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I recently had to make the same decision. My wife was interested in CC but wanted to take a Girls Only course before making the leap. She has been exposed to my training and guns but wanted to make HER own choice. She went with a DAO Ruger SP101 357 with a 2.25in barrel. The weight sucks up the recoil and she love to shoot with me now. I load her light training loads and she only carries 38+p's.

Let her make the final call.
Best of luck,
 
All of the guys that said, "Let her choose her own gun" make a of of sense.

On my suggestion, my wife bought a S&W 642 Airweight with Lasergrips. She really likes the gun and shoots it well.
After we bought the daughter a Taurus TCP, I bought one for myself. Then the wife wanted one. She packs it far more than than her Smith. She will pack the Smith when it's open carry (hunting), but will take the Taurus nearly every other time.

I would rather she carry the Smith 642 than the Taurus TCP, but it's far better she's carrying than not.
 
Disregard the talk of "stopping the threat" and understand it for what it really is.....taking a life.
Not what you want to say in Court Of law,but it is what may happen if she does in fact,decide to carry

If she hesitates when asked this,maybe she shouldn't carry a gun.
Cause the guy she is afraid of,may not have any problem taking the gun from her and killing her and her family. (since he has her gun,keys,car and address)

So next is to take her to a rental shop and let her shoot as many guns as possible.Then LET HER PICK A GUN,not YOU pick one for her.

SHE needs to pick the gun that feels best in her hand and that she can shoot best....not you,not us.
Many different guns out there to pick from and as many people that will tell you what is best.

If she can't hit anything shooting a Glock,H&K,Sig,Walther,Colt,or any other top name brand,then those aren't what she should carry.

If she can't hit anything with a 380,38,9mm,357,40,10mm,45ACP,44mag,then maybe she needs to find a smaller caliber. This isn't a popular idea but a friend's LEO partner was killed with 1 22mag bullet.
And if you can't hit anything because of fear of the recoil and you flinch shooting a 454 Casull then it ain't real deadly is it?

SHE needs to handle and shoot as many handguns she can to determine what fits her best,after she has decided that she can stop a heart.

Good luck
And I agree that someone else training her is best.
 
I recently went through this with SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed). She has gone shooting with me a couple of times and has shot all of my handguns. She likes shooting my full size 40 S&W, but it is too large for her to conceal. She hates the recoil of my PF9, much to snappy for her. She likes the looks of revolvers and can handle 38s out of my 357 revolver.

All of that aside, I took her to a gun shop to look at the actual size and feel of guns since it is hard to see how large they are looking at pictures online. She looked at probably 10-15 different revolvers and small autos, and she landed on a Ruger LCP because of size and concealeability. We got a CT Laserguard for it and I added a padded grip sleeve to alleviate some of the felt recoil and she can damn near drive nails with that tiny gun. It is awesome to hear her ask me if I want to go shooting, I never thought I would see the day.

Good luck with your search!
 
Disregard the talk of "stopping the threat" and understand it for what it really is.....taking a life.
Not what you want to say in Court Of law,but it is what may happen if she does in fact,decide to carry

This is an important conversation to have with her. My mom lives by herself, isolated, older, etc. - she should probably carry. However, it's very unlikely she could ever pull the trigger on someone, so I haven't pushed the issue with her.

I echo other's advice to let her try a variety of guns & choose the best one for her. Ideally, you'd find a range where she could actually shoot them. At a minimum, she should look at a variety in the gun store. Some places run an intro-to-shooting class for women - that would be worthwhile finding.

Models that she may want to take a look at: Ruger SP101 2"or 3"; S&W 642, 637 or 638; Kahr CM9
 
Do NOT get her a 2 inch J frame type .38 Special. They are expert's weapons and very hard to use well in combat.. if you want a revolver look for one of the older 3 inch heavy barrel types, they make all the difference in the world as far as shootability

The SP101 with the heavy 2.75 inch barrel is OK but the trigger is no S & W that's for sure

PS: Most shootings with pistols do not result in fatalities as long as the person shot gets to an ER quickly..
 
if you can try and find a K frame model 10 with a 2" barrel and a round butt, the advantage is having six shots and a slightly larger frame to help with control. To achieve any kind of accuracy with a J frame size revolver requires a lot of practice in my opinion, also the percieved recoil in the J frame may be such as to put her off the smaller gun.

take her to a range and let her try one with target loads

just read the previous post, not so sure the 9mm vs 38 arguement needs to get started here, but 38 is better:s0112:

As long as the K frame is mentioned, why not the 3 inch heavy barrel? it's a pu$$ykat to shoot

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQX6X5jMFL16OOuv4GwkJvCD11gCLkGa47PnN1kj2XndGaUe973Dw.jpg

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQX6X5jMFL16OOuv4GwkJvCD11gCLkGa47PnN1kj2XndGaUe973Dw.jpg
 
lots of good advice, I think if I was to offer an idea it would be the Ruger as others have mentioned.

One other thing for her to think about, I would have her carry it on her rather than in her purse, if someone runs by and grabs her purse they get a 2 for 1 deal and then she is pretty much defenseless, just my humble opinion though.

Good luck with your decision.
 
This is my wife's carry gun. She absolutely loves it, but the trigger is horrible and its heavy for its size. She only shoots .38spl, not +P, and she shoots it well. It does not go in the purse, she wears a pancake holster.

I agree about the S&W J-Frame airweights being hard to shoot, but they are so much easier to carry. I wish my wife liked my J-Frame instead of the Ruger. Why? Because she would carry it more often.

Whatever gun someone carries, they must practice then practice some more. Proficiency is everything.
 
J frame steel are not that much easier to shoot.. and the 2 inch barrel is the main problem.. short sight radius + nasty kick/bite which is greater than a K frame 3 inch .357 full house magnum

I agree that purse carry is not the best option and the bobbed hammer is best.. also because cheating and cocking the hammer for single action shots is VERY poor self defense form.. if she can't accurately rapid fire it double action she needs more practice or another gun
 
My wife started with a Tarus Pt111, but did not like racking the slide, nor having to manipulate the safety, so she ended up with a 642, with laser grips. If your wife is packing a wheel gun, .38/.357 I suggest getting some of the Speer Plastic cases/bullets and practicing in the garage. http://www.speer-bullets.com/products/components/plastic_training_bullets.aspx At 30 ft, they are very accurate, easily enough to evaluate shooting skills. Plus there is no recoil, and reusable. In the winter, my wife and I routinely shoot 100-150 rounds together in a session. With my GP100 4", I can put 6 together in a 2" circle, and she can put 5 rounds out of the 642 into a 3" circle. They are that accurate. That takes care of the mechanics, but the psychological side must also be addressed. As mjbskwim stated, they must have the "combat mindset". It took several years before my wife stated carrying routinely. But a class at OFA, plus my conversations with her, convinced her that there may be the time to take someones life. Now, I firmly believe that if the time comes, and she is forced to act, that the person on the other end is in for a bad day.
 
Agreed with Old hick and other about letting her test and pick one out. It has been my experience with the women in my life that I taught to shoot (mom, wife, daughter) they tend to go revolver because loading rounds into a clip was difficult (nails / finger & thumb strength) and having the hand strenth to clear a jammed slide scared them I think cause I got the reply "what if it does that to me when I'm in the middle of shooting an attacker"..which I'm ashamed to say I should have thought about that.

Once I exposed them to a revolver and a speedloader all was good. Not as many rounds I understand but six reliable shots vs 1 or 2 then a jam is better I guess. Hell, it took me long enough to convince them to own, shoot and practice with a gun so I just want them to be comfortable with it so they continue to practice and not miss when the time to use it goes down.
 
I didn't state any guns but I must agree with Blitz on the fact that if someone doesn't like the recoil of a gun,they will not shoot it good at the range
And I can't say from personal experience,but I would guess a little tiny voice will be telling them 'this gun KICKS' when they need to be right on target.

Funny how people can be under stress.One will thrive on stress and the other will fold
Just like a life or death situation.Some will wither and some will take the bull by the horns and kick A$$

So each person has to decide if they will be able to shoot that nasty little 'airweight' when the time comes or they will look to the side when they pull the trigger. (see any footage of civil war re-enactment films or events)

Most of us need a gun that we can shoot and not be intimidated by. Mine ends at 10mm. I don't like 44s and would never rely on one for self defense because I know I don't like them.

As far as revolver over wheel guns,if the person shoots one better than the other,all else will fall into place.You will learn the ins an outs of the gun.Personally I would much rather reload with a magazine than with a speed loader and a wheel gun.

I never got how a wheel gun was better for a beginner. You pull the slide back,inset the magazine and drop the slide.
To reload you just drop the magazine and insert the new one and drop the slide.

A wheel gun you must open the cylinder,insert 6 rounds or try to align a speed loader,shoot then empty 6 round of brass (yes this is easy if you have cleaned and polished the cylinder a lot) Hopefully all just fall out,then align a speed loader and manipulate the handle to release the bullets. Or did you know about the trick competition speed loaders and have those handy?

Or do you have the next 5 rounds in a pocket? Bottom of the purse?

Maybe have the wife (or anyone thinking of carrying) dump some cases and reload the cylinder
And drop the magazine and reload the next one

If she chooses a glock or any S/D action semi auto then there isn't any 'where's the safety?' issues.
Even if she chooses a 1911,she can carry it cocked and locked and it is one action from firing

A no brainer.

So recoil first,then she isn't afraid of the gun the the action and if she can rack a slide or us a speed loader over a magazine.

I have heard professionals argue both sides of the semi/revolver argument

Oh and the figures for a normal gun fight (not gang related) are like 3 rounds at about 10 feet.
Any gun or caliber is good from those ranges.
 
mjb I get you bro, I've tried that logic with them as well. I think hittn a button and slappn a clip in the butt is way faster than speedloaders on a revolver but I...assuming you, are very gun centric and experience with them has made us proficient at being efficient at shooting them quick, accurate and deadly. I'm not trying to group all females in my post, only those in my life that asked or that i have asked to at least know the in's and out's of a gun. My wife doesn't carry one and said she doesn't feel comfortable doing that yet and probly for awhile but she did want to be able to grab a safe gun for protection if she hears a noise if I'm not home on business.

I agreed to teach her basics and got her a taurus revolver with a laser grip she can hold while calling 911 while waiting at the top of the stairs for the intruder to round the corner to come up where she and my children sleep. I figured its a 15' of stairs all she has to do is put a red dot on the criminal and fire a gun that she can control and shoot accurately. Unfortunately she was only comfortable with a revolver that sends a 9mm down range but hell..it's better than pepper spray and/ or hand to hand combat..lol, how realistic is that? I figured something is better than nothing right?

If I was being real honest, though I want her to feel safe and protected with her shooting skills and protection ability, I have to admit alot of it was for MY benefit. When I travel on business I always worry about the "what if" situation and how I'm not there to drop bodies to protect my family.

I sleep a little better knowing she knows what a safety is, how to disable it and how to aim and fire a gun accurately ESPECIALLY under a stress fire situation...figured the K.I.S.S. method applied there..even if it is only a 9mm lol
 
Since you are at the stage of taking a training course with her, I would guess that you have already had the conversation with her about "can you pull the trigger and take a life"? If her answer is anything else than "yes" she needs to not carry a gun.

Second thing is, and I have seen it said a few times in this tread, let her choose the gun. What she feels more comfortable shooting, will make it that much easier for her to train and feel confident while carrying it.

Lastly, if she is torn between a semi and a revolver, lean her towards the revolver. No matter how bad she treats it or how bad she takes care of it, when she pulls the trigger it will go bang. If she chooses a semi she will need to be very attentive about keeping clean. My wife carries a revolver. ;o)

Just my pennies worth...

MPH
 
First, I'm not a big fan of "purse carry," especially if she is the type to leave her purse lying about whereby she does not, and others may have control of her gun...the safest and most effective carry method is on your person at all times.

That being said, if she insists on purse carry, I would recommend a DAO revolver like an LCR or similar. I say that because there is no exposed hammer to snag on a purse, no slide to rack (if that's an issue for her), and boringly reliable.

I also agree that ultimately, it should be HER choice and that an all-female training class will help her become proficient. My wife just attended a 3-day "Babes with Bullets" camp in Tucson and had a great time while learning a lot...she's already enrolled in another one of their camps in Michigan this coming May.
 
I like the semi autos, for my wife we decided 38spl hammerless 442. All she has to do is point and pull the trigger. A new lighter hammer spring from midway usa helped out alot. Best of all no malfunctions to worry about. On the semi she had trouble with the slide and then there is the limp wrist thing that won't allow the gun to fully cycle. Most important is training when to shoot, Identifying the threat. If you have to shoot aim for center mass and be 1st to call 911. I know some here don't like Front Sight, but I learned more there about when to shoot and the consequences of shooting than all my prior training. Even if I would have never fired a shot, the lecture portion was worth the price of the class. I know there are other quality classes closer than F/S, it's what I'm familiar with. Good Luck, K
 
Wifey has her CWP. She took the all day class at the Clackamas County PSTC, 4 hours class and 4 hour shooting. She carries an LC9 or a SP101 depending. She uses a carry purse and the prime rule is that purse never leaves her direct control. She also carries at her side, depending. The PSTC has guns they supply for some of the paid courses. There was a difference of night and day the way wifey handled fire arms after she took that class.

Fondle and shoot all the guns you can and get a couple if you can over time. I would suggest if she's going to take the class where she shoots that she use a "Compact" rather than a pocket gun such as the LC9 or LCR. It was much easier for wifey to use my SR9c for the class and then once she learned and got confidence work at the range and the quarry with the "Pocket" gun. Now she puts more ammo through a compact Sig, but still shoots the pocket guns enough to be able to use it in a confrontation if needed.

I feel that a double action would be better in a confrontation than a single action. With adrenaline flowing I wouldn't want to be twitching and have a 4 pound trigger.

Fun times ahead for you two!

Mike
 

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