Tamara,Trisha,Ekhawai,Mas..THR ladies help me choose CCW for wife

[Island Beretta]

Hi Ladies and ... gentlemen:

Trying to find a compact/subcompact CCW for wife. I should be able to fire it as well. Please help with gun and mode of carry.

She hates the Beretta because of the weight and she is not 100% comfortable with the G19 though she likes its weight. If you can convince me of the G19 maybe I can convince her.

Note the following:

1. Has the kids with her.
2. Kids will normally interfere with her possessions such as handbags. Means that they will at some point or the other come across the gun.
3. Must complement her figure so she will carry often. I dislike off-body carry.
4. Easy to get into action.
5. Reliable without unusual jams that might require sophisticated clearance drills.
6. Graspable, easily pulled back slide.

She agrees with these criteria so shoot!!

 

[cslinger]

Well last time I checked I don't exactly have the right equipment to answer but I will give it a try.

Why not take her out to the local gun monger and have her try everything and anything out. Revolvers, Semi Autos, Big, Small etc. Optionally you could drop by Tamara's just in case all the gun stores are closed or don't have a nice enough selection.

Me, I would suggest a nice .38/.357 revolver with a little heft but not too much. But that is me and I am a guy.

Chris

 

[priv8ter]

Also not the right equipment

I just went through this process with my wife, so I will try to help you out.

We have kids, and so my wife wanted a gun that had some kind of externally mounted safety. So, that rules out revolvers and most of your small DAO guns(Kahrs. Guardians, glocks).

I wanted to try and keep her with at least a .380. I told her that if we couldn't find a .380 she liked, then we would look at .32's or .22's. But...the only small .32's that have safeties are the Beretta Tomcats, and the only .22 I know of is the Taurus PT-22.

So, with that in mind, we hit the local stores and rental ranges.

The gun we finally settled on was the Firestorm .380. Looks like the Bersa Thunder .380, but a few minor differences. It has been completely reliable with Federal Hydra-shoks. Now we are playing the 'trying to find a holster game.'

My wife intends to carry IWB, or SOB. She also doesn't see the point in off body carry.

That, and she says most of the custom purses and hip packs look 'UGLY'

Hope this helped you out.

 

[Sean Smith]

1. Has the kids with her.
2. Kids will normally interfere with her possessions such as handbags. Means that they will at some point or the other come across the gun.
3. Must complement her figure so she will carry often. I dislike off-body carry.
4. Easy to get into action.
5. Reliable without unusual jams that might require sophisticated clearance drills.
6. Graspable, easily pulled back slide.

Hmmm. Most important thing, aside from sticking to a good brand, is to get her to pick something that she likes, otherwise she won't carry it or practice with it.

Some random ideas...

A Kahr K9 or P9 might be a good choice... will weigh about the same or less than a Glock 19 when loaded and will be easier to conceal. To make the slide easier to pull back (IF it is a problem with that gun) you could buy a reduced power recoil spring (say -2 lbs) and stick to standard-pressure loads instead of +P. The K9 will be nicer to shoot, but the P9 will be lighter.

Other than that, I'm not sure as far as semi-autos go. Smith & Wesson makes some pretty small single-stack semi autos that might be worth looking into, or a SigSauer P239 if it isn't too big.

I'm leery of the usual "ladies" sugestions of blowback .380s and snubby .38 Special revolvers. Both are among the WORST guns to get a new shooter started on... snappy recoil, crappy sights, bad triggers and worse ergonomics are usually the norm.

 

[cordex]

Island Beretta,
I was under the impression that firearms were extremely tightly controlled in Jamaica.

You have multiple weapons and are free to carry them?

 

[dsk]

I'm not a gal either, but I too feel the Kahr P9 is about the most ideal weapon for female CCW I can think of. Regarding kids and handbags, that's a problem regardless of whether the gun has a safety or not. The kids should be kept away from the gun at all costs.

 

[Island Beretta]

Cordex,

This is a bit of an aside (and a bit personal) but since you ask. What is your definition of 'multiple weapons'?. I see posters here all the time take about two, three and four gun carry this we are not allowed (maybe 2 gun carry but it will raise eyebrows)!! . Yes, firearms are tightly controlled. You are usually not given a license to hold heavier calibers than 9mm, and you are restricted to 50 rounds, sometimes less, per year. You are also not allowed to own rifles. A firearm license can take any where up to several years for investigations to be completed and even then you may be turned down.

The letter of the law allows you 2 handguns and 2 long guns but this is next to impossible to obtain. For those who shoot competition their guns have to be left at their shooting club, locked up. You have to demonstrate a clear need for the firearm(s) (assets, jobs are factors) and must have some social standing. Quite often firearm holders can loose their license just by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. As we say in Jamaica, a gun license is the hardest thing to get and the easiest thing to lose!!

Once my spouse selects (not buy) the handgun she wants then she needs a certificate of competence, references from various people in certain positions within the society, and she will be fingerprinted. Then she must be interviewed by a police officer (firearms clerk) and an investigating officer (also a police). Thereafter her file will be sent to a number of police departments for investigation. Thereafter if she is cleared the file will be returned to the Chief of Police in her area for him to take a decision as to whether to grant or not. If she is turned downed then she can appeal to the Security Ministry who will look at her case. When all this is done if she does get through then hopefully one of the few dealers will still have the pistol in stock. She will then purchase the pistol(but will not get it) carry back the pistol info to the police who will ratify it and then issue a book (hopefully within a few weeks). With this book she can then retrieve the pistol and must carry it back to the police for them to see. SO YOU SEE THAT NEW YORK AND CALI ARE A WALK IN THE PARK COMPARE TO US!

Shoot well!!

 

[Marcus]

Gad zooks man! By the time she goes through all that she won`t have to worry about #1 or #2 because your kids will be all grown up! I just went through this process with my wife and she found her ideal pistol in a Colt Gov`t .380 Pocketlite. It`s small enough to conceal if she wants to but big enough for her to shoot well. Easy to shoot and very accurate. Considering your location it may be a bit hard to find one though. Marcus

 

[Darrin]

3. Must complement her figure so she will carry often. I dislike off-body carry.

Personally, I find a woman with a handgun on her hip to be kinda sexy.

 

[cordex]

Thanks for the information, Island.

Once you jump through the hoops to get a handgun, can you then carry it? Or do you need to get further permission from your government?

(P.S., I only stated "multiple" because I'd heard it was one per person and rarely that)

Good luck!

 

[Tamara]

Truthfully?

My buddy got permission to buy my P7M8 when he showed it to his wife. Possibly the most child-resistant gun on the planet; heck, you can remove the striker assembly in three seconds without taking the gun apart, if the squeeze-cocking mechanism isn't child-resistant enough. The grip is slim, it shoots very well, it's flat and easy to carry. It's only major downside is it's a little spendy, but you can usually track used ones down in the Kimber/SIG price range without too much effort.

If she's really big on safety, it'll be an easy sell...

 

[PCRCCW]

Wow.....Im in gun heaven then. I find a gun I want, Pay for it and walk out with it.....get ammo if I want and carry with it out of the store. Not that I would do that without test firing it......but its possible anyway....................
Good luck...........
Shoot well.

 

[Darrin]

Wow.....Im in gun heaven then. I find a gun I want, Pay for it and walk out with it.....get ammo if I want and carry with it out of the store. Not that I would do that without test firing it......but its possible anyway....................

Same here.