WHAT HANDGUN DO YOU SUGGEST?

This is a forum for OFCC's ladies to chat about their unique challenges when it comes to carry, or any other subject.

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Worry Free
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WHAT HANDGUN DO YOU SUGGEST?

Post by Worry Free »

My wife is taking her CCW course in March. She has shot my SIG P239 but has trouble with racking the slide due to minor arthritis issues. I suggested a revolver for her. From a woman's perspective, would you be able to offer advice? We both are concerned that lightweight revolvers will not have enough stopping power to be worth it. We both feel between a rock and a hard place - just looking for insights from a woman's perspective please. Thank You.
P.S.- she usually needs to use a two-finger trigger squeeze on the SIG because it is not a DAK. She's a petite gal - cute as a button. :wink:
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William Bonney
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Post by William Bonney »

I don't see a thing wrong with the S&W lightweight J frame revolvers. I sure wouldn't consider a .38 special too little power to make a difference.
I have a model 442 with no hammer. Five rounds will likely do the trick in most cases.
It is a great carry gun.
I prefer an auto myself, but I don't have any trouble with them.

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/9mm% ... pecial.htm
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Post by BigV »

My wife carries a S&W model 60, .38. I swapped out the wood grips for rubber and she loves it. She has a tough time racking the slide on my guns so the .38 foots the bill just fine for her. She shoots a lot and has become deadly accurate.
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calvin56
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Post by calvin56 »

My wife had the same problem, she also is a very petite woman, couldn't rack the slide on a 1911. Tried 9mms, same story. She could get the job done on my .380s but didn't like the extra felt recoil over the 9mms. She tried some revolvers. She liked them a lot. She was partial to my old S&W 27 but the six inch barrel was a bit awkward. She also tried my Airweight but again didn't like the controllability.She bought a Taurus .357 with a ported 4 inch barrel. It's easy to operate, points naturally for her, and she has no problem with hot 357 loads. She doesn't notice the difference in recoil between .357 and .38. She says they are just "louder." What I can't get over is that it fits in her purse. We should be that lucky.
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Post by Sevesteen »

Have her check http://corneredcat.com/RunGun/rack.aspx --Methods of running the gun for people without a man's strength.

The J-frames, and especially the Airweights are one of the most versatile guns on the planet. Their shape lends to easier concealability, grips can easily fit small hands, and the round is about as powerful as you're going to get in that small a package. Also, the bullets don't have to compromise between expansion and feeding.
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Post by Morne »

My wife has a S&W 642. The perfect gun for a 4' 10" chick. The .38spl round is plenty adequate for defensive purposes.

She also has trouble racking the slide on some of the semi-autos with stiffer springs. That, and slides won't work inside of a purse/jacket/whatever. A hammerless revolver can be fired from inside of a concealment device and keep functioning. My 1911's can't do that.
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Re: WHAT HANDGUN DO YOU SUGGEST?

Post by Buckshot »

Worry Free wrote:My wife is taking her CCW course in March. She has shot my SIG P239 but has trouble with racking the slide due to minor arthritis issues. I suggested a revolver for her. From a woman's perspective, would you be able to offer advice? We both are concerned that lightweight revolvers will not have enough stopping power to be worth it. We both feel between a rock and a hard place - just looking for insights from a woman's perspective please. Thank You.
P.S.- she usually needs to use a two-finger trigger squeeze on the SIG because it is not a DAK. She's a petite gal - cute as a button. :wink:
Worry Free,

Get her out to well equipped gun stores and rental ranges and let HER find what she likes.

Also, ask friends and acquaintances what they have that she might try.

If she goes for a revolver, make sure she can handle the double action pull, some women don't like it or don't have the strength for it.

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Post by SMMAssociates »

Worry Free:

What Buckshot said....

BUT, avoid the super-lightweights. Even in .38Spl they may be a little much.

Go with the longest barrel she can easily conceal - from a "reality" standpoint, a 2" or 3" barrel really isn't going to be a lot different when up close and personal. However, she'll likely spend some time on the range just punching paper, and the 3" will feel a lot better until she really gets it together.

(If you can scrounge it, find her a nice 4" revolver for the class. Confidence inspiring....)

I can't talk my wife into even coming out to the range. Last time was in 1980!

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Re: WHAT HANDGUN DO YOU SUGGEST?

Post by rouger10 »

Buckshot wrote:
Worry Free,

Get her out to well equipped gun stores and rental ranges and let HER find what she likes.

Also, ask friends and acquaintances what they have that she might try.

If she goes for a revolver, make sure she can handle the double action pull, some women don't like it or don't have the strength for it.

Buckshot
Great suggestion from Buckshot.

I see you live in Cleveland. Take 77 south to rt82 and go to Stonewall Range and Uniform. They have guns to rent. I think they are five bucks a piece to rent. That way she can choose her own (or it can choose her).


Roger

P.S. Don't take ANY advice from the staff at Stonewall !!!!!
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Re: WHAT HANDGUN DO YOU SUGGEST?

Post by Michael »

Worry Free wrote:She has shot my SIG P239 but has trouble with racking the slide due to minor arthritis issues. I suggested a revolver for her.
My wife couldn't rack a slide, either. So I got her a revolver. It was a good choice.
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Worry Free
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THANKS TO ALL FOR HELP!

Post by Worry Free »

These are all great suggestions - especially trying Stonewall as I did not know places like that existed. (Where you can rent first) We'll try that. Thanks to all who responded- this is a great forum for help for a newbie.
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Re: WHAT HANDGUN DO YOU SUGGEST?

Post by TunnelRat »

Worry Free wrote: We both are concerned that lightweight revolvers will not have enough stopping power to be worth it.
"Lightweight revolvers" and "stopping power" are two different issues.

I don't recommend lightweight revolvers either for home defense or self defense. Nor are they much fun on the range. That light weight allows all the punch of recoil to distribute itself liberally into the shooter's hand. The lighter the weight, the harder they are to shoot. Getcherself a nice steel revolver -- blue steel or stainless makes no difference -- but avoid the airweight, titanium, or alloy frames. You want some beef there in the gun to absorb the recoil.

Regarding having enough stopping power, a .357 magnum has been known to discourage an assailant or to stop a fight. Magnum ammo might be a bit hot if there is much arthritis pain, but even a .38 Special can do the job. This is especially so if you keep away from the 2" J-frames models, and go for a 3" or 4" barrel on a standard revolver.

I got my wife a .44 Special revolver. It carries twice the impact of a .38 Special, but it is no harder to shoot. .44's (Special -- not Magnum) are pleasant and fun shooters, and they won't blow her eardrums out like a magnum if she ever has to set it off indoors.
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Post by Glenn »

My wife had the same problem with rackin a slide so we finally settled for a Taurus 32H&R mag 6 shot revolver. Fits well in her hand. She also has arthritis in her hands but no problem. :D
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Post by pleasantguywhopacks »

Ruger is going to offer the SP101 3 1/8 " in the new .327 Magnum. The way Ruger builds them I would say there is pleanty of weight to combat recoil. I'm seroiously thinking about one myself.
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Post by Mustang380gal »

I have a bit of trouble racking Ted's Detonics slide. It's a very stiff spring. I can do it, but it isn't comfortable. My Mustang can be easily racked. Also, on a 1911 style, I carry cocked and locked. It has a slide release mechanism so that if need to change a mag, and the slide is locked out, all I have to do is used the little toggle thing on the slide. (I don't know its proper name, probably slide release?). The slide slams back into place. Both my Mustang and Browning have slides and fit fine into my purse. Mustang is cocked and locked, Browning is DA, and carried hammer down (decocker after loading).

The more she practices pulling the slide, the stronger the muscles will be to pull it easier. It took a while for me to get used to my Browning's slide, but I can do it easy now.

I shoot better with a heavy gun. The recoil is hard for me to control on a lighter gun. For a long time, I wanted to use the Detonics because it gave me the tightest shot grouping. I used it for my CC class. I was going to use the .45 Webley revolver, but a bullet got stuck in the barrel the first shot.

I would find a revolver harder to conceal, because of the width of the rounded middle. It would bulge in my purse, and carrying spare moon clips would be difficult--falling to the bottom of the cavern and all. Carried where it would be easy to get, they would bulge out the side. For me, anyway, it would also be slower to reload. Semi-autos are easy, pop the mag out with your thumb, put in a new mag, and hit slide release. No lining up the bullets to get them to fit in the holes. Even with speed loaders, I am not that fast. And the narrow mag makes it easy to put in my purse's side zipper.

My husband bought my guns without me trying them. He knew what I like/don't like from shooting with him, and for me they turned out to be good choices. Browning has become my primary. It took a while for me to give up the .380, because Browning seemed so much heavier and bigger. But now it is becoming second nature.
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