Help me choose a handgun for my wife:

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*shrug* The last thing I ever got to buy for my wife was the engagement ring. She gives me Christmas and birthday wish lists for a reason; she knows what she wants and she likes to get exactly what she's interested in getting.
The first time I took her shooting, I brought quite a few, started her on a S&W 63, and tried to be a good instructor. She latched onto my M28 and wouldn't give it back, and burned up all of my Gold Dot HP's... Boom, flash, little shake of the head, boom, flash...
In my experience, ladies figure out what they like themselves, and then if you're lucky they tell you, and you give them that. If she dosen't know yet, it's back to the firing range to maybe pick up some rentals 'till she lands on something that interests her. Anything else is going to be the equivalent of those awful novelty ties you might get for father's day, or the roll of camo toilet paper from that aunt who thinks you're a "gun nut".
 
As I said previously, you can get a Rossi (by Taurus) .357, 6-shot revolver new for around $249, stainless or blue, with rubber grips. Small, concealable, goes bang. Load it with .38spl light loads for less recoil, she should be able to fight off BG's easily.
 
Last summer, stopped at gunshop on way to car show. SWMBO laid away Makarov, E. German $200. "It felt good" Nice piece, too. She missed the fact that I'd recently sold one (Dummy that I am!).

Last Week stopped at same shop. She picked up a Kahr CW9. Laid it away, "liked the grip".

"If it feels good, do it!"

Stay safe.
Bob
 
Like Brian said... i love my Keltec P11. I also love my Sp101 in .357 (except I hide it and don't remember where I hid it. :uhoh: ) Both of those are good. However what Pax said is right on too. Chosing my own guns ot buy was a great part of the whole getting a gun thing.

Gus
 
I also love my Sp101 in .357 (except I hide it and don't remember where I hid it. :uhoh:
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Gus,
I know that gun :)

It is in the dusty Cast Iron Dutch Oven , bottom shelf , cabinet to the right of dishwasher , with the steel mixing bowl set atop it. Remember, you also hid chocolate from hubby...and them steel bowls falling every which-a-way your alarm system alerting you hubby was too darn close to finding your chocolate.
:D

Gus handled a variety of guns before she bought her first...

Granted it took a wedding present (cast iron cookware set) to have a secure , alarm system in which to secure it...:p


Steve
 
Let her pick it..

:D I was looking at guns one day and my wife was with me. She started to look and handle some of the guns. After a while I ask her if she found anything she liked and she said yes that 32 Mauser. I bought it for her and she still carries and shoots it today, that was 27 years ago. Same thing happen about 3 months ago only this time she wanted a 1911 S&W 45. She's shoots them both equally well and yes she knows what she wants.:uhoh: She bought me a Dillion press with 45 dies. My point let her make up her own mind.

Shoot fast make one Hole..
 
A wifely gun...

I ran into that problem while I was travelling a while back. I started small with a Beretta Tomcat in .32ACP. It's DA/SA. The barrel tips up so she can load safely...never even a need to cycle the slide to charge it...and it's easy to clear the same way...and loaded with Glasers with a spare mag of .32 Hydra-Shoks it does the work. After she got used to that she determined one day at the range that she wanted a revolver. My first pick was a definite mistake. I bought her a S&W .38spl airweight Centennial. I shot it and realized that she would NEVER fire it a second time. It hurt even with 95 gr hps. I lucked into a Ruger SP-101 in .357 which has a short barrel and a bobbed hammer. Loaded with Winchester .38spls and with Pachmayer grips it's heavy enough and comfortable enough that she wanted to saty longer and shoot more at the range without ever realizing that she had fire 50 rounds through it. One rule of thumb I rely on when teaching a new shooter is that the gun/ammo combination that's fun to shoot is the one they'll fire enough to become skilled with. While I love my .45ACPs and .44Spls I also recognize that a .22 short will do the work if it's put in the right spot.
 
I side with the advise that you get your wife involved in the decision.There are some good used guns out there for $200 but if you save your money and bump your budget to $250 or $300 you will have a much better chance.
For someone who shoots less frequently (sounds like wife is in this group) I recomend a revolver or a simple auto like the glock.I don't like the .32 and .380 mouse guns,generally hard to shoot and low powered,but if your wife chooses one of these might as well get it for her as anything she picks is more likely to be carried and that is whole point!
My favorite-Used S&W 642-1. This is the regular airweight 5 shot j frame snubby in 38sp. If you shop hard you might find one for under $250 used. Nice light carry (thats the point ,right?) start her with light target wadcutters and slowly work her up to full power loads,38+p if she can stand it. If she only will put up with standard 38sp loads she is still better off than .32 loads in a mouse gun!.
For pratice at the range get her a pair of shooting gloves as these small guns will punish a shooter.
If your wife won't purse carry and your state allows storage of a gun in a car (console or whatever) I would suggest a larger ,easier to shoot gun like a 4" model 10 or a Ruger security six. A S&W 686 would be a first choice,it is easier to shoot with .357 loads than most snub guns are to shoot with 38sp loads . The 686 is going to be hard to find for less than $300 used.
 
However, I've discussed the issue with some other people, and they've convinced me that letting her choose what works best for her is more important than surprising her.
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Amen to that - took away my need to comment . :D
 
Like many others I say she should choose her own gun . And find a gun store with a layaway and spend a little more than $200 that is if you plan on keeping her as your wife that is .
 
old joke, "i got a shotgun for my wife. best trade i ever made". sorry always amused me. my wife of 25+ years is not for sale or trade. she shoots and reloads. lucky me.


i have two midget nines. a G26 and a Taurus PT111, the millenium, got the Glock first. wife and i both wrung it out, never a bobble. she said she liked it, but, did not take it from me, showing her disdain. then i got the Taurus. we wrung it out. she took it, so, i just went and got another. i liked the grip much better as it did not have that stupid plastic hump in back.


further kudos for the Taurus: my daughter in law shoots too. she shot both little nines and chose the Taurus. seem to be as reliable as the Glocks.


another little gun i have found highly concelable is the KelTeck minis. they go in a shirt pocket. difficult to draw from so i drop into my pants pocket, with a bigger gun as primary, i am all set to go. the little KelTech is my always gun and someone would have to get really personal to feel for it.


as other posters have said, it should be the wife's choice. how you can surprise her is another question for yourself.

new subj: ya gotta visit the Cornered Cat site. that Pax is a gal. the first pics i found of her were in range and gardening attire, what my woman calls her "grub clothes". then, there were a couple of her dressed in more normal
clothes. there is a pretty girl behindf her work clothes.

i am convinced if i posted a pic of my woman in her grub cl;others, it would be my last post.


anyway, good luck and check out that corneredcat site, it may be just what you need.
 
??? GUN FOR YOU WIFE ???

I would say do one of two things - depending upon your agenda: :evil: Let her do the touchy / feely thing at every gun shop in fifty miles of your house, or get yourself a new Marlin .444, 44-70 Govermnent, or a .450 mag. How about that idea? I can't get my wife to carry her little .38 as a habit. She will take it on a road trip or some sorta function where she is out late at night. :uhoh:

Do you feel as if she will carry it or will it just become one of your toys is the real question. Think about it prior to making the purchase. :confused:

My trick is to make her think it was purchased for her, declare it an orphan and then adopt it as your own. How about that plan. :rolleyes:
 
My wife and I went to a gun shop with an excellent inventory to handle many different options. She could pick anything she wanted and we rented several semi-autos for here to shoot. Most of the semi-autos she would limp wrist and rounds would stove pipe. Not good. She also shot my BHP, HK P7M8, CZ-75B and PCR which performed flawlessly, but she felt they were "too big and heavy" for her to carry. She ended up buying an S&W 642, .38 Spl. +P rated revolver. It had factory installed CT laser grips which she likes a lot.

Bottom line, she got to choose and is happy, instead of me forcing on her what I thnk she should have. Woman like to shop and choose.
 
Gun for the wife??

Some of the recent posts drive home the difficulties of buying for the wife. One of which is that I never sell guns. I buy them. My wife, while in the search mode, insisted that if she didn't like one I bought I should sell it and use that money to get another. Resulting in my adding a .32 Beretta, an S&W Centennial airweight and one of Smith's Scandium/Titanium .38 spls to my safe. Which required some fancy explanations later on. After trying for weeks to find "the magic ONE" for her I spotted an SP-101 with a bobbed hammer and bought it hoping it would be the latest reject. She immediately bonded with it and I only see it on cleaning day and when she goes on trips.
 
IF I presumed to make the decision for my wife upon which gun to carry, I do believe I would be the first target....(KIDDING, sorta.)

I do not tell my wife what to do, nor do I order her to do very much at all. 99% of the time I ask nice and because of love, she will often agree. She understands that there are a few instances where MY word goes, but luckily that happens infrequently.

I would not allow my wife to tell me what shoes to wear nor what suit to buy. She has said gee that looks nice a few times, and as long as they fit, i have taken the hint. Same for her to carry a handgun, she has wanted to buy a couple that I have said not such a good idea to...and she has decided that was enough. She liked the Hipower the first time she picked it and loved shooting it, after stealing my lwt commander, she has left the hipower in the safe. The 185 gr golden sabres work for her just fine.
 
I agree with letting her pick one out herself. It has to fit her hand and also have some eye appeal to her. You may have trouble finding one at your set price if she is picking it out. My wife was looking at $12,000 olds alero's a few years ago the next thing I know we were test driving $30,000 mazda millenia's:what: :what:
Good luck
Cazio
 
I would let her pick it out with a little guidance from you. If you buy something for her without her imput, you should be prepared to add it to YOUR accumulation of guns and look for another.

I would look for an old smith revolver in 357/38 as has been suggested if you have to buy one for her within that price range. Otherwise, bump the price up to around $500 and you have a lot more choices.
 
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