What gun for concealed carry?

[Alex45ACP]

My mom wants a gun for concealed carry/home defense. She's about 45 and very small, about 5'2 and 110 pounds. We went to the gun store and looked at a Kel-Tec P3AT (neat little gun), a small Taurus revolver, and a small Beretta, I think it was the Tomcat.

She liked the Beretta the best, but I think a revolver might be better for her because she's not the kind of person who would take the time to properly maintain an autoloader, although she could learn. I'm also concerned that .380/.32 won't be powerful enough for self defense, it seems most people won't go smaller than 9mm.

We're going to a gun show next weekend to look around some more, any suggestions on what to look for? I was thinking a 9mm Kahr or G26 might be good, don't know anything about revolvers though.

 

[MICHAEL T]

A nice 38 spl revlover If for home a4" for carry a snub. These are simple to operate and make a fine starter weapon. My wife can't always rack the slides on my autos but never has trouble with swing out the cylinder.

 

[MikeJ]

As far as I am concerned, the only type of gun for someone that isn't really into guns is a revolver. There are just too many things that can go wrong with a pistol in a highly energized agitated state of mind.

 

[dasmi]

Yep, a revolver for sure. Something small, in .38 special. Like a ruger sp101. Stick some hollow points in there, and she'll be all set.

 

[tbeb]

If it's for carry and home defense, then I recommend a .38 special revolver with a 2" barrel. If a 3" or 4" barrel will work for the way your mother is going to carry the gun, then that would be better.

For a 2" barrel, a revolver with an empty weight of about 15 ounces is easier to carry--a revolver with an empty weight of about 20 ounces is easier to shoot. A 2" barrel Smith and Wesson "J" frame will be physically smaller than a Colt or Ruger.

I carry, in a pocket holster, an old model Charter Arms Undercover .38 special with a 2" barrel. Empty weight is 16 ounces. An excellent used one can be bought for about $150-$175.

 

[stormspotter]

What gun to carry.

If you decide on a 38 revolver, check out Speers new 135 gr 38 special load. Its made for short barreled guns.
Just my 2 cents worth.

Leonard

 

[hightech]

Mom's Gun

I recommend to my students that they take the NRA's basic pistol course first and then select a firearm if they do not already own one. She will be able to try differnt models and sizes to see what fits. From your description a J frame size revolver, 38 spl with defensive ammo, and a 2 to 3 inch barrel is the call.

 

[Khaotic]

Taurus .38Spl Revolver in Stainless, with hammer shroud.

Doesn't require much training, doesn't require much cleaning, can be fired through a coat pocket or purse in an emergency.

.380 is a debateable caliber for a first time user, and no way should you go as low as .25 or .22LR, you could probably hurt someone worse throwing the weapon

All around, it's probably the best choice.

-K

 

[Dirty Bob]

For the recoil-shy, you may want to consider hollow-base wadcutters (target loads). If you go to tacticalforums.com and search the Terminal Effects forum, you'll find plenty on loading the .38 snubby. There's one camp that maintains that a wadcutter will give adequate penetration, and since expansion from a snubby is often iffy, it's better to go with a full-diameter "cookie cutter" hole than the minimal damage of a non-expanded HP bullet.

I use wadcutters in lightweight snubbies, simply because I shoot them faster and more accurately. YMMV

Dirty Bob

 

[Coltdriver]

I would just chime in to specifically recommend against the Beretta.

They kick way out of proportion to their size. It is so violent that mom would regret the decision to own one right away.

If you want to go with a 9mm take a look at a Kahr P9. They are a locked breech and are very small and controllable.

 

[jem375]

S&W Ladysmith

 

[rick_reno]

Can you take to her a range where she can rent various guns and try them out?

 

[HankB]

Be aware that very light airweight/airlight J-frame .38/.357 snubbies have a nasty recoil. I have a 340SC and with full power .357 loads shooting it is no fun, even with rubber overmolded grips. A +P .38 load still has enough recoil to be noticed. If you get a snubbie for your mom, make it a steel frame. The extra weight does a lot to dampen recoil.

 

[Dirty Bob]

Even the all-steel snubbies recoil too much for some folks! The advice to have her try more than one gun was sound. It could save you a lot of time, $, and frustration that would come with buying a gun that wasn't suitable.

One combo is worthy of special attention, though: an all-steel, short barrel revolver with a rubber grip that fills her hand. An SP-101 or K-frame would have little recoil. With a short barrel, they're very hard to take away from the rightful owner in a struggle, especially if the owner is pulling the trigger repeatedly!

Best wishes,
Dirty Bob

 

[Alex45ACP]

Thanks for all the advice so far. There is a range about an hour away that rents guns, I'll have to see if I can take her up there sometime soon.

 

[Jim PHL]

Alex, HOW your mother will carry is key. If she will purse carry, I'd add another vote for a steel j-frame. Especially the current crop of "J-magnums". A current model 60 or 640 is a great choice. The larger uncle mike's 'combat' grips will help a lot vs. the "boot" grips. With a well selected standard pressure load they are not really that violent to shoot. Actually pretty tame in my opinion. She should obviously be prepared for SOME felt recoil. Federal's 110 grain Hydra-Shok is a pretty controllable load. Relatively effective and not very "nasty". If she carries a larger hand bag regularly, you should at least check out a 2" K frame. Model 10's/64's in 2" can be found. (S+W has the 2" 64 in it's current catalog. Used 10's and 64's can be found, too.) The added weight and additional grip area make regular .38's just plain fun to shoot. That will make her more likely to practice. Good luck to you both.

 

[Mark in California]

A 38 Lady Smith she likes for carry, and a have a 12 ga shotgun for home defense.

 

[71Commander]

Although I would not reccomend anything smaller that a .38 diameter bullet and while trying to find a balance between lightweight and nasty recoil, i'm gonna look into a S&W Airweight .32 H&R mag. for my wife. She already has a S&W 386PD, but it's an L frame and a little on the bigger side as opposed to bigger on the small side.

 

[boldkharma]

I agree with the 38 revo. I bought my wife a SW642 airweight and its perfect for her. I don't have to worry about her using it, she can just pull the trigger.

 

[GEM]

I always say this - Everyone piles on with the gun babble when someone wants a gun for a significant female. I applaud the decision to carry but I strongly think that it is more responsible to get the female (or male for that matter) to get a touch of training before buying the gun. Of course, you want to carry right away.

However, small guns are hard to shoot. J frames are very unpleasant and I've found (along with others) that females like the appearance and hate to shoot them.

If there is a place nearby that teaches a female oriented gun class that is worth more than the techy babble such threads produce.

If you need the gun right away without training, then a simple revolver is best and you hope it is never used.

 

[Seraph]

Ruger SP101 .357 Magnum, DAO. It has a spurless hammer, which will behoove her for the regrettable, but inevitable, purse carry. She can practice with .38 Special and load up the magnum JHP's for carry.

 

[71Commander]

However, small guns are hard to shoot. J frames are very unpleasant and I've found (along with others) that females like the appearance and hate to shoot them.

That is why i'm proposing the .32 mag. for my wife. Small, light, conceallable and not to abusive.

 

[Ala Dan]

Hello! I'm in the revolver corner in choosing a firearm for mom!

In particular a Smith & Wesson model 642-2. Its a 5-shot
.38 Special weighing in at only 15 ozs. And on top of that,
its snag proof so mom can carry it in her jeans front pocket, or
purse, IWB, OWB, etc.

 

[cliffy109]

Lots of revolver fans here. I'm going to break from that and suggest a Glock. Well, actually I suggest having her shoot a few different guns and making up her own mind, but a Glock has a lot of advantages. Like a revolver, its simple to operate. There are no levers, safeties or anything else to mess with. That makes learning and training much easier. The safe action trigger is also a lot easier for women with small hands to deal with. My girlfriend can't manage a double action revolver due to the long and heavy trigger.

 

[Morty76]

I have a S&W 642. It's lightweight and reasonably accurate. The recoil is not bad. I was afraid to try +p ammo in it but this weekend I put a few rounds of 125gr +p Speer through it. The recoil didn't feel any different than the 158gr lead round nose standard pressure ammo that I normally shoot. I've tried the Remington 110 gr SJHP standard pressure ammo with it and the recoil is very low... the muzzle flash is insane though.

The sights are a little hard to see at times, but other than that I feel very comfortable with the S&W.

My girlfriend expressed an interest in shooting with me, she's shot my Hi-power but isn't strong enough to operate the slide. She wanted me to buy a small pistol for her to shoot. I was looking for something decent and on the inexpensive side. I did a little research and I ended up buying a Bersa Thunder .380 last night. I'm very impressed with it. After the first shot I fell in love with it. Light weight, good trigger pull, 3 dot adjustable sights, very little recoil, under $250 and the accuracy surprized me. I fired off a box at 5 yards and kept it all in the 10 ring.