Wife Revolver

[Shanester66]

So after watching all the bad guys on the news doing terrible things to innocent people as well as reading news on civilian sheep dogs like us protecting ourselves as well as our family, my wife has finally decided it might be a good idea to carry.
Now to figure our what would be a good carry weapon. My wife would never carry on her waist. She is defintely a pocket book kind of gal so I need something she can tote in her purse in a pocket holster.
My thought was to go with a revolver. They are easy to use and most time you point and engage and they go boom. This is probably the way I want to go. Thing is Im personally not much of a revolver fan so my knowledge is limited. What do you guys suggest? Something good quality but priced well (under $600). Maybe without an exposed hammer? Small of course....easy recoil. Im open to all suggestions.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[GunnyBunny]

If weight is not a factor, the Ruger SP101 hands down.

[Rexster]

Keep in mind that "small" and "easy recoil" do not come packaged together. Weight dampens recoil. Revolvers with shrouded/concealed hammers are indeed good for carrying in things like pockets and purses, though the wisdom of keeping a weapon inside a purse is questionable at best. But, rather than derail this thread by dwelling on that, back to the weapons themselves.

I have carried an Airweight J-frame inside a camera bag and another type of pouch, during certain outdoor activities. The gun itself is from S&W's era of giving a unique model number to almost every little limited-edition variant that left the factory, but it should suffice to say it is based on a 642, and not materially different from today's 642. If there is a better small pocket/purse gun in the world, I don't know what it would be.

Up a bit in size, I like the Ruger SP101. I don't mind the slight extra bulk, and quite a bit of extra weight, as I like a bit of heft in a handgun. The Ruger LCR looks promising, and is more the size/weight of the S&W J-frames, but I have yet to handle one.

[JerryM]

I always recommend a J frame unless one prefers something else.
Here is a comparison that might be useful.
http://www.mouseguns.com/PocketAutoComparison.jpg

The new Ruger LCR is worth a look.
Ruger LCR? - Specifications

Luck,
Jerry

[JustInCase]

she likes it. very simple. easy to load. goes bang every time...

[wine6978]

I got my girlfriend a S&W 36, .38 Special. She loves it.

[archer51]

First off suggest guns to your wife, but let her pick out what shes comfortable with. Ruger SP101 is a good recommendation as is the Taurus line. As to caliber I'd recommend .357 Mag. If she can handle the full power .357 loads fine, if not she can shot it with .38 Special. Any of your top name brand modern .38 Special defensive loads will do the job for her. Over time, unless there is a medical reason, she should be able to build up to .357 loads.

[Hopyard]

Your wife needs to do her own gun shopping. She need to try different guns out at a rental range. I agree with you that a small .38 J frame would work, but so too would an LCP; maybe as well a Kahr. She's the one who has to practice with it, and she is the one who has to tote it. Her choice. Don't pick for her. Just make suggestions.

[Keltyke]

This is probably the way I want to go.

Let HER pick it. Go to a range that rents guns and have her try several. A small, lightweight snubbie in .38 spcl. +p or .357 Magnum can have a savage recoil. Weight helps there. Grips that really fit her hand will help a lot, too. Pachmyer, Hoque, and others make aftermarket grips to fit most snubbies out there. Take a look at K frame snubbies. They're larger and heavier with less recoil than a J frame.

The "best" gun is the one YOU like, not anyone else. It will be a compromise of:

1. Fit - It should fit in your hand like you were born with it there.
2. Reliability - It should go BANG about 99.8% of the time you pull the trigger.
3. Accuracy - In YOUR hand. It's how well YOU shoot it.
4. Concealability - It should be comfortable enough to wear and easy enough to conceal so you won't leave it laying on the dresser at home.
5. Cost - You don't want to scrimp on your "life protector" weapon, but you probably don't need a $1,000 Kimber, either.

[harley2007]

My wife first got a Bersa 380 ...keeping ni mind she always as a kid and adult hated guns...lets put that aside for a moment.....she loved the Bersa buyt was a bit uneasy about the mechanics of "carrying" a semi....so I got her a Smith 642...witht the pretty pink grips...lets put that aside too!

She loves the Smith but it does beat her up a bit...she absorbs the recoil rather than the mechanics of the slide etc, abosrbing the recoil...so we are getting her diiferent "range" grips for that........

But here is the bottom line for me and her and I know others may differ, BUT with a revolver, there is no guessing...just pull the trigger until it quits going bang!...I say it a bit jokingly but also serioulsy.....it is idiot proof in the hardness of trigger pull and the mechanics of the gun, cannot be beat in my opinion. Good luck.

[JimH58]

The snubbies like the S&W 642 and the 442 are great CCW. But as has been pointed out the recoil on these can be less then comfortable. My wife just did not like the recoil on these and it was too much for her. Eventually went with a Kel_tec P32 (but not a revolver) which was easy for her to handle.

[jwhite75]

I got my girlfriend a S&W 36, .38 Special. She loves it.

I agree with hopyard about doing her own shopping, but if she leans toward a revo, I would go with something like the above that has a litle more weight and more steel not aluminum. The weight will help with recoil and should still handle +P loads.

[Blakestr]

Kahr PM380, (or PM9)...very sleek and sexy guns (thin is sexy) and have good calibers (380 being hard to find not withstanding). The 380 is supposed to be VERY small as a pocket gun.

[crzy4guns]

Have her take a look at the Keltec P3AT and the Ruger LCP .380 automatics also, as they are easy to hide and they do provide some measure of stopping power.

[TX-JB]

If she's not really into guns I would steer her towards a wheel gun, but let her pick it. I think the SP101 with a 3" barrel would be a great purse gun. A little longer barrel, to reduce recoil and if loaded with .38+P would be fairly easy to shoot compared to the J frame Smiths.