Need low-recoil .38 spec. round for wife to learn with.

K

kymasabe

New member
My wife is not exactly pro-gun. She tolerates my hobby without really supporting it. She's entertaining the idea of learning to shoot and I was going to teach her with my Rossi .38 but would like to know what would be a nice light round for her to learn with. Wadcutters maybe? heavy and slow?
 
I range shoot with plain old 158gr lead round nose in my Charter snubbie. They're fairly cheap and readily available. The recoil feels almost negligible out of the Charter. The 148gr wadcutters are definitely light low-recoil as another possiblity.

Lou
 
158lswc worked great with my wife. Other ideas are make sure she has good mickey mouses on and get targets she can hit and see immediately. My wife is partial to clay targets propped on sticks and on the berm. She will put them everywhere, and has since worked her way up to the 500s&w mag. It tends to knock down alot of targets at once though.:)
 
i think i would load up some 125 gr. slugs over 3 grs of bullseye.. you must remember that heavy bullets recoil more than light ones.. it's just physics.... be sure to get her to wear hearing protection too.. that will help the cause...


LIFE IS SHORT.............
 
You could go to Walmart and check out the Winchester White Box ammo for .38 spl. I practice with it at the range and the recoil isn't bad out of my 4 inch GP100.
 
The 148 grain Wadcutter is not only low recoiling, but one of the most accurate centerfire handgun round ever.
 
I would start THE LADY out with WADCUTTER ammo.
Get her a good quality .357 Magnum, so as she progresses, she can, if she wishes move up to .357 rounds.
 
A .22RF is the best to start a new shooter on. But if the .38 is what you got, then the 148gr wadcutter is the way to go. Quantrill
 
130gn wwb or federal eagle fmj target loads shoot pretty soft. The heavier slugs will definately kick more than the lighter ones. ;)
 
The 148gr wadcutters should shoot closer to POA than the 130gr FMJ's
in a fixed sight gun.The wad-
cutters will cut a nice clean easy to
see hole in the target compared to
the FMJ's.The 130gr load will be
easier to find (wal-mart) and maybe
be a little cheaper.The 158gr LSWC would be a good choice also,little
more recoil than the other 2 loads
but it's not bad.
 
K,
I know you asked about 38.....but, My wife was aslo a VERY unlikly shooter.Asked her to come to the range one day...after explaining the safty basics let her shoot a tarus 94ul (22lr 9 shot).She went through a 550 rd box then asked "got any more bullets honey" long story short she is now very comfortable with all our hand guns and espically likes my gp 100 with 38's or 357's. She also now has her ccw and does carry the tarus 85ul i bought her.
I truly think starting her out on that 22 was the ticket,had i started her on anything else outcome may have been diffrent. BTW the tarus 94ul has the worst stock trigger of any revolver i ever felt. I put in a wolff triger return spring and a tarus 85 main spring was like a difrent gun. Good luck,
mike
 
Mike,

Thanks for the tip. I just sold my Taurus PT-22 which was a .22LR but "has all those buttons and levers and moving thingies" says the wife, so she wouldn't go near it. The .38 is the only revolver I have. But, if she likes it, there is one of those Ultra-Lite Taurus .22 revolvers at the local gunshop so...might pick it up for her. And thanks for the spring replacement tips. I'm gonna keep that save it for when I get the gun. Did you learn that yourself or did you find that info somewhere?
 
Ensuring success is best accomplished by two avenues of approach!

First off, the 38 wadcutter ammo but factory is spendy as it comes in match designation IE Federal GM Match. If you reload then the gold standard is 3gr of BE in 38 spec case with 148gr WC seated flush to the case mouth. But, it might worth it, if a 22 LR gun is not available to help with fundamentals of gun handling!

Next, avenue is professional training done by another female or male with a track record with teaching females! More significant others turn off their partners with a know it all attitude! Seen that happen more then once! If you make this happen well, it will almost be like a "SPA" day for her!
 
If you reload, any 38cal bullet from 125gr to 158gr (except for full wadcutters) over 3-3.5gr of Bullseye will be soft and accurate.

If you don't reload, find a local source for "Cowboy Action" loads. They tend to be loaded light for the Cowboy Action games. Most gunshows have someone there selling this sort of thing.

I'd steer away from the Taurus UL until your wife is comfortable with shooting. A load that is soft and easy in a steel gun is going to be harder shooting in an UL gun.

Chris
 
Your ideas are sound BUT

If you have the same problem that I did, (wonderful wife that wants to shoot with me but afraid of guns).
Take my advice get a good 22, like a Ruger mark ll or somthing simular.
After 4 months of shooting she now has a carry lisence and carries a Glock 26 and she is good with it.
The 22 takes all the recoil out and also is easier to learn than any center fire wepon.
 
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