LibertyGun
Member
Went shooting with my gal for the first time this weekend. She never shot before and has a never fired '95 Walther P22 someone gave her a long time ago. It's Md., she'll never CCW but has some interest in home defense.
She was ok with the P22 (although everything except CCI mini-mag jammed about 1x per 10). She was very accurate with my Ruger Mark III, loved it and ran many rounds through that. She tried my Taurus M66. It was a bit snappy for her but she grouped well for a beginner with the American Eagle 38 plinkers. She could not operate the slide at all on my Ruger SR9c. She's in good shape, exercises daily but at 115 lbs, just isn't strong. I know some people might be a similar weight and can operate a slide, but she's not one of them. She wants to go back again but I can tell she doesn't like dealing with the slide, even on the P22, and probably will never practice enough that a semi-auto would be a good home defense option for her.
It got me thinking there are a lot of people like her, not comfortable with a slide, won't learn "tap rack and roll" well enough for distress situations, don't want to load magazines. They may practice, but not regularly. They want simplicity - no safeties, no mags, no slides, and little recoil. To me the product for that market is a revolver in 22 or possibly 38 with low recoil loads. And manufacturers deliver a lot of 22 and 38 CCW models to that and other market segments. But I'm surprised manufacturers have not attempted a home defense revolver in something light like 38 spl.
For "home defense" I mean has rails for light and optics, has just enough heft and size to be easy to shoot, is optimized for short distance (whatever size and cost trade-offs that might buy), and has the highest capacity possible. One possibility is a med-large but very light 38 spl built on an alloy or poly frame and a large cylinder that maybe pushes the envelop to 9 rounds. This market would not want 357, so maybe another round (or two?) could fit.
I know about S&W TRR8 and R8 (in fact I love them and want to get one) but I'm thinking something that doesn't start at $1200 and having more manufacturers to choose from. And those two models are both built for 357, I'm talking 38+P tops.
Doesn't it seem like an untapped market?
She was ok with the P22 (although everything except CCI mini-mag jammed about 1x per 10). She was very accurate with my Ruger Mark III, loved it and ran many rounds through that. She tried my Taurus M66. It was a bit snappy for her but she grouped well for a beginner with the American Eagle 38 plinkers. She could not operate the slide at all on my Ruger SR9c. She's in good shape, exercises daily but at 115 lbs, just isn't strong. I know some people might be a similar weight and can operate a slide, but she's not one of them. She wants to go back again but I can tell she doesn't like dealing with the slide, even on the P22, and probably will never practice enough that a semi-auto would be a good home defense option for her.
It got me thinking there are a lot of people like her, not comfortable with a slide, won't learn "tap rack and roll" well enough for distress situations, don't want to load magazines. They may practice, but not regularly. They want simplicity - no safeties, no mags, no slides, and little recoil. To me the product for that market is a revolver in 22 or possibly 38 with low recoil loads. And manufacturers deliver a lot of 22 and 38 CCW models to that and other market segments. But I'm surprised manufacturers have not attempted a home defense revolver in something light like 38 spl.
For "home defense" I mean has rails for light and optics, has just enough heft and size to be easy to shoot, is optimized for short distance (whatever size and cost trade-offs that might buy), and has the highest capacity possible. One possibility is a med-large but very light 38 spl built on an alloy or poly frame and a large cylinder that maybe pushes the envelop to 9 rounds. This market would not want 357, so maybe another round (or two?) could fit.
I know about S&W TRR8 and R8 (in fact I love them and want to get one) but I'm thinking something that doesn't start at $1200 and having more manufacturers to choose from. And those two models are both built for 357, I'm talking 38+P tops.
Doesn't it seem like an untapped market?