My wife wants her own handgun, suggestions?

[Six Forty-Two]

There have been a lot of good opinions here...so why not one more.

Take her to a range where she can fire a few. Do your research on the five pistols most commonly fired by lady shooters (NOT a revolver) and rent those for starters. Lady shooters will likely have a "top three" list of some sort. Think of how many shoes or purses she has and that may be an indication of how her firearm purchasing will go. I have one I carry, one I wish I could carry, one that is too small to comfortably shoot and I only carry it in a pinch, one that I use for training, and then there's my wish list... Whatever you do, enjoy the journey.

Just curious as to why you recommend finding the five most common, but don't consider a revolver. Using your shoe analogy, that is like saying find the five most commonly worn shoes by ladies and try those on for size. But you can't try on anything with laces.

Revolvers aren't for everyone, but ruling them out from the get go limits possibly finding a new shooter's preferred platform. Why not try a revolver if the new shooter is interested?

 

[VERT]

I always keep a snub nosed revolver handy for people to try. Once that is out of their system we can move on to finding them a gun that works a bit better.

Truth be told I am a revolver fan. Love my little J frame and I have not jumped on the compact single stack 9mm bandwagon yet. But that is my choice. Modern day revolvers occupy 2 roles: small snubs or large hunting guns. Unfortunately the pool of good quality, affordable medium sized 4" revolvers are drying up. Some companies still make some nice 3" or 4" revolvers but not every gun store has them lining the cases. In contrast there are plenty of Glocks, M&Ps, XDs............ So it is not that revolvers are bad, it is that lightweight 2" barreled guns have become synonymous with "revolver" among new gun buyers.

Incidently the the same is true for "380s". The .380 cartridge is now associated with little pocket autos. Hence I generally advice against .380 even though I really have no beef with the cartridge. What I have a dislike for is small guns that are very light and built to meet a price point in the market.

For the record and I will say this with confidence. Small revolvers and little pocket autos are hard to shoot. They are experts guns and intended to be used for very specific purposes. That purpose is when something small is needed. There are unfortunately a lot of poor quality products in this market. These products are attractive for first time handgun buyers and are a poor starting point. Look for a good quality medium sized handgun to learn to shoot, then add the special purpose guns later.

 

[Strug]

My wife doesn't want a gun, but I want to get her one for protection and to go to the range with me. I was leaning towards one with a "Tiffany" blue color scheme either buy it that way or have it duracoated. Then I found this...
Taurus 85 Polymer White Pink 38 Special | High Velocity Firearms

Does a .38 special, non +p have that much recoil?

 

[actaeon277]

My wife doesn't want a gun, but I want to get her one for protection and to go to the range with me. I was leaning towards one with a "Tiffany" blue color scheme either buy it that way or have it duracoated. Then I found this...
Taurus 85 Polymer White Pink 38 Special | High Velocity Firearms

Does a .38 special, non +p have that much recoil?

Not much, but it depends on how sensitive she is, and the gun. I've never shot that gun.
Bigger guns have less recoil (for the same bullet)

 

[VERT]

My wife doesn't want a gun, but I want to get her one for protection and to go to the range with me. I was leaning towards one with a "Tiffany" blue color scheme either buy it that way or have it duracoated. Then I found this...
Taurus 85 Polymer White Pink 38 Special | High Velocity Firearms

Does a .38 special, non +p have that much recoil?

i have not shot a polymer Taurus. But the Taurus UltraLite snubs I have shot recoiled like any other lightweight snub. That is to say not unmanageable but not pleasant.

If if she likes blue try this: Kimber America | Sapphire Pro II | New for 2015

Mrs. VERT fell in love with the color. At the time they only offered this in a 3" model. 3" 9mm 1911 did not seem like the thing to buy even if it was a pretty color.

 

[Six Forty-Two]

One thing I noticed when I saw a used white polymer Taurus is that they get dirty easily. It looked stained.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

One thing I would add to 'have her try a bunch' is to do it in an indoor range. the lighting tends to be dim, which will likely match home use in an SD setting.

My wife and I went round and round for her carry gun... concealability was important to her, and unfortunately meant small frame, lots of recoil. It's been a struggle with lots of range time and some SD training.
At least in your case (for home defense), you won't have the small frame/big recoil for concealing to worry about.

 

[wtburnette]

Just got back from renting a G42 and Sig P238 for my girlfriend's daughter. We'll be buying a P238.

 

[TubThumper]

Just got back from renting a G42 and Sig P238 for my girlfriend's daughter. We'll be buying a P238.

P238 for women would be a good choice (and possibly bad) for a few reasons:

PROS
.380 light recoil
Very compact design
Probably the lightest slide rack of most subcompacts

CONS
Manual safety that MUST be used
Cocked and locked isn't for everyone
Expensive (to buy and shoot)

 

[VERT]

The P238s I have handled have been straight shooters. Good choice. The little Sigs are pricey but seem to work. Plus they have usable sights. Worth the money in my opinion.

 

[Drail]

I used to teach women's self defense classes for the NRA. A woman needs to shoot a lot of different guns and then decide for herself. Even if you believe (as I do) that a revolver is the best thing for her - if she hates it then she's not going to shoot or carry one. I watched husbands pick the wrong gun for their wives for years and it's a bad idea. I also recommend snub revolvers for the ladies but some of them just can't make it work for them. It doesn't matter. If she will make an effort to carry it and learn to hit with - it doesn't matter which type of gun she carries.

 

[TubThumper]

The P238s I have handled have been straight shooters. Good choice. The little Sigs are pricey but seem to work. Plus they have usable sights. Worth the money in my opinion.

Forgot that as one of the PROS - Real sights that are usable and night sights for most models to boot!

 

[wtburnette]

Yeah, I know the P238 is expensive, but the other pros take precedence. I think it will make a good choice for her. Luckily my gf is happy with her G19

 

[Bfish]

I'll throw my hat in the ring on the 238 also... For a gun of that size, it really is just fantastic, and while they are a little bit of money you most certainly get everything you pay for I think.

 

[ModernGunner]

It appears that many, many, many folks, when recommending a semi-auto over a revolver to a beginning shooter, fail or neglect one mandatory aspect of learning to shoot a semi-auto.

Malfunction drills.

It can be determined from the advice given that many people, likely even some 'experienced' people, have no knowledge of how a gun functions (or fails to do so) in an actual combat scenario. Unfortunately, this unfamiliarity could be a 'fatal flaw' (god forbid) if that semi-auto handgun was actually ever needed to be engaged.

Malfunction drills, and knowing them 'in your sleep' is absolutely necessary and essential if one intends to carry a semi-auto as an EDC. Oh sure, the sardonic curmudgeon may opine, "What's the chances that you'll need to even use your handgun?" While that MAY very well be true (perhaps), not sure it's something one wants to bet their life on.

What happens IF one actually needs to employ a semi-auto in a real-life defensive scenario, and it doesn't go 'bang' when the trigger is pulled (a 'dud' round, perhaps)? Will the response, the malfunction drill(s), be 'automatic'? 'Cause that sure is NOT the time to learn 'em.

A revolver has a very distinct advantage over the semi-auto in such a case. Simply pull the trigger again (or again), and with each pull, a new, fresh round is loaded under the hammer. Not so with any semi-auto.

Agree that, generally speaking, due to the (usually) lighter trigger pull, the grip / bore axis relationship, etc. a semi-auto is (likely) easier to shoot and make hits on target than a revolver. But, learning and ingraining the malfunction drills is an extremely important part of learning to shoot a semi-auto.

A 4" .38 Spl (or .357, a better option IMO, because of the wider range of ammunition that can be used) revolver has a 'flatter learning curve' has a fairly easy 'manual of arms', and is fairly 'pleasant' to shoot. And, again generally speaking, the probability is high that the average person knows how a DA / SA or DAO revolver works, almost 'inherently'.

Buy whatever handgun one prefers, of course. Today the choices are mind-numbingly vast, and certainly semi-autos dominate the choices nowadays.

But when making that choice (whatever it is), just remember that there's more to learning to shoot a semi-auto well than grip, sight alignment, trigger press, and reloading. A LOT more, and that 'more' isn't an 'option'.

Just some added thoughts.

 

[Drail]

Excellent post Modern Gunner.

 

[VERT]

I disagree about revolvers and malfunction drills. I have had as many malfunctions with a revolver as I have had with quality semiautomatics. There are a Lot of things that will cause a revolver to hang up. Most of those are not easy fixes. Revolvers are actually relatively fragile with a lot of moving parts. Yes dead primers is a reality and with a revolver all one has to do is press the trigger again, but a high primer or improperly crimped bullet moving forward under recoil will turn a revolver into hammer in a hurry.

 

[Bosshoss]

I disagree about revolvers and malfunction drills. I have had as many malfunctions with a revolver as I have had with quality semiautomatics.

I guess that depends on your definition of a malfunction. I try not to blame the tool for improper ammo or operator error.
The high primer and improper crimp you stated below is a ammo problem and not a revolver problem. High primers and improper crimp can also cause problems in a autoloader.
You have mentioned short stroking the trigger as a revolver problem. That is a operator problem not a revolver problem.
I don't blame a autoloader when someone weak wrists it and it causes a malfunction. I don't know how many times I have heard someone say I don't want a handgun with a manual safety because they have seen so many people forget to disengage it and can't fire the gun. This is a operator problem not a manual safety problem. They need to practice.
A revolver can malfunction but most of the problems are ammo or operator problems.



There are a Lot of things that will cause a revolver to hang up.

Not near as many things as a autoloader.



Most of those are not easy fixes. Revolvers are actually relatively fragile with a lot of moving parts.


I disagree as I BEAT on my revolvers every week and weekend and in no way would I say a quality revolver is fragile.
When I say I beat on them I have a 625 that has in the neighborhood of 1.5 million dryfires on it and 30,000 major live rounds through it. When I reload (dryfire or livefire) I hit the ejector HARD and slam the cylinder closed. When I dryfire I run the gun fast. The cylinder rotates and stops fast every trigger pull.
I'm actually amazed at the durability of these revolvers doing what I do with them.



Yes dead primers is a reality and with a revolver all one has to do is press the trigger again, but a high primer or improperly crimped bullet moving forward under recoil will turn a revolver into hammer in a hurry.

I build revolvers for competition and carry and if you use good ammo and keep the screws tight and practice some a revolver will function when you need it.
A good quality auto will do this also but I have said for years if you put a working revolver with good ammo in your holster it will work when you take it out of the holster. I have seen many times when a working auto with good ammo came out of a holster and failed.

FWIW as to lady or smaller shooters having trouble with the trigger on a revolver. If they are not strong enough to pull a revolver trigger they will also have problems retracting the slide on a autoloader. Practice can help with both of these but it takes time to build the muscles for both.

 

[VERT]

A revolver can malfunction but most of the problems are ammo or operator problems.


The same thing can be said for any quality handgun. Most firearms problems can be traced back to ammunition, operator or just lack of maintenance.

 

[bulldogs42]

9mm or 38 special due to recoil. Revolver would reduce concerns of it malfunctioning. Just have to try some different ones until she finds what she's comfortable with.