Wife's first carry...suggestions?

[Nickb]

My lady picked a Walther PPS 9mm. We spent a lot of time shopping. She had shot a few snub nose 38's and little 380's. The 38's hurt her hand and the couldn't rack the slide on the 380's. She picked up the Walther and racked the slide no problem, then looked at a spot on the wall closed her eyes, raised the pistol and when she opened her eyes she was right on target. That was the one we left with that night.

 

[Wifey]

It would be ideal (and cost-effective) if she were able to handle and shoot a number of choices to help determine the best for her, but that's not always an option.
After my first purchase I discovered the SP101 and decided I had to have one, but also decided I was going to take a class before purchasing another gun. The Clackamas County Sheriff's office offers a number of classes. Look into that, but understand that it will be quite a wait before she gets in.
The first time I carried the 101 was on a camping trip. Kind of a 'trial run'. I carried on my hip and to this day after my husband has been carrying it the same way, he wonders how I managed. Too big, bulky, awkward and it didn't carry too well in the purse either.
The Ruger LC9 was the next choice. Carried comfortably on the hip, in the purse and in the small of my back. In my opinion determining HOW she will prefer to carry is an important factor as well as how it shoots in her hands. She should also take into consideration the different options for carrying the same model in different positions. In regards to the operation of the slide I believe once she has the appropriate hand gun she will have no issues.
For size in carrying the LC9 was good but didn't care for the trigger pull. I prefer something smaller but want to stay with 9mm. Thanks to a board member I was able to try the LCP. Liked the size but way too much recoil.

At the present time I am eagerly awaiting the call from Keith's to say that my Sig 938 Extreme is in!
Good luck with your researching as well as with HER decision!

 

[kukusya]

Take her to the shooting range and let her try at least dozen handguns they she will have idea what she really want.
Otherwise you can buy revolver and latter she will find her love in 1911.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I have gone 6 months going through guns to try and find one my wife likes so she stops scaring me by carrying my Sig 230 my grandfather had. It is flawless and I really do not like it being in a purse....holster or not it has remained flawless for generations and is my safe queen. I tried a LCR and LCP and she liked the LCP in rasberry color but did not like the recoil of either. I could list all i have tried but that is a lot of thinking back and remembering all her likes, dislikes and hates about the dozen or so guns she has shot. Settled on a Ruger sp101 .357 with a 3 inch barrel that has 38+P loaded up and she loves it and shoots it well and feels the recoil is much more manageable than anything else she has tried.

Steel frame 3 inch heavy barrel 38s are a completely different critter than the normal 2 inch light barrel versions. Much easier to shoot if you have good grips on it

 

[mjbskwim]

OFADAN said it right,then ad this in

My opinion is that you two should find something she can practice with a lot because at the end of the day it’s the first shot that counts the most and if it turns out that she can shoot a SR22 pistol enough without flaring up the symptoms of her Fibromyalgia and can put a few fast 22lr’s in someone’s eye then she would be far better off than a grazing wound with a 357mag if it bothers her to shoot it enough to become a crack shot with it....Disclaimer :all calibers used in this post have been for example not debate

What's the saying? Rather be missed by a 357 than hit with a 22lr? A friend was a cop in Reno and his partner was killed by one shot of a 22mag,before he hit the ground.(not point blank)
So please don't worry so much about what caliber she needs.I would feel safe with one of my 22s.

And the important part of Dan's post,for all you married guys,is to have someone else help your wife. Some times spouses spend more time bickering than learning and teaching.

BTW make sure she will actually take a life with her gun.
(yeah yeah stop the threat,comes down to taking a life,killing someone)
If she won't,she shouldn't carry

 

[evltwn]

A tip of my hat to OFADan. His thoughts are spot on for anyone, male or female, new to personal protection. In 29 years I have had little success telling my wife what she should do. Women do learn differently than men, and many women prefer to take advice and training from another woman. My wife tried several handguns from our safe and settled on a S&W model 60 .357. That gun used to be mine...sigh...

 

[clambo]

Let her figure it out for herself. They wanted womens lib, now they got it. Go change your own tire I say. Go forth and fight like a man. Ill be over here vacuuming when that doesnt work out for you.

 

[oli700]

A friend was a cop in Reno and his partner was killed by one shot of a 22mag,before he hit the ground.(not point blank)
So please don't worry so much about what caliber she needs.I would feel safe with one of my 22s.

I know 4 people who have been shot with one round of 22LR

one was my best bud when 19 , it went in his bottom jaw and came out his eye, he lived long enough to ask what happened

second was in the heart, scurried a little and died

third went through an acoustic guitar body and lodged by the spine, he had no fight left in him from pain , was ok , DR said a little further to the right and he would have likely been paralyzed from nerve damage

fourth was a Marine friend of mine who just got back from Desert Storm, we were hunting and came across two girls we knew riding horses, one of them had a three screw Ruger single six, dropped it from the horse and when it hit it shot my friend in the chest, he instantly triaged himself and had a sucking chest wound, we had to pack him out and he couldn't hike....before cell phones, he was ok but he said if we dindt get help soon he would be in a bad way........so I know when a person disregards a 22 they don't have any clue about a well placed bullet or 10 fast ok placed bullets

 

[pdxjohn]

Small and light. Hard to beat a Ruger LCP. Will fit in a purse or pocket. Very good reputation.

 

[40calruler]

Let her choose.

What is it about shooters that they think they can do this for their women?

I am pretty sure it dates back to our cave dwelling ancestors. The need to protect our woman and give her the best protection we can when we a cannot physically be there. Takes over and you want to believe that since you have knowledge of guns you will pick the best and most reliable thing out there. At least for me. I am very protective and going through the gun buying with my wife made me learn I have to give her the tool for protection but not force what I think is best. It's just that protective gene a lot of us have built in. I would do anything to protect my wife and kids and in this situation you just have to stand idle and let then pick their own best protection. Too much advice or pushing will make them give up. My cousin pushed his way to hard and his wife got frustrated trying to shoot guns that just did not work for her at all and has yet to carry because he is so pushy.

 

[bloodnguts]

Any air weight J frame makes a good first carry. Point n shoot!

 

[40calruler]

I have a little High standard double action 2 shot Derringer in 22lr and when I am wearing a fitted suit for a meeting it is pretty much all I can get away with. I do feel if I had someone try to come at me within 10 feet I have a good chance of dropping them with it or at least wounding enough to get away. .22 is nothing to scoff at. It has high penetration especially with cci stingers or the like and as said above if you have a 10 round pistol you can rapid fire and the gun does not move away from your point of aim. I would trust my Walther p22 if it was all I had on me and needed it. Can shoot as fast as I can pull the trigger and get all shots in center mass or move to the head if close in.

I know 4 people who have been shot with one round of 22LR

one was my best bud when 19 , it went in his bottom jaw and came out his eye, he lived long enough to ask what happened

second was in the heart, scurried a little and died

third went through an acoustic guitar body and lodged by the spine, he had no fight left in him from pain , was ok , DR said a little further to the right and he would have likely been paralyzed from nerve damage

fourth was a Marine friend of mine who just got back from Desert Storm, we were hunting and came across two girls we knew riding horses, one of them had a three screw Ruger single six, dropped it from the horse and when it hit it shot my friend in the chest, he instantly triaged himself and had a sucking chest wound, we had to pack him out and he couldn't hike....before cell phones, he was ok but he said if we dindt get help soon he would be in a bad way........so I know when a person disregards a 22 they don't have any clue about a well placed bullet or 10 fast ok placed bullets

 

[Jammer Six]

I am pretty sure it dates back to our cave dwelling ancestors. The need to protect our woman and give her the best protection we can when we a cannot physically be there.

I'd pick a woman who can protect me.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I think you're along the right road with the LCR but didn't read how you were steered.. heh. Good trigger, simplicity and power. forget that I said forget the pink

 

[Certaindeaf]

Let her figure it out for herself. They wanted womens lib, now they got it. Go change your own tire I say. Go forth and fight like a man. Ill be over here vacuuming when that doesnt work out for you.

"Jine the Army!". you too can carry a Sig whatever or whatever. Not. Lolz. I think it's spelled M9?

 

[U201491]

A good compact wheel gun like a 36 is always a good starter for novice shooters. Hammerless would be better, so she can carry also.
Move her into the semi's later.

 

[PDXWolf]

Wow I NEVER thought this thread would get this much attention! Thank you all and keep up the comments/feedback.

GREAT ADVICE! Basically get her to a range and try different handguns. Honestly, and sadly, I never thought about that.

She is a COMPLETE newbie so maybe I should back it up even further and get her to some classes first! I'll let her try out some but it would have to be something easy on the hand strength!

 

[orygun]

My wife's first gun that she carried was a S&W Airweight 642 with the laser grip. If you, I mean she, picks a S&W snubbie, make sure it's not got the "boot grip". She'll want all of her fingers on the gun.
We both liked the idea of a gun that required nothing but point and shoot.
But after a while she decided that she wanted a little auto like mine, a Taurus TCP in .380. So, you know what I bought for her. She likes to shoot the Taurus better than the revolver. That wouldn't be my preference, but it's not for me. Now that she's been carrying the 380 for a couple of years, I'm going to have her shoot the little Kahr 9mm that I bought. Not much bigger than the Taurus, but a reasonable step up in power. If she likes the Kahr, the Taurus will go down the road.

 

[orygun]

Check here.

Public Safety Training Center & Indoor Shooting Range

Ladies night is Friday. I think we'll be there this Friday "playing". It's reasonably priced for what you get.

 

[Redcap]

Let her choose.

This.

/thread