Keeping my wife alive

recoil will knock her on her butt
Click to expand...

No it won't - not even close. A shotgun trigger is easy enough to pull, the shoulder stock gives her a third point for steadiness and recoil. She can no more be easily disarmed of that than she can a handgun.

If she can squeeze cock the P7, then she should be able to pull a revolver trigger.

Shotgun would still be my first choice in her scenario
 
SD for wife (a little long)

May I make several suggestions. First of all, the 32 works. I have personal experience with the 32acp working. The FMJ rounds are fine but you might want to look at the Winchester silvertip. The older PP model Manurhins have a slide that's easy to work. However, to a neophyte it's complicated. My wife was in the real estate business for years. I nagged and nagged and nagged her to get her concealed carry. Was finally successful. Then I had to go through the same process to get her to carry. Then I had to go through it again to get her to carry in her pocket rather than her purse. One winter night she came home and started hugging me the minute she came in the door. She had left work and a goblin had jumped out of the bushes and ran at her screaming, "Give it up bitch!" Her response was to shout no and pull that 32 S&W long out of her purse and point it at him. No shots fired but he left quickly. This was an older model I frame (I believe). Finally if this is just for the house get a sawed off (18") double barrel 12ga and get somebody to load these for you. Prefer AA cases, any shotgun primer, 1 1/8 oz wad over 16 grains of Green Dot and fill the wad with BBs until you can crimp it. At 15 yards which is about the max in home defense it will blow about a 6 inch hole in half inch plywood. At 30 yards it's pretty anemic. Harly any recoil at all. Sorry to be so long winded here but the protection of a spouse is a subject near and dear to me.
 
Don't under estimate your wife. Unless she is an invalid she does have the strength to rack a slide a pull a trigger. What she doesn't have is the technique.

After some initial concern, my wife found that she liked a full frame 1911 the best. It has the lightest recoil spring, compared to the small frame autos and is easily racked with the right technique. It also has the most steel, a slower round, and thus some of the least felt recoil out there. It took some time onthe range for here to be one proficient with it, but no she is quite capable of unlocking it, firing it semi accurately and reloading.

I can also say that she hated shooting many polymer pistols, including the M&P 9c, Glock 19 and the Walther P99. She did like the SW 686, but only on single action.

I'm not saying buy her a 1911. She needs to get the right one for her. Choosing a gun is a personal thing. She needs to pick what she likes. First visit corneredcat.com . Then she needs to shoot an get a feel for different guns. Then she needs to try and handle a few guns. When she finds one she likes, rent it. Don't try and steer her towards or away from any caliber. Don't assume she needs a revolver. She can learn to operate any gun with practice and she will need to practice with whatever she chooses.
 
Just a thought, but maybe take a look at the Berreta Cheetah I believe it is called, if I'm off someone will pop in with the right model name. It's a .380 auto, and has a barrel that pops open like a shotgun so she won't have to rack the slide. Insert mag, pop it open and put a round in the chamber, close it up and ready to go. I haven't shot that one, but I've shot another model of theirs, same thing but in .22LR, worked good. It was a buddy's, he bought it when he was injured OTJ and didn't have full use of his left arm for awhile.
 
Need help with the trigger

My advice is to have a trigger job done on the Model 60.
A "Police Tune" should make the gun shootable, for her.
 
Beretta Cheetah,,,

The Model 84 shoots the .380 cartridge,,,
The Model 87 shoots the .22 LR cartridge.

I shoot s friend's Model 84 quite often,,,
It really is an extremely nice gun,,,
But it is a pricey little thing,,,
I think it's a Cadillac .380,,,
Or a Cadillac .22

There are lots of other great guns as well.

But I do agree with the folk who have said,,,
It's not that your wife can't rack the slide or pull the trigger,,,
It's that she hasn't learned and practiced the proper technique for these tasks.

First just get her shooting the Woodsman,,,
While that is happening take her shopping several times,,,
After she develops some technique with the Woodsman others guns will seem easier.

Until recently I was a dyed in the wool revolver guy,,,
I just recently bought my first full size 9mm pistol,,,
You should have seen me fumbling with the slide,,,
I probably looked like one of the Three Stooges,,,
But after I practiced a bit I got it down.

Your wife just needs practice and practice and more practice.


.
 
Pat Answer

Assuming you have a local range, take her, rent several. See what she likes and can shoot well (or is easier in the beginning). If it's a .22 to start with, so be it. Progressively work your way up to whatever it ends up being that she is comfortable handling, shooting, storing it safely yet accessible, yada yada

Talk about your homes "layers" (?) of defense, a plan on what to do, where to be, tools at hand (light, cell phone, locked door, weapon), survivors mindset.

Point her to Pax's website for some serious reading (link)
http://corneredcat.com/

And maybe give her the gift of a class taught by females for new female shooters? The self confidence that will bring should be immeasurable.
 
Take her to the range with the guns you think she can handle AND rent a few as well. She'll find one that she shoots well and is comfortable with.
 
Like quite a few others have said, take her to the range. I suspect that she'll find a few that she doesn't like before she finds one that she does. That's OK, too. Ask her why she didn't like one, and that'll help you narrow down the choices. My wife can articulate very well what she does or does not like about each pistol that she fires.

As for rental, if it helps you find a pistol that your wife can & will carry, and can shoot well, every penny will have been well spent.
 
She was barely able to work the slide on the H&K P7. While she liked the trigger, I'm not comfortable with her being unable to rack the pistol if necessary.
Click to expand...

She can learn this, provided she's reasonably healthy and wants to do so.

www.CorneredCat.com/RunGun/rack.aspx should help.

She is FAR more likely to easily learn to rack the slide than she is to suddenly (or even slowly) develop enough hand strength to safely and efficiently fire the Model 60. And for self defense, it's far more important that she can hit the target than it is that she can perform usually-unnecessary gun manipulations.

pax
 
Now that some thug kicked in a neighbor's back door and cleaned the place out, my wife has taken an interest in having a firearm around when I'm not available. So I popped the safe and pulled out some toys.
Click to expand...

WOAH, unless there's more to this story then I'm of the opinion that the OP has really jumped the gun here (pun intended).

I wish I had a dollar for every time I've had this conversation with someone who has had a bad experience and in the ensuing emotional turmoil jumps to "I'm going to get a gun" as a solution. Unfortunately most folks who do this tend to treat firearms like a magic wand not a tool and have no idea about the full range of commitment that is required.

If one chooses to own a firearm for self defense then one must also accept the responsibility to train in both the use and safety aspects of that firearm. If they don't want to do that then firearms are NOT the answer for that person. Perhaps an even larger issue is that someone deciding to have a firearm for self defense MUST accept the fact that they may have to use it to KILL someone. Again, if one cannot accept that fact (maybe thinking “oh it’ll scare the bad guy off and I’ll never actually have to use it) then, again, firearms are NOT the answer for that person and they should find a different solution.

Has your wife fully considered these issues? Is she willing to follow through?

If yes, GREAT, now you can begin discussing a firearm as a self defense tool (and all of the training and responsibility connected to it) If the answer is no (as it was for my own wife) then a firearm will be false security and you should consider other personal safety options.

Remember, no matter what the level was before, once a firearm is displayed the situation has just instantly become life or death and someone with a firearm for self defense has to be ready to deal with that.
 
Last edited:
Since her desire/need for armed defense is immediate, you definitely need to take your wife to the range to find out what she can shoot well enough right now. If she can handle the recoil of the Model 60 well enough to make decently quick and accurate followup shots, and her two-finger trigger technique doesn't throw her aim off (already implied), then why not let her use that, at least for now? I know it doesn't look right, but whatever puts the bullets on target is good enough. Also have her try using one finger placed as low on the trigger as she can get it for better leverage to see whether that helps.

If .38 Special is too much for her to shoot fast or for whatever reason she shoots your .32 S&W Long revolver better, then there is at least one wadcutter load available that should get the job done well enough for the caliber:

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produ...ead-wadcutter-ammo/cName/32-sw-long-wadcutter
 
Thanks for all the advice and comments, folks.

ZeSpectre, this is a topic that she and I have discussed in past. After decades of living with the woman, I believe she's mentally and emotionally ready to defend her own life, under the constraints necessary to avoid prison. This was not the case 40 years ago, by any means, which is why she's not been involved with my firearms before now.

The police coming to the door made an impression, finally getting across to her that she might be at risk, and she's rising to the threat in a forthright manner.

I don't think we'll be hit by these guys; there's nearly always someone around, and it was not a home-invasion kind of affair. Which is not to say we're home free, but still . . .

I do hope to get her up to speed with the P7 in time.

Thanks again.
 
A lot of people use a .22 for self defense. Do not parrot the babblings of gun writers and demigogues. An incoming barrage of .22 rounds will be cause for pause from anyone being hit with them. And your wife is most likely to be hitting with a .22 from the sound of things. Teh ability to use the firearms and having an extra magazine that she can operate is a huge advantage. Give her something she can shoot and she is best protected.
 
May I respectfully suggest...

the M1 Carbine?

low recoil, polished feed ramp will minimize "stuttering" of soft-nose ammo.
Compact length and with butt pouch two 15 rd mags available.

Other than that, take her to a gun range that rents and have her try other firearms.

Re: Woodsman unless its a third series DON'T use CCI Stingers, they weren't around when it was developed.
 
Slid by a local gunshop this afternoon, to see what they had and chat up the problem.

The fellow I spoke with showed me an auto with a tip-up barrel; it was a .22, and not a Beretta. Looked like a good solution if I can find something in .380. From what I can see, the Beretta Cheetah 86 is the ticket. (I think the other Berretas in that caliber are not tip-up).

The gentleman further suggested that I bring the model 60 in for some trigger/action work. He felt that I could get the action smoothed and the trigger pull reduced to a level that my wife could operate, for a lot less than the cost of another pistol. (Damn. I had a great excuse, too!).

My only concern is that easing the trigger pull will have a corresponding effect on the force of the hammer, increasing the possibility of a light primer strike and misfire. But I don't have the expertise to know if this is a real concern or not.
 
the M1 Carbine?
Click to expand...
Same problem as the shotgun.
it's assumed that the bad guy took the shotgun away from one of the family members & then shot them with their own shotgun...
yes, the shotgun is easier to use... but it's also easier to take away, if the bad guy gets too close
Click to expand...
If BG manages to talk his way close enough, it would be fairly easy to slap the muzzle away and get inside. With a handgun, she could grapple the BG with one hand while emptying the pistol with the other.

Makes sure she knows how to empty the gun fast with one hand. This type of encounter is likely to start at 5 feet and end wrestling on the ground. BG could easily take half a magazine before grabbing the pistol away and returning fire.
 
Yeah, I was a bit puzzled about her needing *two* fingers on the S&W Model 60. I'm female, not particularly large or strong, and carry an M60 any time I leave the house. The double-action trigger pull is stiffer than single-action, of course, or than an automatic, but it absolutely does not stretch the strength in my fingers. And as best I know nobody has ever replaced the factory spring or done a trigger job on it. (I bought it used, but from the same seller who had sold it new ten years earlier, so he knew its history.)

Unless she becomes comfortable with the M60, I'd definitely get her something else to shoot. But also check out your gun and see if something is wrong. :-)
 
Sakeneko,

I've seen it many times, and not always from women who appear weak or fragile. For myself, I can fire around 20 rounds of a heavy DA trigger before my finger starts to hurt, around 50 before I know it'll be swollen the next day, and fewer than 100 before my right trigger finger literally quits working -- entirely, completely, unfixably -- and needs the help of my left trigger finger to get the trigger to move even one more time. This is from an accomplished & experienced shooter who runs through thousands of rounds a month in a Glock, and my hands are not otherwise weak. And this despite literally a year of working on hand strength exercises with a Gripmaster.

Anyway, it's understandable and it's common and it's not necessarily fixable with exercise.

The gentleman further suggested that I bring the model 60 in for some trigger/action work. He felt that I could get the action smoothed and the trigger pull reduced to a level that my wife could operate, for a lot less than the cost of another pistol. (Damn. I had a great excuse, too!).

My only concern is that easing the trigger pull will have a corresponding effect on the force of the hammer, increasing the possibility of a light primer strike and misfire. But I don't have the expertise to know if this is a real concern or not.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is a real concern.

Here's the clue: if the gunsmith says something like, "We'll just clip a little bit off the spring," run -- don't walk! -- for the nearest exit.

See http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_files/action_performance.html for a whole lot more, from one of the best revolversmiths in the country. Might also want to read http://www.grantcunningham.com/good_trigger.html too.

pax
 
Single action revolver. If she can't pull back the hammer and squeeze a single action trigger she can't shoot anything IMHO
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top