Input On Revolver For Wife ---

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Waveski

Waveski

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My wife would like to have a revolver for sd. Her criteria (and mine) are pretty well defined :

Compact , mild recoil , laser sighted.

Revolver for the sake of simplicity and reliability. Compact for the sake of ease of carry to and from vehicle , concealment. Laser sight - she feels she can relate to "point and shoot" characteristic of that device ; it's what she wants.

I carry a steel J frame. I have not looked into the possibility of calibers milder than .38 special. Wadcutters fired from a Chiefs Special are pretty mild by my standards , but maybe not hers. I've never owned a laser.

I welcome recommendations.
 
Unless she gets to try whatever you end up buying first, she may be disappointed. Do you have anything close she can shoot to see what she can handle? Lightweight revolvers are less fun to shoot than heavier ones. The light ones are easier to carry though. I know, not helpful.
 
K or L frame. I recommend 686+

The number of poor ladies I run into fighting their J frames is borderline criminal. Hardest guns to shoot on the planet.

Make sure she can do DA trigger pull consistently.

Revolvers are harder to shoot so make sure the "simplicity" out weighs a system that is easier to shoot.
 
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I would have her shoot a 3” sp101 with some .38’s as suggested above. Try before buy, unless you want to inherit her cast offs from the process ;).
 
Waveski said:
I carry a steel J frame. I have not looked into the possibility of calibers milder than .38 special. Wadcutters fired from a Chiefs Special are pretty mild by my standards , but maybe not hers.
Click to expand...

Seems like you could answer that one real quick. Of course she might do an "I love it" like the truck commercial.

I can imagine a Ruger LCR .357 to get the steel frame, but keep the magnum ammo away from her.

A Taurus 856 Defender is the 3" roundbutt configuration that the revolver buffs are paying big money to have police trade in K-Smiths cut down to. But it is a Taurus with all that brand's baggage.
 
The Taurus trigger can be a handful.

I didn't know that there was a steel LCR. Anyone have experience with that trigger?
 
Ruger .38 LCR---decent trigger, compact and
light weight and easily adaptable to a laser
stock. And a very decent price.

Triggers on SP 101s and J-frames tend to be
much heavier, stiffer. So no.

I could offer some negatives about the laser
but why bother. They're the in thing.
 
Waveski said:
My wife would like to have a revolver for sd. Her criteria (and mine) are pretty well defined :

Compact , mild recoil , laser sighted.

Revolver for the sake of simplicity and reliability. Compact for the sake of ease of carry to and from vehicle , concealment. Laser sight - she feels she can relate to "point and shoot" characteristic of that device ; it's what she wants.

I carry a steel J frame. I have not looked into the possibility of calibers milder than .38 special. Wadcutters fired from a Chiefs Special are pretty mild by my standards , but maybe not hers. I've never owned a laser.

I welcome recommendations.
Click to expand...

Since you already have a carry revolver, I assume she's tried yours out? A steel J-frame with .38 special 148 grain wadcutters ought to be inoffensive to shoot, especially if you add a rubber overmolded laser grip. The biggest issue I believe would be if she can effectively shoot with that double action trigger.

I have an alloy framed Taurus 85UL with a hard plastic laser grip. It's a hand smacker with +P loads. With wadcutters, it's a relative sweetheart. It would be even sweeter to shoot with a rubber grip and a steel frame.

The laser is not the easiest to learn to shoot with, but it sure makes up for having older eyes that can't see handgun sights anymore and is useful in low light conditions. Plus, a laser can be sighted in for a favored load.
 
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The laser is her specific criteria. I don’t favor them , but if that’s what she wants I’m not opposed.

Personally , I am very comfortable with J frame triggers , but I put in a lot of time and rounds to get there. I tried and failed to master the SP101.
 
Mr. Mosin said:
The requirements called for "compact". Unless perhaps a 2.75" Mdl 66 would be better ? Hmm ???
Click to expand...
The Cobra and the K6S are compact.

Decades ago, Colt used to advertise "that all important sixth shot " in the DS. The ad said "20% more capacity". That was in comparison with the J-Frame.

If the defender experiences a miss with either gun, the difference in terms of hits is more than 20%.

The Kimber and the Colt have superb triggers.

The trigger on my J-frame was terrible in comparison.

chicharrones said:
A steel J-frame with .38 special 148 grain wadcutters ought to be inoffensive to shoot, especially if you add a rubber overmolded laser grip. The biggest issue I believe would be if she can effectively shoot with that double action trigger.
Click to expand...
Bingo! My 3" Model 60 is okay with light loads WRT recoil, but not in effective rapid double action shooting.

Jim Watson said:
There is a lady who shows up at the rental range with a laser guide beam on her handgun and does quite well with it at "down the hall" ranges.
Click to expand...
My wife could put four rounds into half a playing card and one into the other half at seven yards with a 642 --firing slowly.

Neither one of us could fire it rapidly with any effectiveness.

It's gone
 
Waveski said:
The laser is her specific criteria. I don’t favor them , but if that’s what she wants I’m not opposed.

Personally , I am very comfortable with J frame triggers , but I put in a lot of time and rounds to get there. I tried and failed to master the SP101.
Click to expand...

S&W 60 would be another good option.
 
+1 on the LCR. I like this gun in a 327 Federal personally. It has 6 shots and if you reload you can work up some very pleasant to shoot 32 H & R loads.

If you lived close by I'd be be happy to meet you at a range with several different guns (revolvers and autos) and different types of ammo. BTW, I li ve where Washington, Idaho and British Columbia meet.
 
Bush Pilot -

Very nice offer , but I am in Wisconsin.

22 Stinger or Magnum ... I'll have to give that some thought. What , exactly , is Stinger?
 
Take your wife to the gun store.
Go in with her.
Tell the person behind the counter your wife wants a revolver for self-defense & that you'll be back in an hour to pay for it.

Go grab a cup of coffee somewhere & let her decide what she wants.
Compact for the sake of ease of carry to and from vehicle , concealment.
Click to expand...

Oh, and just so you know - a full sized 1911 & a K frame Smith and Wesson snub nose are nearly the same size. I have both in front of me right now.
 
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Corpral_Agarn said:
K or L frame. I recommend 686+

The number of poor ladies I run into fighting their J frames is borderline criminal. Hardest guns to shoot on the planet.

Make sure she can do DA trigger pull consistently.

Revolvers are harder to shoot so make sure the "simplicity" out weighs a system that is easier to shoot.
Click to expand...

This cannot be emphasized enough...............
 
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