Best Concealed Favorite for Wives

[horseshoedot]

Looking for a concealed carry for my wife. Wondering what the favorite is out there for ease of use, accuracy, etc. what's the general concensus for a woman who has typically only shot .22 in the past and more protection/security minded vs blowing a big hole in a bad guy.

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[RobMa]

My Jimmy....

All kidding aside, p38 ?

 

[Zingger]

Sig 238 is what my wife carries when she goes out running. Loaded with RIP rounds. When we were first married-she had only shot 22lr, now carries a 357 for hunting season and the aforementioned Sig when she is out running- although most of the "trash" from the oilfield has moved on or settled further west.

Get her something that she can shoot and not flinch, that you can afford ammo for her to practice, not until she gets it right, but until she cannot get it wrong.
My .02

 

[orygun]

My wife carries a Glock 43.

 

[RobMa]

Sig 238 is what my wife carries when she goes out running. Loaded with RIP rounds. When we were first married-she had only shot 22lr, now carries a 357 for hunting season and the aforementioned Sig when she is out running- although most of the "trash" from the oilfield has moved on or settled further west.

Get her something that she can shoot and not flinch, that you can afford ammo for her to practice, not until she gets it right, but until she cannot get it wrong.
My .02

Don't send your trash west!

 

[GripItAndRipIt]

Looking for a concealed carry for my wife. Wondering what the favorite is out there for ease of use, accuracy, etc. what's the general concensus for a woman who has typically only shot .22 in the past and more protection/security minded vs blowing a big hole in a bad guy.

.380 or 9mm would be my minimum recommendation. G43 w extended mag is a fine weapon. I got my lady a bra holster for her compact .357 Taurus, but she never wears it.

 

[Bill Siegle]

Buy her a class not a gun. Only she will know what she wants/needs. A class will show her how to use one and several different types. Then she can make an informed decision that fits her.

 

[RobMa]

Buy her a class not a gun. Only she will know what she wants/needs. A class will show her how to use one and several different types. Then she can make an informed decision that fits her.

Perfect! I agree...

 

[Lasers]

Buy her a class not a gun. Only she will know what she wants/needs. A class will show her how to use one and several different types. Then she can make an informed decision that fits her.

Bill nailed it.

My wife and her group of girls were getting into carrying so I bought her a ruger lcp. She's only shot it once because she doesnt like it (I don't either lol) and therefore it just sits in the safe.

Looks pretty though lol

 

[3MTA3]

I think it's more about how well it fits her hand and other features. Bottom line is that she needs to make the decision as mentioned above, Range time where she can rent and try is ideal. One thing to point out to her is to make sure she can easily rack the slide if a semi automatic. Mrs. 3M wears nails and this particular point was the deciding factor for her to get a S&W Shield 9.

Whatever she does decide on, get the same pistol, or as close as possible, in 22LR for cheap practice and training. I also carry the same pistol and my nightstand gun is a full size version. They all have the same safety feature. I did this so if she needs a different gun in a pinch they would all function exactly the same. She isn't a "gun person" so I wanted to make sure there was no confusion during a life threatening emergency.

 

[40Garand]

Maybe you or a buddy have a small to medium framed 357 revolver. Run 38's through it until she is comfortable. Then find a soft shooting 9mm semi for her to try. Ask her which one she feels comfortable with and enjoys shooting the most. Send her to class with one or both. Chances are she'll get to shoot some of the instructors guns, classmates, or range rentals. It's not a decision that can be made in the span of 3 days or even a week. She needs range time and some exposure to trying out some different guns.

 

[orygun]

Bill nailed it.

My wife and her group of girls were getting into carrying so I bought her a ruger lcp. She's only shot it once because she doesnt like it (I don't either lol) and therefore it just sits in the safe.

Looks pretty though lol

The second gun my wife had for carry (the Glock is 3rd) was a Taurus TCP. Nearly identical to the LCP. I bought one for me, too. Sold mine, her's sits in the safe. Dinky 380's are ok for what they are, but not so easy to shoot.

 

[oremike]

Let her pick out whatever she wants. My wife went thru a few guns that I bought for her and then she bought herself a Bursa Thunder in 380. Her reason for buying it was that it looked like James Bonds gun. That never was a reason I bought a gun for her so I was doing it wrong. More recently we were shooting my Airweight and she really liked it so bought herself a Lady-smith. Lastly I bought a Browning 1911-380 and she told me she really liked it and to sell the Bersa. She carrys the Smith but shoots the Browning, her Henry .22 lever gun and S&W .22 Victory. Just remember the correct number of guns is just one more, her included.

 

[Spaz]

Almost very girl I've known that carried usually had a revolver or micro subcompact because "that's what my dad/uncle/boyfriend/gunshop" said to carry, at least until they shot my full size carry guns. Honestly, it's tiring that the 2A community at large isn't encouraging women to carry real defensive handguns and not garbage that companies pump out that is "designed for women". It's sad, and honestly sexist. I'd encourage any woman to check out a full size or slightly smaller carried on their hip from a good holster and belt, because that is the standard that men and women who are serious about defensive firearms use. Glock 19/48 is a fantastic option for women under 5'10". A close friend of mine recently moved up to a Glock 17 from a G-Code holster that she enjoys a lot, my girlfriend moved up to a HK VP9 with a RMR as well and has had zero issues concealing it. It's easier for those two because they are dead on 6'0", so obviously they have a size advantage. That said, a girl I dated a few years back had a chopped grip Glock 34 because her dad being Army SOF for 2 decades said "it'd be a shame to accept an equipment disadvantage solely because you are a woman", and that is something I cannot disagree with.

TL;DR: Get a quality handgun, not some purple or pink garbage the fudd at a shop or trashy female 2A "influencer" is trying to hock.

 

[DirectDrive]

Buy her a class not a gun. Only she will know what she wants/needs. A class will show her how to use one and several different types. Then she can make an informed decision that fits her.

A class is good, but don't depend on a class to provide her with enough information to choose a firearm.
The way you do that is to go to a range that has a well represented "rental fleet" of pistols.
Typically a rental fee will allow you to keep trying different pistols back-to-back for you allotted rental time.

My wife did this at SafeFire in Camas over a 2 month period.
I stayed out of it.
After trying full size, she got focused on the sub-compacts.
She tried all the contenders in that genre.
Glock G43 won.

Many guys make the mistake of choosing the firearm for the woman.
Then you have a giant fail and the pistol sits in the safe.

So to recap :

1) Taking a class (or classes) is always a good idea.
It is said that female instructors are often better at instructing females.
There are exceptions, of course.....check reviews if possible.

2) Stay out of the firearm selection process.
Take advantage of the "rental program".
Let the wife/girlfriend decide on which pistol that she likes.

 

[Spaz]

1) Taking a class (or classes) is always a good idea.
It is said that female instructors are often better at instructing females.
There are exceptions, of course.....check reviews if possible.

This cannot be hammered home enough, for men and women both. Quality instructors are exceptionally difficult to find locally, most are visiting ranges strictly to host classes, but I have been to a few courses led by SOF cadres that included women who knew their stuff.

 

[40Garand]

Almost very girl I've known that carried usually had a revolver or micro subcompact because "that's what my dad/uncle/boyfriend/gunshop" said to carry, at least until they shot my full size carry guns. Honestly, it's tiring that the 2A community at large isn't encouraging women to carry real defensive handguns and not garbage that companies pump out that is "designed for women". It's sad, and honestly sexist. I'd encourage any woman to check out a full size or slightly smaller carried on their hip from a good holster and belt, because that is the standard that men and women who are serious about defensive firearms use. Glock 19/48 is a fantastic option for women under 5'10". A close friend of mine recently moved up to a Glock 17 from a G-Code holster that she enjoys a lot, my girlfriend moved up to a HK VP9 with a RMR as well and has had zero issues concealing it. It's easier for those two because they are dead on 6'0", so obviously they have a size advantage. That said, a girl I dated a few years back had a chopped grip Glock 34 because her dad being Army SOF for 2 decades said "it'd be a shame to accept an equipment disadvantage solely because you are a woman", and that is something I cannot disagree with.

TL;DR: Get a quality handgun, not some purple or pink garbage the fudd at a shop or trashy female 2A "influencer" is trying to hock.

So a compact or micro 1911 vs. a 5" isn't a "real defensive" handgun according to you?

 

[Spaz]

So a compact or micro 1911 vs. a 5" isn't a "real defensive" handgun according to you?

Obviously that depends on the maker and the shooter, right? I would never suggest someone who puts 50 rounds through their pistol a year carry a RIA Compact 1911, because the shooter and the platform aren't up to snuff. But if you are a Ken Hackathorn or Larry Vickers carrying a Wilson Combat, obviously the capabilities of the shooter and gun are up to par and beyond it in their case.

 

[DirectDrive]

So a compact or micro 1911 vs. a 5" isn't a "real defensive" handgun according to you?

"Compact" is G19 size.
"Sub-Compact" is G43 size.

That's the nomenclature that the industry uses.
I'm not sure what a "micro" is.....maybe a Raven .25 ?

I think that a lot of women would like the sub-compact size.
My wife is petite and didn't like G17/G19 size pistols.
She shot the G43 exceptionally well and chose that.
She was able to find a G43 Vickers Edition and it's a great little pistol.

There is a nice group of contenders in the "sub-compact" size.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

My wife is very recoil sensitive. I lent her my full size Beretta Px4 Storm 9mm (one of the lightest recoiling 9mm pistols) for a Ladies Only afternoon class and after 100 rounds she said that she would not shoot 9mm any more because her hand hurt.

She settled on the Walther PK380 because it is not blowback operated, but a Browning-type, tilt barrel design with lower recoil. She loves the Walther grip, Tiffany Blue color with matte silver slide and manual safety, but hates the crappy double/single action trigger, complicated European style (upside-down) hammer block safety and unusable European style paddle magazine release. And because it is heaver loaded than she would like, it always ends up in her concealed carry purse and is now a range only pistol.

She has a Kel-Tec p32 for IWB on body carry, but I worry about .32 ACP rim lock.

So right now she is purse carrying the Keep It Simple Stupid Ruger LCR38. Yeah, that is more recoil, but it is only five rounds so deal with it, and it easier for her to access in the SUV than IWB.

I see that Walther has finally came out with a decent alternative to their PK380 in the Walther CCP M2 380. The M2 fixes the problems with the original CCP and the 380 version is lighter than the 9mm with Walther's Softcoil gas-delayed blowback system which uses gas pressure from the ignited cartridge by directing it through a small port in the barrel in front of the chamber to slow down and delay the rearward motion of the slide. The reviews are promising: