Concealable Handgun For My Wife?

[Lawdawg45]

Of the three you mentioned, the Walther is a bit heavy but that equates to more control/less perceived recoil, and the other two are fine purse/pocket guns......own them both. A .40 in that platform would be painful and unmanageable to shoot accurately. I'd also look at the J frames with internal/shrouded hammers for her.

LD

 

[Nushif]

So. My wife carries an FN Compact Hi Power thingie these days ... You know how she found the thing? she saw it at a gun show, wanted it, bought it, shot it and well, then she carried it. Just like how I do it.

"Hey, I know you really don't like minivans, but I think you need one. So my three options for you are this Kia, this Ford, this Chevy and oh ...because I know you like going fast ... They all only have four cylinders."

Now, why are you picking your wife's gun and carrying habits again?

 

[JustinJ]

I got a Russian Makarov for the GF and she was quite pleased. The steel frame adds sufficient heft to make the recoil easily managed.

 

[Wanderling]

Make sure she can operate it before you buy it. My wife is fairly strong and routinely picks up our 9 year old but she had hard time racking the slide on Glock.

 

[W.E.G.]

hard time racking the slide on Glock

This is most often a question of technique.

Noobs always hold it at arms-length, and pinch the rear of the slide like they are holding a dirty diaper.

Show them how to hold it close to their body (muzzle downrange), and use all 10 fingers in combination with their arms and shoulder muscles.

Make sure they don't place their hand over the ejection port, or it will take a bite out of the palm of their hand.

 

[Derry 1946]

old-school

If she prefers a revolver for ease of operation, and given that the argument against tiny guns for this purpose has already been made here, and if she carries an ample concealment purse, consider an older-model .38 special either in snub or a little longer barrel length. They are a bit heavier, thus absorb recoil well, and fit even small hands quite well. And they are very affordable, compared to some newer options.

 

[antiquus]

My wife USED to have a Taurus M85 ( a lightweight 5- shot snubby in .38 spcl). I brought home a Ruger LCR (.38 model). She picked it up and IMMEDIATELY proclaimed that it was now HERS. 'Nuff said.

Yea same here. I miss it. She's arthritic so I loaded it with the Federal low recoil rounds and it's perfect for her.

I have an LCP and it jumps pretty hard, for her it would be useless. It's just physics, the gun weighs 9 oz.

 

[DeMilled]

If she prefers a revolver for ease of operation, and given that the argument against tiny guns for this purpose has already been made here, and if she carries an ample concealment purse, consider an older-model .38 special either in snub or a little longer barrel length. They are a bit heavier, thus absorb recoil well, and fit even small hands quite well. And they are very affordable, compared to some newer options.

There are many police turn in S&W Model 64 pistols on the market at inexpensive prices. You can pick one up and if she does not want to actually carry it you'll have a great plinking gun.

I have three headed my way as we speak; one for my wife, one for my mom and one I am going to try my hand at barrel shortening.

I want to take the barrel down to ~3" and fit it with a night sight, should make a decent carry gun for when I don't want to carry my 45. At 250 bucks, to my door, I cannot really go wrong here.

 

[Strykervet]

This thread recently came up a week or so ago and I asked my wife and she had a lot to say. Try digging that one up.

Long story short, she recommends a .357 revolver loaded with mags for carry and some practice, and specials for lots of practice. She likes the shrouded hammer 649. Says revolvers are easier for women in general and more fun. The stainless ones help with recoil. The 649 SA/DA shrouded is her choice, the 640 DA only is good, as are the medium frame 686+ snubs.

But ultimately, as LCDR said, let her choose. That is most important. I just had a real good idea of what my wife wanted when I picked up that 649 (and I didn't care either, I liked it and I got it for a good price) --I just didn't expect her to snatch it up that quick!

A good rental range is good advice too, figure out what she can handle, and going to a gunshow to try out lots of different styles and makes helps to find just the right one.

 

[reppans]

From quality to reliability what do you all think of the three options so far?

I have an LCP and it's the worst quality and reliability of the handguns I own (Glocks & SW reovlers), but admittedly, it was also the cheapest.

Only firearm that always has at least one FTF/FTE on each range outing, pins keep backing out, and hardest to shoot accurately due to long trigger pull, terrible sight. Despite its great small size, I don't feel safe with it and carry my G26 instead.

I'd go with a .38+P J-frame S&W revolver for woman. Simple, reliable, accurate, and enough power.