Need a Gun Recommendation
- Thread starter jerseyguy123
- Start date
my random thoughts…
start (and even perhaps finish) with a top-end 22lr semiauto pistol. easy on both wallet and wrist to get lots, and more, of necessary practice. an unpracticed firearm is a talisman not a tool. use only top-end cci ammo. until centerfire handgun ammo offers a proximity fuse only hits with a humble yet practiced 22lr handgun count. double action trigger pull on a rimfire revolver is generally atrocious. 22wmr flashbang is too obnoxious to make practice enjoyable for too little meaningful result in return. i like the ruger sr22. i don’t like the ruger lcp22, lcr 22lr, lcr 22wmr.
a steel 38sp single/double action, snubbie revolver. more weight than an alloy model to absorb recoil. easy to swap grips, and reliable with various mild to wild ammo loads, to customize it to her exact tastes. intuitive manual of arms. a 327/32 revolver would be a fine choice too, except that ammo is haphazard in availability and pricier.
s&w shield ez pistol. it is truly easy to rack, load, fieldstrip and employ. might be a bit large for some as a ccw. i have both the 380acp and 9mm models. get the 380acp. 9mm recoil is noticeably stouter and trigger pull is distractingly mushy with an indeterminate trigger reset; i thought that mine had fte’d during double taps. ruger offers a new to market, competitive, 380acp “lite rack” pistol, but i haven’t tried it.
whatever she gets, get professional training for her. husbands shouldn’t teach wives how to drive cars or shoot guns, ime. spend the money, have a happier marriage.
also see that she really knows her piece: have her fieldstrip and clean it regularly, just as our uncle sam taught me 50 years ago.
start (and even perhaps finish) with a top-end 22lr semiauto pistol. easy on both wallet and wrist to get lots, and more, of necessary practice. an unpracticed firearm is a talisman not a tool. use only top-end cci ammo. until centerfire handgun ammo offers a proximity fuse only hits with a humble yet practiced 22lr handgun count. double action trigger pull on a rimfire revolver is generally atrocious. 22wmr flashbang is too obnoxious to make practice enjoyable for too little meaningful result in return. i like the ruger sr22. i don’t like the ruger lcp22, lcr 22lr, lcr 22wmr.
a steel 38sp single/double action, snubbie revolver. more weight than an alloy model to absorb recoil. easy to swap grips, and reliable with various mild to wild ammo loads, to customize it to her exact tastes. intuitive manual of arms. a 327/32 revolver would be a fine choice too, except that ammo is haphazard in availability and pricier.
s&w shield ez pistol. it is truly easy to rack, load, fieldstrip and employ. might be a bit large for some as a ccw. i have both the 380acp and 9mm models. get the 380acp. 9mm recoil is noticeably stouter and trigger pull is distractingly mushy with an indeterminate trigger reset; i thought that mine had fte’d during double taps. ruger offers a new to market, competitive, 380acp “lite rack” pistol, but i haven’t tried it.
whatever she gets, get professional training for her. husbands shouldn’t teach wives how to drive cars or shoot guns, ime. spend the money, have a happier marriage.
also see that she really knows her piece: have her fieldstrip and clean it regularly, just as our uncle sam taught me 50 years ago.
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In the final analysis, software beats hardware 90% of the time. The type and caliber of handgun are way less important that skillful shooting.
This ^^^^^^^^
Just keep in mind that most of these little pocket pistols while cute and concealable, are very difficult to shoot with any degree of consistent accuracy. When playing around at the range, or shooting at beer cans for fun it doesn't matter much.
But if you ever find yourself in a situation where you are firing at something that can shoot back, it does. If this purchase is solely for self defense, being able to hit the target where it will matter, is not only desirable.... It's necessary.
Shooter, gun, ammo - they’re a system. All have to be compatible.
The best gun for her, in the self defense role, is one with which she can hit accurately, under stress, and that she is willing and able to carry.
That said, the ammo needs to be effective.
That’s why I am such a fan of the CCP. The recoil management allows a smaller, less experienced shooter to employ a more effective round with less recoil. 9mm, a more effective round than the .380, shoots softer in that gun than .380 in other guns of its size.
Softer shooting + more effective ammo = better system for the intended purpose of carry gun for the OP wife.
The best gun for her, in the self defense role, is one with which she can hit accurately, under stress, and that she is willing and able to carry.
That said, the ammo needs to be effective.
That’s why I am such a fan of the CCP. The recoil management allows a smaller, less experienced shooter to employ a more effective round with less recoil. 9mm, a more effective round than the .380, shoots softer in that gun than .380 in other guns of its size.
Softer shooting + more effective ammo = better system for the intended purpose of carry gun for the OP wife.
Understand. I am guessing you and I have way more training or experience than the OP's wife. At 4 yards I can hit center mass one hand shooting from hip. At 7 yards I am easily able to do center mass quickly.
As you said..whatever works for her. The highest grade pepper spray is probably the b est bet. Yea not as macho to say my wife is pretty good with her pepper spray gun.
Does the local gun range have guns that your wife can shoot? So that she can fire different calibers first, before you shop for a particular gun in the desired caliber?
Be careful with that crap. There is a video circulating of 2 good sized cops that both tased and pepper sprayed a non compliant suspect, who wouldn't exit his vehicle when commanded to do so.
Neither the taser, or multiple pepper sprays was capable of subduing him. When they finally managed to drag him out of the car, he pulled a gun and critically wounded both cops.
"Less Than Lethal" turned out to be almost lethal for the wrong person. A woman with that crap is a disaster waiting to happen.
"The Police Department said one of the officers is unlikely to survive, and the other is "unstable," according to the affidavit."
Suspect captured after 2 Tulsa police officers shot, critically wounded
UPDATE: Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin asked Monday afternoon for community support as two of his officers fight for their lives – shot in the line of duty during an overnight traffic stop. “I’m imploring you, I’m asking (you), to pray,” Franklin said. “And I’m also asking for each and...
ktul.com
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Lol
I have seen where several 9 mm bullets did not stop the perp.
A woman (or anyone) not highly trained in SD is a disaster waiting to happen with a firearm. As an SD trainer I have seen it in person in training.
Eventually. An elderly woman shot an intruder/attacker 4 times with a .25 as he was dragging her around the house and beating her up. The first round fired killed him and he was considerate enough to die 15 minutes later. Using any caliber that starts with a .2x is not a good choice.
This is exceptionally true. I see far far too many women make the mistake of being talked into some cute little pistol. These are for experts IMO, not novices with weak confidence, weak hand strength, and recoil sensitive.
I consider myself a firearms expert, and have the credentials to support that. I find shooting my Keltec P3AT (a 7 oz .380 pistol, similar to the Ruger which copied it) to be a miserable experience. It's about like having someone hit your hand with a framing hammer.
Similar with the recoil springs, too easy and they recoil hard, too stiff and you have reliability and chambering issues...
Someone mentioned upthread about the SW MP EZ model and that's not a bad suggestion at all. For someone with exceptionally weak hands and recoil sensitive it might be a good option.
Caution is needed with a recommendation for OC spray. I have received training, and been shot in the face with it for my certification. First, it is debilitating for most people. For myself, it was miserable and would cause me to stop and retreat. However, here's the caution. It was ineffective on about 10% of my classmates. It is also shown to be ineffective on hardened criminals who have built a tolerance. It can be defeated with a mask, goggles, and gloves. It also isn't much use at long range, or extremely short range due to self-inflicted injury, or in windy environments or confined environments (like your car). It won't go thru barriers (e.g. a car door when being carjacked), etc. And it expires so it's one more thing to keep track of expiring.
OC has a place as a non-lethal tool to control others, but it's rarely a good substitute for a lethal or felony assault victim environment. I tend to carry it when my possibility of encountering stray vicious dogs is high, b/c I don't want to try to shoot a dog. I don't want to discharge my gun in the city, or kill a neighbors dog and deal with that, or risk missing and well that's a whole different potential problem. I've seen a number of police videos where they shot at a dog, missed, and killed a person.
Then that person should get training. Period. People really need to re-prioritize. Reduce time making TikTok videos and increase time on self defense training. Easy.
I'm not attacking you I think I'm agreeing with you.
As a comment on society, I truly do not understand how so many people with the right to have guns, and learn defense, refuse to take even the basic steps. I just don't get it.
Time, money, effort. Desire. Believing it is necessary.
People look at me oddly when I state that I don’t follow sports, or any tv show, or a number of things. Same idea, different subject. We all have different ideas about what is important.
My wife and I have a concealed carry permit. We rarely carry. I do when we go to our synagogue which is a few times a year. Here is the thing overlooked—element of surprise. Sometimes a criminal has it and good luck pulling a pistol out of a purse before he takes his crowbar and you end up in the ER. There is more to self defense than being proficient with firearms. My wife has a brown belt in Krav Maga. Look at it on YouTube if you never heard of it.
Agree…however this weapon may have been all that this lady could effectively shoot. The OP has concerns regarding his lady being able to shoot higher caliber weapons also. If the choice is being able to hit an intruder multiple times vs possibly missing with a weapon that is difficult to handle and recoils too hard I know which I’d chose.
