CCW Recommendation

The P64 is one of my carry guns. It's recoil is decidedly worse than even my 40 Shield. It has what I would call a sharp recoil. And it will slide bite you real quick.
 
Don't worry too much about caliber. Carry the gun you feel confident with and can shoot well. In civilian self defense, its EXTREMELY rare that a smaller caliber will fail you where a larger caliber would have worked. The rarity of being involved in self defense at all combined with the rarity of being in a situation where caliber would actually matter makes the chance of being under powered in self defense almost impossible.

The only thing I recommend against is .22LR because both guns and ammo tend to be less reliable.

I originally carried a G19 (9mm) but now carry a G42 (.380) because its smaller and more comfortable to carry. This was after doing hours of statistical research and learning that "stopping power" in terms of civillian self defense is a combination of marketing and internet commandos repeating misinformation. In reality, it just isn't that important.

Anyone can tell you stories about the guy who fought though 10 shots with a .22 and use that one incident to conclude the .22 is weak and useless in SD. I can tell you a story about a guy who fought through 10 shots of .45. We hear about those stories because they are rare and interesting, but in reality there are up to 3 million justified self defense uses of firearms in the US every year (CDC, 2013), most actually involve a .22LR (FBI uniform crime report, 1981-present), and only a handful of those 3 million incidents involve an attacker fighting through being shot.

Its different for police and military and civilians rely too much on them when talking about self defense. For them, stopping power IS important because they are likely to be shooting across longer ranger, through barriers, against body armor, and may need to drop someone quickly. For civilians, 99.9% of the time you are shooting a soft target a few feet away from you. A bigger gun may give you a slight edge in a some situations, but you also need to consider flinching, overpenetration, hearing damage, and mortality associated with larger rounds. I say mortality because killing someone is a serious matter both legally and psychologically. If a smaller round is just as likely to stop an attacker while being far less lethal (it really is), it makes sense to carry the smaller round.

In conclusion, carry a gun that is reliable and that you are comfortable with. I highly recommend the Glock 42. The ideal carry gun in my opinion is a double action revolver with some sort of "snag-free" design for the hammer. If you need a larger round to feel safe, that's fine, but understand the consequences (overpenetration, issues related to killing someone, increased size and weight, harder to shoot accurately) and most importantly, understand that all available evidence suggests that size really does not matter when it comes to civilian self defense.
 
Welcome.

A few thoughts.

1. Replace the hammer springs in the P64 for a lighter trigger pull. Much better carry weapon. Look for something in the 18 pound range. It takes little mechanical skill and less than 30 minutes the first time. The hardest part is just learning how, after that you could do it in 10 minutes. The P64 is a pleasure to shoot once that heavy trigger is adjusted.

2. As for 9x19, it is a more capable round and modern designs are better. Gun choices are very individual. Decide the design first (hammer or striker), material (steel, aluminum, poly), then go from there. Too many options to list, but look at Glock, Sig, XD, SW, HK, CZ, and on and on... They literally come in all sizes and designs. The only way to know is to go and find ones that ergonomically fit. But that's not the deciding factor, since you should shape your abilities around the gun.

3. You and your wife should try out as many as you can reasonably, and take some classes. People can be trained to shoot anything but most are naturally better with this or that. Steel guns are heavier but absorb recoil very well.

4. I'd also recommend self-defense shooting insurance. Peace of mind.
 
I almost made the same mistake picking out my wife's weapon. She finally picked the Ruger LCR 357 herself. LCR also come in a 9mm and if I am correct it will accept the LaserMax laser rail. It did for her 357.\
Doc
 
Lots of choices. Best bet is get to a range with rentals and see if there is one you can both shoot and carry well.

Few people enjoy carrying full sized pistols.

I typically look at P3AT, PF9, CW9, G42, G43, Shield, PM9 and maybe a few others. I let folks shoot them, and sometimes they surprise you, and themselves. Had a friend and his wife get CCW permits, they explored and shopped and she ended up with a S&W Airweight .38 and he with a M&P40C. But they got to try them. Neither would have been my first suggestions.

The better trained you are, the more options you have. For most, I like to keep it 9mm and simple.
 
The CZ P-07 has modular backstraps so can be custom fit to almost anyone's grip. It is compact and dehorned for comfortable carry, has a rail for laser or light for home defense, and is available at a reasonable price. It is also known to be very accurate, precise, and reliable.
 
I do like the CZ P07 and P09, they are just larger than most people are going to carry on a regular basis. But I do keep wanting to shoot one again over a several month period. :D
 
I'm partial to the CZ75D PCR. It's an alloy version of the CZ75 Compact with a decocker instead of manual safety. Its a double stack 9 but it conceals well and is pleasant to shoot at the range. It's a bit lighter than the steel version. CZ75 P-01 is about the same thing, only it has a rail.
 
I carry the cz po7. I use the n82 holster. I have over 1500 rounds through it. I keep it in DA in holster. Its so fun to shoot. It eats everything however its extremely accurate with lawman 115 tmj. Its about $75 to $100 less than glock or xd. I highly recommend this to shooters with small to medium hands. The ergos are excellent. I'm sure any of the popular guns such a Smith xD Glock Walter and Kahr will be fine. I do like the glock 19 too. The glock is lighter and eats all ammo. Although not as fun to shoot as the p07. If u want something smaller check out the xd mod or the new taurus millineum. Good luck on yer decision.
 
Try out a Sig P938. Small 9mm that doesn't have bad recoil. I'm picking one up tomorrow. Make sure you get one with the Hogue rubber grips and the 7 shot extended magazine. Apparently both those accessories make a big difference and reduce the recoil and/or enhance control.
 
I'd have to go with Glock 26s. Make sure the wife can handle one properly, preferably at a range that rents them. And if the butt doesn't fit your large hands good enough for hours of fun at the range, there is always sleeves and a G17 magazine. Actually the G26 is the only weapon I have that I would like a duplicate of.
 
i think you and your wife need to decide what size of gun you are really willing to carry. most suggestions i see are not carry pistols that i can carry at work with my required wardrobe. i have to go on the sub-compact side excluding the colder months which are few.

i have large hands and of course a duty or compact is the best shooting, i prefer the CZ compact over any other in terms of comfort and fit, but i tried to carry it for like 2 years and it was awful. the shield is a good candidate for a oone-size fit, it fits me pretty good and most other's that i shoot with. the recoil can be stiff, but really not half-bad. anywhere should have one for rent. i ended up with the Taurus PT111 for capacity and size, and i am happy with it, but i have no idea where you and our wife's recoil tolerance is or what your size requirement will be. it seems like a large gun will be easier to carry until you actually do it for a week, but i don't have an office job and i have to interact very closely with co-workers, patients and management all day, you may not have the same issue, and your wife may just go with her purse.

my wife has tried every semi-auto i have owned and two that she picked herself, and ultimately went with a 357/38 snub nose revolver that she can shoot way better from day one, than any of the small/med/large 9mm's. i also enjoy the concealability of her polymer snub, but suffer for the sake of capacity. if you are anything like we were, it going to take a few guns before you both get it figured out, the options are endless. i can recommend a two dozen gun list, as could everyone else, but none may be best for you and your wife could be even more challenging. i can only recommend the old "go rent some and shoot them" or just find one that feels good and try it. the shield is nice for carry, the Nano is also another that comes to mind that's not too little for larger hands. if conceal is easy for you both, then a compact CZ or CZ type is first on my list, the recoil is soft even with the polymer/alloy framed pistols and the sa/da trigger makes me a better shooter every time. The Canik/tristar, EAA's both make light and affordable pistols that are super reliable for half the cost of a real CZ, great for figuring out if it's for you. The small Sig Sauer's are also great shooters, for a price, and also have great triggers and soft recoil for the size.
 
Well, you done chased them off. They wanted to know if a Rwven or Phoenix 22 was good and we listed up real guns!
 
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