Girlfriendly CCW?

[shootingthebreeze]

http://www.magnumresearch.com/Micro_Eagle.asp

Micro Eagle link

 

[W.E.G.]

You might want to think about doing a search of the forum.
Go to: http://thehighroad.org/search.php

I think this question (or one almost exactly like it) might have been asked here before.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, and using just "wife" as the search term for thread titles:

Good pistol for my wife to use

wife wants a revolver

what pistol does your wife carry concealed?

Full-size 9 for the wife

Pistol for the wife to use

Home defense for my wife

First 9mm for me and my wife

Wife wants a wheelgun...

The Best Revolver for My Wife?

inexpensive bedside handgun for my wife

Recomendation on target 9mm for the wife

Bought the Wife a new gun

My wife wants a gun!! Maybe.

My Wife Wants My Carry Gun

Gun purse for wife

.38 for CCW for my Wife?

Need a snubby revolver for my wife....

Need help finding a revolver for the wife to use.

Recommend revolver for my wife

Which handgun does your wife/girlfriend shoot?

Good first gun for my wife to use?

My Wife Took the Plunge - CC Permit

My wife likes guns

Good shotgun for HD AND my wife?

Finally found one the wife can use

Buying a gun for my wife

A compatibility issue with wife and new shotgun

Does the wife carry?

New 9mm for the wife!

Range day with the wife

I'm buying my wife a revolver.

handgun for wife to use

 

[Sgt_R]

Try the Glock 23, 27, Springfield XD40 subcompact, and S&W M&P40 compact. They're all fairly small. If thickness is more of a concern, try the Kahr P40 and K40, or for truly tiny, try the PM40 and MK40.

One of those should do the trick, just pick the one that she likes the most when she handles it.

I would suggest renting a few of the above, if possible. The PM40 is a great gun, but it's a handful. It shouldn't be a problem, considering that your GF likes the .50, but better to be sure before you make a $600-700 mistake.

FWIW, my wife and I shot the PM9 and PM40 (as well as a few others) before deciding on the P380 for me (I wanted something to drop in my pocket as a backup to my G27) and a PM9 for her.

R

 

[shootingthebreeze]

W.E.G, perhaps it would be a refreshing change if women posted questions themselves versus husbands/boyfriends.

What I see is a trend for men wanting to arm their female partner and having control over the selection of a weapon. Women are quite capable of making up their mind and actually will decide what is best for them.

I asked my wife if she wanted to qualify at the range with my .38; she never fired a handgun. She refused and does not ever want to ever go to the range and fire. She has no problems with me going, she just is not interested in learning. Her choice, and I respect that.

I think that forcing the issue of handgun usage/purchasing on women could cause resentment on the part of the woman because she was not allowed to make her own decision on the research and selection of a handgun. Getting a CCW is a personal choice which should belong to the person getting one, not with someone else's suggestion and insistance.

I think a lot of men convince women to be armed, probably related to a man's desire to protect their wife/girlfriend. To me, that is strictly a woman's choice, and it's not my duty to try to convince my wife to arm herself when she is absolutely not at all interested in handguns. I brought up the issue of qualifying once-and seeing absolute non interest on her part, dropped the subject.

 

[W.E.G.]

You are right about that.

I'm probably not going to become a baking prodigy either just because my wife gets me a gift certificate for a dessert-making class. But, I might go to it if she acts like it means a lot to her. I'll still bake flat cakes. Mark my words.

 

[TrakHack]

Just a guess, but I bet many women do a lot of searching on forums like this and reading when they are serious about acquiring a firearm for whatever reason instead of posting a question outright. I know I did.

This really isn't different than most things between men and women. Don't tell a woman what she wants or needs and you should be fine. For something important that she will use or wear everyday, like a wedding ring or gun, she has to like what it is *and* have the desire to use/wear it.

 

[GunChick]

I have an HK USP Compact .40. Love it. I also carry a SW 642 as a purse gun.

Is she looking for purse carry or personal carry (on body)? This will change what she might want, too. How she dresses will affect what she can easily and comfortably conceal.

If you have a gun and holster, can you let her carry it for a day? If you've never dealt with trying to conceal or carry it, even a trial run with someone else's gun can help a lot!

Good luck and kudos to your GF for wanting to carry!

 

[TrickyDick]

Screw it. Commander 1911, or Sub-compact 1911. Good 'ol .45 ACP

 

[goon]

W.E.G, perhaps it would be a refreshing change if women posted questions themselves versus husbands/boyfriends.

What I see is a trend for men wanting to arm their female partner and having control over the selection of a weapon. Women are quite capable of making up their mind and actually will decide what is best for them.

Agreed.
This should be such "common sense" that I shouldn't have to say it, but women are people too. They have minds. They can decide what they like.
You'd think that every man on earth would already be intimately and painfully aware of this, but for some reason we seem to forget this when we start talking guns.

 

[gearhead]

How does she plan to carry it? That makes a huge difference and if she carries in a purse or something like that she can comfortably carry a lot more gun than a man can carry.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

gearhead, I don't know what women you have been around, but the "thing" my wife carries is already 20 pounds and if you could find enough room to put a full sized .45cal semi-auto in it, I would be HIGHLY surprised! I personally feel that carry in a purse, unless it is one of those custom jobs with an easily accessed hole in the side, is way too much of a hassle for true self defense. If a woman has time to reach in her purse then more than likely it is not a real "defense" situation. And I do not see most women walking around with their hand in their purse for quick access. Wearing a weapon is the best way to have access and women, as well as men, need to tailor their clothing to suit access as well as concealment. Purse carry could actually get a female hurt as there would be far too many steps to draw in a TRUE defense situation.

 

[mljdeckard]

So, let me get this straight.

She loves shooting big guns. I mean, REALLY big guns. She wants to make sure her gun is powerful enough. And YOU are trying to talk her into a .380?

Seriously man, you sound like the stereotypical worst gun store clerk on the planet.

No, she probably won't carry a .50. But there is no reason on this planet she couldn't carry a .45. Holsters, concealment, training, etc, all of these things will be things to worry about no matter what gun she chooses, and YOU decide to handicap her options. There are MANY good compact options in ALL good defensive calibers to choose from. The only time I have ever conceded that a .380 is the best choice, is for my 65 year old mother, who has a wrist injury and arthritis, and she can't grip the slide well enough to rack normal guns. For anyone in good health, they can handle a regular gun.

I won't even start on my problems with the cartridge itself, but realize, smaller guns are NOT easier to shoot. They have a smaller sight radius, making them harder to aim, and less weight to soak up recoil. Let her look at a j-frame, a G-19, a Kahr, an XD compact, an M&P compact, etc. I would say to send her to the store BY HERSELF, but I know full well, many store guys will make the exact same mistakes you are making here.

 

[mljdeckard]

Purse carry is an option, even if it's not the best option. Some womens' lifestyle does affect their carry options. And while I could lecture about changing the lifestyle to fit carrying better, there are actually good purse holsters out there. No,don't just throw it into your purse, get an actual holster that was designed for it. To do this a woman must be conditioned to keeping the purse with her at all times, but it's better than not carrying at all.

 

[DeepSouth]

Finding the right carry gun has some trial and error to it. Take her to a gun store and buy the one she wants no matter how heavy or bulky. She might just love it enough to carry it anyway, and she might learn a few things, like what compromise is all about.

I bought my wife 3 or 4 different guns (and lasers) before she got one she was willing to carry on a daily basis. She started off wanting one that wouldn't kick, then she decided she was unconformable with a small caliber. We bought a bigger gun and she didn't carry often at all because it was so heavy, eventually she found the middle ground, then she found one in the right color. It was expensive, and it took a while but now she's happy and carries almost everywhere. Money well spent. I will also say she picked out every gun we bought, I just did a little research and showed her a lot of options.

But you did ask for recommendations so with what you said the KAHR PM45 is what comes to mind. The recoil is much less than you would think, if she likes larger calibers she'll be able to handle it without any problems.

 

[esquare]

First - let her pick the gun, which also includes doing all the preliminary research, posting on forums, asking questions, etc. If she really wants to do this, your job is to encourage, not do all the work.

Second - with girls, guns are like shoes. Just assume that they will end up with a full line from tiny to large so they can match their different outfits.

Third - have her look up the channel 'limalife' on youtube. It's done by a pretty small woman and she manages to carry a good sized wilson combat .45 (4 lbs). Lots of good info for women there.

 

[TXiceman]

My favorite for women to carry is a 38 snubbie revolver. It can easily be loaded with +P hollow points and makes a great small weapon to carry.

 

[45Fan]

+1 to DeepSouth's comment. My wife spent several weeks looking into the options that are out there, then spent the better part of a day shooting different handguns in the back yard (a good friend was kind enough to bring over his collection) By the time she had shot a few hundred rounds, everything from .22 to .357, she had a good idea of what she was looking for. Her first choice is a compd full size 1911, but being impractical for her to carry every day, found a PK380 that she absolutly loves. it took about a week of her carrying it around the house that she decided maybe something a little smaller and flatter would carry easier. The next step, for her was a Kel-Tech pf-9, that she found at a gunshow, and she is almost never more than arms reach away from it.
Nothing really wrong with a .40, but I have to argree with others that have said recoil may be a bit much in some of the smaller platforms geared toward CC. If she is good with it, it is a viable option. In my own case, I feel that the 40 is just too snappy in any of the lightweight frames available today. I have tried a few, and even compared to my officers model, the .45 is just more plesant to shoot. Whatever she deccides, it needs to be something that she wants to carry all of the time, and can shoot effectively. A .500 whizing by someones head is always trumped by the .380 or 9mm hitting center mass when stopping a bad person is the goal.

 

[Wedge]

Make some recommendations based on her parameters. If she insists on a full size, so be it. She'll hate carrying it just like everyone else who wants to carry a full size...(yes I have a full size and hate carrying it).

She wants power, she thinks the 380 is wimpy, sounds like she knows what she wants and just wants some recommendations.

If my wife said, "Hey Wedge, I want a Glock 20 to carry CCW", I'd just go buy the Glock 20. She'd either love it, carry it everyday (how I don't know?) or she'd realize she wants something smaller and we'd go from there.

CCW is very personal, what works for you might not work for me. I can carry a fullsize pretty easily, I don't like to but I can. My friend on the other hand is much larger than me, but can't conceal a fullsize and likes his j-frame.

My recommendation: Start with the ubiquitous Glock23 and work from there at the store.

Good luck.

 

[W.E.G.]

WWRCD?

 

[jrhines]

A .500 whizzing
by someones head is always trumped by the .380 or 9mm hitting center mass when stopping a bad person is the goal. - 45Fan

I'll take one COM hit with a 9mm over however many misses you want with the caliber of your choice. - Me
The gun selection is important, but not nearly as important as training and practice time honing the skills to use it. Your best gift is not the gun, but getting her the continuing & consistent range time to maintain her ability to use it safely and legally.
Just my opinion, I may be wrong. YMMV

 

[stanger04]

Okay I'm 5'6" and weigh about 125 so maybe I can help some. If she isn't using purse carry she may have the issue I have especially in the summer time which is concealment (which is why I have a few different carry guns and rigs).

If she likes bigger calibers a snub .357 revolver is good all the way around. If she wants an auto officer model 1911 is good as well, I'm not fond of anything smaller as parts get higher and they don't use a standard like other 1911's (personal opinion).

My favorite for carry is sill the G19, I know a lot of people say the 9mm isn't big enough but to me I still prefer it over a .380 (cheaper to shoot, more abundance of ammo). Everyone is gonna have a favorite but from a strictly carry point and comfortable to shoot point, I'd have to opt for a 1911 or the snub revolver.

+1 jrhines

 

[danprkr]

Let her do what she wants, then when she doesn't like it and gets something more suitable you have a new addition to your collection.

 

[William Lee]

You could get her a Walther p226 in .40. I think I remember shooting one. Surprisingly easy on the recoil given the small size of the gun.

 

[cambeul41]

I'll take one COM hit with a 9mm over however many misses you want with the caliber of your choice.

That "I'll take . . . . " is totally ambiguous!

 

[MistWolf]

Let her pick her own. She's the one who has to carry it. If it turns out she doesn't like it, so what? Just an excuse to acquire another pistol. If she wants to pack a .40 S&W, more power to the woman