Thread: What would you buy your wife/girlfriend?

If you were to purchase or suggest a pistol for your wife or girlfriend to carry, what would you recommend and why?

Sig p238 great gun. Its a sig du

LOL - the first time I took my wife shooting she didn't like the .22, the 9mm, and only barely liked the .357 mag - Loved the 1911 as well as my brother's ruger .45

One choice for me. Revolver, double action only, bobbed hammer or hammerless, 38/357, stainless, 2 inch barrel.
Why:
The double action only revolver is point and shoot. No safety, buttons, or other controls to get in the way in a stress filled moment. Bobbed hammer/hammerless to be snag free. Stainless to be less prone to wear in a purse and to be in plain view when in hand. Two inch barrel to be compact to carry. Several models are made to be very light in weight.

If it was a gun she intended to carry I would, and did, recommend a .38 Special snubbie. My wife carries a Smith and Wesson .38 that has the Crimson Trace laser grips. She bought it herself after I pointed one out to her. There is one big reason. Pull gun out, pull trigger. Pull trigger again and again and again and again if needed. No safeties to manipulate. No slide to rack or bouncing around in the hand. The gun is inherently safe unless the trigger is pulled. Gotta love a double action revolver for that.
Keep it simple, especially for someone that isn't "into" guns.

If you were to purchase or suggest a pistol for your wife or girlfriend to carry, what would you recommend and why?

What ever she likes, and is comfortable shooting and carrying.

She has a PPK.
She picked it, and is good shooting it.
Small, reliable, "cute"

Originally Posted by orygun

If it was a gun she intended to carry I would, and did, recommend a .38 Special snubbie. My wife carries a Smith and Wesson .38 that has the Crimson Trace laser grips. She bought it herself after I pointed one out to her. There is one big reason. Pull gun out, pull trigger. Pull trigger again and again and again and again if needed. No safeties to manipulate. No slide to rack or bouncing around in the hand. The gun is inherently safe unless the trigger is pulled. Gotta love a double action revolver for that.
Keep it simple, especially for someone that isn't "into" guns.

Got to second that recommendation. My wife has a hammerless S&W .38 Special. Easy to slip into a pocket holster or purse and nearly foolproof as long as it is loaded.

Originally Posted by glockguy

Sig p238 great gun. Its a sig du

Ya, either that or the Kahr P380.... cuz its also available in pink.

Originally Posted by JC9995

Ya, either that or the Kahr P380.... cuz its also available in pink.

Hah! my wife told me she'd kick my *** across the room if I ever bought her a pink gun .

*off topic warning:*This isn't for cc, but I just HAVE to mention that I just bought her a High Standard 'Hombre' .22 sa/da revolver for Christmas 'cos she really likes the idea of shooting sa revolvers. It's nickle, holds 9 rounds. Got it here from deadeye! Great guy, gun is in awesome shape, so of course I had to take it out today to, yknow, try it out Man, what a fun revolver! Put a whole buncha rounds through it. She's gonna dig it... so nobody tell her!

*back on topic*
hammerless small revolver seems like a great choice for low-hassle cc. Heck I want one myself too.

Wife picked out a LCP.

Got her a Taurus pt709 slim for christmas...lets hope she likes it!

It depends on the person, my GF likes my 1911, but has a hard time using the slide on it. She likes to shoot it but thinks its to "rough" for carry use, she will probably end up with a smaller caliber she can pull the slide easily with, she hates revolvers but thats just my GF, have your wife shoot some calibers, see what she likes, after she finds the caliber then find the gun. There are hundreds of makes and calibers for a reason, because there isn't a one size fits all gun.

Keep in mind that while a 2 inch revolver may be easy to operate, it's not easy to shoot accurately, quickly, or reload. This is why I never recommend one for concealed carry. Especially for inexperienced shooters! Also keep in mind that just because she is a women doesn't mean she can't figure out how to operate a slide or other controls on a semi auto. Whatever she ends up with, proper and continuing instruction should be the most important consideration.

Buying a gun for cc is like buying shoes. Everybody has different likes/dislikes.
I'd take her to a gun store and let her try different types to see what she likes best. It does take the surprise out of it but you/she won't be disappointed with the wrong gun. Try to find a shop/range that will rent you different models then go shoot them right there. Or buy her a gift certificate to a gun store to let her pick one out. Just some different ideas.
I know you are in portland but down here in eugene is the Baron's Den shop/range. They have app. different types of hanguns for rent. Might be worth a trip down here for a look see.

For Christmas I am getting my wife a Pink Lady 38. It's a hammerless revolver, she's been wanting it for a long time and it might speed up her process of getting her ccl

XMas present..

Take her to gun store, and tell her to pick it out.

I can only advise and point things out, and answer questions.. She gets what she picks out.

My Wife, Smith & Wesson .38 Special Airweight with a Crimson Trace laser grips.

I bought a second G19 for my wife since she can shoot it pretty well. Doe she carry? No. Does she shoot all that often? No. But, if things got rough, I'm pretty confident she could pick that thing up and use it to effect.

If you're talking about a "generic" situation, I'd recommend some kind of .38/.357 revolver - maybe a S&W 60 or old S&W Model 10. Revolvers are pretty straight-forward to understand how they work, how they are loaded, etc. .38's are pretty easy to shoot, and while not the best self-defense round in the world, will get the job done.

Originally Posted by xjjeeper223

Keep in mind that while a 2 inch revolver may be easy to operate, it's not easy to shoot accurately, quickly, or reload. This is why I never recommend one for concealed carry. Especially for inexperienced shooters! Also keep in mind that just because she is a women doesn't mean she can't figure out how to operate a slide or other controls on a semi auto. Whatever she ends up with, proper and continuing instruction should be the most important consideration.

A 2 inch gun is no more or less accurate than a 4 inch gun at gun fight distance. The shooters ability to have the skills to shoot is the number one factor. A 38 revolver can be fired as fast as any semi-auto. I think there is a few good Youtube vids of the world record revolver speed shooter. A revolver is slower to reload for most, but again the world speed shooter would show you something. The point is ease of operation not gender. There are many men who would be better served with a revolver too. Most people do not shoot enough rounds a year to keep sharp. And most, like myself, have many pistol that operate differently. So the idea of being able to perform at your best in a very high stress situation, could only be helped with a pistol of the most basic operation.