revolver suggestion for the wifey

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crazyXgerman

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occasionally the wifey goes to the range with me to shoot. however, she has problems loading mags (especially the 10-rd glock mags), operating the slide, and controlling the recoil (usp and g35 in .40).

a few weeks ago we rented some 4" 357 revolver for her and she put a box of 38sp through it. she did noticeably better with it, both handling and shooting.

i'm not up to speed on the current revolver models and could use some suggestions as to what revolver to buy her. here are some parameters:

- no ccw (we live in the PRK)
- used for home defense and range training
- reasonably priced
- in a caliber that's effective but she can still control
- reasonable size (i.e. not a tiny pocket gun, not a dirty harry gun)

i'm thinking something with a 3 - 4" barrel in .357 cal that she can shoot .38 through.

alternatively, if you know of somebody who had similar issues with an auto, did you find another auto that worked, e.g. a smaller .380 or something?

appreciate your comments and suggestions.
 
Rule 1: Keep her involved, take her to gun stores, gun shows, your bud with the big collection's rec room. Don't present her with a gun her curly little head wasn't smart enough to pick.

Revolvers are simple to operate and a 4" S&W K-frame .38 or .357 will do all that many people need to do. A lady must be sure she can pull the trigger. She is trading the labor of loading a magazine and racking a slide for the work of hauling a 12 lb DA trigger back on each and every shot. (SA is for old fashioned bullseye target shooting and is a bad habit to get into with a gun to be used for home defense. I know of two ADs by ladies who had been taught to shoot a revolver SA and had a little slip when they checked out a boomp in the night with a cocked revolver.)

A plastic .40 like a Glock or HK is a relatively hard kicking gun. A 9mm of the same pattern would be more comfortable to shoot. $29 will get you (her) a mechanical magazine loader.

A blowback .380 like a Walther or Bersa is a harder kicking gun than you might think. I'd much rather have a locked breech 9mm like a Kahr or a .38 revolver.
 
The Smith&Wesson M19 4in would be a good choice around $350.00, so would the Smith&Wesson M10 3in would be great too at $199.95 at J&G sales. Brand new the Ruger Sp101 3in in 38spl+p :)
 
If she did better with a revolver, and if she preferred it, there's no reason to beat your head against the semi-auto wall.

However, if there's some reason to stick with a semi-auto, here are a few tips to make it easier:

  • Loading a Glock magazine is easier if you've got one of those plastic magazine loader thingabobbies. They cost less than $10 and take most of the work out of loading the mag. Since there are no circumstances in which she'll need to load a magazine in a hurry, there's no reason to worry about this one too much.
  • Working the slide is easier if you've got the right technique. Any healthy woman, no matter how small-framed she might be, is capable of racking the slide. Honest! Here's the method: grasp the gun in a firing grip with the right hand, trigger finger outside the trigger guard and alongside the frame. Place the left hand on top of the slide, fingers on the right side and the meaty part of the palm on the left. Hold tight. Without moving the left hand, push the right hand forward quickly (turn your body & use your hips if you have to, just keep the muzzle downrange.)

    To lock the slide open, push up on the slide lock with the right thumb while doing the above maneuver. Don't try to look for the button after you've got the slide racked, just push up on it while you're moving the slide and the lock will snap into place as soon as the slide gets where it needs to be.
  • Controlling the recoil is a very personal thing. However, encourage her to stand with her feet shoulder width apart, and approximately the same shoulder distance from each other back to front (eg, her feet should be planted in the upper left and lower right quadrants of an imaginary square the width of her shoulders). Have her put her shoulders forward of her hips, her hips forward of her knees, with her knees slightly flexed, so that she is leaning into the gun with an aggressive forward stance.

    She also needs to hold the gun in a very firm grip, preferably with her thumbs locked down (eg, left thumb on the right thumbnail, and both curled downwards). Her left hand should be parallel to the ground, not underneath the gun, with her wrists straight rather than bent. All four of her support hand fingers need to be curled around her dominant hand (eg, don't let her put one finger out on the end of the trigger guard, as this weakens the grip somewhat).

    If, after practice, that stance and grip does not attenuate the recoil enough for her to shoot comfortably and well, she needs a smaller caliber or a heavier gun -- or both.

Hope that helps.

pax
 
Take her to the gun stores and/or gun shows then stand back and let her shop (which she probably does better than you). She should handle all the models to see what feels best to her. Convince her not to try the lightest models as they will recoil the harder. There's no reason to buy a .357mag if she has no plans in using the cartridge. Your biggest job in this whole process is to stand back waiting with the checkbook or charge card in hand.
 
I'm not going to get into the revolver vs. auto argument.

I do agree that she should try as many guns as she can and find what works for her.

For revolvers, I'd have her look at the various Smith and Wesson K frame guns in .357 or .38 Special. Look at 4" barrels and even 3" barrels, if you can find one. Your looking for the Model 10 or 15 or 64 in .38 or the Model 13, 19, 65 or 66 in .357. The balance of the gun will vary depending on barrel length, whether it has a full underlug, etc, so try different guns and see what feels right for her. The grips also make a difference. Try guns with both the standard wood S&W grip and then try the various rubber grips. I like Pachmayers without finger grooves, but there are several varieties out there.

I'd avoid the larger L frame 686. It's just a little heavier then the K frame.

I specifically reccomend against the smaller J frame guns. These are the five shot snubbies like the Model 36, Model 60, etc. The smaller guns are generally harder to shoot well due to the shorter barrel/shorter sight radius. The grip size and action are different then the K frame guns and that also tends to make them more difficult to shoot.
 
The thing about Rugers is their triggers get alot smoother after a couple of hundred rounds.
Click to expand...
That's basically true of any quality revolver. The bearing surfaces wear and mate together for a better trigger.
 
I would like the others have said have handle as many guns as poosible before making a purchase. You can't go wrong with a K-frame S&W or an SP-101, but I would not discount the L-frame S&W or the GP-100. Some think they are too big, but if concealed carry is not an issue it is a mute point. My girl friend's 13 year daughter, who is just over 4 feet tall and small love to shoot my 681 with factory grips and 38 Special ammo all day long. Big thing let her decide or she will loose interest.
 
Ruger Speed Six (round grip, fixed sights), Ruger Service Six (square grip, fixed sights), Ruger Security Six (square grip, adjustable sights). These are all discontinued models.

My wife uses a stainless steel .357 magnum Speed Six with a 2 3/4" barrel. She uses the stock service grips in order to make trigger finger reach as short as possible. A gunsmith made the double action trigger pull 8 pounds. Self defense load is .38 special+P Remington Golden Saber 125 gr. JHP.
 
Sounds like you pretty much answered your own question. Medium framed revolver in 38 or 357 with 3-4" barrel. If she's recoil sensitive then the 38 should do just fine and should save you a few $. That would mean S&W 10,13,14, 15, 19, 64, 65, 581,586,681, or 686. In ruger that would be a Gp 100. Stay away from other "off brands." Used prices would start around $200 for the fixed sighted 38's and graduate up through about $400 for the stainless 357's ( in Ex condition) . Second best part is that any gunshop should ahve a few nice used ones in this catagory to choose from. The best part is that she will quickly learn this gun and the fact that it will go bang every time she pulls the trigger.
 
S&W M10, 19, 64, 65, 66 with a 3" or 4" tube loaded with .38 Spl would be my advice. You ought to be able to find any of them as police trade ins at a good price. :)
Smiths normally have superior triggers to Rugers and a 'smith can do more with them than with Bill's design.

Start her off with .38 wadcutter loads for practice and move up to 158 gr. lead SWCHP (FBI load) for "social" purposes. ;)

Don't let her fire magnums until she has a lot of experience. :what:
 
good advice and feedback, guys, thank you!

there are a few s&w and ruger models that seem to fit the bill nicely.

i will take her to a few local shops and ranges and see what she can get her hands on to try out.
 
Don't discount the Taurus revolvers either, the quality is close to S&W (IMO, YMMV) and cost $100-$200 less for similar models. The nice thing about going with a .357 is she can shoot .38 through it, but if she wants more BANG at the range, she can load the .357's
She (or anyone for that matter) should practice the most with the type of round they plan to use in a defensive situation, so if at home she want's to keep .38's in it, she needs to shoot this round most often at the range.

As already stated, the main thing is for her to have the gun that "feels" best to her, and that she can shoot well.
 
The 65LS, 'LS' for 'LadySmith, is a 3" fixed sight .357. I essentially made one for my wife from a trade-in police 3" 65. The real 65LS will run $450 new, if you can still find one. Another great choice, as yet not mentioned, is the new 65/66 replacement - the 620. It is a hybrid - the new style 4" two-piece barrel (liner & frame) with a partial lug (like the 65/66) and the L-frame's seven-shot cylinder. My dealer has it ~ $30 less than a new 4" 686+. It 'feels' about the same as a 4" 66 - great balance. I would also suggest the 158gr LHPSWC .38 Special +P's for PD/HD - expect over 920 fps from a 4" tube. The lead HP will come apart in wallboard - that combined with it's subsonic speed (vs a .357 Magnum...) will lessen the chance of 'collateral damage' to your neighbors while not ruining your hearing.

My first suggestion for a great HD firearm has been a used - police/security trade-in - Model 10. They were available in decent shape for $150-$200 locally in gunstores and pawnshops - nowadays, beater guns start $250 - and pass the new 10's price! A call to S&W via their 800 number would reveal if your particular 'find' is +P rated (Many later 10's are!). Again, shop around.

Stainz
 
S&W has said that any "numbered" model gun is +P rated. i.e. a Model 10 is +P rated but a "Military and Police" is not.
 
Classes oriented for women have gotten almost all people in normal health to shoot semis.

Such a class might not be available locally. The Farnhams and KRTraining do such.

Too many techy solutions for a training issue.
 
My mother-in-law settled on a Mtn. Gun in .357. She couldn't comfortably rack the slide of most semiautos (arthritis) and she liked being able to buy .38s to practice and .357s to carry in the MT backcountry.
We spent the morning at a local indoor raange and just patiently marched our way through most of their 9mm, 40S&W, .357, and 45ACP pistols. If you do the same I imagine she'll find one or two that she feels comfortable with.

Good luck.
 
Whatever fits her hand best is the right choice. My wife just cannot deal with the slide on a semi for some reason. Truth be told, she really has no interest in guns. To her it is just a tool and the simpler the better. We finally settled on a 649 and I got her Pachmayr grips for it. Certainly not exotic but eminently efficient. Come into HER house to mess with HER family and you will be having a beer with Jesus most wicki wicki. Me? I'll bury your body where it won't be found ever. We're kind of a team, she and I.
 
I don't know any woman who can't cope with a 12 lb. trigger pull. And frankly I think a great many experienced male shooters dramatically underestimate the ability of women to cope with recoil. I agree with those who say take her to a range where she can try out many different types of handguns and let her decide. I've seen salesmen assume from the outset that women need to have a ladysmith or similar small-frame revolver. Don't be one of these people.

Between me and my SO, she favors the big 1911's and I love the little J-Frames. It's all a matter of preference. And if I ever called her "wifey" I would be entering a world of pain :evil:
 
I would be on the lookout for a used 4" S&W 686.

They aren't too difficult to find used, in good shape & at reasonable cost. Lots of grip options available. The "L" framed 686 is just a tad heavier than the "K" framed guns (which would be my 2nd choice), and in SS are easy to maintainence.
 
If you love her or value your $, don't buy her a Taurus!
Here's mine, company has not made good on it in over 4 months!
album_pic.php
 
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