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Handgun for my wife to use?

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bmars

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I recently got a S&W 642. My wife has no firearms experience. I took her out a few weeks ago. The trigger pull was too much for her. She could get the cylinder to move, but never could finish the trigger pull. She has what I would consider an average sized adult female hand. Slender fingers, but otherwise average. She goes about 120 pounds, so you get the picture.

I'd really like her to have a handgun she can shoot comfortably. With work, I think I could get her to the point of making the 642 discharge, but it clearly wouldn't be enjoyable. I'm looking for any suggestions for a handgun for her. Here are a few priorities:

1) Safety. -- Given her relative lack of hand strength, I'm a little concerned about her routinely easing the hammer back to the safe position on a handgun. Perhaps a hammerless would be better?

2) Ease of use -- I've already crashed and burned on the 642. I need something that is simple to operate and enjoyable to shoot. I want her to have fun and look forward to shooting. If she's all blistered up, muscles sore from struggling with the weapon, or whatever, it will simply become my second handgun, and I don't want that.

3) Caliber -- I assume that, consistent with #2, above, I'll need to stay in the relatively small calibers.

Any input would be appreciated.
 
The best thing would be to give her the gift of an NRA Women on Target day or a Basic Pistol course geared towards women by a female instructor. Then take her to the gun shop and let her pick a gun for herself.

A semi-auto may or may not be better than a revolver for lack of hand strength (grip strength exercisers of various types are available for the serious), since it may be easier to rack the slide on a given gun than cock the hammer for a given revolver. I have trouble cocking the S&W revolvers because they are just a bit too big for my hands and thus I don't get good leverage with my short thumb.

The Ruger SA revolvers are easier to cock and to fire double action.

The Ruger Mark III and .22/45 semi-autos and the Browning Buckmarks are, in my personal experience/opinion, easy to rack the slides on.

I have not handled them myself, but I have heard other women praise the Czech guns.

And in a totally contra-intuitive oddity, while I struggle with some of the smaller 9mm guns, I can handle the full-size Berretta 92 and Taurus PT 92 easily.

There's no substitute for getting the gun's owner-to-be's own hands on it. :)
 
I suggest replacing the factory trigger rebound spring with a 14 pound version from Wolff. It's simple and easy to do, as well as cheap(probably $10 with shipping). It will probably take 4 pounds off the DA trigger pull, possibly more depending on if you do any polishing on various parts while you're in there. It MAY lighten the SA pull too much for your personal comfort, but a defensive wheelgun should be treated as a DA only anyway.

look here for instructions.

An autoloader might be an option, but if she can't squeeze a 12-14 pound trigger, it probably isn't--racking the slide will probably not be any easier for her. As far as safeties go, look at models with a decocker instead of a safety--I personally like the decockers on CZ handguns over any other because they don't just let the hammer drop, the hammer lowers as you release the lever. I don't know that I'd be very comfortable handing a new shooter a SA revolver, but you could look at that too.
 
Take a look at the Kel-Tec P32.
Weights less than a pound loaded and can hid in any purse or pocket.
That is if your are looking for something for her to carry.
With the DAO triggers they are very safe and user friendly when all you have time to do is pull the trigger and not have time to mess with a safety. They also make up to a 9mm. (which I have)
If this is for range work only take her shopping and see what catches her eye.
Good luck.
 
I started out with a 638 for my wife...she didnt like the recoil of the airweight. We then moved to a model 36, the extra weight and hogue grip made it her favorite for a while. I then made the mistake for letting her try out MY Ruger Security Six snubbie...to make a long story short...its no longer my snubbie:( Out to 20 yards, with low recoil .357's she is a super accurate. She LOVES the added weight while practicing with .38's. As we all know practice is the key!
 
My wife selected a S&W 642 as her carry choice. She is petite at 5'4" and 108 lbs. She is fine with the gun in stock configuration. I really like this gun for carry due to its weight and size. I wonder if somethingis binding in your 642 to make it more difficult to pull the trigger. A spring kit sounds like a good option too.
 
My wife is about the same time. She selected a 642-2 and loves it. If you bought a brand new gun, the trigger may need some break in before it becomes smooth. I also agree that, if she has no firearm experience, that could be part of the problem. She may feel differently about this after she is trained and has some range time.

Familiarity with the gun is important. When my wife first started shooting, she could not rack the slide on my 5906. Just couldn't do it. After using it on the range for awhile, she now racks it like a pro.
 
Practice DOES matter. What matters MOST is practice with the firearm AND the load you intend to use in an emergency. When you shoot for your life, the bad guys become harder to hit, while everything around them becomes EASIER to hit. This is compounded when light recoiling practice rounds(oft having a markedly different point of impact) are switched out and heavier recoiling defense rounds are introduced. Where possible, practice with what you intend to carry, and practice at every opportunity.
 
I want her to have fun and look forward to shooting.
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So this is for recreation and togetherness more than self defense?

A 642 IS "hammerless". If she can't haul the double action through at all now, a little spring tinkering might make it possible to fire the gun, but it will still not likely be fun or accurate.
It is a light weight .38 Special. It will kick like a S.O.B. I only shoot my Airweight M38 for occasional practice. For fun I shoot a heavier gun to soak up some recoil.

I recommend a .22 revolver which she can shoot single action. Either a Ruger Single Six which is strictly single action or a S&W Model 63 DA-SA. Recoil is negligible, noise is low (with ear protection) and ammo cost is low. Uncocking can be learned, but will seldom have to be done if shooting in a careful manner.

The best thing to do is to get her to look at and try as many guns as possible. Do you have a rental range nearby? Do you have friends with good collections?
If you lived here, I would take you and her out to try maybe three guns at a time until she hit on one she liked.
 
finz50 said:
My wife is partial to the Bersa Thunder .380
Click to expand...

So is mine, nice little gun but still potent enough to do the job. Slide is easy for her to rack, fits her hands well and recoil is more than managable. Check it out.
 
In the absence of medical issues, it just blows my mind when I hear about women who can't operate a trigger they can reach, or rack a slide.

Can she open a jar of pickles? Pick up and carry a child? Carry a grocery sack full of cans? If so, she's strong enough to handle a gun. It might take some instruction and practice to get the mechanics of it down pat, but nothing on a handgun suitable for carry requires major strength.

Personally, I can't stand revolvers. They don't balance right in my hands, and don't point naturally for me. I can concentrate and shoot them competently, but don't enjoy them and would never choose one for self defense.

I'm a 5'4" female, and when I first started shooting, a female LEO friend loaned me her personal FN Hi-Power to try. I loved it, and collect Hi-Powers now. Another friend loaned me an HK P7 PSP. I liked the feel and accuracy, but not the magazine release or how quickly it heated up. So I bought a brand-new AG-date-code P7M8.

When I wanted to move up to a major caliber, I rented and borrowed other guns and found I shoot best with the 1911. I carry a 5" Wilson Combat CQB, and have a Commander-size custom Wilson build in the pipeline.

None of these give me the slightest trouble, shooting, handling, or maintenance.
 
A beretta Tomcat? Nice little .32
Click to expand...

Great suggestion! No "slide racking" either. Round is loaded via a "tilt-up" barrel. They are fatter and heavier than a kt32, but nicer to shoot.
 
Let her shoot a range gun that is well broken in. My wife loves my old Colt double eagle that the slide racks like butter. With the decocker, lowering the hammer is not an issue. She also has a model 10 Smith that she can handle real well. The double action trigger pull is a little stiff for her, but doable. And she can definitely keep it on paper! She is 5' 2" and about 110 pounds soaking wet. Don't give up on your wife, she'll get into it.
 
@hecate,
I'm beginning to believe that hand shape and mental attitude have as much to do with it as hand size.

I'm 5'3" with hands that fit a boys' large glove rather than any size of women's glove. They have wide, square palms -- the full width of a normal woman's finger wider than normal -- and short fingers that are neither fat nor stubby but which are in proportion to my palm.

I'm neither athletic nor particularly fit, but I've always had more hand strength than most women and been able to get a good, controlling grip on anything my short fingers will get around.

Moreover, I grew up in a handy family where to say that someone didn't know which end of a hammer to take hold of was devastating scorn. My lifelong use of various tools from screwdrivers to chainsaws (small ones for light work), AND my constant practice at crafts has simply made me good with my hands.

I've noticed that people of both sexes who are comfortable with tools learn a mindset of faith in their ability to cope and that mindset makes them more willing to work on mastering the unfamiliar. The same seems to go for women who work with animals. Tiling your own kitchen, splitting your own firewood, fixing your own car, obedience training your dog, mastering a spirited horse, ... -- these things build a fairly strong belief in your own competence.

I can pull any trigger that I can reach, but when I say that the trigger on the S&W, J-frames is too much for me (especially in double action) I mean that it requires more effort than I want to put out for the result -- enough to make it unpleasant rather than merely challenging in an interesting way. I've picked up an accuracy bug somewhere and I'm not satisfied to merely be able to put the shots inside a paper plate from 7 yards because I could do that the first time I ever shot a pistol. I don't dislike a heavy trigger because it makes my hands sore to shoot 50 rounds; I know that practice would fix that. I dislike a heavy trigger with that DA "bump" because it throws my aim off and widens my groups. ;)

But I have noticed that many women who have beautiful, slender, delicate, long-fingered hands lack the strength inherent in my broad, square palms. And those who are not accustomed to working with their hands lack the confidence that they are capable of developing strength.

Vanity may also play a role. If I had elegant, long-fingered hands I'd probably pay a lot more attention to my nails rather than wearing them unpolished and just long enough to look female. If pulling a heavy trigger meant risking $100 worth of gel nails with custom nail art I'd probably develop a case of the "I can't" attitude myself. :D

I am a strong advocate for people of both sexes learning to believe in their own competence. But there are so many options for gun choice that there is no reason to shoot a gun that is a struggle to handle and unpleasant to fire. :)
 
n the absence of medical issues, it just blows my mind when I hear about women who can't operate a trigger they can reach, or rack a slide.

Can she open a jar of pickles? Pick up and carry a child? Carry a grocery sack full of cans? If so, she's strong enough to handle a gun. It might take some instruction and practice to get the mechanics of it down pat, but nothing on a handgun suitable for carry requires major strength.
Click to expand...

Amen to that.

But, the Beretta 87 Cheetah in .380 auto is a light-recoiling semi-auto with a tip-up barrel, so that it can be loaded without even racking the slide. That's your answer I would suppose.
 
3KillerBees, I think your last post, except for the fingernails (wife has short, unpolished nails) is right on. When I'm trying to introduce my wife to the pleasures of going to the range, the last thing I want to say to her is, "Hey, come on. You can open a pickle jar can't you? Here, try this grip strengthener device for 20 minutes a day for the next six weeks. When you've done that, let me know and we'll come back and try again." That's no way to get her excited about shooting. Thanks to all who posted. I appreciate it.
 
Had the same issue with my S&W Model 60 (wife couldn't pull the trigger).

I picked up a S&W M&P 9mm and she's been very happy with it.
 
"Hey, come on. You can open a pickle jar can't you? Here, try this grip strengthener device for 20 minutes a day for the next six weeks. When you've done that, let me know and we'll come back and try again."
Click to expand...

I've found one repetion to failure on each hand with a grip trainer every day makes a noticeable difference. It only takes maybe 5 minutes a day. Just squeeze it repeatedly until you can't possibly close it one more time, then hold for a while. Once more on the lefty.

5 minutes tops while there's a couple of ads on TV, you're waiting for a microwave or whatever. It's worth it but to each their own. :)
 
My wife hates my 642. But she loves her XDsc9. She wants to get a PM9 for carry, but I do not know if she will be able to rack the slide.
 
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