Recommendations for EDC for the wife

[pewpew300WM]

Hey, I wanted to reach out to the hide group and see what all the wife’s are carrying for an EDC. I have been looking for awhile now, and every gun I order in for my business I have the wife check it out. She’s stuck on a weapon that has a manual thumb safety but we are working to eliminate that concern. We’ve checked out multiple shield ez’s in 9mm, 30SC and 380, some from their performance shop and some standards. We have also checked out the sig 365xl, sig 365, ruger lcp max, Springfield hellcat, kimber ultra carry and Glock 43x. I currently have a shadow systems cr920 setup to ship once my wholesaler receives them. The plan is to install some type of trijicon, holosun, vortex red dot but if we can find a nice setup without the slide cut it’s not a deal breaker. Anyone have some other options to look at?

 

[oso1]

Let her pick what she wants, most women don't like shooting compact/sub compact pistols unless chambered .22 LR. What you like to carry she most likely will not.

 

[Aftermath]

My wife LOVES her SW 642 with the Rosewood grips. True EDC, small, light and concealable.

 

[07SGT4623]

My wife LOVES her SW 642 with the Rosewood grips. True EDC, small, light and concealable.

 

[TurboTrout]

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[pewpew300WM]

Let her pick what she wants, most women don't like shooting compact/sub compact pistols unless chambered .22 LR. What you like to carry she most likely will not.

Surprisingly she shoots my 40 cal and 10mm Glock. She’s mainly looking into 9mm but we’re to the point now anything is better then nothing at all.

 

[david walter]

Mine is an LEO and hers is a Sig 365 XL.

Get her one of those and. Sig 322 (unobtainium) in 22 LR for practice.

Done and done.

 

[Milf Dots]

If your wife doesn't already have good slide racking technique, let her watch some videos on the double pushing technique of slide racking- shooting hand on the grip and support hand on the slide- pushing in opposite directions simultaneously. Once she is competent at it, it will open up the number of pistols she might be comfortable with.

Revolvers will give her the most felt recoil because they don't have a slide absorbing energy as part of the cycling.

Hundreds of thousands if not millions of women are successfully carrying compact and subcompact poly striker guns from CZ, Glock, Sig, HK, Walther, Beretta, S&W.

 

[Baron85]

She has to find what feels good to her, fits her hand well, points naturally, she is able to cycle the slide, and fits and conceals where she wants to carry.

Is she comfortable and competent with slide and mag malfunctions of a semi auto. Does she want simple like a revolver.

No one is going to be able to pick one out for her except her. Gotta go feel the try them.

With all that being said my wife has carried ruger lcp, didn’t like lack of sights and terrible trigger, tried S&W j frame 38. Liked but low capacity and poor sight, then Glock 26 and 19 for a lot of years and now with the thinner higher capacity guns like the sig 365 and hellcat we bought both and she likes the 365 and I prefer the hellcat.

 

[Milf Dots]

If you're going to get her an optic- make it a Trijicon RMR type 2, Aimpoint Acro p2, Trijicon RMRcc, Shield RMSc Glass Edition. Don't be the guy who buys his wife a CCP optic (hsun)- it's bad form.

 

[GH41]

If you're going to get her an optic- make it a Trijicon RMR type 2, Aimpoint Acro p2, Trijicon RMRcc, Shield RMSc Glass Edition. Don't be the guy who buys his wife a CCP optic (hsun)- it's bad form.

642 with 158gr wadcutters. Get someone who knows what they are doing teach her to point and shoot. You don't need sights at personal defense range!

 

[Mike Casselton]

Let her pick her gun out.



Buy her a ton of practice ammo.
If she decides that she wants another pistol, then buy that one too.

Most guys want to buy a pistol for their wife and be one and done.
I'll bet that most of us have switched EDC pistols over time.

My wife buys her own pistols because she has a bigger stake in the purchase. She's doing it for her, not to please me.

 

[pewpew300WM]

Let her pick her gun out.



Buy her a ton of practice ammo.
If she decides that she wants another pistol, then buy that one too.

Most guys want to buy a pistol for their wife and be one and done.
I'll bet that most of us have switched EDC pistols over time.

My wife buys her own pistols because she has a bigger stake in the purchase. She's doing it for her, not to please me.

Yeah we’ve went through two purchases so far that she didn’t like. Figure we will narrow down someday on the perfect match for the time being

 

[Baron85]

On a positive. The more she buys it just adds to the collection

 

[Hoggr9]

My wife likes her Browning 1911 .380
It is roughly 2/3 scale of a full 1911

 

[pewpew300WM]

On a positive. The more she buys it just adds to the collection

Only other plus is I’m a ffl dealer so she’s getting them all at cost which makes her want to keep buying others

 

[Baron85]

Sounds like a great problem to have

 

[Tortuga]

My wife "thought" she wanted a light, small pistol, until I we spent a couple of months trying out specimens from across the handgun spectrum. Turns out she likes heavy steel and crisp triggers.
Her range toy is a CZ Shadow 2 and next will be a CZ P-01 for a carry piece.

 

[SmolPP]

My wife really likes the ergonomics of her 365xl, but she's not used to the recoil of a sub-compact 9mm yet. Unfortunately, she loves to shoot my CZ Shadow 2 optics ready... She's a smaller framed lady and she can't CC that thing unless she brings a wheelbarrow.
Tl/Dr,
Have her shoot the 365xl. Maybe time will help her overcome the "need" for an external safety.

 

[pewpew300WM]

My wife really likes the ergonomics of her 365xl, but she's not used to the recoil of a sub-compact 9mm yet. Unfortunately, she loves to shoot my CZ Shadow 2 optics ready... She's a smaller framed lady and she can't CC that thing unless she brings a wheelbarrow.
Tl/Dr,
Have her shoot the 365xl. Maybe time will help her overcome the "need" for an external safety.

Yeah we’re hoping to hit the indoor range soon and run some rentals they have to get a better feel for a handful.

 

[SmolPP]

Yeah we’re hoping to hit the indoor range soon and run some rentals they have to get a better feel for a handful.

The great thing about the XL is that it doesn't feel as "snappy" as a lot of small framed guns tend to do. The big seller was the grip. Somehow Sig managed to make a frame that wasn't ungodly small that I couldn't shoot it with my size L/XL hands AND my wife can feel comfortable with it in her ladies sized S/M sized hands.
When I or my buddy shoot it, our pinkies aren't dangling off in nowhere land. It's also small enough for my wife to get a proper 2 handed grip with no/minimal gap in her palms when firing. The minimal gap is caused by her being a relatively new shooter and she's still learning how to grasp the pistol correctly.

 

[pewpew300WM]

The great thing about the XL is that it doesn't feel as "snappy" as a lot of small framed guns tend to do. The big seller was the grip. Somehow Sig managed to make a frame that wasn't ungodly small that I couldn't shoot it with my size L/XL hands AND my wife can feel comfortable with it in her ladies sized S/M sized hands.
When I or my buddy shoot it, our pinkies aren't dangling off in nowhere land. It's also small enough for my wife to get a proper 2 handed grip with no/minimal gap in her palms when firing. The minimal gap is caused by her being a relatively new shooter and she's still learning how to grasp the pistol correctly.

Yeah we have yet to get her shooting a 365xl. She’s handled a couple that came through my business but handling and shooting are way different for sure. She shoots my Glock 20 and S&W 40, but isn’t a fan of all the recoil by any means. Now she does seem to shoot my kimber ultra carry 2 in 9mm real well but the weight is the issue there. I am hoping to get my hands on a shadow systems cr920 when they finally release and see if that fits her needs and wants better. She’s small framed, small hands and the market is tough as she wants x,y and z but it’s nonexistent at this time. Hoping to get her confidence up and try to stray away from the manual safety want.

 

[Austan]

My wife LOVES her SW 642 with the Rosewood grips. True EDC, small, light and concealable.

This is what my wife carries also, with the 405 laser. Tried the 105 but had to return it because the button fell in between fingers. Honestly I like it a lot too. So much so I have had a 340pd on my short list.

 

[n2ishun]

Whatever she ends up with try to steer her towards a 2" revolver.....something in S&W 500 or the 480 Ruger caliber.






You weren't planning on keeping her anyway, right ?

 

[Aaros143]

As a part time gun shop person. I heartily recommend staying away from the Shield EZ's. I've had tons of women buy them, about 80% have gone back to S&W to be repaired.

 

[MarshallDodge]

I agree 100% with letting her choose, and try before you buy.

At one time my former wife and I had a firearms training company that had mostly female clientele. She carried a compact 9mm 1911 and shot it well. They are easy to rack if you cock the hammer first, and she carried hers cocked and locked.

We had quite a few guns for the ladies to try, both semi auto and revolvers, in various sizes. The revolver was typically in last place for popularity while the compact 9mm 1911 usually came in first.

The Kahr K9, Glock 43, and S&W Shield were also pretty popular at that time. A lot of budget minded women bought the Springfield XDsc, and they were reliable from what I saw, but I don't think I would recommend one.

 

[pewpew300WM]

As a part time gun shop person. I heartily recommend staying away from the Shield EZ's. I've had tons of women buy them, about 80% have gone back to S&W to be repaired.

What issues were they having?

 

[Simonsza1]

My wife is an extremely competent shooter and competitor. That being said the little guns for edc were a major issue for her. She hated the trigger on all the little stuff like the bodyguard, lcp etc. She ended up really digging the sig 238 and carries it hammer back safety on which gives it a fantastic trigger at that point. Obviously this type of locked and cocked is not for someone who’s not as well experienced as her but the trigger on most the little guns was a deal breaker for her. I guess what I’m saying is what most have said is she really needs to run a few to figure out her own brand of crud and what works. Also my wife actually likes the weight of the sig and it shoots so well for a little pistol.

 

[Simonsza1]

80% of shield ez going back for repairs is a monstrous overstatement! If in a worse case scenario I’d say 8% and even that is probably an overstatement. While all may not love them the m&p lineup are some solid pistols.

 

[BipThatInstance]

You are going to need to just let her get hands-on with a bunch one day and have at it to pick, nothing anyone will recommend here will work 100% because we don't know how long she keeps her nails, how big her hands are, how big she is, what style pistol she likes, how she'll carry, how competent she is with shooting.

Just get her a good sampling of SA/DA and striker guns of various makes and go from there.

 

[Aftermath]

This is what my wife carries also, with the 405 laser. Tried the 105 but had to return it because the button fell in between fingers. Honestly I like it a lot too. So much so I have had a 340pd on my short list.

She has lots of other options. In fact, when she first decided to carry every where, all the time, I had her try everything I own and then some from my friends collections. She really likes to shoot her 92F and she likes the HiPower. Her first instinct was to go with one of those but after toting one around every where, all the time, she figured out they were too large for the intended purpose. She liked carrying a small revolver that one of my buddies loaned us. We were in a LGS and she saw a Ruger revolver. I don't recall which one, but it was small and 38 special (I think). We bought it. She liked that it was small and light but the trigger was not so great and she figured out that the hammer could snag on shit. We were back in the same store and they had the LadySmith in the case. Hammerless. It was also "pretty". LGS took the Ruger back on trade and she got the SW. She doesn't shoot it very often and I'm ok with that. The recoil is more than she really likes but, as she says, she probably won't notice the recoil if she has to use it for its intended purpose and even if she does, a little recoil is better than a knot on the head or a slit throat.

 

[Baron85]

Well if she likes the lady smith stick with it. They make reduced recoil 38 loads for practice…….. seems like you already have the best solution. I personally believe unless people are willing to train with a semi auto and maintain the weapon to keep it operational and know how to deal with malfunctions and not accidentally drop the mag. A revolver is the much better choice.

 

[Milf Dots]

No matter what wives and GFs tell you, size and shape matter, as does the nature of the trigger.

 

[TurboTrout]

My wife is an extremely competent shooter and competitor. That being said the little guns for edc were a major issue for her. She hated the trigger on all the little stuff like the bodyguard, lcp etc. She ended up really digging the sig 238 and carries it hammer back safety on which gives it a fantastic trigger at that point. Obviously this type of locked and cocked is not for someone who’s not as well experienced as her but the trigger on most the little guns was a deal breaker for her. I guess what I’m saying is what most have said is she really needs to run a few to figure out her own brand of crud and what works. Also my wife actually likes the weight of the sig and it shoots so well for a little pistol.

My normal carry is a 938, great pistols, but that trigger can be MUCH better.

The Crusader Trigger and Return Spring for Sig Sauer P938 and P238 Pistols

Options:

gallowayprecision.com

Plus

Hammer Spring for Sig P938 and P238 Pistols

Decreased Rate Hammer SpringA nice inexpensive and dramatic upgrade for the 938/238 pistols. This hammer spring is made to our specs and will drop the trigger pull to about 5-5.5 lbs and will still be reliable with standard quality ammo, steel cased ammo not recommended. ***We recommend an...

gallowayprecision.com

Another must do, the factory one was actually two pieces that screwed into each other, some reported these would come undone, I have no experience with this as I swapped to the one piece I have linked before I ever fired it.

Sig Sauer P938 Stainless Steel Guide Rod • Stainless Steel Guide Rods

This is a one piece stainless steel guide rod for a Sig Sauer P938 made out of 304 stainless steel.

ssguiderods.com

I think most 938 stuff ether works in the 238 or they have a 238 version as well

 

[Austan]

She has lots of other options. In fact, when she first decided to carry every where, all the time, I had her try everything I own and then some from my friends collections. She really likes to shoot her 92F and she likes the HiPower. Her first instinct was to go with one of those but after toting one around every where, all the time, she figured out they were too large for the intended purpose. She liked carrying a small revolver that one of my buddies loaned us. We were in a LGS and she saw a Ruger revolver. I don't recall which one, but it was small and 38 special (I think). We bought it. She liked that it was small and light but the trigger was not so great and she figured out that the hammer could snag on shit. We were back in the same store and they had the LadySmith in the case. Hammerless. It was also "pretty". LGS took the Ruger back on trade and she got the SW. She doesn't shoot it very often and I'm ok with that. The recoil is more than she really likes but, as she says, she probably won't notice the recoil if she has to use it for its intended purpose and even if she does, a little recoil is better than a knot on the head or a slit throat.

Yeah my wife too has plenty of options. She had gone through a 380 and 2 9mms. She was actually quite hesitant to try the revolver. I think she was expecting more recoil than a semi auto. The lightweight aspect was the only reason she tried it, having been on a ultralight hiking kick and wanting to carry protection on the trails. After she shot it, and did really well after getting used to the trigger, she absolutely loves it. More importantly she has confidence in her ability with it which she never had with the semi autos. Being a little weak she would limp wrist and get failures and after shooting a mag or two would start to pull the pistol down as she fired it missing the target all together.

OP, Like has been said, have her try as many as possible, even different brand of essentially the same pistol as they will fit the hand different and let her decide.

 

[Snaz]

My wife played w/some Glocks, Springfield, S&W, etc. and finally settled on a Walther CCP M2. I was pretty surprised, but it fits her hands well, fixed barrel, single stack 9mm, that has really good trigger. The trigger isn't as good as my PDP, but way better than most of the others she looked at. It's not a bad little gun, especially for the cost.

 

[pewpew300WM]

Yeah my wife too has plenty of options. She had gone through a 380 and 2 9mms. She was actually quite hesitant to try the revolver. I think she was expecting more recoil than a semi auto. The lightweight aspect was the only reason she tried it, having been on a ultralight hiking kick and wanting to carry protection on the trails. After she shot it, and did really well after getting used to the trigger, she absolutely loves it. More importantly she has confidence in her ability with it which she never had with the semi autos. Being a little weak she would limp wrist and get failures and after shooting a mag or two would start to pull the pistol down as she fired it missing the target all together.

OP, Like has been said, have her try as many as possible, even different brand of essentially the same pistol as they will fit the hand different and let her decide.

I may have to try the revolver route also. We have yet to mess with one of them

 

[Milf Dots]

My wife played w/some Glocks, Springfield, S&W, etc. and finally settled on a Walther CCP M2. I was pretty surprised, but it fits her hands well, fixed barrel, single stack 9mm, that has really good trigger. The trigger isn't as good as my PDP, but way better than most of the others she looked at. It's not a bad little gun, especially for the cost.

Just an FYI and you may already know this, but Walther had a recall on some CCP models, and about 4-5 other Walther models too. Most if not all of those recalls are accidental discharge related. Good guns regardless and Walther stands behind them.

 

[Snaz]

Just an FYI and you may already know this, but Walther had a recall on some CCP models, and about 4-5 other Walther models too. Most if not all of those recalls are accidental discharge related. Good guns regardless and Walther stands behind them.

Thanks heads up, IIRC I checked and hers serial # wasn't affected, but I should probably check again. Definitely don't need an AD walking around up town lol.

ETA: Just double checked and hers is gtg. Regardless, I appreciate the warning.

I think Walther are commonly over looked by most. They have some really nice features and have been just as reliable as my Glocks. YMMV

 

[Simonsza1]

Aren’t the Walthers and m&p basically the same?

 

[Missalot]

My wife loves her 2" j frame .38 but can't hit the broadside of a barn with it. I suggested the Ruger sp 101 with a 3" barrel and the extra weight and barrel length made all the difference in the world. I bought one, had it tuned and put some nice grips on it and she loves it.

 

[wh20crazy]

I always push folks who don't shoot much towards revolvers. That said, when my wife decided she was ready to carry, she decided she liked "the little black one that takes the magazines". Yeah, she took my Springfield XDS .45. She doesn't have the hand strength to fully load mags, so I made sure she has (hopefully) plenty of loaded mags.

 

[Snaz]

Aren’t the Walthers and m&p basically the same?

That I don't know. Only played with the M&Ps in the store. I know the CCP is more of a fixed barrel to the frame, while the PDP is more like my G19. Honestly, I'm not a big pistol guy. I carry for SD & that's it. As long as they're reliable and I can shoot them decent, the rest doesn't really matter to me

 

[Milf Dots]

Aren’t the Walthers and m&p basically the same?

A couple of decades ago S&W and Walther had a model or two they collaborated on, but that's about it. Both make decent pistols.

 

[Simonsza1]

Yes a agree on the quality of the pistols for sure. I think the shield performance center is one of the best pistols out there. I think I saw some that looked like clones awhile back that’s why I asked and I also have a m&p 22 pistol and I saw a guy with one at the range that was exactly the same but his said Walther on it.

 

[calling4life]

SIG P365 Spectre Comp

Higher end, look at something like the Wilson Combat SFX9, you can go 10rd, or 15rd grip, it has a great external thumb safety but without the beavertail safety.

3.25" barrel, or if she wants a little more, 4", and it now comes in a 5" as well.

Staccato C2 should maybe poke in for this 1911'ish area if that should be a direction she likes.

Otherwise there are 10million poly guns.

 

[pewpew300WM]

SIG P365 Spectre Comp

Higher end, look at something like the Wilson Combat SFX9, you can go 10rd, or 15rd grip, it has a great external thumb safety but without the beavertail safety.

3.25" barrel, or if she wants a little more, 4", and it now comes in a 5" as well.

Staccato C2 should maybe poke in for this 1911'ish area if that should be a direction she likes.

Otherwise there are 10million poly guns.

Yeah I actually just looked at the spectre setup. I wouldn’t mind checking out a staccato for myself though. They are on my list but tough to find around my area.

 

[Beezer911]

Yeah we have yet to get her shooting a 365xl. She’s handled a couple that came through my business but handling and shooting are way different for sure. She shoots my Glock 20 and S&W 40, but isn’t a fan of all the recoil by any means. Now she does seem to shoot my kimber ultra carry 2 in 9mm real well but the weight is the issue there. I am hoping to get my hands on a shadow systems cr920 when they finally release and see if that fits her needs and wants better. She’s small framed, small hands and the market is tough as she wants x,y and z but it’s nonexistent at this time. Hoping to get her confidence up and try to stray away from the manual safety want.

My wife shoots a 365X - which is the XL grip with the short slide. She loves it and is scary accurate with it. A couple things about the 365 variants:
1. You mentioned the thumb safety - if you haven’t already bought one, get one without a safety. Then you can buy a safety and a notched grip module. Yank the FCU, put in the safety, drop it in the notched grip and viola you have a thumb safety. It can be removed whenever you want should she become comfortable going without it. I screwed up and bought my 365 with the safety and can’t remove it when carrying because it could be used against me in court since my serial number indicates it came with one.
2. Because the group modules are easy to swap you can easily “pretty” up the gun. I had a module cerakoted (Cerakote by Ken - he does really nice work) in Crushed Orchid. She absolutely loved her purple gun for the range, but carries with the original black frame to keep a low profile.

I also have 365 and both hers and mine really amaze me in the way they tame recoil. I‘ve shoot all the compacts and the 365 / X / XLs are the softest shooters in my experience.

 

[akmike47]

Let her pick what she wants, most women don't like shooting compact/sub compact pistols unless chambered .22 LR. What you like to carry she most likely will not.

The compact/22 bs is not true at all. I've sold hundreds upon hundreds of firearms to women over the years and I took most of them on the range trying out options.

OP Take her to a range with a good selection of rental firearms and let her try a bunch, don't push anything just give guidance. If she picks it she will be a lot more willing to practice and carry it. It's worth the extra time and money.

The top sellers in my experience were Sig 938/238, Glock 43/43X, Glock 42, sig 365.

They are all easy to manipulate and give options for a safety or not. Keep in mind a safety doesn't make it safe with a new shooter it's all about training.

 

[CO00Z]

I've taught a lot of women's CCW classes over the years. The number one choice for most of those students has a S&W 442/642 .38 revolver. Easy, reliable and simple. That said, she needs to find what she's comfortable with, will practice with and will actually carry. Good luck.