Question about buying a gun for my wife to use.

[BeoBill]

WHy can't you buy her a gun?

Perfectly legal to buy a GIFT.

What you cannot do, is to buy a gun for her to skirt the law.

Other thing you can do is give her the money and let her buy.

MANY threads on this

Since you mentioned the Utah NR is coming, I assume that (a) you both have a MD CCW, and (b) you're both MD residents, yes?

 

[jeffie7]

Assuming you quoted the wrong person.

No MD CCW. Both live in Maryland but might move to VA soon. Like 2016 soon. Unless my wife's job moves back to MD but that ain't happening. My wife's car is a 2015 we've had it for 1 year. 3 months of that was spent home having a baby. It's about to turn 30k miles.

 

[Pinecone]

She has a hard time racking guns as well can't rack my 1911 or many .45 guns. Hope some of that helps from a woman's perspective

How is she trying to rack them?

If the pull method (grab back of slide with thumb and forefinger and pull to rack), many women have problems with that.

I teach woman the push method. Hold pistol in strong hand, grab slide with all fingers, with the thumb and forefinger to the rear, and push both hands together. I find women that cannot come close to racking the slide using the pull method, have no trouble with the push.

they do have to practice to make sure muzzle stays in a safe direction.

 

[BeoBill]

Assuming you quoted the wrong person.

No MD CCW. Both live in Maryland but might move to VA soon. Like 2016 soon. Unless my wife's job moves back to MD but that ain't happening. My wife's car is a 2015 we've had it for 1 year. 3 months of that was spent home having a baby. It's about to turn 30k miles.

So wait to buy until you're in VA. MD CCW is an expensive horror to try to get, especially if you anticipate moving out of state soon-ish. As OPs mentioned, rent different guns for her to try out. After all, SHE is the one who will be using it. Her choice.

 

[Overboost44]

She does have a hard time racking guns, her hands tend to be on the moist side and it keeps her from gripping the slide, my thoughts are adding some type of tape to my gun.
that also has me rethinking the .380 since not only is the gun less snappy, it should also be easier to rack due to a lighter spring.

NO comment on the first part there!

On the second part, try this Colt Govt .380. Just slightly larger than the Mustang.

 

[Schipperke]

She does have a hard time racking guns, her hands tend to be on the moist side and it keeps her from gripping the slide, my thoughts are adding some type of tape to my gun.
that also has me rethinking the .380 since not only is the gun less snappy, it should also be easier to rack due to a lighter spring.

Get her this, and share your ammo...

 

[jeffie7]

How can I make this any more clear. If I buy a gun that I wouldn't mind having for myself and she doesn't like it then I get to keep it and buy her another one. it's the thought that counts.


As for waiting until we are in VA. I think it's silly not to use a gun at the range and train with it vs waiting until we live somewhere that allows us to carry. Hell, my glock 26 with stealth gear Holster was bought for my carry gun. Still haven't carried it once but that's not stopping me from using it at the range so when I can carry it I'm not new to the gun and holster.

 

[jeffie7]

Get her this, and share your ammo...

Nice looking gun. I like it.

 

[jeffie7]

NO comment on the first part there!

On the second part, try this Colt Govt .380. Just slightly larger than the Mustang.

Someone had to say it

 

[ruarkkustomz]

How is she trying to rack them?

If the pull method (grab back of slide with thumb and forefinger and pull to rack), many women have problems with that.

I teach woman the push method. Hold pistol in strong hand, grab slide with all fingers, with the thumb and forefinger to the rear, and push both hands together. I find women that cannot come close to racking the slide using the pull method, have no trouble with the push.

they do have to practice to make sure muzzle stays in a safe direction.

She has tried all the methods for the most part looks more like she just doesn't have the grip strength to hold the slide. And has a bigger problem when loaded with ammo.

 

[Schipperke]

If I didn't have too many guns, I'd get that 9mm revolver. The moon clips make it easy to reload. If you don't like the moon clip idea, here is one that loads the 9mm without them.

 

[JettaRed]

That's sorta the plan. I've been putting guns into her hands. Her birthday is coming up and while we never exchange gifts it's a good excuse to buy another gun. Lol she's got her hands on a few but not any subcompacts.

She likes my g26 not so much my 229.
I'm thinking about buying a g43 or shield and if she doesn't like them she can use my g26 which I know she likes or God forbids I have to buy another gun.

Knowing her hand size she will really like the feel of both the g43/shield. However the snappy recoil might be a different story. I think in the end the g26 will win.

G42 might be a good option also but it would be nice to keep it in the 9mm family since I'm never short of 9mm ammo.

Have you shot the G43? I did not find it snappy at all like other 9mm. I've not shot a G42, but I'm not a big fan of the .380.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[jeffie7]

Yes I have. I shot a shield, 43 and 26 one after another and found the 26 hands down felt the best. The shield and 43 were not bad but without a doubt had more kick than other 9s. Almost reminded me of shooting my 229 .40. Wasn't bad but it (recoil) was clearly there. A lot of reviewers for single stack 9s talk about getting tired of them after 100 or so rounds.

I'm leaning towards a 43 and if it's too snappy renting a 42 and maybe a revolver for her to try and just pocketing the g43 for myself

 

[Schipperke]

Yes I have. I shot a shield, 43 and 26 one after another and found the 26 hands down felt the best. The shield and 43 were not bad but without a doubt had more kick than other 9s. Almost reminded me of shooting my 229 .40. Wasn't bad but it (recoil) was clearly there. A lot of reviewers for single stack 9s talk about getting tired of them after 100 or so rounds.

I'm leaning towards a 43 and if it's too snappy renting a 42 and maybe a revolver for her to try and just pocketing the g43 for myself

That really rids the entire racking the slide and magazine loading issues.
Just simpler and more dependable all around..

 

[jeffie7]

Today we went to the inlaws, turns out my sister in law was there with her 2 sick kids, once again not giving us any heads up about it (we have a 2yo and 6mo) so we were quick in and quick out. Pisses me off they never EVER say anything about their kids being sick, and guess who's kids always get sick from them? anywho, we left quickly and because of that had time we didn't plan on having which never happens. There's a gun store right up the street from them so I said, hey, lets go to the gun store.

While I was looking at stuff, I asked the guy behind the counter to let my wife hold a 43, 42, shield, and he recommended a bodyguard .380, also asked for a revolver for CCW, my wife was like meh, no thanks. As for the semi autos, she was able to easily rack all of the guns. She didn't care too much for the shield, liked the 43 and 42 as with the bodyguard. She said she only likes the bodyguard because its tiny, but wouldn't know if she really liked it until she shot it.

Anyone have any experience with the bodyguard .380? It is a TINY gun, I'm assuming due to the size regardless of being a .380 it still has some kick. She did say she wants a gun she can shoot for fun, the bodyguard might not be a great planker strictly due to size.

Time to read up and watch a bunch of bodyguard reviews.

 

[redeemed.man]

Today we went to the inlaws, turns out my sister in law was there with her 2 sick kids, once again not giving us any heads up about it (we have a 2yo and 6mo) so we were quick in and quick out. Pisses me off they never EVER say anything about their kids being sick, and guess who's kids always get sick from them? anywho, we left quickly and because of that had time we didn't plan on having which never happens. There's a gun store right up the street from them so I said, hey, lets go to the gun store.

While I was looking at stuff, I asked the guy behind the counter to let my wife hold a 43, 42, shield, and he recommended a bodyguard .380, also asked for a revolver for CCW, my wife was like meh, no thanks. As for the semi autos, she was able to easily rack all of the guns. She didn't care too much for the shield, liked the 43 and 42 as with the bodyguard. She said she only likes the bodyguard because its tiny, but wouldn't know if she really liked it until she shot it.

Anyone have any experience with the bodyguard .380? It is a TINY gun, I'm assuming due to the size regardless of being a .380 it still has some kick. She did say she wants a gun she can shoot for fun, the bodyguard might not be a great planker strictly due to size.

Time to read up and watch a bunch of bodyguard reviews.

.380 ammo is generally more expensive than 9 mm and far less readily available. Not to mention significantly less effective. The 9 mm G43 is barely bigger than the .380 G42 so why even consider the .380?

Just my opinion.

The bodyguard while easy to conceal will not be easy to shoot.

 

[Blaster229]

The Ruger LCR is an awesome carry pistol, lightweight and easy to use.
Everyone who recommended a single action to a new shooter is probably better off making suggestions on anything else but guns and shooting.

 

[protegeV]

The Ruger LCR is an awesome carry pistol, lightweight and easy to use.
Everyone who recommended a single action to a new shooter is probably better off making suggestions on anything else but guns and shooting.

oh mighty blaster, we cower in your presence and bow to your infinite wisdom.


J/K
In all seriousness, you're right

 

[Allium]

Best advise came from a shop on Kent island. I had taken her out a couple times firing my guns. We were out for a drive so we stopped into the shop. As I started going over teh various handguns they gentleman behind teh counter kicked me out! He was right to as each selection was tainted my if it were mine. A while later she came out with an idea of what felt good for her - she chose it not me. So find a shop you trust and turn her over to teh "experts" Oh and she chose an FNP 9

 

[jeffie7]

.380 ammo is generally more expensive than 9 mm and far less readily available. Not to mention significantly less effective. The 9 mm G43 is barely bigger than the .380 G42 so why even consider the .380?

Just my opinion.

The bodyguard while easy to conceal will not be easy to shoot.

Glock 42 has a lot of praise for very little recoil and being fun to shoot. Glock 43 has a lot of snappy reviews but I do agree 9mm is a much better round. I have zero .380 rounds but have more 9mm than I can remember.

Only reason I'd consider the 42 is for a better easier shooter based on reviews.