My wife needs a CCW.

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SunnySlopes

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She recently passed the course and is waiting on the license.

She's not really a "gun person" so I want to keep it simple for her.

It needs to be fairly compact for when she'd carry it in her purse.

I'm looking at the Ruger SP101, bobbed hammer, 357 mag. The cylinder is smaller diameter (five shot), and I've got brass in that caliber for reloading for practice.

Opinions?
 
SunnySlopes said:
She recently passed the course and is waiting on the license.

She's not really a "gun person" so I want to keep it simple for her.

It needs to be fairly compact for when she'd carry it in her purse.

I'm looking at the Ruger SP101, bobbed hammer, 357 mag. The cylinder is smaller diameter (five shot), and I've got brass in that caliber for reloading for practice.

Opinions?
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Opinions:
-She needs to pick her own gun even though she's not a gun person.

-Keeping it simple makes it sound like your wife isn't intelligent enough to work a gun. I'm sure you didn't mean that. I'm also sure she can do anything you can do and maybe even better.

-Purse carry is a bad idea. The first thing a mugger does is grab a woman's bag. Now she is disarmed and the mugger has a loaded gun, your address and the keys to your home. Not good...
 
Try to find something for her to try. Rental at a range, friends , forum members close enought to meet and shoot. Just try hard to let her pick the handgun.

Personaly I think a 38 revolver is a good idea but she still has to deside if she likes it and can carry it in a manner that works no matter how she dress's. Down loaded 39s can be very easy to grow confidence. One of my girls carrys a 13oz 38 and has worked up to some not to comfortable +P loads. No ladys here us a purse to carry.
 
I'm looking at the Ruger SP101
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There's the problem right there. YOU'RE looking for HER a gun. Take her to the shop and let her handle some and see what she likes.

I went to the shop with my wife and I had her try out a few small fram autos. Guess what? She ended up liking revolvers better and we got her a .38. She shoots it well and is comfortable with it.

I think the SP101 is an excellent choice, but her preferences may not mirror ours.
 
My wife needs a CCW.
She recently passed the course and is waiting on the license.

She's not really a "gun person" so I want to keep it simple for her.

It needs to be fairly compact for when she'd carry it in her purse.

I'm looking at the Ruger SP101, bobbed hammer, 357 mag. The cylinder is smaller diameter (five shot), and I've got brass in that caliber for reloading for practice.

Opinions?
Click to expand...

Why is it that men always choose a revolver for their wives? Why can't the wife pick out a nice SIG in 357 SIG or a Les Baer 1911 in 45 ACP? Furthermore, why does she have to carry it in her thief attracting purse? There are numerous alternatives for her that will work (google for videos "fashion concealed carry for women").

The solution is for her to shoot a whole bunch of guns, attend a two to four day defensive handgun course, and let her choose what to buy.

Also search youtube.com for videos by "Faliaphotography".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogGBPVk5GQk
 
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This thread comes up once or twice a week these days. Lots of good reading in those other posts, as well as in the sticky, and at www.corneredcat.com.

And, they're all gonna say you need to let her decide; don't go "buying one for her" (we all know that's just a trick to get the one you want!)
 
I'm looking at the Ruger SP101, bobbed hammer, 357 mag. The cylinder is smaller diameter (five shot), and I've got brass in that caliber for reloading for practice.
Click to expand...

SERIOUSLY? YOU pick HER gun based on some brass you have for reloading?

You REALLY need to read The Cornered Cat and do as mentioned - SHE needs to pick HER gun.
 
Definitely let her pick. The usual choices for revolver carry tend to boil down to...J-frame Smith or Ruger LCR.

After that, choice of caliber is a significant consideration. I am currently using a S&W 351c, 7-shots of .22 Magnum in an 11-oz package.

I like having the 2 extra rounds, the light weight, and the low recoil. The 351c is a favorite among the ladies and grandchildren who have tried it.
 
And encouraging her to choose her own gun is fraught with danger. For example, my Beloved started out with the Sig P230 because of how it looked and how it felt in her hand. Shooting it was another story altogether, sooo the hunt was on again. Several handguns later, she finally settled on a Nighthawk Custom .45 and 3 G's later, she is finally happy...

Really though, help her find her own way.
 
-Purse carry is a bad idea. The first thing a mugger does is grab a woman's bag. Now she is disarmed and the mugger has a loaded gun, your address and the keys to your home. Not good...
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Absolutely! So I'll post it again. Think of some other options.
 
Really though, help her find her own way.

Probably the best advice out there. I started my girlfriend out with shooting a .22LR revolver. She quickly became accustomed to how it operates, how the trigger works, and how to get the sights on target. If she's interested I have some .22 semi-autos she can try but for right now she's perfectly happy with her revolver.
Click to expand...
 
Want to help her find her way? Get her a class taught by a woman instructor where they get to learn about and fire all kinds of guns - she might prefer a G26 or something completely different than what you think she needs
 
My wife will be getting her CCW shortly also. She's had her eye on my nickel-plated Chief's Special (S&W 36). I told her she could have it if she will actually carry, and not just leave it in the safe.

I'll just need to replace it with a Ruger LCR .38.
 
Balance the gun for her

SUNNY,

I went through this with my wife. The most important thing is that she like it!

Really, I am serious. If you pick out a great gun that you like and she does not, it is doomed to failure. I let my wife handle over a dozen guns before she picked 5 of them.

She decided against a revovler because of the limited number of rounds and the double action trigger for every shot.

She went with a SIG 225 because if fit her hand better than any other and when she shot it, she found it controllable. It is her home gun and when she travels, it rides with her. It is heavy enough to absorb the recoil, yet light enough for her to hold comfortably. I use a light 100 grain bullet to keep recoil down.

She also choose a BERETTA Tomcat because it does more damage than a .22 or .25ACP.
Both guns FIT HER HAND and she can operate both. The BERETTA can be loaded using the tip up barrel, so retracting the slide is not a concern and the gun is small enough to fit in her hand, yet large enough for a good grip. Loaded with COR BON Powerball, it will do a lot more damage than the .22lr she used before.

Good luck,

Jim
 
Again, thnx for the interest, but all I was asking was pros and cons re the SP101 for CCW for a woman.

I actually have never seen so many off-topic and condescending posts.

My wife has handled my I and D frame Colts. 1911s. SA, DA and and semi. K frames. N frames. Round butt. Square butt. Glock and Sig.

The handgun she most bonded with was my Ruger GP100 but it's too big for her to CCW. It's a big gun.

Hence my questions re the SP101. That was my inquiry.

There's a gun show this weekend. We might peruse the inventory and see if we can find a 357 SP101 with the shorter barrel.
 
Ditto on reading The Cornered Cat.

While it appears you have already made up your mind for her you might want to consider that the 357 magnum is a powerful round that few of the Man-o-Mano posters will admit to really being able to handle the recoil well enough to shoot it accurately.

My point is don't get hung up on caliber. Through trail & error we have discovered that my wife really likes the 22 magnum. Eight rounds of these hot zingers ought to get any evildoer reason to reconsider his actions.

Best of luck on your quest.
 
SunnySlopes I think your wife will like the SP101. After a whole LOT of looking and shooting different pistols and revolvers, my wife settled on .357 2 3/4" Ruger Security Six as her CCW. She prefers revolvers because they are "idiot proof".
 
The cornered cat canned responses here come off as prejudiced and condescending. Not every guy who is looking for recommendations for his wife is a male chauvinist. Imagine if a woman came on here and asked for recommendations for a revolver to buy for her husband as a gift. How many people would accuse her of thinking that her husband is too stupid to operate a semi? I bet everyone would happily rattle off suggestions without thinking twice about it.

I'm a bit sensitive to the matter, since my wife has asked me to help hunt down a medium frame .357 in stainless - preferably with pink grips. She knows what she wants, generally speaking, but is open to ideas. We've been exploring SP101's, GP100's, S&W's, Blackhawks, etc. and researching aftermarket grips. Searching for "revolver wife" generates a lot of hits where a guy is buying a gun for his wife, or helping her research a purchase, and everyone jumps on the guy and accuses him of being a sexist, inconsiderate jerk. Maybe give the guy the benefit of the doubt - his wife may already be a gun person - she may have asked him to help suggest guns - maybe she hates automatics and truly enjoys revolvers?
 
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