Advice from/for Female CCers?

[archigos]

My fiancee is looking to get her concealed carry permit, and I'd like to be able to provide her with some advice in terms of what to look for in a gun, how to carry effectively, etc. I have no idea where to start - I carry, but I'm a guy, and of course have a very different body type than her and don't have the same restrictions due to clothing type. We're getting married in February, and she'll probably apply for her permit shortly thereafter.

She's about average build and typically wears averagely-tight clothing for a woman her age (23 in January). She does *not* carry a purse.
At night, she typically wears a sweatshirt (about 8 months a year), but she's forced to wear a polo or button-up for work.
I have absolutely no idea how she can conceal a weapon well without a sweatshirt because her clothes are tighter than mine.
Pocket carry is out of the question (her pockets are too small for my LCP).
Does this leave any options? Does anybody with a similar build / clothing style carry concealed?

I got her pepper spray (okay, I got it for me for the one day that I had to be in NYC, but its hers now) but I can't even figure out a practical way for her to carry that! The best I can do is have her have it in her car, which certainly eliminates most practical uses of a CCW.

Ideas? Specific guns that we should look at for her?

The other problem is that I cannot get her to go to the range. She has a shotgun that I bought her [because she badly wanted it] last Christmas, but she's not gone to the range with me even once. I shot it myself just to confirm that it works because its her HD weapon. I certainly don't want her carrying a weapon that she isn't experienced shooting. Any ideas on how I can make the idea more exciting for her? She actually really wants to carry but I want to make sure that if she does, its going to improve her safety and not act as a detriment to it.

 

[lions]

http://www.corneredcat.com/

Start with that, it's a great resource. It helped my wife tremendously.

 

[Avenger29]

Cornered Cat.

She needs to go to the range.

She needs to not let a gunstore push a lightweight .38spcl revolver on her. She needs to shoot enough different firearms to find out what works for her and doesn't. What she's comfortable with and not. She needs to make this critical choice. Remind her that smaller/lighter often means unpleasant recoil. She needs to not let herself be swayed by looks (ie, pink, looks cute, etc. Gun can always be painted pink later). Reliability, quality, and shooter comfort are the most important factors. Looks should take a backseat.

She may very well have to dress around the gun. Either she'll be serious about CCW or not. Sadly, all too many people fall into the latter category. There is only so much you can compromise on.

There are specialist CCW options like Smartcarry.

 

[MICHAEL T]

If she won't even go to range with you Then she really not interested or just saying so to please you. If you state required a shooting test for permit How she going to pass that.
My self I would forget it. I beat my head against this wall before :banghead: it gets old and hurts .

 

[ichiban]

Is it possible that she just doesn't want to go to the range with you? Seriously. Maybe there is some interaction there that makes this hard for her to do. My ex was like that with anything I tried to teach her. She was fine if someone else told her the exact same thing and I am good at teaching other women. Never did figure out what caused that reaction. Don't have to worry about now. Hope you have better luck in that arena.

But she does need to get to the range and practice. Maybe a friend (hers or yours) can help. Trying to operate an unfamiliar firearm under stress is recipe for disaster.

 

[makarovnik]

Sounds like she is not really serious about self defense. It is dangerous to never practice and she needs to adjust her dress a little.

My wife uses a very small fanny pack with a holster built in specifically for her Kel-Tec P32.

If she has an ample bosom maybe she can get one of those necklaces with a NAA mini revolver on it and stash it in the cleavage.

 

[9MMare]

It is dangerous to never practice .

This

+1

 

[CooperThunder]

I have a thigh holster...for dress-ups. I bought it here...http://www.handgunholsters.net/

When you go to gunshows you will find similar ones. I like mine and practiced wearing it everyday until I got used to it. I like other holsters too and carry at 5 oclock, especially during winter. I like winter for CC'ing. I have more problem during the summer when I like to dress down a little.

 

[Howard B]

Ichiban you describe what I refer to as the complete stranger theory. I first encountered it about 15 years ago while trying to help my wife improve her highpower classification. If my suggestion was: uncomfortable (tighter sling, etc), time consuming (dry firing), or otherwise deemed unnecessary, I would simply approach others to make the suggestion. The end result was accomplished without additional issues. Because of the baggage that comes with any relationship, usually teaching the other to do anything that takes more than one lesson is out of the question.

 

[sanerkeki]

My wife goes with me to the range during the summer all the time. I made a (i dont know if I can call it a range) on my hunting property were I do the shooting and she brings a beach chair and her laptop and sunbaids. She fired guns few times not a fan off it and she gets excited about shooting day as much as I do of going to the mall shopping

 

[Pyzon]

IMHO-

Nothing good happens when guns are in the hands of persons not comfortable or experienced with them.

If she refuses to train or practice, you and she would be better off getting rid of her access to firearms.

Have a heart to heart with her about her intentions now. There are few more serious topics that will likely come up down the road between the two of you.

 

[mete]

The rule , for men and women , is to dress around the gun.So tight fitting clothes are not a good idea.

 

[chris in va]

FWIW my friend absolutely detests revolvers. Don't assume a woman needs one. She likes my Kahr a lot.

 

[JellyJar]

See if you can locate a Woman firearms trainer. Perhaps through the NRA. Then have that person contact her with an offer to teach her how to shoot.

 

[YaNi]

1) She must take CCW seriously and regularly practice.

2) This may not sound obvious, but if she gets an autoloader make sure she can rack the slide. I never thought about it until I was taking my NRA Basic Pistol Class (Ohio uses it as a CCL Class) and the instructors were a husband and wife team. The wife was saying she couldn't rack the slide the normal way (hold grip with right hand and use left hand to pull back the slide). She figured out a way to do it, she holds the slide with her left hand and punches with her right to get more force.

 

[Arthur2001]

We are sharing the same worries I am looking for a appropriate gun for my wife. One of the issue is; whether she will be able to rack the slide or not ? Instead of learning the answer, when a trouble happens , I decided to go for a revolver. A snubbie S&W 317 .22lr.
Not too noisy, no needs to rack the slide..
About bullet stoping power I have no comment, but I can argue that a 22.lr in the pocket is better then a .45 cal in the safe at home..
Cheers..

 

[twice barrel]

What MichaelT said.

 

[ECHOONE]

I can get mine to the range,I can get her to shoot all my pistols and she's a damn good shot,but I can't get her to fill out the paper work and take the classroom for the permit!Why she won't I don't know,she'll carry a .38 in the glove box,go figure!