the same 2 years ago - she's 5' tall and 110 - 120 lbs, 5 year cancer survivor (which I mention because she has some altered physical changes!) and mildly arthritic. She shot *every* revolver and pistol we could rent, borrow, or buy and in the end we shot them all.

Her main carry pistol if her Glock 42. She also loves and frequently trains with and carries a Colt Pocket Hammerless in .32. She loves the custom Pocket Hammerless we have (hard chromed, street tuned with trigger and action jobs) in .32 ACP. Recently she has decided to get back to her Farm Girls roots and started training with her Ruger LCR again.

The only bad thing about snubbies is that they are arguably the hardest guns for most folks get be accurate with and she has been down in the mouth because now instead of nice tight groups her targets look like a shotgun pattern.

Teeny Tiny guns do not equate to being "better" for smaller people or Women. Bigger guns work better but then we run into problems concealing them. Good luck and have her shoot as many guns as she can to make her own choices.

VooDoo
 
The tone was getting a bit harsh (some posts disappeared), and the question was already answered with a report of the firearm chosen and purchased. Let's leave this one with a happy ending.
 
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