Looking for nightstand gun for wife

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Seattleimport

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Recently got married, and wife is enthusiastic and supportive of having a handgun in the nightstand for SD. My choice is my XDM 9mm, but it's too heavy and big for her: she's got tiny hands. My other pistols are a Ruger LCP 380, a heavy single-action revolver 38 special, and a Mosquito. She likes the Mosquito the best. It fits her hand, it has an easy-to-operate safety, and she's plenty accurate with it.

Thing is, like most Mosquitos, it's unreliable as all get out. And of course, it's "only" a 22. Sure, any bullet can kill, but I'd be much happier with a heftier caliber bullet fired from a more reliable gun.

Any suggestions? Criteria:

1. Reliable
2. Controllable (fits her hand, not too big of a caliber)
3. Decent defensive caliber (not 22)
4. Storable

That last one is odd, so I'll elaborate: we've got long-haired cats and their hair gets everywhere, especially since they enjoy crawling into drawers (the same drawers that will hold the gun). A quality holster will help, but I'm thinking the encased hammer of the LCR would really help. Any other good hammerless revolvers out there?
 
My wife is setup with my SP101. Its the one she shoots best and she is more comfortable with it than any of my semis.
 
Take her to a range that rents many guns and let her try as many as possible. She should find one she likes. Also the idea of a shotgun is not all that bad. A nice 20 guage Remington with an 18 - 20 inch barrel would be a very good safe room defense gun. For home defense think of accessories that will be beneficial such as high power flashlights, speedloaders/extra magazines, cell phone (in case the phone line gets cut), extra house key attached to a bright key chain (so it can be dropped out a window to responding police). There are others but this should get you thinking about what your specific home situation allows.
 
You don't specify caliber other than not wanting a .22, so I'll recommend a Bersa Thunder in .380. Take her to a gun shop and let her handle one and I'll bet she really likes it. For me, it's very ergonomic and feels secure and comfortable in my hand, the DA is close to a DA revolver, perhaps a bit stiffer- but that has been smoothing out with use, but the SA is light and crisp. The recoil is minimal using 95 gr fmj wwb, and I don't notice any significant muzzle flip. And at 25y, it's 90% in the black when I do my part (breathing, sight picture, trigger control- the 10% outside are my errors not the pistols). It's close in size to the PPK but I was told the grip is just a bit shorter. And the safety acts as a decocker allowing safe carry with one in the pipe. It retails for < $300, too!
 
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The SP101 is nice, but if the XDM 9 is too heavy/bulky, I don't know if an SP101 will be any better. Female friends of mine enjoy shooting my P9, but many of them don't have the hand strength required to chamber a round (this may not be an issue depending on what condition you intend to store the gun for nightstand duty).
 
I'd say most of the .380 type handguns should fall into this category. Don't just straight to that though. My Wife, even though I gave her the whole speech, jumped straight at a Walther PPK and soon found that she had a difficult time charging the slide for her loads and had some difficulty with the first double action pull. (Enter my "I told you so" at this point) With a little work though we got her passed that and now she loves that gun. Just make sure she gets a little time to choose what she wants, and then some more to time to practice and become comfortable with it.
 
My wife keeps an sp101 in her dresser drawer. They are versatile, not just for home defense, but for dangerous animals and wild hippies who might pose a threat. She takes it huckleberry/chokecherry picking and on long road trips. She is a stay at home Mom and we both feel better when I'm at work.

You will not regret getting her an sp101. They are heavier then the "air biscuit" guns, which will bring her a more pleasant shooting experience
 
Mine uses Glock 21 SF for this purpose. The SF Glocks seem to fit women better. Consider introducing her to shotguns too.
 
Try some used medium frame S&W, Ruger, or Colt, .38 cal revolver with a 4" barrel.

Simple, reliable, minimum recoil and naturally pointing guns.
 
My wife USED to carry a Taurus M85. Liked it fine and it always worked. Then, I bought a Ruger LCR. Wife IMMEDIATELY confiscated it and loves it. Sold her Taurus.

Either of those is a possibility.
 
Look at a 4" mod. 10 S&W ("K" frame).
I consider the "J" frame S&W's (and clones) to be "experts" guns and not a top choice for a novice shooter.
 
the aforementioned S&W LadySmith, Ruger LCR, and Taurus 85 (preferably all steel for the 'extra' weight and better control) are all good candidates

but an all steel "full size" single stack 380 acp gives more barrel length (like 3 1/2" to 4"), is very shootable with minimal recoil, and yields very similar terminal ballistics to 38 sp snubbies. I say single stack for the slimmer grip, which may be a bit presumptuous of me.
I think Beretta and CZ might offer some models worth a look (pricier than the Bersa Thunder, but different feel and trigger). The Browning BDA is highly regarded, but is a double stack. In any case, if considering 380s at all, do consider "slide bite"; some folks do have such issues with Walther and Sig models)
 
My wife went thru about 4 pistols. She ended up with a Ruger LCP 380. She is very good with it and loves the compact size that doesnt bulge her clothes.
 
My wife likes my Glock md. 30. This is my CCW. I always carry
a Md. 21 mag. for back up. This is what my wife like's about the md. 30, it will accept md. 21 mags.
 
Like others have mentioned a 20ga shotgun is a good choice. As far as a handgun I still like a revolver like a S&W model 10 4 inch or a model 13 4 inch. I have both and they are both great all around revolvers. I would use a the LSWCHP 38 special round either by Remington or Buffalo Bore. Both are great self defense rounds.
Good luck,
Howard
 
Thanks for the replies! She's run into slide/chamber issues with auto pistols. She finds the XD to be difficult to rack. The Mosquito is easier. She really dislikes my LCP: difficult trigger, difficult rack, difficult recoil.

That's why I'm thinking a DA revolver. Point, pull, bang. No fuss with racking. Since this is a gun for emergency situation (specifically, home invasion), I'm not concerned with reloading. She'll have her six bullets, and it's unrealistic to expect she'll need more (and in such a crazy Zombie attack scenario, she can go for the XD or 12 gauge).

I'm intrigued by the mention of used guns. I've only ever bought new, but the economics of used are really, really appealing. And for some reasons a used revolver seems like it'd be less sketchy than a used pistol. What's the best place to buy a used gun? Pawn shop? Gun store? Internet?

Also intrigued by the K frame. Why is it a better gun for novices?
 
Also intrigued by the K frame. Why is it a better gun for novices?
Click to expand...
Because its fits most shooters hands well, its very well balanced, points good and has one of the best double action triggers of all revolvers. I have eight S&W revolvers. Six of them are K frames. Personally, I shoot these revolvers the best. I have small hands and again the K frames fit me the best.

Hope this helps,
Howard
 
Keep the drawer with the gun it it closed. You'll just have to deal with the fact your cats will be inconvenienced. :eek:

Gun-wise, consider a S&W 442, possibly with a replacement spring kit.
 
I second (third?) the Smith K-frame recommendation in .38sp. Enough weight to soak up the recoil and six bullets unlike a J-frame. Make sure she can fire it DA though----and accurately. If she can't pull it straight back and keep it on target, it's of no use. If that pull is too heavy for her, look into a hefty 9mm. (Hefty meaning heavy to soak recoil, not unwieldy). In that case, a lighter DA trigger such as a Kahr K9 would be better. Good for small hands, weighty, accurate and good trigger.
 
Let her try out a Ruger Sp 101 in .357 MAG, with a 2 1/4 in barrrel, of course put some light weight .38 Special rounds in it for her and see if she likes it. You can alays slap some .357 rounds in it when your're home.

I have a girlfriend who loves the Sig Mosquito. With a little work such as getting the feed ramp polished, using the heavier spring, and loading it up with CCI Mini Mags it's a reliable piece. Ten rounds applied to center mass of an intuder will do the job. Up close and personal, especially in the hands of a practiced shooter, the highly under rated 22 will do the job.
 
CZ-83.. Small, Heavy, High Cap, Decent Round.. you said she has tiny hands, i dont why people are recommending Glocks, SP101, etc.. anyhow, good luck!

-cc
 
small hands fit small gun = difficult to shoot well
large gun, heavy = easy to shoot well

answer....compromise

medium gun = K frame = model 10
 
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