Which carry gun for wife (she's somewhat familiar with firearms)

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Elliottsdad

New member
So early the other morning (pre-dawn) my wife had a scare. As she entered the exterior garage at 5am, she heard a commotion with the backyard gate adjacent to the garage. When she glanced over, the gate was closed and the trash cans were knocked over, but she didn't see anyone so figured it was an alleycat or something. However, when I came out later in the morning, I found that our Jeep (parked outdoors very near that gate) had also been rifled through (glove box/center console left open, door left ajar).
Could be a coincidence, but seems like she may have been seconds from a face to face with whoever had been rifling through our Jeep.
Myself, her dad, and my dad all said the same thing: that could've been real bad! You need to get a gun! She seems very open to the idea, as she's pretty shaken up by the potential run-in.
I know handguns reasonably well, and have suggested a .38 hammerless or a .380 auto. She's not big into guns, but they don't bother her (she's shot mine over the years, but very rarely). She probably won't become a range nut or anything though, so something small, easy and gently shooting is in order.
Obviously it's her choice, and will be. But I'm making suggestions: the Smith 442, Glock 42, Smith Bodyguard, and Sig 238. I like the idea of the heavy trigger of the 442, and the manual safety of the Bodyguard/Sig. They're all reputable brands, but I haven't shot any other than the j frame to give her feedback on.
Other than beginning to lock my Jeep, what other suggestions do you have that I might pass on to her?
Thanks for the input, and go easy on me. I know "which gun for my wife" threads don't always go over so well. I say again, she'll make the decision on what/how to carry.
 
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Others will be along soon to drop as much info/advice as you'll be able to handle, so I'll be brief.

First, have her look at this website: https://www.corneredcat.com/

My second piece of advice is to have her test-drive as many reasonable options as she can before she gets tired of it. Rent/beg/borrow a couple small revolvers, a couple striker-fires, a couple DA/SA or DAOs. Fortunately there are lots of options on the market.

One way to get her some trigger time might be to have her take a couple Handgun Fundamentals classes. Around here they either provide a weapon or they rent them for the students. Just a thought.

I've shot all the guns you listed, except the SIG. The j-frames usually have pretty heavy trigger pulls which can make accuracy a problem, plus the low capacity and long reload time. But the ease of the manual of arms (good for people with little experience) and small size make them suitable for some people. The Glock 42 and the S&W Bodyguard (assuming you mean the .380), also have pretty easy manual of arms, also small, and feature lighter trigger pulls, plus faster to reload. If your wife can easily rack the slide and learn the Tap, Rack, Bang drill, they would be slighter better choices probably.

Other guns that might fit her bill, according to your parameters, might be the Ruger LC9S. Just test drove a new one; 9mm, small and light, very accurate, decent trigger, surprisingly light recoil. S&W Shield 9mm or SA XD-S might also be good options. Slightly larger than the LC9, The Shield slide is a bit tougher to rack until it gets broken in, capacity is plus 1, both pretty low recoil in 9mm.

Anyway, that's all I've got for ya. Other will be along soon. And good luck in your search.
 
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I have nothing to add other than if she isn't familiar with handguns I would steer away from a single action semi auto like the Sig. The only effective way to carry it is round in chamber, hammer back/cocked and safety engaged. It is intimidating for many who are familiar with handguns and disengaging the safety is an added hurdle to overcome to engage someone if the time comes.
 
Elliottsdad wrote:
I say again, she'll make the decision on what/how to carry.
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Good, because the gun for your wife is the gun she is comfortable using.

When my grandmother had a similar encounter to your wife and decided she didn't want to have to face an intruder with a 1911 (which she already had in the house), my grandfather accompanied her to the gun store, but despite the clerk's attempts to engage him, he left my grandmother to do the talking. She had been shooting since she was a child and so knew what she wanted and knew how to use it, so she got what she wanted.
 
Never ever make the decision for her on what she will carry - I went through a lot of guns before my wife told me what she wanted...and she's carried ever since then. Agreed, range rental is the best way to start looking.
 
Let her try some.

That said when any female friend asks I mention the Ruger sr9c. Easy to conceal, does double duty with 10 rd flush or 17 rd extended Mag.

Is as soft and reliable a shooter as you'll find in a 9mm semi auto. With likely the best trigger of any striker fired pistol.
My wife carries one everyday all day.
 
armoredman said:
Never ever make the decision for her on what she will carry - I went through a lot of guns before my wife told me what she wanted...and she's carried ever since then. Agreed, range rental is the best way to start looking.
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My wife doesn't carry, but this makes sense to me. My wife gravitates to revolvers over semi-autos. At least that is what she seems to prefer shooting at the range.
 
Don't push her into a 38 or 380 right away. Mouse guns suck because they weigh very little and have lots of felt recoil. She won't like that.

There were 2 studies done recently with a group of women. One was published in September. Revolvers weren't even included in the second study because they almost all fell to the lower half of the first study. I'll post them here when I find the links.

The sig p238, glock 19 and glock 43 all were higher up in the study from what I can recall.

Found em (second study is probably most relevant):

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2017/8/21/the-american-rifleman-ladies-pistol-project/

https://www.americanrifleman.org/ar...es-pistol-project-ii-concealed-carry-pistols/

Take the above with a grain of salt as I believe these were just range tests. I don't believe any of the women actually tried to conceal any of the above pistols which defintely would have impacted the results.
 
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I been working on this for a while.

New girlfriend last year. I been shooting my whole life.

She said she had a pistol but did not know how to use it properly, so she would not carry it. It is a Glock 26.

She has shot all of my 22 semi autos and now joins me in one hand pistol bullseye competition.

She has fired my 637 (lightweight J frame 38)
One shot in my LCP
First one shot in my 1911, then a magazine full.
Full size K frame 38 which had way too big grip.
Ruger Super Redhawk with 44 specials.
A 3" model 36 J frame 38
Her glock 26 which she does not like the recoil or grip.
A few in my 10" TC contender 32-20
She has shot my model 1903 Colt 32 acp and liked it.

I was looking at a P238 in the store. Liked it.

SO we went to the indoor range and rented one. You have to buy ammo there, but I also took some reloads.

I loved the little thing. I handed it to her. Target at 5 yards. She put 4 in one hole and one next to it. She loved it.

She liked the trigger, liked loading the magazine, and pulling the slide back. It fit her hands.

I could keep 5 out 5 on a sheet of paper at 25 yards.

I am still waiting for mine to show up. I have 500 rounds loaded up.

Once she shoots it more, I will buy her one.

We are Late 50s, shoot silhouette and Sporter rifle. She has shot bowling pins using a 22 semi auto.

She has NOT fired my Charter Arms Bulldog or Ruger SRH with magnums.

This has been a long process. Two hands with a semi auto 22, she does well.
She would like a dot sight on her defense weapon because its easier to see. She knows it will not be practical.
I have a Colt LW Officers model with laser grips. No need for her to shoot that.

Just my findings and rambelings
David
 
Suggestions for the serious:

1. Have her read http://www.corneredcat.com/

2. Really serious - find in your area a good female oriented course or two.

As for the J frame folks - everyone should take a snubby course and try to compete with them. It shades your recommendations if they come from lack of experience beyond the square range.
 
The NRA "Women On Target" courses are very good and inexpensive. We have them at the local range monthly through late spring to early fall. The women only events are very popular and they get to shoot a large variety of guns. When the women find guns they really like they write down all the pertinent information and some buy one on the way home. The next time they bring their new gun and learn how to handle it, clean it and practice with it. One of these women is about 5 foot, 60 something and must weigh less than 100 pounds. She liked the Commander style 45 ACP, She has become very good with it and started practicing two hand holds and has progressed to one hand and weak hand hold. As I said she is very good with it.
 
Brian, I read both of those American Rifle articles you posted. Very, very informative as to the mindset of new women shooters! Thank you for those.
Those that recommended corneredcat.com, thank your for that as well. My wife and I read some of the articles from that site together last night.
To everyone else, thank you so much for your opinions and suggestions. She doesn't belong to, or come to read this forum. But I am passing along much of this information to her.
 
Karl Rehn did some excellent work assessing what a shooter 'gives up' when they use a smaller gun rather than a larger one. You can read the result of his studies

here: http://www.corneredcat.com/speed-and-accuracy-with-small-guns/

and here: https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/is-a-pocket-gun-enough/

What Karl found was that shooters who were not highly skilled — this would include long-time shooters who had taken no classes other than the basic carry permit class — gave up a lot of their ability to hit the target when they moved to smaller guns. He also found that well-trained shooters could move down to the small guns with very little loss of skill.

Based on his studies and my own experience with training thousands of shooters over the years, I recommend most people learn to shoot on a mid-size gun that fits their hands, then move down to a smaller gun if/when they want to carry.

While a person can learn to shoot on a smaller gun, the lighter weight and smaller surface areas of these guns tend to make them less comfortable to shoot. Less comfortable to shoot = less practice time and lowered ability to remember what you're trying to do because you're distracted by the 'ouch' that's coming.

However, someone who is highly-motivated to shoot a gun they truly love -- because they picked it themselves -- might not be as distracted by the ouchies as someone who is just using a gun someone else recommended to them. Like everything else, a lot of this does come down to the personal decisions people make and what they're willing to live with. Still, after working with a lot of new shooters over the years, I have noticed that people who start on mid-size guns learn a lot faster and seem to enjoy it more than those who start on the smaller ones.

That said, for shooters who have smaller hands (this would be most but not all women, and some men), it's very important to use a gun that allows them to reach all of the critical controls. That will be slightly different for everyone, but the process of figuring out whether the gun fits isn't hard. See http://www.corneredcat.com/article/choosing-firearms/trying-on-a-handgun/ for that.

pax
 
"...But I'm making suggestions..." Better not to say anything and just take her shopping.
"...I like..." Ain't nothin' that's more irrelevant than what you like or dislike. Whatever she buys will need a trigger job anyway.
However, if she's not going to practice with the thing, she might as well carry a stick.
 
I gave my wife the same offer after she completed her CCW course and training.

I told her the revolver was the most reliable.

She chose the S&W SD9VE for her carry piece and home protection.

I did not object. Some folks complain of the trigger, but for use in an excited scenario, I prefer a heavier than target trigger. It cuts way down on accidental discharge.

We go shooting together on average once/month. She can handle its operation quite well and is accurate with it. She is definitely minute of bad guy at 15 yds and less almost always.
 
You might want to have her try a Bersa Thunder. It holds 8+1, handles recoil better than those really small 380s, has a decocker feature so she can carry with one in the chamber, points naturally, and doesn't cost a lot of money. Plus, she can tell her friends she changed her name to Bond, Jane Bond. :D
 
I went through this with my sister. She fired a number of different pistols. She ended up choosing the glock 42. Its larger than the traditional mouseguns, so recoil was light but its still small enough to very easily conceal. I personally thought she should of gotten a revolver as I know she is not practicing more than 1-2 times per year as they are just easier to pick and up and shoot for those that don't practice tap/rack etc. I also like the safety on the 380 bodyguard better too but at the time she didn't have the gun available to try out.
 
Men recommend snub revolvers for women way more often than women like them. My wife and both my daughters hated the 642 I had for many years.

My wife picked the Sig P238 for herself and has had no regrets. I enjoy it too, and wound up getting myself one for pocket carry when I need it. You have to be comfortable with carrying cocked and locked, and you have to be OK with a price that is higher than some guns of similar size, but it has a very good trigger, excellent sights, and recoil is much easier to control that similarly sized blow back pistols. The small size and resulting ease of concealment is important to a lot of women, even though small pistols can be harder to handle. That is one of the things about which she has to choose her personal compromise. I wasn't surprised that it was popular in the NRA magazine's informal study, but notice that it wasn't unanimous. Everyone, regardless of what hormones predominate, has their opinion.
 
The one she wants....go down to the local range, for a rental fee she can try several , unless you buy her clothes she's a big girl and probably will make a better decision than you will.
Married 45 years, still don't know what they want...don't try to figure them out .
Gary
 
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