Sidearms & Scatterguns Wife's wanting a handgun

[nra-life-member]

If you can start her with a 22LR that would be a good option. Revolvers make a nice first purchase. Easy to understand.

 

[rdinak]

Mark,

I dont know what part of Alabama you live in. However If you and your wife are within driving distance of Hoover Tactical Range, I would be happy to meet you there and let you wife try about ten different handguns starting a .22 revolver, then a .38 and maybe a few glocks.

My wife will shoot anything in the safe, however she prefers the simplicity of the /38 revolver.

On her first time out please use both ear plugs and muffs to reduce the perception of recoil.

 

[jolofree]

My girlfriend can't even pull the trigger on my 642. You sure you think that's a good idea?

Really, can she manipulate the the slide on a semi auto well enough to chamber a round or clear a phase II malfunction ?

 

[trig_gerhippie]

Let her try every handgun, auto & revolver. And let her decide for herself.

Please, Please, PLEASE DO NOT GET HER AN AUTO!!! Unless she is going to practice the shit out of it (most don't) I would get her one of the S&W or other brands of hammerless revolvers.
I have been giving this advice for over 30 years to men and women alike who will not take the time to learn the weapon intimately. In a high stress situation you want something that works with minimal thought and something that wont jam, fail to eject, fail to feed. With the revolver if it don't fire the first time, pull the trigger again.

I would go hammerless for carrying in a purse, bag, whatever...snag free. There are several lightweight ones out there.

Not as sexy, but it will save her life.

I am a woman, a wife & a mother to two beautiful children. I grew up not knowing anything about guns. When I moved to the US a few years ago, I decided to learn how to use it. Why? Because of my two children. I want to be able to protect them, in case my husband is not around.

So, one day we went to Sportman's Warehouse & I tried out almost every handgun they had, to see which fits my hands the most. I ended up getting the H&K P30 9mm (yes, it's an AUTO!) and I LOVE it. I have been competing with it & did my first USPSA last weekend.

I personally find revolvers cumbersome to use. I'm curious as to what pistol you use.

 

[Ultraman550]

^^^^and that concludes this discussion.

Woman - 1
29aholic -0

 

[bkw1911]

I am a woman, a wife & a mother to two beautiful children. I grew up not knowing anything about guns. When I moved to the US a few years ago, I decided to learn how to use it. Why? Because of my two children. I want to be able to protect them, in case my husband is not around.

So, one day we went to Sportman's Warehouse & I tried out almost every handgun they had, to see which fits my hands the most. I ended up getting the H&K P30 9mm (yes, it's an AUTO!) and I LOVE it. I have been competing with it & did my first USPSA last weekend.

I personally find revolvers cumbersome to use. I'm curious as to what pistol you use.

Keep shooting those uspsa matches. Your gun will eventually hiccup somehow and its a great stress induced situation to learn to clear your gun and there are lots of people help you learn. I worked at sportsmans and i think every woman ended up in love with that p30 after holding it. I agree a revolver can be quite awkward and many of those s&w 5 shots have triggers near 12#s. I dont understand how a light recoiling fiream with an easy trigger pull is ever simpler than a heavy triggered 2 finger revolver. Ive never shot with a woman that did better with a 5shot 38 than a 9mm glock, m&p, xd, h&k etc. The only reason woman can pull back slides on autos is when the idiot teaching them how to rack the slide does it in an awkward manner. There are several ways for people with weak hands and arms to rack slides. And i wouldnt give a revolver to my wife because it was easy and she didnt have to ever practice. Thats just a dangerous situation.

 

[29aholic]

I am a woman, a wife & a mother to two beautiful children. I grew up not knowing anything about guns. When I moved to the US a few years ago, I decided to learn how to use it. Why? Because of my two children. I want to be able to protect them, in case my husband is not around.

So, one day we went to Sportman's Warehouse & I tried out almost every handgun they had, to see which fits my hands the most. I ended up getting the H&K P30 9mm (yes, it's an AUTO!) and I LOVE it. I have been competing with it & did my first USPSA last weekend.

I personally find revolvers cumbersome to use. I'm curious as to what pistol you use.

^^^^and that concludes this discussion.

Woman - 1
29aholic -0

trigger
My post was not an attempt at chauvinism (see the part where I addressed MEN and women alike). Please also see the statement about actually learning and becoming proficient with it (training). It is obvious you have learned and trained with your gun. I applaud you as I do others who do the same. I would say that probably 75% or more of the people I sold handguns to over the years probably never shot more than a box or two of ammo through them (cops included). On the other hand some (like you) took the time and trained to the point of competency.

My advice was simply to try give the novice that insists on a CCW, and who isn't going to train with it, at least a little edge.

FWIW I have a place to shoot in my back yard, tons of bullets, powder, etc., and my wife helps me reload. I bought her a S&W Model 60 which she likes. She also really like my Colt Commander so about 5 years ago I built her, her own custom commander size 45. Want to take a guess how many rounds have been through either? Model 60 ZERO. Custom 45 about a box. Guess which one I let her carry???

 

[missed]

My wife carries a Ruger LCR. Simple drop bullets in, pull trigger, bang, repeat. We shoot our carry guns about once a month.

 

[DP425]

I am a woman, a wife & a mother to two beautiful children. I grew up not knowing anything about guns. When I moved to the US a few years ago, I decided to learn how to use it. Why? Because of my two children. I want to be able to protect them, in case my husband is not around.

So, one day we went to Sportman's Warehouse & I tried out almost every handgun they had, to see which fits my hands the most. I ended up getting the H&K P30 9mm (yes, it's an AUTO!) and I LOVE it. I have been competing with it & did my first USPSA last weekend.

I personally find revolvers cumbersome to use. I'm curious as to what pistol you use.

MEN rarely ask a woman's opinion of what handgun they prefer.

For some reason, there is this hard to dislodge belief that women are best to use revolvers; fits their hand better, more simple because they aren't smart enough to understand an auto, and because they are all too weak to pull back a slide, a revolver solves that issue...

I don't know too many women myself who are incapable of understanding the function and how to clear an auto. Also don't know too many who are too weak to rack back a slide- the issue you often see is, they try to do it wrong; the old index finger+thumb pull on the slide... there are a TON of men who cannot even do this. When you show them how to correctly grasp the top of the slide and use their upper body muscles to do the work, they are good to go.

And the fitment deal... seriously? And every man should run a desert eagle... because hey... men have large hands and those little glocks just don't fit right.

Tons of ignorant non-sense. I'm glad you found what works for you!!

 

[Mark williams]

Mark,

I dont know what part of Alabama you live in. However If you and your wife are within driving distance of Hoover Tactical Range, I would be happy to meet you there and let you wife try about ten different handguns starting a .22 revolver, then a .38 and maybe a few glocks.

My wife will shoot anything in the safe, however she prefers the simplicity of the /38 revolver.

On her first time out please use both ear plugs and muffs to reduce the perception of recoil.

I'm in tuscaloosa so I'm close. I will contact you soon by pm to see if you have time when were able to come. Thank you for offering this as most advice here suggest that.

 

[jjrgr21]

i picked up a 380 bodyguard for pocket carry, it's hammer fired, 1911 type safety, and a laser. the trigger is about 14 miles, but it's easy to get used to with a little practice.

I have glocks, and would never pocket carry one. but the bodyguard is perfect.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Here is what I would suggest from the experience I have had taking quite a number of people shooting.

For a range and fun gun, get her a nice .45 like a 1911 or a HK45 (I'd recommend the HK45 but there is an special beauty to the 1911)
There is a very good chance that she will find either of those very comfortable to shoot and be accurate with.
Many women find the .45 very comfortable to shoot and more pleasant than the 9mm or .45

Then for a carry gun, I've gone through quite a few and the Ruger LCR in .357 magnum is an excellent carry gun that gives you the best of a lot of worlds.
The .357 magnum one has a better trigger in my opinion than the 38 special model and then you can pick to carry .38 special, .38 special+P or .357 magnum.
Get one with the original Ruger / Hogue soft grip and it feels excellent in your hand.

 

[Toast]

never shot a gun and wants to carry one is not a good combination. Don't take that kind of responsibility until you know what you're doing. Period. Insert common sense here.

 

[finefire]

Ruger LCR in .22mag. With Crimson trace grips. Light, reliable, very controllable. Loaded with hornady critical defense makes a wicked 17oz pkg.

If it's too heavy, it's likely she will not want to carry.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Ruger LCR in .22mag. With Crimson trace grips. Light, reliable, very controllable. Loaded with hornady critical defense makes a wicked 17oz pkg.

If it's too heavy, it's likely she will not want to carry.

The rimfire triggers suck compared to the .357 magnum version trigger.
If you are concerned about recoil, just shoot 38 special.
The crimson trace grip is okay but it won't feel like a firm handshake like the tamer grip does. If you need a laser, get the one that goes on the front of the trigger guard.