Handgun for my wife...suggestions...

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Charlie_Pat25.jpg
Charlie Two Five and Pat Two Five.
My wife carried a K frame snubby as a duty sidearm as a Deputy 40 years ago.. When we left LE she carried a J frame 38 CCW for 40 years. When recoil from the J frame started to hurt her hand recently, she chose a Kahr CW9.
Softer recoil, more ammo, no safety, and revolver like trigger pull.
 
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Iggy said:
View attachment 768182 My wife carried a K frame snubby as a duty sidearm as a Deputy 40 years ago.. When we left LE she carried a J frame 38 CCW for 40 years. When recoil from the J frame started to hurt her hand recently, she chose a Kahr CW9.
Softer recoil, more ammo, no safety, and revolver like trigger pull.
Click to expand...
Thread Derail: Iggy, I think she's outta your league, and I say that with all due respect :)
 
Another option is the SCCY CPX-3. It is one of the few locked-breech .380 ACP pistols out there that are of substantial size. I don't have one, but they say the felt recoil is less than direct blowback. I do have a 9mm CPX-2, and its recoil is fairly light.
 
We are 53 and 59 been together 18 years.She has never wanted a gun.Last week bringing me home from the Hospital where I was put under for a test.We stopped at my favorite gun store so I could pick some primers.
She saw a purple Charter Arms 38special she asked to hold it and her eyes lit up “I like this “.I may have been a little loopy still. I picked up a box of Hornady critical defense 38’s with PINK tips and made her happy with my credit card.She did the paper work and now she carries .
I just hope Hornady keeps making those pink tipped bullits. Two first she had never went in a gun store with me and never wanted to shoot with me. there goes my me time.
 
MTNSTRYDER said:
We are 53 and 59 been together 18 years.She has never wanted a gun.Last week bringing me home from the Hospital where I was put under for a test.We stopped at my favorite gun store so I could pick some primers.
She saw a purple Charter Arms 38special she asked to hold it and her eyes lit up “I like this “.I may have been a little loopy still. I picked up a box of Hornady critical defense 38’s with PINK tips and made her happy with my credit card.She did the paper work and now she carries .
I just hope Hornady keeps making those pink tipped bullits. Two first she had never went in a gun store with me and never wanted to shoot with me. there goes my me time.
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Ahh. I had forgot about those! 90 gr going a little over 1000 fps. About like a 32 H&R. Wadcutters are a good load too, without too much recoil.
 
S&W mod 64, heavy barrel, 38, police trade in with hammer bobbed. This revolver loaded with some standard pressure ammo and a houge grip.
 
Iggy said:
View attachment 768182
Charlie Two Five and Pat Two Five.
My wife carried a K frame snubby as a duty sidearm as a Deputy 40 years ago.. When we left LE she carried a J frame 38 CCW for 40 years. When recoil from the J frame started to hurt her hand recently, she chose a Kahr CW9.
Softer recoil, more ammo, no safety, and revolver like trigger pull.
Click to expand...
That's a tall lady, almost makes you look short.
 
My suggestion might be a little boring, but... Double action revolver with a 5.5" - 6.5" barrel in a 32 or 38. I would not shy away from considering a SA revolver in the same size and cartridge. If your wife wants to know as little about firearms as possible, have good natural pointing with it and have it be foolproof, this suggestion might make sense to look into.

When I was a college kid, I dated a girl who's father would leave a 32 or 38 SA on her bed-stand when he and his wife were leaving town. She knew nothing about guns, but she could pick it up, point it, cock the hammer, and pull the trigger...

saturno_v said:
My other half has had no interests whatsoever in firearms....she shot firearms few times in the past and she may go to the range with me some other time...not holding my breath.

She does not want to carry.

I would like some suggestions for a handgun (semi or revolver does not matter) to put in her nightstand drawer (she is fine with the idea) when I'm not home with the following specs.

- Foolproof trigger pull (in a semi-auto a DA or DA/SA setup is preferable)
- Reliable, point and shoot
- A powerful enough cartridge for SD but with the most manageable recoil for a person totally untrained and that does not want to be trained.
- It can be full size, carry is not a requirement.

Some ideas I got....I thought my Beretta 92 could be a good candidate (big and heavy, easily absorb the 9mm recoil) but it is just a bit too big for her hands (she is 5.4).

I'm afraid the typical compact 380 semiauto (think bersa Thunder 380) may actually have a worse recoil than a Beretta 92 (I haven't shot a 380 in a while, memory is foggy)
So, maybe a full size 380?? Are they around??
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my wife went through 2 revolvers (38 and 22 mag) and 2 SA's (22 and LC9s in 9mm) before she decided she liked the sig p238 in 380 - almost no recoil and good trigger, and the kimber micro 9 CDP when she wanted something in 9mm - a bit more kick, but similar in feel to the p238 and has nice trigger.
 
saturno_v

The Beretta PX4 would make for a decent choice in terms of less felt recoil and for someone with smaller size hands. For a nightstand gun I went with a SIG P229R as I also have small hands (the Beretta 92 is just too big in the grip section for me to get a decent hold on the gun and still reach the trigger), liked the DA/SA trigger, and wanted a rail in order to mount a light/laser module. I also have had a lot of trigger time with a P226 and a P228 and feel very comfortable using them.
 
My wife shoots a Colt Combat Commander 45. It's the only one she's interested in shooting. Can be carried or stored in a nightstand cocked and locked. One sweep of the safety and she's in business. Also a steel framed gun so recoil doesn't bother her. But if you're wife doesn't enjoy shooting her defense gun, she may not be familiar enough with it to use under stress. I tend to follow the old adage when it comes to weapons. "Don't use something that can be taken away from you and used against you".
 
I bought my wife a Ruger LC9S; she likes this gun but that thing really jumps around in my bigger hands, and I don't care much for the "does not fire without the magazine inserted" feature plus a few other quirks. She took her CCW with it, and learned how to disassemble it pretty quick with of all things, a crochet needle. But it is hard for her to rack with a pretty tight spring even after 500 or so round fired thru it. Since Springfield has came out with the XDE (hammer fired) pistol, it stirred my interest and I checked it out. A little hard double action pull, but a measley 4.5 pull single action, and the rack on it is 30% lighter than the XD. You can definitely tell the difference. It's just a little larger than the XD mainly because the mag holds an extra round. It's single stack so her hands would fit around it nicely. I took my wife out to Cabellas so she could see it and hold it in her hands, and she likes it. So it will probably be her next handgun after Christmas. Hope this helps.
 
Charter Arms Undercoverette. 32 H&R mag, won't break the bank, low recoil, SD ammo is no more expensive than other calibers, lifetime warranty, and comes in pink, lavender, or brushed stainless.
 
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preacherJohn said:
I bought my wife a Ruger LC9S; she likes this gun but that thing really jumps around in my bigger hands, and I don't care much for the "does not fire without the magazine inserted" feature plus a few other quirks. She took her CCW with it, and learned how to disassemble it pretty quick with of all things, a crochet needle. But it is hard for her to rack with a pretty tight spring even after 500 or so round fired thru it.
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I've got no problem with the XD-E (haven't handled one, myself), but just wanted to make a few comments about the LC9s:
  1. I agree that all centerfire subcompacts recoil more than a full-size gun, but I find the LC9s's to be reasonable to control, considering the size/class of pistol. But depending on user ergonomics, YMMV.
  2. There is no mag safety (or traditional external safety) on the Pro model of the LC9s. The only safety is the trigger (blade) safety, which was one of the reasons I selected it, since I don't want any superfluous features to accidentally be activated while drawing, disabling the gun (without me realizing it) for a few critical seconds.
  3. Difficulty racking the slide is a common complaint for women shooters, regardless of the semi-auto in question. As "The Cornered Cat" says, "Racking the slide is not about strength. It is all about technique.":
    https://www.corneredcat.com/article/running-the-gun/rack-the-slide/
    (This is a good site for you and your wife to check out in general.)
 
Zendude writes:

Charter Arms Undercoverette. 32 H&R mag, won't break the bank, low recoil, SD ammo is no more expensive than other calibers, lifetime warranty, and comes in pink, lavender, or brushed stainless.
Click to expand...

(^^edited to credit the poster)

I had an older one in hand a few years back at Gander Mountain. It felt really nice. I should have bought it, as I do like the older CA revolvers. I have three of their Undercover models, one of which was carried by my dad as a deputy in Colorado, and one by me as a LEO here in Florida (these were off-duty and backup guns.)
 
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