Recommend a 38 for CCW for my wife?

There are many companies who make purses with compartments designed for concealed carrying of a handgun. Many of those also have a wire sewn into the strap so it can't be sliced with a knife in a purse snatch attempt.
 
If she's going to carry in a purse, she needs a purse designed for concealed carry. A well designed holstered purse will hold the gun in a known orientation so when she grabs for the gun she will always get the grip and not the muzzle. It also makes it much faster to access the gun when she needs it, and keeps the trigger and entire trigger guard well-protected.

Why is protecting the trigger important? Because this: news story.

from news story said:
Police say a Florida woman could face criminal charges after a gun in her purse went off accidentally ...shooting her friend in the leg.

... [Two women] had stopped for coffee and [one of the women] dropped her purse while she was paying.

A .25-caliber handgun in the purse discharged, hitting [the other woman] in the leg.
Click to expand...

(Similar news story, different event, can be found here.)

As far as reinforced straps go, I am NOT a fan. They are a nice feature ... theoretically. Back in real life, purse snatchings are violent crimes, and a certain number of women are dragged to their deaths by their purse straps every year. The typical way this works is in a parking lot: woman walking along, purse carried crossbody or on one shoulder. Car cruises past at slow speed. Passenger reaches out the window, grabs the bag, and driver hits the gas. End of story.

More mundane circumstances, walking down the street, criminal comes up with a knife to cut the purse strap — strap does not cut. Now we have a violent criminal with a knife at bad breath distance, and you cannot let go of the purse because it’s across your body with a reinforced strap. What happens next?

Realistically: Are you honestly willing to sacrifice your life to protect the firearm you carry to protect your life?

You can find more info about choosing a carry purse here, here, and here.

Or listen to the ProArms Podcast on the subject here.

Hope this helps.

pax
 
The SW 642 or SW 342 is a very wise choice but my wife had some difficulty pulling the trigger sometimes so I replaced spring with the lighter Wollf springs which has yet to give a misfire. The other choice is the Ruger 38SP. When she first practices I would and did use wadcutters and a Crimson Trace laser grip. Later we used some +P ammo.

I am very much against small autos for women as it is easy to have them jam from limp wirsting or just jamming anyway. Small and large auto need a firm grip and even then can jam. I never had a revolver jam and I have been shooting a looong time.

Then there is the issue of forgetting a round is in the chamber when you take the mag out. I lost my best friend because he forgot there was a round in the chamber when he was cleaning his 22LR. Revolvers are simple and always work and easy to make safe.
 
First of all, if you got your wife out to the range, you're way ahead of me :-(

I just wanted to put this in: If she's going to purse carry, why not toss around the idea of something slightly larger - like a Smith 64? . . . A little more weight/less recoil; a little more barrel length/more velocity; a 6th round.
 
as personal as the decision is, what has your wife been carrying or is willing to carry? a light weight J frame kicks plenty with standard defensive rounds.

my wife has small hands and her house gun is a model 60 loaded with 110gr. federal loads. the recoil is minimal and the CT grip gives her plenty of comfortable purchase and confidence. for ccw she carries a LWS32 in her pocket. I cannot recommend purse carry for anyone.
 
We just went through this last year, as several of the ladies in the family decided to get permits. One daughter-in-law likes the steel Model 60. She tried an Airweight and found the recoil too snappy, so she went with the Model 60. Those few extra ounces make the difference for her.

Another daughter-in-law went with the LCR, but then she decided she'd like to try a small auto, so she's carrying my son's LC9. Go figure

My wife started out with an Airweight, but she's got tiny hands and even the smallest grips were too big. After looking for a little while, she settled on a Colt I-frame Pocket Positive in .32 SW Long. She likes that little pistol a lot, and now that Buffalo Bore has started making SD ammo in that caliber, I bought some and stoked it for her. She likes the little I-frame and now I've got my Airweight back.

It should he HER choice. Give her several options and let her choose.
 
Skeeter beat me to it. The solution for many a female in our family has been wad cutters in her 642/638/637, etc. They shoot with them and carry them and feel very confident. They are plenty for self defense too. I cannot figure out why everyone forgets about them. Maybe too old fashioned?

Now I am not a huge kydex lover, but these things are nifty for purse carry:

http://m.ebay.com/itm/150971898208?nav=SEARCH&sbk=1

I would recommend something like that.
 
One more thing, I don't recommend off body carry, I would rather see a lady carry a 22 magnum NAA revolver on body than a 38 in the purse, but I guess purse carry is better than nothing.
 
Both my wife and daughter picked out a Smith & Wesson 442 for their CCW revolver. This is the one my Wife confiscated for her use.
 
I think going to a double action only is a mistake. Most women that I have gone shooting with became very tired of the long trigger pull. I personally think that the model 60 S&W is a great gun for carry and would work for a woman. You may want to have her check out the Ladysmith... It is only 5 shot, but if she needs more then that, then look at a semi-auto 9 in double/single like the XD9 (or other incarnations).

I find that in 38 spc, the recoil on the model 60 is really not bad in standard loads.
 
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