Handgun for my wife to use?

[RustyShackelford]

Beretta semi auto with the pop up barrel...

Your wife may need a small Beretta .32acp or .380acp pistol that can have the barrel pop up to load. Now if she can't fire a DA only j frame revolver, a semi auto pocket pistol may not work either, .

I have seen some people have issues with holding or firing DA pistols/revolvers. These are things some people do not think of when buying a new handgun for protection, .

RS

 

[jdorian]

First thought is that she needs one of those finger strength exercise tools because even the smallest person can develop strength in their fingers.

 

[springmom]

She needs to pick her own gun. Especially as this is her first gun, it needs to fit her hand, her grip, and be what she wants. I would respectfully suggest that if she has to undergo a training regimen first, she's likely to chuck the whole idea. Both of you might find www.corneredcat.com a useful site to read.

Better for her to go to different gun shops, handle whichever ones are of interest to her, ask questions of the clerk, and fall in love with the one that's right for her. Best situation is when she gets to go to the range with a number of guns and try them out.

I would agree with those that suggest you might need to have that revolver looked at. That just doesn't sound right. That said, I do *not* have the finger strength to open a jar of pickles (arthritis) but did eventually develop enough to be able to accurately shoot a revolver DA. Of course, it took teeth-gritting determination and two years of practice. She might want to put that much into learning on the revolver, but in the meantime, it would be good for her to have a gun that fits her now.

Take her shopping, bring the checkbook, write the check, take her to the range (and then let someone else teach her to shoot....it works better.)

Springmom

 

[Kosh75287]

What about just letting her try to dry-fire the S&W 642? At first, she might not be able to squeeze it through to "firing", but that'll disappear after a bit. Meanwhile, she gets better accustomed to the feel of the trigger, and with the mechanics of what happens to make a revolver go "pow". Additionally, the more times a new revolver's trigger is squeezed, the smoother it tends to become over time. Stronger fingers and smoother trigger action tend to mix well, usually.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Teach her how to use a CZ-75 or Browning Hi-Power. Then take her to a gunstore and let her pick a gun she likes. She may choose a semi instead (especially if you can get her to rack the slide).

 

[Defensory]

Take your wife to a gun shop and have her handle several of the smaller 9mm semi-autos, such as the Lady Smith, Kahr, Springfield XD Subcompact etc.

I haven't met an able-bodied woman yet who couldn't handle racking the slide on virtually any small or medium frame semi-auto. I taught a Filipina who was barely five feet tall and a hundred pounds, how to handle a semi-auto with no problem.

I've found that most women prefer the lighter, shorter pull of a semi-auto over the long, heavy pull of a revolver. Some women, like your wife, just don't have the digital strength to consistently make good pulls on a typical heavy-handed double action revolver trigger.

I realize that many women don't have a problem with a revolver trigger, so I don't need a lecture from those who insist their wives can outshoot Jerry Miculek with their revolvers.

However, it's just a plain, hard fact that a significant number of women DO have problems with revolver triggers.