CCW handgun for the (soon-to-be) wife
- Thread starter HordesOfKailas
- Start date
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Best way to go is to the range and let her rent as many handguns as she wishes to see what works best for her. Who knows she may want a different handgun to go with each pair of shoes. I'm like that, but way behind on the shoes
This.
And don't completely dismiss the LCR in 22LR.
+ Training.
Rackability?
If no...
Squeeze cocker.
That there's my new wife advice.
P7 approved.
If no...
Squeeze cocker.
That there's my new wife advice.
P7 approved.
rob
DINO Extraordinaire
I just wanted to throw in... congratulations on the upcoming nuptials!
MikeTF
Ultimate Member
The SIG P238 (.380) and P938 (9mm) have slides that are easy to rack. Older, arthritic women can rack them when they can't rack the slides on Ruger LCPs, Glocks, and other pistols.
I hope you realize that PG county is gang territory. From end to end. Claimed by MS-13. Gang territory is a very real thing. Gangs do not operate outside their territory. Inside their territory, they feel very safe and bold. I have moved twice after discovering that I was in gang territory. Do yourself a favor and move away from gang territory. A carry permit isn't going to save you from gangs. If you face one, there's usually only one leader. Just shoot at the person who is talking or moving. The rest of them are just for show, and will scatter like the cockroaches they are.
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My wife likes my (formerly my
) S&W 637 so it became her carry gun where legal. She shoots my XDS 45 pretty well too but the 637 is definitely a keeper for her. The XDS is set aside for her too in case she decides to have both.She doesn't like any of my Glocks worth a darn so they're out.
- Feb 4, 2013
- 28,175
Best way to go is to the range and let her rent as many handguns as she wishes to see what works best for her. Who knows she may want a different handgun to go with each pair of shoes. I'm like that, but way behind on the shoes
This ^^^^^^^^^^^
You would not want her to pick your carry gun, so why would you pick hers?
Inability to rack the slide can be a technique thing. The cross hand and push can be done by most women on most handguns.
BTW .380s tend to be hard to rack than 9mm, as many of them are straight blowback, versus a locked breech, so need a stronger spring.
HordesOfKailas
Still learning
I'm only picking it because she asked me to. At minimum, I'll give her a chance to play with them in the store.
Interesting point at the end. Had not considered that. If she can rack the slide on something like a Ruger LC9s and likes the feel, I'll probably get something like that.
Cmon Rob.Squeeze cocker? Is that a 40s&w thing?
Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk
P7
As in HK P7
marylandmark
Ultimate Member
- Mar 4, 2013
- 1,432
Actually went from LC9s Pro with Talon grips and TruGlo TFX Pro sights with 9+1 round factory mag back to a LC9, no s and no Pro, with same grip, sights and mag. It's just the gun for me. CCW on a TechnaClip or open carry on a thumb break Galico with proper SB3 dress belt. Sold my 10 other CCW guns (sans LCP, kept that one) since they just collected dust.
Eta: proud to say it's been a little over 3 years of daily CCW and I can do my rig all day every day in full comfort.
Eta: proud to say it's been a little over 3 years of daily CCW and I can do my rig all day every day in full comfort.
HordesOfKailas
Still learning
Why did you go back to the hammer fired version? It seems unanimous that the trigger on the S is better.
MikeTF is spot on.
Ease of slide racking is a big factor for a lot of women when choosing. When I took my wife to to a lgs, the first thing she wanted to do was try racking the slides, because she had issues with a few of my pistols.
My wife kept coming back to the sig p238 and p938, and I agreed with her that those 2 models won out for the ease of slide racking over all models in the shop, and we tried them all.
If this is a major factor for her have her check these 2 for sure.
marylandmark
Ultimate Member
- Mar 4, 2013
- 1,432
I'm guessing it's just because that's what l learned on but agree it's against the grain thinking. Maybe it's the safety of the non Pro model, confident in my personal ability more maybe? I think part of it is visual, I can see how much trigger I have until the break based on the hammer (fingernail polished the hammer white for contrast and know this is not a "safety").
Just my opinion but triggers are for targets, matters close to zero on point and shoot which is what I envision most self defense situations would be.
Random info but a few weeks ago the garage door spring ripped off the wall making one hell of a noise in the dead of the night. I was armed within a very short period of time and honestly kind of shocked myself how ready and alert I was. Knowing where the wife was and what she was going to do (she was going to and did go up the steps to our 4 year old so yanked her to my left when we came out of the bedroom so not in my line of fire of the front door, thought screen door was being ripped off the hinges initially) to clearing house first time and second time before locking the house to garage door behind me so they were safe when I went to open the garage door to see what was going on out there to even processing that car alarm wasn't going off so doubt it was the car, etc. Super hyper alert and super hyper alert yet every move and thought was on purpose, with intent.
This was kind of the defining moment for me since both of them were within arms reach and I went for the 9 instead of the 9s.
I keep my CCW in a small safe on a shelf in my closet, only thing in that safe, tap light above it to be able to see combo pad and was armed in maybe 10 seconds. Exterior lights on my house allowed me to see shadows (or lack of in this case) to see what was going on and so on. Nice to know my home defense plan came together and found a few small ways to improve it. Scared the fark out of me and took hours to come down off the rush but made it crystal clear to me which gun was right for me.
HordesOfKailas
Still learning
Update: Went by Bass Pro today to see a few of the guns. Looked at a Bodyguard 380 and LCP II. Both were too small to get a full grip and the sights on the LCP weren't great. But she could rack the slide on the LC9s with no problem and generally liked the gun. I think we have a decision. Now she just needs to decide if she wants the manual safety + mag safety version or not. Thanks for the help people!
Benjamin
Member
Glock 42 or 43
S&W Shield
I'm personally not a fan of manual safeties. Most people tend to ignore them when practicing at the range, and then in a stressful environment forget to take it off when drawing the gun. Also not a fan of having an additional part that could break and prevent my gun from firing.
As was said before, it is probably best to find one that she enjoys shooting the most. That does not mean the one that feels the best to hold in her hand at the gun counter. I can sit in a Ferrari and tell you it feels pretty good, but I have no idea how to properly drive that car. If she ends up hating the recoil of the gun she's not going to want to practice with it, which is bad for obvious reasons.
As for having trouble racking the firearm, there are several techniques if she is having trouble. Most of us are right handed, so we grip the gun in our right hand and pull the slide back with our left. This requires a bit more strength because our non-dominant hand is doing most of the work. Have her switch hands, grip pistol grip with her non dominant and use the dominant hand to grip the slide. Then instead of trying to pull the slide back, have her merely try to hold it in place with her dominant hand while her weaker hand pushes the grip forward.
Another method is bringing the gun closer in to the body. Holding the gun parallel with your body and holding it in close allows you to bring your pectoral muscles into play. The more muscle you can utilize in the movement, the easier it will be for her.
S&W Shield
I'm personally not a fan of manual safeties. Most people tend to ignore them when practicing at the range, and then in a stressful environment forget to take it off when drawing the gun. Also not a fan of having an additional part that could break and prevent my gun from firing.
As was said before, it is probably best to find one that she enjoys shooting the most. That does not mean the one that feels the best to hold in her hand at the gun counter. I can sit in a Ferrari and tell you it feels pretty good, but I have no idea how to properly drive that car. If she ends up hating the recoil of the gun she's not going to want to practice with it, which is bad for obvious reasons.
As for having trouble racking the firearm, there are several techniques if she is having trouble. Most of us are right handed, so we grip the gun in our right hand and pull the slide back with our left. This requires a bit more strength because our non-dominant hand is doing most of the work. Have her switch hands, grip pistol grip with her non dominant and use the dominant hand to grip the slide. Then instead of trying to pull the slide back, have her merely try to hold it in place with her dominant hand while her weaker hand pushes the grip forward.
Another method is bringing the gun closer in to the body. Holding the gun parallel with your body and holding it in close allows you to bring your pectoral muscles into play. The more muscle you can utilize in the movement, the easier it will be for her.
HordesOfKailas
Still learning
Nor am I. As many say, the only real safety is between your ears.
As far as racking goes, she's pretty much fine except for my CZ P01. Certainly no problem on a Ruger, Glock, S&W, or similar generic carry gun. Plus we'll probably put some grip tape on there. Either strips or something from Arachnigrip.
https://www.arachnigrip.com/store/Slide-Spider-Ruger-LC9-p61903252
Her real issue is finger strength, not arm strength. But even so, she was fine with all of the semi autos she tried.
And like I said, I'm not too worried about recoil. She'd happily shoot my Mosin all day if I let her. From what I've seen with her at the range, 9mm isn't going to be a problem. And hey, worst case I get some reduced recoil rounds.
I would steer a lady toward an LC9s, or LCR in .357 or .38. The thinking on .357 is to add weight to reduce recoil, with .38 ammo. NOT to shoot .357.
The LCR .38 is just light as light goes. Ridiculously light, and easy to carry and forget. I own the LCRx (do not get the x version). The non-x version gives you choices of different grips: boot grip, hogue G10, etc. The x version has few grip options.
I think an LCR trigger would be far more appealing for most ladies, than, say, a smith .38.
A warning about .22 revolvers -- they have heavy triggers!
The LC9s is also nice, but it is about as big as I would go for an actual carry gun that MOST women would bother to take often. That is really the fight.... coming up with something comfortable enough that they don't leave it home! In all seriousness, keep it .380, or above, and find something they will comfortably carry OFTEN!
Yoy can load the LCR with pink Hornady reduced recoil loads, although I would choose target wadcutters over those, for the penetration, and they are reduced recoil, anyway. Good for her arthritis.
The LCR .38 is just light as light goes. Ridiculously light, and easy to carry and forget. I own the LCRx (do not get the x version). The non-x version gives you choices of different grips: boot grip, hogue G10, etc. The x version has few grip options.
I think an LCR trigger would be far more appealing for most ladies, than, say, a smith .38.
A warning about .22 revolvers -- they have heavy triggers!
The LC9s is also nice, but it is about as big as I would go for an actual carry gun that MOST women would bother to take often. That is really the fight.... coming up with something comfortable enough that they don't leave it home! In all seriousness, keep it .380, or above, and find something they will comfortably carry OFTEN!
Yoy can load the LCR with pink Hornady reduced recoil loads, although I would choose target wadcutters over those, for the penetration, and they are reduced recoil, anyway. Good for her arthritis.
jaybee
Ultimate Member
as a general rule
a semi will kick less than a wheel - due to design
as a test shoot a pump 12 gauge then a semi 12 gauge - world of difference
semi are thinner than wheel guns - good for carrying
The revolver saves energy by not operating a slide but also loses energy when gas escapes through the cylinder gap
reliability is no longer a factor - people that use guns for a living use semi's
------- bottom line - let her pick what she likes, she can get something different later
a semi will kick less than a wheel - due to design
as a test shoot a pump 12 gauge then a semi 12 gauge - world of difference
semi are thinner than wheel guns - good for carrying
The revolver saves energy by not operating a slide but also loses energy when gas escapes through the cylinder gap
reliability is no longer a factor - people that use guns for a living use semi's
------- bottom line - let her pick what she likes, she can get something different later
