Need a Gun Recommendation
- Thread starter jerseyguy123
- Start date
They're long out of production but I always liked the Beretta 84 or 85 series. My favorite .380 pistols. Next to no recoil, especially when compared to traditional blow back .380s like the Walter PPK.
For people who lack enough hand strength to rack slides, the Beretta 86 was very similar and had a tip up barrel for loading.
For people who lack enough hand strength to rack slides, the Beretta 86 was very similar and had a tip up barrel for loading.
I can rack the slide of my Bersa .380 with 2 fingers, got it right here next to me, and a stiff slide aids in recoil mitigation. Regardless, it's why it's way down on my list and the difficulty is for small weak people to use handguns. They are fighting against physics.
A small gun, a light gun, low recoil, or a adequate caliber, you have to chose and cannot have all...
No women here, apparently.
"Although shooting a .22 caliber may be more pleasant on the range, if you’re intending to use the gun for defense, a .22LR just isn’t enough gun. The only advice I can give you in good conscience is, "Get over it." Start on a .22 if you must, but work your way up to defense calibers — .380 ACP or larger — as quickly as you can. Alternatively, you could spend an afternoon or a weekend forcing yourself to shoot calibers way stronger than you’ll ever need. After that, a .380 ACP or a 9mm will seem like a piece of cake.
By the way, it’s important to note that calibers all feel different when you shoot them. It’s easy to think, "I hated the .380 so how could I possibly stand anything bigger?!" But the truth is that many people find larger calibers more comfortable to shoot than smaller ones. Small calibers often have a snappy-slappy thing going on. The larger ones are noisier, but you may be pleasantly surprised by the feel of shooting one. Don’t be afraid to try."
Agree with that, I almost went into it earlier, as some may know in a fan of 1911, a 45 has more of a roll than the snap of the 9mm+p or Super 38. Even more so when Super is loaded to the old standard...
My bride is small, she's pretty good with a Defender...
Note I was quoting the cornered cat site there.
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2021
- Messages
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I bought one 5 years ago. Worst gun I've ever owned. Went to two different gunsmiths for warranty work that hasn't fixed the FTEs.
OEM magazines, McGar, ProMag(hahaha)...piece of junk.
Straight blowback design...great for accuracy not for recoil.
I'm looking to offload it in a trade for a Glock 43 because I'm ok with .380 as a defensive round and I have a bit of it in my inventory.
I don't own any Glocks and have never shot one and I'm a retired state cop.
I know...it's great. I'm waiting for someone to throw up a recommendation and pic of a Desert Eagle or silly Chiappa Rhino.
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I think you mean a 42. Yea its a great gun. I had one. Don't be surprised if you have some stove pipes early on. It is/was common. Ihad some but after a hundred rounds I put many thousand rounds through it with no issues. I also have no problem with .380 or 6+1. I always carry an extra mag..
This isn't a bad deal at all. And it comes with a half dozen magazines, night sights, and is optics ready for a red dot.
grabagun.com
Springfield Armory Hellcat OSP Stainless 9mm 3" Barrel 15-Rounds Gear Up
The Springfield Armory Hellcat OSP Micro-Compact delivers superior performance and accuracy with a lightweight, reliable, and small handgun design. It comes chambered in 9mm with a 3 inch barrel. Features include a tritium night front sight, a U-notch rear sight, one 11 round magazine, one 13...
grabagun.com
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You guys and you your sissy wives 
I affectionately call mine Hardcore Henrietta... She used to have an LCR in .357, loves my 365 and also went out of her way to shoot this S&W in .460 S&W Magnum!
(I'm joking about the sissy wife thing btw)
I affectionately call mine Hardcore Henrietta... She used to have an LCR in .357, loves my 365 and also went out of her way to shoot this S&W in .460 S&W Magnum!
(I'm joking about the sissy wife thing btw)
Good call. If she is anything like my wife even she doesn’t know what she wants half the time.
Women don't know what they want when it comes to shoes and clothes...... Let alone guns.
I was going to rebut -
And argue that Mrs. Astro, while stylish, feminine, and a great cook, is anything but a sissy.
She keeps a Beretta 92 nearby. She still has battle rattle from her time deployed. She was a Commanding Officer, as well as Chief of Staff to a 2 star Admiral. She is a retired Captain, USN.
She is quite definite on what she wants.
Woman? You bet.
Sissy? Not a chance!
You guys and you your sissy wives
I affectionately call mine Hardcore Henrietta... She used to have an LCR in .357, loves my 365 and also went out of her way to shoot this S&W in .460 S&W Magnum!
(I'm joking about the sissy wife thing btw)
View attachment 145356
And argue that Mrs. Astro, while stylish, feminine, and a great cook, is anything but a sissy.
She keeps a Beretta 92 nearby. She still has battle rattle from her time deployed. She was a Commanding Officer, as well as Chief of Staff to a 2 star Admiral. She is a retired Captain, USN.
She is quite definite on what she wants.
Woman? You bet.
Sissy? Not a chance!
Can confirm.
One gun I don't have experience with is the Ruger Security .380. Honest Outlaw is generally a reliable reviewer. It makes his top 5 guns this year. This .380 seems to be a very good gun for a diminutive person with weak hands, and is very affordable on any budget. Worth checking out. Time marked video here:
This isn't a bad deal at all. And it comes with a half dozen magazines, night sights, and is optics ready for a red dot.
Springfield Armory Hellcat OSP Stainless 9mm 3" Barrel 15-Rounds Gear Up
The Springfield Armory Hellcat OSP Micro-Compact delivers superior performance and accuracy with a lightweight, reliable, and small handgun design. It comes chambered in 9mm with a 3 inch barrel. Features include a tritium night front sight, a U-notch rear sight, one 11 round magazine, one 13...
Check out the hellcat RDP. Shoots nice
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I will also add, that sometimes women don't like advice from men. For that woman, there's a site where women give advice to women, called https://www.corneredcat.com/contents/
There, it's basically elementary school starting point on terms, discussions, etc. Key topics are covered, at a very elementary level, from a female to a female novice audience, and an audience fearful of guns or otherwise not inclined to want to get one or carry, but feel compelled for various reasons. It might help to disarm a woman reluctant to take advice from men.
Here's a good read, and things to consider. I'll yield this author pushes back on thinking all women are alike, and she's entitled to her opinion. But she offers some alternate viewpoints to consider.
One that stands out is size and hand size. I have never seen a woman unable to operate a compact gun, but for a really small woman (OP says wife is 5' tall) perhaps even a smaller gun would be a good option. In that case, I could make a few 9x18mm (Makarov) or proven hammer fired metal framed .380 suggestions. None of these are in my top defensive choices but I would feel confident and not undergunned in typical public carry, so if you're a smaller person with smaller/weaker hands, I would confidently make these suggestions in order of preference.
1. A CZ82 (9x18) or CZ83 (.380acp) or 2. Makarov. Proven designs. I prefer the CZs due to the exceptional trigger and safety and ergonomics. The performance of the Makarov is roughly equivalent to a .380.
Makarov was a workhorse for decades in the Communist nations and is still a favorite of many shooters today.
3. Beretta Cheetah, model 84 or 85. This comes in a few calibers but the best for defense IMO is the .380. I particularly like the Cheetah for its frame mounted safety.
I would next suggest, budget depending, the Walther PPK or a very similar Bersa Thunder both in .380. The Walther is about twice as expensive. Both have loyal cultlike following and are very proven. It's a tie and comes down to budget and preference.
Walther PPK, made famous in Hollywood especially James Bond, has a cult following.
Bersa Thunder .380.
I've also long been a fan of the Comblock blowback pistols. I've had several Makarovs and still have an East German. Also have a Polish P-64 which is sort of a copy of a Walther PPK. All in 9x18 Makarov. The 9x18 is a tad superior to the 380. I also used to shoot a CZ-52 in 7.62x25. A heavy chunk of delayed roller locker blowback design. Way stronger than a TT33 Tokarev in the same caliber. Some of the Eastern bloc 7.62x25 ammo was loaded way hot for use in the PPSh-41 submachine gun. The CZ-52 could handle it. That was the highest velocity handgun round and may still be.
The first Makarov that I owned was a Russian commercial IJ-70 with adjustable rear sights. About early 1990's. The instructions were translated from Russian. They claimed a life cycle of about 4500 rounds. I know I put about 4000 rounds through it. I enjoyed the inherent accuracy of a fixed barrel blowback pistol. You could fire a full 8 round magazine rapid fire and shoot a tight group at 50 ft.
I have about 10 Polish P64 pistols in 9x18mm Mak. Cool from a collector's standpoint. The 25 pound hammer spring is a immediate requirement to swap out with something more reasonable (about a $15 easy swap). Cool guns, with the new hammer spring they are serviceable. I would carry one if nothing else available. But at the size of a Glock 19, way way down on the list of a realistic choice in modern times.
Have many many Tokarev pistols, various nations, and CZ52. Now we are very deep in cold war guns. These are generally really poor choices. I love the ballistics, but it is very powerful and more for penetration than expansion/damage. And these guns are just decades in the past in terms of manufacturing and design. Generally, in modern times for typical self defense, poor choices IMHO.
(Great, excellent, caliber for military and really shine in SMGs. I would love a short barreled rifle in x25. But 60 year old handguns, well, eh, there's so many better modern choices IMO. And I own a lot of these.)
I had changed out recoil and hammer springs on the P-64 to something more manageable. I'd agree with much of your assessment on viability of these guns, but I do think that the Makarov is not a bad carry or car choice. So very reliable.
Another vote for Walther. . . My wife has been rocking a Walther PPX for the last few years, but due to her arthritic hands has been having difficulty racking the slide. Upon her recent retirement, we decided to get her something different that would be easier for her to manipulate. She really likes her Walther and wanted to stay with that brand, so we checked out the Walther PDP-F 9mm, which is designed for and marketed to female shooters--it was love at first sight! She can rack the slide much easier than the PPX, the muzzle flip is definitely less, I believe due to the better purchase she has on the (smaller) grip. The trigger is great, with a short reach and reset, as well as a nice tactile / audible click on reset. We went to the range and put over 100 rounds (reloads) through it without any issues, and she shot it as well as she does her PPX, which is pretty darn good. I'd recommend this pistol for any woman, or anyone with mobility problems. It comes with two different backstraps for different sized hands. Also, until mid April, Walther will throw in an AmeriGlo optic sight (just got ours in the mail today).
waltherarms.com
PDP F-SERIES – www.waltherarms.com
waltherarms.com
