She's not going to be getting in a firefight. All she wants to be able to do is show a bad guy he better go elsewhere.
Posted on 03/21/2006 5:28:13 AM PST by tcostell
I'm in the market for a pistol for my wife and I was hoping I could solicit opinions and suggestions.
She doesn't have any handgun experience, but she's an excellent rifle shot (better than me in fact) and has no trouble handling the recoil of my 12 gauge Benelli when shooting clay. The weight of it does bother her a little however because she's very small. She's 5'1'' and some change, and weighs about 105 lbs soaking wet.
The firearm will be used for personal self defense, but I'm not really expecting a home invasion, and she won't be using it when concealment would be an issue. I just want her to have something portable that she can slip under her car seat and carry with her if it becomes necessary for her to take our daughter and beat feet from the greater NY area.
I think she can handle a cartridge with some stopping power but a .50 cal would probably be out of the question. A light recoil 9mm or .40 cal would probably be OK, but I specifically need something with a gentle slide spring and a relatively small grip because of her size.
I had the Springfield XD-9 recommended to me, so I picked one up at Cabelas this weekend but it still felt a little large for her hands.
I was wondering if any of the ladies (or knowledgeable gents) could make specific recommendation I could have her take a look at?
Thanks.
She's not going to be getting in a firefight. All she wants to be able to do is show a bad guy he better go elsewhere.
Add these and she'll have top of the line protection.
http://www.crimsontrace.com/default.asp?id=548
I bought a P-3AT and I like it. I've done the "fluff and buff" on it and polished the feed ramp.
My latest acquisition is a SigArms P239 SAS. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to fire it because the only firing range in Panama City shut down about six months ago and all the places I used to shoot are private property now.
If anyone knows of a place to shoot within 40 miles of Panama City I would really appreciate the tip.
If you want something under the seat, you probably want a revolver. She won't have to think about working the action of a semi if she's operating the door/window with her left hand while reaching for the handgun with her right.
Although the new S&W produced PPK has overcome some ergonomic problems of the earlier ones, the trigger pull is still bad.
30 years ago I used to go shooting on the beach north of Tampa. Put a penny in a balloon and toss it in the water. We would tie a dozen of them togther 10 feet apart and turn them loose.
My ex's first was a S&W Ladysmith in .38, loaded with Glazer Silvers. She loves it.
Revolvers don't jam, are utterly reliable, no cocking, no safety, and you can keep it under the car seat for years, dirty and dusty, pull the trigger, and it will fire every time.
A woman is more likely to only fire once in a panic situation. So the five shot capacity should not be a problem. Also, get it in bright stainless steel, so the bad guy can see it (scare factor). She won't be sneaking up on anyone in the dark.
Glazers or Magsafes in .38 will do the trick with one shot. It will be a straight-on situation (in her case), so you don't need 13" of penetration, or a shot through a windshield or car door. The round pretty much explodes in the bad guy. Check out http://mysite.elixirlabs.com/index.php?uid=12665&page=1982
A lot of LE's don't like the fragmenting ammo, but this is not an LE application.
The .357 is quite a bit heavier, and muzzle flash will blind her at night (not good).
The .38 is gentle enough to use in (lots) of practice.
Think about it.
I'll weigh in here and second (or third) the motion for a Ruger SP101.
Automatics are problematic. I've seen some women (as an instructor) who can't rack the slide on a pistol, so revolvers are always the first choice, IMO.
My wife scored very high on the TX CHL qual with mine.
Now she wants one of her own. (She knows she's not gettin' mine!)
We walked by lots of tables and after a while, she liked a certain model. Turns out it was a pre-WW2 Nazi Walther.
Bump
Glock 40 cal.
Grip is too large.
If you must go for a semi-auto, I can recommend you at least look at a Bersa in a .380 cal, Argentinian manufacture, but accurate, well made, and affordable.
Great gun.... not the cheapest tho' :)
Beretta 40 cal. If you don't like the recoil you can buy a buffer that will take away most of the recoil. It is easy to install and you can do it yourself.
Maybe for you, not for me.
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