a recommendation please

[OurDee]

Suggestion for her from me would be a Sig P-238 in .380 and a Sig P-938 in 9mm. The .380 shoots soft. the 9mm is a little snappy, but not magnum snappy. My wife carries a P-938 most often, but depending on situations can be found with a .22 or a .357 MAG.

 

[Trapper Jim]

Methinks out of curiosity, my wife recently accompanied me to a Basic Handgun/Victim Avoidance Class taught by NRA Certified Instructors. When the classroom portion was over, we walked down to the range. It's the first time she'd ever fired any type of weapon, and for someone who battles PTSD daily, this was a watershed moment. When she fired that pistol, she looked her fear in the eye & won. Our instructor started her with a Browning Buck Mark, then moved into a Ruger Mark IV. Before the session was over, she was shooting some impressive groupings and hitting steel. The smile on her face was something I won't soon forget, and I can't tell you how proud I was of her, and she of herself!

Can anyone give recommendations to her for an EDC? The Browning was great, but a little long-in-the-barrel for EDC; likewise the Ruger. I have limited knowledge of this caliber, and she is, for now, more comfortable with a .22 LR for recoil and accuracy.

Congrats on getting some instruction and getting your wife involved as well. Your question on suggesting a gun for your wife is difficult to answer with such limited information. First you might ask to see if your instructor offers free or reduced rate follow up visits and or has many other guns and ammo that you and her can try out at the range. This is a very popular option for my students as it not only monitors the improvement of the student but saves them money as well. I realize that not many instructors offer this but it does not hurt to ask. This feature is more training than instruction. Second, I always encourage Americans to shop, buy and support American made products by American corporations. In my opinion, it has just been too easy and a cop out for many to just play in a world market. It has taken it's toll on us good and bad. Every little bit helps us here at home. Coming in third, It is a tough time to get into this market but this too shall pass so be ready when you can get the stuff.. I have lived through four of these market failures and knew enough to not get caught without ammo and goods. Gun is useless without ammo. On a funny note, it surprises me that for some of the gun owners that work so hard on prep material on street shooting, that they forgot to store up some ammo or components for the dry spell. Unfortunately, one can not get better at shooting by reading about it. Finally, if your instructor does not offer revisits, do not give up on the commitment and hard work it will take for you and your wife to have a lot of fun and continue with improving your skill sets. Set a baseline and go up from there.

Please reach out to me by PM if you need any advice or would like to try several different guns and ammo.

Thank you and good luck to you.

 

[Jaybird1980]

I would suggest taking her somewhere to try out different pistols. Revolvers, semi. Compact and smaller sizes. They all handle different than a Buckmark or Mark IV. If she absolutely likes that style I say S&W 422 Compact may be the easiest for carry. For revolver maybe a Ruger LCR .22 or S&W 43c (they will both have heavier trigger vs the center fire version). For real small semi I say Beretta bobcat, LCP II. For compact there is a lot of choices, Bersa thunder, S&W M&P .22, Walther ppk or p22 (my wife's favorite), Ruger sr22 etc. You should probably atleast let her try out some .32acp like the Beretta tomcat also, better round and still really low recoil. What she picks isn't that important, her getting comfortable and proficient with it is what matters.

 

[bwframe]

I really wrestled with a choice of 22’s. I loved the idea of the G44 as I am a Glock fanboy. But I came To realize that the G44 did not meet the reason for me considering 22. I was looking for a summer, lightweight carry in my shorts/sweats. A mouse was the only gun that met what was my needs. The Ruger LCP II 22LR checked all the boxes.

T-shirt and shorts all summer here. G19 and mags all the time.

No way I would ever trust a 22LR with the lives of my loved ones or my own. You could put perfect shots on an attacker and they could still kill you as they expire.

 

[Jaybird1980]

T-shirt and shorts all summer here. G19 and mags all the time.

No way I would ever trust a 22LR with the lives of my loved ones or my own. You could put perfect shots on an attacker and they could still kill you as they expire.

I do agree with you, but the .22 in hand is better than a whistle. The OP stated she was an older lady, I don't know her age or physical ability. But if she gets comfortable shooting a .22 she may be interested in upgrading calibers at some point. If she gets turned off from shooting because she tried to start with a bigger caliber she may give up all together.

 

[bwframe]

I do agree with you, but the .22 in hand is better than a whistle. The OP stated she was an older lady, I don't know her age or physical ability. But if she gets comfortable shooting a .22 she may be interested in upgrading calibers at some point. If she gets turned off from shooting because she tried to start with a bigger caliber she may give up all together.

Exactly why I suggested the G44, a gun designed specifically for training needs.

Too often we justify the otherwise wonderful 22LR round as adequate for self-defense. It is not, for many reasons. Reliability and under powered for the task being at the top of the list.

The "better than..." crutch leaves a lot of folks ill-informed that their no recoil tiny gun will save them in an attack. It also often leads them down paths to unsafe gun handling and carry.

Effective handheld light and pepper spray training would be a better option than allowing a new shooter to settle on a 22LR as their self-defense round.

Training with 22LR is certainly good, but it needs to be understood that ultimately there will have to be a graduation to a real self-defense caliber for that task.

 

[1nderbeard]

+1 for the smith and wesson M&P compact.

 

[warren5421]

I am 75 and carried a 1911 Model for 60+ years. I now carry a .32 ACP 1903 as my hands hurt to much to shoot anything bigger. You will hear a lot bad mouthing the .32 but none will step up and take a round from one. If you don't reload you can get a very good solid round from Buffalo Bore or I think Elwood. Several ladies from 30's to their 80's have liked and carry the .32 ACP that I have introduced to shooting. There was a good supply of used .32 ACP pistols from Europe. A friend that was in the ME department in NY City tole me that the .32 round does damage way beyond its power should. If using the 32 I teach 2-3 to the head or pelvic area to stop someone. If you hit the pelvic the person will fall down. They may bleed out if you also got a major blood vessel. Until around 2000 most cops in Europe carried the .32.

If she can't rack a slide on any thing other than a .22 you can get a tip-up barreled gun in .32

 

[hoosierfishing]

Exactly why I suggested the G44, a gun designed specifically for training needs.

Too often we justify the otherwise wonderful 22LR round as adequate for self-defense. It is not, for many reasons. Reliability and under powered for the task being at the top of the list.

The "better than..." crutch leaves a lot of folks ill-informed that their no recoil tiny gun will save them in an attack. It also often leads them down paths to unsafe gun handling and carry.

Effective handheld light and pepper spray training would be a better option than allowing a new shooter to settle on a 22LR as their self-defense round.

Training with 22LR is certainly good, but it needs to be understood that ultimately there will have to be a graduation to a real self-defense caliber for that task.

I understand where you are coming from, but advising that pepper spray would be better then a 22lr is a real hard sell for me. While I understand the limitations, the round is more then capable of defensive use. I’ve done enough informal testing to have enough confidence in the round. Would I serve felony warrants or storm the beaches of Normandy with one? No! Do I think its a decent option for a safety conscious person going about town, when they would otherwise not carry? Absolutely!! I’ll be carrying a LCP 22 soon. Not because I think it’s the best carry gun, but because I hate carrying guns and I’d imagine the little 22 would be fun to shoot. Just my opinion of course.

 

[Mgderf]

See if you can find a Bersa Thunder for her to try shooting.
The .380 models are soft shooters but accurate.

 

[Jaybird1980]

Exactly why I suggested the G44, a gun designed specifically for training needs.

Too often we justify the otherwise wonderful 22LR round as adequate for self-defense. It is not, for many reasons. Reliability and under powered for the task being at the top of the list.

The "better than..." crutch leaves a lot of folks ill-informed that their no recoil tiny gun will save them in an attack. It also often leads them down paths to unsafe gun handling and carry.

Effective handheld light and pepper spray training would be a better option than allowing a new shooter to settle on a 22LR as their self-defense round.

Training with 22LR is certainly good, but it needs to be understood that ultimately there will have to be a graduation to a real self-defense caliber for that task.

I didn't pay attention that you suggested the 44 and then upgrade to 19. This is a solid plan if she has the ability. I just think at some point age or physical condition becomes an issue for some, and that a .22 and pepper spray is a better idea than pepper spray only. I don't think a new shooter should just jump into carrying. They need to get proficient and comfortable with the firearm, and if they can only manage that with a .22 I am not going to discourage them

 

[Trapper Jim]

I didn't pay attention that you suggested the 44 and then upgrade to 19. This is a solid plan if she has the ability. I just think at some point age or physical condition becomes an issue for some, and that a .22 and pepper spray is a better idea than pepper spray only. I don't think a new shooter should just jump into carrying. They need to get proficient and comfortable with the firearm, and if they can only manage that with a .22 I am not going to discourage them

You should be aware that with proper training 6 year old ballerinas can rack most any slide on the market.

 

[Jaybird1980]

You should be aware that with proper training 6 year old ballerinas can rack most any slide on the market.

Well I am aware. Being able to rack a slide doesn't make one proficient or comfortable enough with a gun to start carrying. That is a very small part of the equation. IMHO.

I am not sure why that is directed to me, unless you didn't fully read what I posted.

 

[Trapper Jim]

Well I am aware. Being able to rack a slide doesn't make one proficient or comfortable enough with a gun to start carrying. That is a very small part of the equation. IMHO.

I am not sure why that is directed to me, unless you didn't fully read what I posted.

 

[Trapper Jim]

Sorry. I meant it for Warren post 28.

If she can't rack a slide on any thing other than a .22 you can get a tip-up barreled gun in .32

 

[bwframe]

You should be aware that with proper training 6 year old ballerinas can rack most any slide on the market.

 

[Drotis]

If you're really interested in 22, I'll throw out the Beretta 21a Bobcat. One bonus here is that you don't have to be strong enough to rack the slide. With the tip up barrel, you can drop a round in the barrel, then it's just engaging the hammer and pulling the trigger. Not too sure about 22 LR for self defense, but it's better than a rock. Oh, and it's fun to shoot at the range too.

 

[Jeepster48439]

I'm surprised that no one suggested the Ruger SR-22. Nice compact gun. Easy shooter. My wife likes it better than my GSG-1911/22.

I would also second the 'baby' Barretta like Drotis suggested. You can also find them in .25acp and .32acp.

 

[G192127]

Excerpt from coroner's report...
.22 cal projectile entered trachea, lodged in lower brainstem.(sic)
That .22killed with 1 shot.
Not ideal, but darned effective!

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]