Looking for a carry pistol for the wife.

[Guest mikedwood]

My girlfriend took her 1st shots yesterday and is going to get her HCP. She has such small hands that she couldn't grip the G26 right. I let her shoot my Sig P220 and she did very well with it (still couldn't get a real decent grip). It was so cute to watch. (most of the shooting she did was with my Ruger Mark III 22/45, she did great with it)

We went to Austin's after the range and She held a few. Most she couldn't grip good enough. But she gripped a 1911 just fine. I want to see what she thinks of a compact 1911 maybe in an aluminum frame. If she hates it I know I won't.

That and or an LCR.

I fall into the catagory of a few of you and don't like or trust the little pocket pistols.

I personally think the recoil on a 1911 is the best recoil kind of a straight back roll and not a bounce like a .38 .380 or 9mm. I hate the recoil on a .380.

[Guest Marine03]

Check out the Walther PPS. My wife carries one in 40SW. With a Cross Breed Minituck I can't even tell when she's carrying. She's got small hands but can grip the PPS well and its available in 40 or 9. It's one of the smallest gun with that kind of bang that I know of.

[Guest 1817ak47]

But I have trouble with the slide.

what trouble do you have with it. I had a bersa 380 I bought for my lady a while back and it didn't take near as much effort as my xd 9mm. maybe yours needs a little oil or break in yet maybe??

[BigK]

My wife got a Bersa Thunder .380 in 2002. It was a lot of bang for the buck and all we could realy afford. She never carried it, despite my pleading. Now she wants my Taurus 738 TCP and swears she'll carry it.

She's a nurse and works late, so I dare not argue. I'm just glad she wants to carry again. I asked her to go shoot it, but she insists that she knows how to handle guns (she really does, I just want her to practice more). In her defense, if she feels threatened enough to shoot an attacker, it will be b/c he's too close and she won't miss inside 10'.

[packingvol]

Personally.. If my wife carried. (and she doesn't) the only gun I would buy her would be a snubby .38 +P. Just like with the car, twist the key and go.. anything else their callin fer us. Giving them anything other then a turnkey (pull triger) simple solution is bad idea.

Point and pull trigger, if it doesn't go bang.. pull it again. No tap, rack, blah anything. just pull the damn triger.

Ruger, Smith, Charter, Taurus, whatever.. they all go bang when the triger is pulled. Set a price point and go with it.

Do what ya like tho.. I'm just sayin if I would buy one.. now if the wife wants to decide on her own.. it's her baby.

I thought I agreed with this sentiment, I would always leave my J-frame .38 in my wife's bedside drawer when I went out of town. She recently expressed interest in getting her HCP so we went to the range with an array of options for her to shoot and choose what she wanted to train with for the class. She absolutely HATED my j-frame airweight with standard .38 loads (let alone +p). The recoil is super harsh, and with the DA pull she was very inconsistent on target, even as close as 10ft. She was actually very pissed at me for leaving this gun in her drawer while I traveled.

I only carry the j-frame as a backup, or lightweight pocket gun. I hate shooting it at the range, but force myself to run at least a box of ammo through it every 6 months just to stay current. I know for a fact my wife will never shoot that pistol again.

Women have better opportunities for "off body" carry. This opens up a lot more possibilities for them to conceal medium frame to large frame handguns, and avoid the pitfalls of subcompacts (harsh recoil, short sight radius, substandard sights, ect). For novice shooters and infrequent shooters (men or women), it is probably more important to have a handgun that one is comfortable shooting, rather than the smallest/lightest possible pocket pistol out there. The more comfortable you are with a handgun, the more likely you are to practice with it, and thus shooter skill level and confidence levels will soar.

[PackinMama]

I thought I agreed with this sentiment, I would always leave my J-frame .38 in my wife's bedside drawer when I went out of town. She recently expressed interest in getting her HCP so we went to the range with an array of options for her to shoot and choose what she wanted to train with for the class. She absolutely HATED my j-frame airweight with standard .38 loads (let alone +p). The recoil is super harsh, and with the DA pull she was very inconsistent on target, even as close as 10ft. She was actually very pissed at me for leaving this gun in her drawer while I traveled.

I only carry the j-frame as a backup, or lightweight pocket gun. I hate shooting it at the range, but force myself to run at least a box of ammo through it every 6 months just to stay current. I know for a fact my wife will never shoot that pistol again.

Women have better opportunities for "off body" carry. This opens up a lot more possibilities for them to conceal medium frame to large frame handguns, and avoid the pitfalls of subcompacts (harsh recoil, short sight radius, substandard sights, ect). For novice shooters and infrequent shooters (men or women), it is probably more important to have a handgun that one is comfortable shooting, rather than the smallest/lightest possible pocket pistol out there. The more comfortable you are with a handgun, the more likely you are to practice with it, and thus shooter skill level and confidence levels will soar.

I can't understand when I hear people say this about j-frames. I can shoot my j-frame without giving a second thought to the recoil, especially regular loads. My 79 yr. old mother has a j-frame and she can shoot it just fine with the lower recoil loads.....and she's 115 lbs. with severe arthritis.

I guess not every gun is for every person, but please don't rule out getting a j-frame for your wife. They are super dependable and very easy to operate......which is exactly what a novice shooter needs. The lightweight ones are also extremely comfortable to carry.

I also have to comment on the last paragraph in packingvol's quote above. Let me tell you from experience that it is much more important to have a gun that you are comfortable carrying on your person, than to have one that you enjoy shooting at the range - but is too big and heavy to carry anywhere but in your purse. It would be better to get your wife a little .380 if that is all that she would be comfortable carrying on her body. I'd rather have a .380 in my pocket (or even a .22!) than a .45 in my purse any day!

If you have to, get her a small gun that she can carry and another gun to shoot at the range. If she ever needs to pull her carry gun and shoot someone with it, I gaurantee that she won't even feel the recoil!

[Guest dboonekilledabearhere]

I just read about the new Smith and Wesson Bodyguard 380 today. It comes in a revolver or a semi-auto. It also has an integrated laser. Maybe someone on TGO can elaborate more from experience.

[SonnyCrockett]

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Edited June 21, 2010 by SonnyCrockett

[SonnyCrockett]

Check out the Walther PPS. My wife carries one in 40SW. With a Cross Breed Minituck I can't even tell when she's carrying. She's got small hands but can grip the PPS well and its available in 40 or 9. It's one of the smallest gun with that kind of bang that I know of.

Excellent gun,,,,,,,,not for wimps as an EDC,has some weight to it but I have shot it and it was

a great performer - hard core !

I just read about the new Smith and Wesson Bodyguard 380 today. It comes in a revolver or a semi-auto. It also has an integrated laser. Maybe someone on TGO can elaborate more from experience.

it really has not hit stores yet..........another gun MFG making announcements way before the gun is available

the .380 is a Semi Auto and the Revolver is a 38SPL.......

[crashgordan]

LCR w/ crimson trace. light. reliable. effective w/ the right ammo. no safety/no fumbling, the ultimate point and click tool.

[The Scullinator]

My wife is tiny and has shot plenty to know what she likes. She loves her LCP.

I don't think I'll ever buy another Taurus.