A pistol for the wife?

[rking22]

Ruger sells the LCR in 22Mag. My daughter likes her M36 and shoots it quite well.

[NavyVet1959]

Whatever you buy will be wrong, even if she picks it out. And it will be your fault. If she gets into a situation where she might need to use the gun, she will just want it to go away without having to do anything and it will be your fault because you should have been there to make it go away. Can your wife change her own flat (and is she even *willing* to do it)?

Sure, not *every* woman fits this stereotype, but the vast majority of the ones I've known over the years do.

It took me *years* to finally get my wife to actually put gas in *her* car. She just expected it to magically always have gas in it, even if it is a vehicle that I would never drive. Checking the oil or tire pressure? Forget about it... Now, I get comments like, "There was a light that lit up on the dash today -- something about low tire or oil pressure, but I kept driving it."

[truckerdave397]

Wife and daughter both like shooting RUGER LCRs in 22lr, 22mag and 38 special. They just never never never buy or look for ammo.

[JWFilips]

Bought my wife a S&W 31 Terrier( Double action) in 38 S&W! She shoots it like a terror! Dead eye she is! it boast a 2 inch BBL. A bit heavy but very concealible
She can not actuate the slide on any of my autos even the light 32 's and ruger Mark II 22's

[retread]

Got my wife a Colt Official Police in 38 Special. First time to the range she did quite well but thought it was too heavy. A friends and his wife were with us and she(the other's wife) had a Ruger LCR in 38 Special. My wife said "Why didn't you get a nice small one like that for me?" I told her to ask her friend if she could try it. After 3 rounds she returned it and said her gun was better because she could control it. Now my problem is she wants a carry gun but the Colt is way too big for that. I am reading with interest what you folks have tried and recommend. Thanks.

retread

[dougader]

My wife likes the little 32 mag. Started with a Single Six and then a S&W 431 PD. From gallery loads to factory loads on up to the Pearce load of 11.8 grains W296 under the 100 grain XTP-HP.

[NavyVet1959]

She can not actuate the slide on any of my autos even the light 32 's and ruger Mark II 22's

If she can't pull back the slide on a Ruger Mk-II, then it's pretty much given that she cannot the slide on ANY semi-auto. The Ruger Mk-II probably has the easiest slide for anyone to handle, especially since it's not relying on the grip strength of the person to hold onto it like with a slab sided slide.

[warf73]

My girlfriend shot everything on the self at the local pistol range (in 380 and 9mm) that was concealable size. She had surgery on her hand a few years back so she told me when a gun hurt her hand when she shot it.
There were a couple of the 380's that hurt like the 9's so design and weight does play a big factor in a pocket sized handgun.
She fell in love with the P238, the very close second was the Beretta. She didn’t care for the sights on it, so the Sig was the winner. We looked on GB for the Nitron model that she liked at the range, got it out the door for under $500. Not cheap but not expensive for something she likes to shoot.

She is closing in on 1600 rounds down range since May 4 of this year. Every time out she gets better and better and she loves to shoot it and carry it.

[Lloyd Smale]

bought my wife a muddy girl camo lc9. She loves it. Its got a trigger easy enough for her to use and the 9s recoil is mild with light cast loads and is still reliable. If your here your no doubt a reloader so it doesn't take much to make a 9mm feel like a pop gun. I load the 105 lee swc with 3.5 grains of aa2 and its a ***** cat to shoot. Bottom line though is her favorite is my mark III lightweight 22lr.

[Petrol & Powder]

I've taught a lot of woman how to shoot, some I just introduced to shooting and some were serious about shooting.
Al's prior post is spot on. Woman see the world differently than men and I have no clue what the world looks like through their lens.

I will say that the absolute #1 mistake men make is the selection of a small gun for females. For some reason men have an overwhelming tendency to equate small guns to woman and beyond concealment needs; tiny guns are almost universally bad choices.

I've seen very few woman that are really serious about carrying a concealed weapon on or about their person and even fewer that are capable of constantly maintaining control of a purse containing a firearm. I'm not condemning woman or discouraging woman from being armed but I do think it's a good idea to get a grasp on the ultimate use of the gun before a purchase is made. If the gun is going to live in a car or at home the criteria is different than one that will be carried in a purse or on their person.

Good grips that fit the user, decent sights, simple operation and acceptable weight are far more important than guns that are "cute".

[Bonz]

=I will say that the absolute #1 mistake men make is the selection of a small gun for females. For some reason men have an overwhelming tendency to equate small guns to woman and beyond concealment needs; tiny guns are almost universally bad choices.

My wife hates small guns and DAO triggers. She likes a 1911 style pistol and prefers 45acp but also has a 1911's in 9mm and .380 The 5" Colt Government is a very easy slide to pull back and so is the 1911 .380

[jcren]

My wife loves her walther pk-380, as well as my bersa thunder 380. Both shoot well, decent triggers and easy to "rack", especially if you cock the hammer first

[BorderBrewer]

About a year after I bought my wife her SP101, she bought us a pair of GP100's with the 6" half shroud barrel in 357mag. She can out shoot me any day of the week with that one. I think it's because she "goes with the flow" and does not try to man handle the gun. Her smooth trigger pull makes for better long range accuracy than I can muster. The double action trigger does not bother her in the least, but she's a nurse and has an vise like grip from many years of testing blood pressure.

[9.3X62AL]

Marie really likes her SIG P-228. She clipped it from me about two minutes after its arrival home with me in 2003. I do get to clean it and reload for it. She is ungodly-accurate with it, firing 125 grain +P+ much like the NATO rounds she qualed with in her issued look-alike Army M-11. Her Speer factory JHP loads run about 1225-1235 FPS, I concoct a duplicator for her to practice with using JHPs and AA-7. Her pistol's name is "Lucy".......short for "Lucretia Borgia". Spanish women can be a TRIP.

[Geraldo]

Unless you'd let her choose your next rifle and caliber for a hunt, don't choose her guns. I laid down retail for her 9mm M&P after she tried several and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I want her to have something reliable that she is confident with.

[Wayne Smith]

Silverboolit, since you are here I assume you at least reload. You won't find a platform more versitile than the .38/357. Just the .38 alone you can load light with accuracy (2.7grBE/148gr WC) a load that does not kick muh more than the 22Mag and is deadly to boot. Just in that case you can go up to a 200gr boolit if you want. +P is unnecessary, putting the boolit where it counts is much more important. If you don't cast these are some of the most common cast boolits you can find. They are also about the cheapest shooting you will find, probably less than the 22Mag!
When you introduce her to guns don't hesitate to point out the advantages. My wife is very practical and appreciates my casting and loading simply because of the cost of ammo.

Yes, go with what she likes, but provide her the opportunity to like the .38 Special.

[Silverboolit]

I have loaded the 105 SWC in the .38SPL for her and the recoils not that bad. However, she HATES the GP100 with it's 6" full shroud barrel. Way too heavy. We will look into the 101 and other smaller frame revolvers. Knowing her, if she could find a 500 S&W 8" barrel, she would want that as long as the pink doesn't come off and the diamond sights are right on! LOL

[paul h]

I know they're ugly, but they are light and have a great trigger pull

[charlie b]

A lot of good advice. I too have taught many women to shoot, but not my wife. One of my E-6's taught her while I taught his wife. It is much better if someone else teaches them.

My wife started out liking revolvers. She didn't like all the extra motion an auto makes. So, for a long time her bedside gun was a Colt Python with custom grips for her hands.

Then I got a 1903 Colt in .32ACP. She absolutely LOVED it. It is now her carry gun. But, it sparked an interest in autos. So, she started shooting my 1911. So, for Xmas one year she got a Light Commander. It is now a tie between her 1903 and 1911. She still likes shooting light loads in the Python and is now looking for a .32 revolver.

One sister-in-law loves her SIG 9mm that she carries in her purse and she does not like revolvers. Another SIL likes the SP101 in .357Mag. And she does not like the .38 spl loads for it, only full power stuff. It is her bedside gun. My niece took after her mother and favors automatics. She carries a Bersa in .380. FWIW, I found it to be comfortable to shoot and very accurate for a pocket gun.

So, yes, take your wife to the range and let her try a bunch. Every person is different and everyone (men included) likes different guns.

Beware, she may choose more than one. One for her big purse, one for her evening purse, one for bedside, one for the range, etc, etc, etc. And don't forget, the first rule is they have to like how the gun LOOKS (also not unlike men ).

[Silverboolit]

So much good advice and recommendations! I knew that I came to the right place. We are going shopping as soon as she gets out of the wheelchair. ( She just had knee surgery.)