good gun for the wife

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Puntmefar

New member
im not well versed in diffrent guns i know my guns. i want to get a good HD hand gun that the wife can handle.my problem is she has weak wrist and small hands and cant handle my Glock 17 9mm the recoil is to hard for her.
i would perfer semi auto and low cost but want to stay away from a 22 cal ( i just dont like them). the gun will b for home use only. any sugestions as to what to look at ? :confused:
 
Whichever gun SHE likes. Take here to the range and rent a few.

Also, Get thee to the search box, there's a few thousand threads just like this for you to read.. ;)
 
Both you and her need to go Thecorneredcat.com - written by a woman for men and women. Then go to a range that rents guns and let your wife,pick out several and try them - even including revolvers - it needs to be HER decision
 
Bersa .380s come to mind. But I fear the recoil may be as much as the Glock 17 for her. Maybe a heavier than average .32 ACP?
 
I agree. Let her test fire a lot of guns and see what she likes. Encourage her to practice. A gun sitting at home is not a lot of utility without practice and confidence.
 
I understand that your leaning is towards the semi-auto platform but your wife may very well be better served by a revolver. This is particularly applicable considering your indication that she has weak wrists. Combine weak wrists with small hands, and if I may infer less than regular practice, a semi-auto can be a malfunction waiting to happen.

I am not implying that a semi-auto is necessarily more difficult to master as some may assert but problems can and will arise from "limp wristing" a semi-auto.

Serving as a home defense weapon you are apparently not going to be concerned with concealability. In that regard I would suggest a full size 357 revolver loaded with a lighter .38 special round. The combination of the heavier handgun and the lighter yet very effective round will provide you with the right combination of recoil suppression and bullet effectiveness. Replace the factory grips with a $10.00 set of rubber grips along the lines of Hogue or the like and it will likely fit her hand just fine. The revolver is also very forgiving of improper grip/indexing and/or a weak grip/wrist.

My small statured wife is partial to the S&W model 66 with a 4" barrel. My revolver has also been magna-ported and honestly has about the recoil of a 22 when fired with a mid-weight 38 spl. If you can afford that modification I would highly recommend it in this particular situation. Women that have a difficult time with the long stroke of a traditional double action will also benefit from the ability to manually cock the hammer of most revolvers, but the trigger pull of a S&W can be smoothed out with little effort making it very friendly to manipulate.

This is at least worth considering. If you ultimately go with a semi-auto, the only way to decide on the best one is to let her handle/shoot as many as possible and practice to overcome the felt recoil and weak wrist issues.

Be aware. Shoot accurately.

Joshua Scott
www.FrontSightFocus.org
 
I'd agree with Joshua, wheel guns are a viable option for shooters who are unable to deal with the recoil of a semi-auto. My wife has had shoulder surgery on both shoulders, and shooting either of my 9mm, my .40 S&W, or 1911 semi-auto pistols are not a fun experience for her. But, my old Ruger Service Six in .38 Special fit the bill perfectly, a long enough barrel to reduce the recoil a bit, enough heft to the frame to dampen it even more. She enjoys going to the range with me using that pistol, she kind of hated it when I tried getting her into semi-autos.

But the advice to take her to a range that rents guns also has merit, some semi-autos don't work well with every shooter. I have a Glock 22, it ain't even a real fun gun for me to shoot, my usual carry gun, a XD in 9mm is a pleasure to shoot.
 
"...I would prefer a semi auto...I just dont like them..." What you like, dislike or prefer doesn't matter. The firearm isn't for you. It has to fit her hand, not your's. Plus she has to like it, be comfortable shooting it and want to shoot it. Take her shopping.
Mind you, if she not going to learn how to shoot a handgun(not taught by you. Trust me. Just don't.) and shoot regularly, forget a handgun altogether. A 20 guage pump shotgun would be better.
 
well alot of good advice here. just to clear the record i know my op implies she cant shoot but infact she already knows how to shoot her dad tought her. and prety much every 1 is right it dont mater if i like it or not. Josh u gave alot of great info to think on thanks man. and T. O'heir i know my spelling and gramer are terible lol my apoligies to every one for that lol
 
I see you live in Louisville. Knob Creek has an excellent selection of new/used firearms. She can actually 'rent' any of the red tagged guns in their cases provided you pay for the ammo off their shelves. They have well over a hundred or so. Range fee is only $10/day as well.

I live about 10 miles from there. If you have any questions, let me know or just give them a call.
 
I see you live in Louisville. Knob Creek has an excellent selection of new/used firearms. She can actually 'rent' any of the red tagged guns in their cases provided you pay for the ammo off their shelves. They have well over a hundred or so. Range fee is only $10/day as well.
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Excellent advise!
Also, go during the Machine Gun shoot and let her shoot an MP5 at the rental range. Now THAT'S HOME DEFENSE!!!!!!! :D:D:D
 
My wife is a small person (4'9" 100#'s). She shoots almost all my handguns and a few rifles, but her favorite is the model 15 Smith w/4" barrel. She has confidence in her ability with it and as a result shoots it well.
 
All the above is good, may I suggest...

the standard 4" .38 using the target wadcutter loads.
this would give her a building block for being familiar with a sidearm and good load to shoot with, then go to a better load.

Assuming this if for home situation?? IF so, then also consider the old M1 Carbine, a little larger but with soft-nosed ammo ( with polished feed ramp)
is a a GOOD alternative.
 
Gun for your wife:

I might suggest a .38 special revolver with standard hollow point ammo,
(no +P). Probably a 3'' or 4" barrel so as to keep the weight down and easier to handle. If that proves to much for her then maybe a .22 magnum revolver would do the trick. Good luck
 
chris i acually go to knob creek every chance i get but never realized they rented the red tags. there the only place i know off hand that has ammo for my .32-20 on the shelf lol. ty for the info man maby we will bump into each other there some day
 
Like others said - get her to a range where she can rent and shoot a number of guns. Your glock may be an issue because its too fat - to fit her hands..

Look at a number of guns in .380 / 9mm - and some revolvers and let her make up her own mind. A friend went thru this recently / his wife ended up with a light weight / alloy frame 1911 in 9mm ...fits her well, she shoots it well...
 
When i sold guns for a livn i found that 9 out of 10 women were eithier afraid or to weak to pull the slide back on an auto. I usually sold em a .38 revolver. If they can pull the slide back i`d go with a sig 380 or a Kahr 9
 
Yeah, I got my wife the PM9 and she is having trouble pulling the slide back too! Got her a S&W model 36. I was gonna say a PM9 if she can pull the slide back and use non-plus P ammo. 38's with HP can't be bad either. I thought my wife was the only weakling !
 
You might have her check out a CZ-82 or -83. The -82 is 9mm Mak and the -83 is generally .380. I have very small hands and can not shoot the vast majority of pistols. If she can reach the trigger in double action (I can't) she is good to go. If not, single action (Condition 1) works fine, that is how I'm able to reach the trigger. The weight of the all steel pistol absorbs the recoil nicely. It is a VERY accurate little pistol. I've seen the CZ-82 selling for as little as $159, so you won't be out much.
 
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