Keeping my wife alive

I know most of You guys will not like this, but my Daughter-in-law now has a Kel-Tec .32ACP that I cleaned up & smoothed out for Her, & She is quite competent with it. So far it has been completely trouble free, & functions as well as any thing else that I own. She picked it out, after trying most everything else I had, even my LCP seemed to have just a little more recoil than She found controllable. She's very good with it, & comfortable with it. I know a .45ACP would be more intimidating, but even I am not stupid enough to want a half dozen little .32 cal. holes in me. Bottom line, it works for Her, & I feel good that She has it.
 
The new Ruger LCR 38 revolver.

The most user friendly and finest carry firearm ever made for a novice woman shooter............period.
 
Interpersonal Relationships

Been a LONG time since I posted here but had to jump in and tell pax thanks for the link and to jump in.

Years of training new shooters has taught me that women are often given not only bad advice, but that interpersonal relationships often interfere with people teaching someone close to them about anything stressful or dangerous.

http://gungeekrants.blogspot.com/2010/08/teaching-women-to-shoot.html

There are so many women that show up for class that their "loved ones" have almost ruined by "teaching" them about firearms and shooting. Between bad advice or being pressured to shoot something they really don't want to or shooting something so the other will just shut up and leave them alone about it. The reasoning is all over the map but the end result is the same. They may have learned something but the experience was ruined and they didn't learn what they really needed to.

I can't say it enough, AND I DON'T SAY THIS TO DRUM UP MORE BUSINESS FOR ME, take your loved one to a professional trainer who is not you. Eliminate the interpersonal relationship baggage from the teaching / learning experience and let them learn what they need to. You will be glad you did. This goes for more than just firearms training. Ask a professional flight instructor or instructor for about any potentially deadly activity. Learning from a person with a close personal relationship always carries some undercurrent and can cause issues with the training.

There are a lot of good answers in this thread and there is some not so good answers but that is a matter of opinion. Same as out on the street / in the store. Some opinions are based more in reality and some in gunrag wisdom. So, you need to think about where the advice is coming from. I put mine out there and people can chose to do with it what they want. Ignore it even if they so choose.

A perfect example is that the guy behind the gun counter may be there because they had extra people in shoes today and he has been to the class on filling out the paperwork properly.
 
You can guys can call me whatever you want, but I know I would rather have a larger handgun than snubbie revolver. For me, they hurt more to shoot, are tougher to shoot well, and a lot have terrible sights on them.

Even beyond that, I think long guns are a lot easier to handle than pistols anyday. Thats the case for me at least.

Seems to ring true for my wife also. She likes the 22 rifles, and not much else.
 
Pax, hats off to you for the links. The last one is my favorite. It was the grey beard deep voice guy that handed me the Ruger LCR "the greatest gun ever" that proceeded to macerate my hand. He didn't know me. But he told me this is what he gave his wife. After fighting with that thing for a few weeks I caved in a realized this gun sucks for me. I can't train on this gun. Another wise woman pointed this out, with emotional detachment. So I shot a bunch of guns, and found one that I liked, that worked for me, that I could train on, and conceal. Now I know better. PLEASE take her out to shoot several guns and let her make up her own mind! :D If the first gun I shot was a Ruger LCR, I never would have met you nice people. I would have had a bad experience and decided shooting wasn't fun. Instead, I shot a Sig P226 and now I get to hang out and gab with all y'all.
 
I agree with this...

Women are tougher than we give them credit for.
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Pax, I was waiting for you to chime in, what took so long?

At any rate, you do have to be rational. There are some pistols that my wife has a hard time operating (DE with the small slide and stiff spring). She can operate most any other firearm and she's a girly girl... 5'2" and 120. She can tolerate a shotgun, but she's not a huge fan. She can handle and shoot almost everything in my safe proficiently. Sig220? She's got it covered. She can shoot our Kahr CW9 almost as well as I can.

Don't baby your women when it comes to guns. Understand that there may be some fear if you're introducing them to shooting. Understand that there are, on somewhat rare occasions, things that have a hard time physically manipulating. But don't baby them. They can handle it.
 
My wife has a taurus judge in stainless 45 long colt is a good bullet 410 buck shot aint nuthing to play with up close. With little practice she can defend her self. the gun has enough wieght she dont kick much double or single action. I call it her pocket book shot gun. And she also has a mossberg 500 pistol grip 7 in the tube by the bed.
 
i have an air lite .32 h&R mag. it is very small in my hands but i think it would be ideal for a woman.

there is a good amount of sting involved when shooting it, but it is manageable otherwise. the sting shouldnt make a difference in the heat of a situation.

highly recommend the smitty
 
Originally posted by Manco - No offense intended, but if your wife is a bit macho with guns around you, then she'd probably learn better from somebody else. My sister is like that with me (most common among siblings due to natural rivalry, but it can happen between couples, too), and despite the vast disparity in our levels of training, she won't listen to me. I think that I'm still more intimidated by guns than she ever was, which is why I've trained so furiously to get better, while she's become complacent. Granted, she doesn't have the same keen interest that I have in firearms in general, but you should hear her talk whenever she shoots a tighter group than I do, taking forever sometimes to do it (in my view, defensive shooting is about speed with accuracy in every aspect). The result of a real gunfight between us--purely hypothetical of course--would be very different indeed at this point (not bragging--I'm just that much faster than I was as a beginner, and that took work and the constant realization of my own shortcomings).
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No offense taken, but I think you may have taken my comments out of context or maybe just misunderstood me. First of all, I think we can all agree that we should count our blessings if we have a wife, daughter or girl friend who shows an interest in shooting to begin with.

All I was saying is that some if not most women ARE tougher than we give them credit for. My wife basically told me that she was not afraid of the guns and that she would like to make up her own mind about which one she wanted to shoot. She was not getting "macho" with me at all. She said that while she appreciated my warnings about a particular gun's power, recoil, and noise she didn't want me to say too much because she wanted to find out for herself and make up her own mind.

Once she had made a choice, she asked me to get involved in helping her shoot it better and helping her care for the gun. Since that time, she has become a very good shot and she actually gets me up off my butt to go out shooting. She is a fast learner and she tells everyone how much she appreciates my experience with handguns and how much she has learned from me.

I agree that sometimes this does not work out this way. My father taught me how to shoot, but he had no success with my brother. He was too close and went about it all wrong with him. He pushed him too hard and teased him about things better left alone. Sometimes the ones closest to us are the wrong ones to try to teach us. Not the case with my wife and I.
 
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TXGunGeek : That's good advice.

That's the problem with answers on boards.... some times they are looking for answers that agree with the assumptions or support the point of view they had in the first place. Second, it's not them that's going to be using it, it is their wife... let her choose and decide. Third, you'll get 1000 answers that vary from one end of the spectrum to the other, and may work for them, but not be the choice for the situation of the person who they are trying to help.
 
I agree with Darryl.

The Woodsman can be fired very accurately.

Even in rapid fire and it can be reloaded quickly.

And hit in the face with several 22 rounds only a fool would continue through hail of bullets to try to attack probably for the last time in his life.

Honestly,if you are that concerned maybe it's time to buy her a snub 38 Smith,Ruger or Taurus.

Something she can carry loaded and ready all the time.

Otherwise,there's always pepper spray too.

OR even a big knife.

Don't laugh.

I just went to a local auto parts store and this girl flips out a four inch blade folding knife to open a box in a way that said,it was'nt the first time she flipped out that knife.

If someone has victimized a home in your neighborhood you can also take other steps.

Leave the outside lights on at night.

Close all the blinds before dark and leave only those blinds open during the day that don't face a road or peoples traffic path so they can't look into your house walking by.

Park your cars facing out in your driveway.

This looks like the owners are already thinking ahead which means they are'nt probably taking their securtiy for granted either.

Keep your yard neat-no big bushes by the house.

No bricks,ornamental rocks, loose boards or ladders in the yard to use as entry break-in tools.

Get both the none emergency number for the police and fire rescue on papaer and post it right next to the phone.

Sometimes a call to the none 911 number to just ask if a cruiser can come through the neighborhood and check out some noises is better then a paniced 911 call that freaks everyone including the police out.

And be complete and honest in your information.

A dog really does help.

Our two Pomeranians prevented some males from doing something in our yard,

I heard one of them through our half open rear kitchen window one nightabout a year and a half ago.

One said to the other,"I know but the dogs bark everytime I get close to it."

Presumably after our gas grill which apparently unknown to them I actually chained to the four by four handrails on our porch

Needless to say,the window now stays closed most of the time and a gun stays ready as it always has but more so now.

Items of value that can be readily seen through your windows are to be avoided.

Same goes for your cars.

An empty 'looking' car in your driveway is much safer because it does'nt entice a thief to steal it or get you out of your house to protect what's in it.

Also,don't be so darn open about when you are leaving or when you are coming back.

Very few people need to know that.

Part of what keeps you safe is what people don't know about you.

Especially whether you are willing to 'deal' with someone trying to rob you.

Most thieves will pass a target that they cannot be readily sure they can already beat.

If your wife is very attractive,she should dress down when at home.

Being real sexy on the front porch is just an advertisment to any passing male to come and get it.

I know it really is'nt but that's the way some bad guys think.

Having restrictions on who you let get close to your family and your premises is'nt being paranoid-it's simply being able to know when a threat is coming by being able to know the difference.
 
Taurus PT92 too large?

I am looking to get a full size pistol and as of right now my top pick is the taurus pt 92, but im concerned that it may be too large for my wife to comfortably handle. She doesn't have particularly small hands but still wondering if anyone has any experience with this gun, i keep seeing posts about how big it is and I am curious what some owners of this gun think. This is my first post, and all feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
I took a women's basic pistol class recently, and for the practical part of the class they had us using a revolver very similar to the one your wife couldn't work the trigger in DA on with just one finger.

Neither could I.

The guy teaching the class said it was okay for the purposes of the class to use both index fingers. I was the only one in the class who had to do it that way, but I was actually more accurate on DA than I was on SA (mainly because the distance the trigger had to travel on SA was so short that I knew when the shot would come and had a bit of a flinch). Out of the seven women I was one of the best in terms of accuracy on DA, even using both fingers.

I also couldn't rack the slide on the 9mm semi-auto they had us shoot.... until I used Pax's technique for operating the slide.

Personally I disliked having to use both fingers and have since shot one of the Kimber Pro Carry models with much better success -- I liked it the best of the semi-autos I've tried as rentals. With Pax's technique I have no problems operating the slide on it, and I'm seriously looking at purchasing a similar firearm (although I think the 3-inch sizing would be better for concealment -- I'm very short -- and I'd prefer 9mm since I'm going to have to be doing a *lot* of practice and can only afford one gun).

Basically, the point of this is to say that in a pinch, the two-finger trigger thing isn't as awful as it looks. It's not something I'd prefer tho.
 
LaserSpot said:
No need to. The Judge would be a good weapon if you have a rattlesnake infestation; it might be fun to try and shoot some clay targets with it. On the other hand, it's a over-sized, ungainly revolver and has no advantages for self defense. I agree with those who call it a gimmick gun
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You have no clue as to what you are talking about. I own a Taurus Judge and it is a viable personal defense gun. I keep it loaded with Hornady 45LC Critical defense ammo. Please tell me how that is a gimmick. The Taurus was developed as a personal defense gun. The 410 shells are a good round to unload on someone trying to car jack you. A blast of 000 buckshot (or #4 shot for that matter) to the face as they lean into a car will keep them from taking it. 000 buckshot will stop most people at 5-10 yards. The 45LC will stop most people at 20-40 yards. There is no Gimmick. It is a very good personal defense gun. I suggest you comment on topics you know something about in the future.
 
Hey, take the argument about the Taurus Judge to one of the threads dedicated to that topic, please. (And check out Tom Givens' review of the gun in the Aug issue of SWAT Magazine -- Givens was right on the money.)

pax
 
000 buckshot will stop most people at 5-10 yards. The 45LC will stop most people at 20-40 yards. There is no Gimmick. It is a very good personal defense gun.
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I haven't read the SWAT article yet but I agree with you, it is a good personal defense gun. My point is that having the ability to fire .410 shells is a gimmick. It doesn't allow you to hit targets that you would otherwise miss unless loaded with birdshot. .410 shells are not more effective for self defense than other handgun cartridges. It might be fun to try and hit tin cans thrown in the air with shotshells, but this a novelty. I can't hit much with a .410 using a regular shotgun; I doubt it gets better from a revolver. If you like it, have fun and that's fine with me.

EDIT: I couldn't find the SWAT Magazine review online, only a summary: http://gunscoffee.blogspot.com/2010/08/taurus-judge-in-swat-magazine.html
 
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