I'm going to start off by stating that my wife has a medical condition and that has some side effects. Her hands are weak causing trouble manipulating the slide. Also her ears are very sensitive too much sound will trigger migraines that we have yet to find an effective treatment for.
She has taken professional training classes for firearms shooting and is great with her Walther P22. With it she has zero problems loading, unloading, slide manipulation, clearing jams, firing, or accuracy. I on the other hand have a problem with the unreliable primers in even the best .22lr rounds. So lets leave technique out of this one entirely and focus on the equipment in hand.
And I know your next thought already... Revolver (oh god if it were only that easy), yep not happening. She thinks they're ugly and there is no convincing a woman otherwise once their mind is made up.
As for the sound of the gun, that can be taken care of with a suppressor and hell I've wanted an excuse to by one anyway. So a threaded barrel is a big plus here.
Ease of slide manipulation on the other hand isn't so easy to find. Thus far I have heard of a handful of models but I come to this well of knowledge in seek of a bit more than just these...
the problem is the larger the caliber the stronger the springs required for it. and with weak hands, will not the recoil that comes with a larger caliber become a limiting factor? with the problems you state I would try to find a 22 mag as the next step, ot take her to a range that rents guns and allow her to try a few.
Good thought, but I am trying to get away from the less reliable rim fire cartage in favor of the more reliable center fire cartage. Also renting guns in FL is quickly becoming a thing of the past out here. We have had a few incidents where someone will go to rent a gun with friends or relatives and end up committing murder, suicide, or in most cases both. One range had it happen twice there in a matter of 2 years I believe. So not many are offering it around here anymore.
As for the higher recoil, I think she can handle up to a .40S&W pretty well. I had a Hi Point JCP in 40cal that she could rack and accurately shoot but complained it was too big and ugly.
Come to think of it the Hi Point pistols and Walther P22 share a common trait. They both have barrels fixed to the frame instead of the more popular free floating barrel design. They were very accurate and easy to rack, even the .45acp were a breeze for her.
I wonder if a fixed barrel translates into a lighter recoil spring???
Man have I tried lol. I have bought her 5 guns so far 3 of them revolvers and the only one thats stuck is the Walther. Her favorite thing is the mag release which of course is my most hated feature of the gun.
You can get guns in different colors now a days. I would still go with the revolver. Gun don't have to be pretty. They just have to shoot. If comes down to shooting I think the last thing you are thinking of if your gun looks pretty to the bad guys. 22lr in sub sonic sounds like a fire cracker. If all else fails get her a baseball bat.
Yep, now convince a woman to change her mind and that looks dont matter... go head I'll wait here, ya know while your at it could you talk to them about that shoe thing too, thanks lmao.
As for the .22lr, it's a great bullet, deadly, low recoil, but you just cant trust the primers on those things. Even the high dollar ammo you'll get bad primers. It's a design flaw with the round thats just inescapable when considering it for self defense use.
I have recently read a few reviews for the Sig P238 chambered in .380. Most every review mentions that it is one of the best guns for womens carry and concealment. Downside it's got a $700 price tag on it... wait.... that sounds exactly like a woman.
Another option is to go with a little bit bigger 380. Perhaps a Bersa Thunder. They are a little bit bigger & heavier than a SIG or other small pocket 380. They are also extremely reliable and accurate while maintaining fairly low recoil & ease of operation.
If this is still too much, perhaps something in smaller centerfire like a 25acp or 32acp.
mouse guns tend to have much stiffer slides. My LCP seems like it is twice as hard to rack as my Glock 19. It is also a handful to hang on to when firing, without a firm grip on it. My wife sold her P22 for the M&P 22 and loves it. she even put a Crimson Trace laser on it
Easy racking was a priority for my Mrs. also, who is severely arthritic.
LGS showed her a S&W Bodyguard .380, and the clerk spent a few minutes showing her exactly HOW to rack it (Heel of hand on one side, all four fingers on other side), and she could rack it easily. Came with factory laser sight, which she has fallen in love with!
But it IS loud, absolutely. I would suggest always practicing with dual hearing protection (sponge plugs AND bunny ears) to keep her safe.
In an emergency situation when she has to shoot someone, the migraine would probably come anyway due to extreme stress.
If you are a reloader, Load up some for testing thru a range renter:
Berry bullet
125gr FP
OAL 1.445
4.4gr W231
These were easy feeling in a S&W Airweight Model 442-1 Rubber gripped 38 special. Hornady makes some 110gr defensive rounds that she could carry and not shoot as they kick a bit more. But the adrenaline, if ever have to be used will negate that for the event. You can get the larger Hogue grip to mitigate that more but it makes it larger to carry.
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The earlier 22mag idea is a good one. I am not sure if a trigger job for the Ruger LCR Revolver can be done for that, email Ruger tech support or call them to find out).
Edited comment: Just recalled that ranges usually won't let you shoot reloads in their guns. So ask first. Then possibly borrow some one else's if you know anyone.
I would almost wager that if you put all guns mentioned along side of the Bersa 380, she chooses the Bersa. I went thru these tests with women in my shop several times....
I keep hearing about these Bersa's every were, lol. I read an articular about the top 5 handguns under $500 2 weeks ago and it came in #1. Then last Sunday a friend of mine comes in up to my work and he's just picked one up for $225. I got to check it out and compared it to my Keltec P11, I gotta say they are a very nice gun. The ergonomics are great, weight was very manageable for its size, and the grip felt good.
Overall I liked it and its going on my list... whether I can get her to like it is a different challenge all together lol. There is a gun show coming up next month and I'm planning on taking her and her new friend to it. Hoping I can get her friend to talk some kind of sense into her and get her into a nice gun there.
Well, I can definitely recommend the Ruger P series. A friend of mine has one in 9mm, and it's sweet.
By the way, (speaking of changing the topic); a co-worker was having big migraine problems and I suggested he stop drinking diet soda(aspartame, amino sweet). Migraines STOPPED immediately.
This is a great website for natural cures for stuff. Whenever I come across a ailment(me or other people), I type into a search engine the ailment and then natural news. http://www.naturalnews.com/
One more thing you can look at; light loads, with a lighter recoil spring for those lite loads. My wife likes the Ruger LCP. She wants to get her CCW this summer, but I'm not sure that she can handle 50 rounds of .380 in the LCP, to much recoil, and too much noise. She will start practicing with my Taurus PT 58 HC Plus. It's a .380 that holds 20 rounds in the mag, and 1 in the chamber.
Check around on line, you may find some good prices on used pistols, as low as $250. This gun was not issued for sale in the U.S., but was carried for a very short while in their 2008/9 catalog. Soon after I bought mine, I believe they discontinued this model.
You never mentioned what you want it chambered in, but take a look at the Taurus PT-25. (.25 ACP)
The top of the barrel swings up, so you can insert a cartridge, and you don't have to rack the slide.
Cute little guns.
A Bersa .380 is a fine choice for so many reasons.......
I have recommended it probably more than any other.
They are inexpensive enough to also afford the little sister in .22lr and back when .22lr ammo
was a standard shelf item, it was the practical practice gun, and the .380 was for carry.
They are also very dependable. And accurate.
The tip up barrels are also great. Good luck finding a Cheetah [.380]
A Tomcat can be found if .32acp is enough caliber for you. It is a SWEET little shooter.
Commercial ammo is normally limited to 71gr ball type, but reloading can alter that.
You have a Ruger P-95 listed, I have one and it is a great gun and not hard to rack the slide. I would suggest looking at a Glock 26, I also have one of these and the slide is easier than the Ruger. I allways said Glock's were too ugly to carry but I won this one and it is kind of cute. Have you worked with your wife on different methods of manipulating the slide? Jim.
Yes I have, and as normal she wouldn't listen to a fookin word out of my mouth(im wrong about everything).
So she went to the guys that do my firearms training for work and wouldn't ya know she listened to them lol (same damn things I was telling her). She did get better at it and has taken about 5 classes. She can work her gun (p22) very well and is a very good shooter, but her hand strength just isnt there. The problem not technique its a incredibly weak grip. She knows the push/pull method but can barely rack my S&W 5906 and its nicely broke in. The only full size pistols she's been able to rack and work well were the Hi Point in .40 S&W and .45 ACP, but she complained that they were ugly, too loud, and kicked too much.
I don't think she needs a service caliber like 9mm or .40S&W and deffentliy not .45ACP. However I do want her to get a gun that fires a center fire cartage. It's not soo much about bullet size as it is about primer reliability, .22LR or any rim fire cartage just doesnt have that.
My wife has issues racking also. She now carries a S&W BG380 which she can rack wit little problem and she also has no issues with my LCP (also .380). But I have to say that my Glock G17 is much easier to rack than my Kahr CW9. Also, most guns begin to rack easier after a few hundred rounds.
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