Looking for a gun for my wife to carry

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Poppaj78

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Can anyone help me out. My wife just started shooting and i dont want to scare her away from it. She has shot my full frame 9mm, and my glock 40. I want to get her a revolver. Something kind of small that fits her hand better. Something along the lines of a 38. I would like to get as many openions as i can i have never owned a revolver before. THANKS!!
 
I don't have a lot of experience with revolvers. I got to shoot a woman's revolver that belongs to our club and I thought it was very nice. It was a S&W Ladysmith in 357 mag. The trigger was very smooth and the gun was very accurate. It was a little small for my hands though. I am going through the same as you with my wife. We are going to different gun shops in the area so she can touch a lot of different guns and see what fits her hand best. I just wish we had a range close that rented guns so she could try them.
 
The police turn in Model 10 .38 Specials were all over and cheap for awhile, still see them every so often now. Good, solid revolver, common as corrupt courts, easy to get parts/holsters/speed loaders for, great shooters. The other gun I would look at is the same thing in .357 (probably stainless) and have her shoot only .38 Specials through it. That way if she wants to she can shoot .357 and .38 Spec in the same gun and it will have a higher resale value.
 
My wife has a Taurus ultra light Ti in .38. The barrel is ported and does not recoil much. She has small hands, so it was hard to find something small enough to fit her without much recoil. I have some K-frame .357's, but they were too big. J frame .38 fit her well, but the recoil was a little too much for her when she was starting out shooting. .32long J frame was a good fit, but she ain't getting that... :) It came down to the Taurrus UL 38 and a smith .32 (not the long, but was going to shoot longs through it). The smith was made of scanduim (spelling???) and cost twice as much, so Taurrus it was.
 
While the guys are making good recommendations, I don't see why a couple of men who say "i have never owned a revolver before." and "I don't have a lot of experience with revolvers." just naturally assume that their wife will be better served with a revolver than the big powerful complicated autoloader that they prefer.

My observations and personal batting average getting women comfortable with an auto have been pretty favorable. I have one contact who has not made use of the auto provided and depends on the revolver her Father gave her years ago. Perhaps I did not spend enough time with her to get her confidence up. I'll work on it. The rest are doing well with the autos, whether for defense or sport.

The makers are working to deal with hand size, within the limits of a butt to accomodate a magazine. S&W, Glock, Walther, and H&K all make plastic pistols of simple operating mode with interchangeable grip sections to suit hand size.
The clunky old 1911 can be had with short or long trigger, flat or arched mainspring housing, and thick or thin grips to suit.

A good revolver is not a bad choice, but it is not the only choice.
 
Thank you everyone. She is not 100% against an auto. The only one she has shot was my large frame auto and she shoots it well bet ist a little too big for her hands. WE WILL KEEP LOOKING TIL WE FIND WHAT SHE LIKES. NOT going to count anything out. We also went to a few different places to look at guns. But every store around the house is dry with all the buying frenzy. I do thank everyone for taking the time to reply.
 
Sir, it is very important to let her pick the handgun she will carry. How would you like it if someone picked your carry gun? Your only job is to be there so some wise-guy gun dealer doesn't try to take advantage of her or talk down to her just because she is female. As long as she doesn't try to buy pure junk let your wife choose what she likes and feels good in her hand, not something you think would be good for her...

That said, I feel she might like an all Steel J frame after she learns to shoot well because a J frame is not for the beginner. It's more difficult to shoot well although they are extremely accurate handguns. If your worried about "scarring her away" don't stick an ultra-light 2" revolver in her hand loaded with +P ammo and expect her to like it, no one does. You might want to look at the S&W Bodyguard 38 with a polymer frame which will aid in soaking up some of the recoil. It also comes with a built in laser.
 
I got a gun for my wife, good trade!

Seriously, go with her and let her handle, and if possible, shoot a variety of handguns, even auto loaders if any interest her. But as for revolvers, a 38 spcl. with the right loads is nice to shoot. my wife is also not an AL type and prefers a revolver any day of the week. Even a .357 mag with full tilt loads feels more comfortable to her than any of our .40's and 9mm's in her hands.

GS
 
My wife USED to carry a Taurus 85 (that's a snubby .38-5 shot) and liked it. That is, until I brought home a Ruger LCR in .38. First time she handled it, she declared it "HER GUN". I sold the 85 and she has since been very happy carrying and shooting the Ruger.
 
My GF absolutely hated the snub 38 I had. Harsh recoil and in her words, "wimpy bullet". She also didn't like how it reloads.

She much preferred my Glock 21sf.:eek:

Moral of the story, don't assume she'll want a revolver.
 
No offense intended, but the wrong person is hunting the pistol. Your wife should pick the pistol she wants. After all, in the end, the pistol has to fit her hand. I quit trying to buy a pistol for my wife. She gets first choice of the pistols we have in the house. It seems like she needs a different gun for every outfit she owns. I also quit trying to understand why she needs a different gun every day. That would be like trying to figure out why she needs so many pairs of shoes.
 
Jim Watson said:
While the guys are making good recommendations, I don't see why a couple of men who say "i have never owned a revolver before." and "I don't have a lot of experience with revolvers." just naturally assume that their wife will be better served with a revolver than the big powerful complicated autoloader that they prefer.

My observations and personal batting average getting women comfortable with an auto have been pretty favorable.
Click to expand...
What he said!

Gal came to the house so I could help her learn to shoot her revolver. She did OK, but she knocked the bull's eye out with my SR9c.

And...
ArchAngelCD said:
Your only job is to be there so some wise-guy gun dealer doesn't try to take advantage of her or talk down to her just because she is female
Click to expand...

I helped my daughter pick out and buy a shotgun from a large, well known gun store in Charlotte. She returned alone to lay away a handgun. When I found out how much were GOUGING her, paid them a visit and got her money back (minus stocking fee) and took our business elsewhere. We still saved money after the stocking fee.

Much to learn in this hobby. Help her learn, but let her learn.
 
I asure u my wife will pick out her own gun. I was just looking for a few suggestions what to look for. Again thanks alot for the info. I REALLY LIKE THIS SITE ITS REALLY HELPFUL.
 
My wife has got several handguns, sp101 dao .357, walther ppk .380, keltec p3at and a ruger lcr with chrimson trace grips. She carries the keltec p3at the most but likes to shoot it the least (small with sharp recoil) but it is the easiest to conceal & is light weight. The sp101 is kind of heavy so its her bedside gun. The ppk has small sights and the slide is hard for her to pull back. The lcr with the chrimson trace grips is light and the laser makes it easier for her to shoot, good trigger, fits her hand better and is easy to load. The laser also helped her see that she was pushing the gun when she fired & therefore improved her accuracy. If you can let her try several different guns and see which one suits her best, you'll both be happier. Good luck.
 
What rcmodel said.

And you could also look into the Taurus line, the Rossi line, now owned by Taurus, or a Charter Arms. I have a Taurus Mod 66B4, a 4" .357 mag. that is perfectly accurate and reliable. A friend of mine bought his a wife a Charter Arms Bulldog, and now she won't even let him look at. Let alone touch or shoot it.

There are multiple options out there, just let her pick the right one.
 
My wife was smitten with the lcr. It is extremely important that it is her decision. I have tried to surprise her with other guns, but it rarely works. Thats ok since I love them all though.
 
Bought my wife a Springfield XD 9mm Subcompact. She shoots it better than the S&W 38 K-frame snubby she was using. It has 14 rounds with a 16 rd. mag. back up. Trigger is a lot better than a double action revolver.
 
Many women are pushed into the wrong handgun by their husband or boyfriend. Usually something small, with a lot of felt recoil, that isn't easy to shoot accurately, nor able to shoot comfortably through a gun course.

Just because it is small, and cute, or pink, doesn't mean she will enjoy shooting it. Quite the opposite.
 
smalls said:
There's even a sticky on this. :banghead:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=564531

1. Set a price limit.

2. Eliminate junk guns right off the bat. THIS IS THE ONLY SAY YOU HAVE IN THE ENTIRE PROCESS.

3. Go to gun shop, and have her hold every single one in that price range.

4. Have her shoot as many of those as possible.

5. Open wallet, give wife money for purchase.
Click to expand...
There's the blue print. Just when I thought I had my wife figured out, she found her new favorite handgun. My 6" GP-100. Still doesn't like the magnum loads,but I kept it fed with some 38 reloads made for paper punching and she declared it her new favorite. Even with my wife's small hands she prefers it to any of my autoloaders from ruger lcp to full frame 1911. But then again she is not the pistol type. When it comes to HD you can't find anything she would rather have then her 12 gauge and I'm fine with that, not that I have a choice.
 
My wife wouldn't carry any of the first two guns I bought 'for her': Taurus 111, Kahr CW9. She says they're far too big and bothersome to keep on her person. She chose the third gun and will at least take it with her sometimes: Ruger LCP with a laser.

So, 'no' choosing a gun for her typically doesn't work.
 
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