hi xeper,
i concur with the general feeling here- i'd lose the jennings unless it shoots reliably (unlikely), and your wife happens to love it.
if recoil is the main issue, i'd look at .22 lr. its the easiest to shoot, cheap as hell (which means more shooting practice!), and probably has similar defensive capabilities as the 25 (if not better!) i don't consider either caliber an adequate defensive round, but if the choice is b/t .22lr and no gun, i choose .22lr. (there are a lot of 10 shot 22 revolvers out there)
if size is the issue, there are a host of other guns out there that will probably fit your wife's hand very well w/o the caliber limitations. the first few that come to mind are .38 special revolvers, and the kahr k9/mk9 series.
if cost is the primary issue, i'd look at used .38 special revolvers.
regarding the .380 suggestions, i have yet to shoot a .380 that had an real substantial difference in kick from a regular 9mm. while i admit the majority of the .380's i've shot have been straight blow-back ppk types (these kick a lot), i don't see any benefit in purchasing a .380 when kahr, keltec and glock all offer 9mm guns that are no bigger than most .380s. but again, i'm no .380 expert, so i'm open to comments based on you .380 lovers out there.
if cost, recoil or size are not issues for the wife, then get her a real gun- a 45.
joe
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