Posted on 07/17/2020 10:26:23 AM PDT by w1n1
“women generally have a tendency to leave purses unattended or even leave them behind. They don’t carry their purses with them literally everywhere they go”
I don’t know any of those women.
Anyone that puts a bunch of stuff in their pocket with a loaded gun deserve the Darwin Award. Why not hang them on your holstered gun for safety.
Maybe just the one I married, then.
Just spoke with a guy “in the know” recommending the S&W 642 for the wife. Any thoughts?
This is a common recommendation and the 642 is often marketed to women who are novice shooters as their first or only gun, but I think it’s particularly poorly-suited to novice. It takes a lot of practice to shoot a double-action revolver well, so it doesn’t make much sense to me to have a beginner start with one of the very most difficult revolvers to shoot well.
The 642’s main selling points as a women’s carry gun are that it’s (1) simpler to operate than a semi-auto and (2) easy and relatively safe to carry in a purse or a pocket because of its light weight, long, heavy double action trigger pull (less likely to accidentally discharge), enclosed hammer (less likely to snag when drawn from a purse or pocket), and integral “gutter” sights (same).
It is certainly simple to operate, but all of the traits that make it easy to carry make it difficult and unpleasant to shoot, particularly for a novice. The light weight means it has very sharp recoil with .38 +P; its long double-action trigger pull is difficult to master; it cannot be shot in single-action mode; and its “gutter” sights are rudimentary and difficult to see well, and have a very short sight radius to boot. It will be frustrating and unpleasant for a casual, novice shooter to learn to shoot it, and could very well cause her to give up and quit going to the range.
If you want to go the double action J-Frame route, I’d go with the Model 640. It’s steel-framed and 8 ounces heavier—a bit more of a hassle to carry, but the recoil is much easier to manage. It’s also chambered in .357 Magnum, so if she gets used to the .38 +P and wants to carry something with a little more proven effectiveness, she can move up to magnums (although, as a Model 60 owner, I can attest that you want to stick to lighter magnum loads). If you can afford it, I’d go with the 640 Pro Series, which has a fluted barrel and far better dovetailed, sort-of-Novak-style Tritium night sights. Better yet, if she carries a big enough bag and doesn’t mind the weight, just get a full-size revolver like a model 686.
However, I think it would be better still if she went with the largest 9mm semi-auto she can carry and got a good holster (even if it’s a purse holster). It will just be much easier to learn to shoot it well, and it really won’t take long to learn to operate it and carry it safely and properly. However, I think it’s a bad idea for anyone to carry a semi-auto without a round chambered, so if she is uncomfortable doing so (and some people just are) she should stick with a revolver.
All that said, if she’s never going to go to the range and you just want a gun that she won’t leave at home or forget how to use, the 642 might fit the bill. I think it’s a bad idea for anyone who carries not to train, but if my life was on the line, I’d still rather be an untrained person with a gun than an untrained person with no gun.
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