[OKSooner]

I assume from your post that you AREN'T looking for a piece to carry concealed, which introduces another set of trade-offs into the picture, which is what a handgun is: a compromise, a set of trade-offs.

For something that will be an effective weapon that your wife can shoot easily, I can think of one that's head and shoulders above all the others, the Ruger SP101. Take your pick of 2-1/4 inch barrel or 3-1/8 inch. In the short barrel take your pick of hammerless or "regular". Also in either barrel length take your pick of Ruger's really nice rubberized stock grips, or the crimson trace laser grips. See Ruger's website for details:

http://www.ruger.com/products/sp101/models.html

This is a piece that your wife can run thousands and thousands of rounds of .38 special ammo thru, and sometimes .357, and then someday pass on to her granddaughter.

OTOH, if you like collector-type stuff you might try to find a used Smith model 10 or model 64 in .38 special. It's a six-shooter instead of the SP's 5, and it has the classic Smith lockwork. Nothing wrong with the Ruger, but I hear the old model 10's / 64's are really sweet. Plus, being .38 special only and NOT capable of firing .357 magnums, which you probably don't need anyway, it's a more trim, compact piece than many of the K-frame and L-frame Smiths made for the .357 / .38 special. Fixed sights too, which is good. "Everything you need and nothing you don't." It's commonly found in 4" barrel, sometimes 2". The model 10 is blue steel, the model 64 is the same gun in stainless.

So there are two choices. The difference is I'd say the Ruger can handle "anything a sane person would shoot thru it", as an old-timer once told me, while the Smith has a "very cool" factor to it without being overbuilt like the Ruger.

Revolvers are best for beginners, btw. "Just grab the handle and go blam."

[niteowl77]

For something that will be an effective weapon that your wife can shoot easily, I can think of one that's head and shoulders above all the others, the Ruger SP101.

That is also my recommendation to the novice or someone who doesn't train as much as they ought (I am beginning to qualify for the latter). There is a factory load that will work reasonably effectively in them for almost everyone as far as recoil tolerance goes, and if a round doesn't go off for whatever reason, the solution is quick, instinctive and wonderfully simple. Best handgun in the world? No. Perfect for everyone? No.

But for a lot of "average" people, it gets the job done with as little fuss as nearly anything out there. I must confess that I didn't really appreciate the utility value of a .38 revolver until I became an old timer myself... shame on me.

Mr. niteowl77