Need some suggestions please

[TrapperDan]

My wife recently got her concealed carry permit and now she wants her OWN pistol. I’m not much of a pistol person other than my 22 LR pistol I carried on my trap line. I went looking today and am more confused than before. She wants something small enough to fit in her purse but big enough to put down an elephant. She has always wanted a bazooka but that’s a little big for a purse .She fell in love with a little Kimbler micro carry with a laser in 380 caliber. WOW, almost $800.00. Brass and reloading components seem to be readily available so that helps. If any of you guys have any suggestions for a wifeee purse gun I would sure like to hear them.
Thanks. Dan

[acloco]

For practice, reloads is ok. Don't carry reloads in self defense situation.

Would HIGHLY recommend renting multiple handguns (semi auto and revolvers) in multiple calibers.

Three rules of selecting any firearm are:
1. Purpose
2/3 Fit
2/3 Ergonomics

#1 has already been chosen. 2/3 are a dead even tie. BOTH must be absolute.

With today's bullet technology, 9/38/40/45 don't give up anything to other.

With a purse, semi auto is probably not the choice inside a purse. Ability to recognize a SERIOUS situation is happening to YOU and the ability to DRAW....is 1.5 seconds, at most. The perp picked YOU.....which includes location/timing/etc/etc.

[TEXAS222]

Hi Dan. The Smith & Wesson Shield is a hard one to beat for a woman's purse gun or for a pocket pistol. I've bought my daughter & wife one and half a dozen friends of mine have one. I've seen them go on gunbroker anywhere from 319.00 to 439.00. Two things I want to tell you, the Shield can be purchased with or without a manual safety. I highly recommend a safety for the purse. The 2nd thing is, you can get it in 9mm or 40 S&W but because of the size the 40 has plenty of "POP" to it. I would personally stay away from the 380. A very good friend of mine is DEA & a friend of his just got shot last week 8 times with a 380 in the neck, face, & shoulders. He's in the hospital & is going to survive. Hope this helps you & good luck.
Jim D

[TEXAS222]

One more thing Dan, if money & weight is not a concern, look at a Heckler & Koch P2000 SK. I trust my life with one every day. Also I totally agree with acloco, I would not carry reloads for self defense.
Jim D

[skipper]

Not taking anything from other suggestions, I personally bought a Glock 42 .380 caliber for my daughter-in-law when she got her concealed carry. Actually here in Texas it's not called a concealed carry permit any longer. It's called a license to carry handgun. I suppose that's due to open carry being right around the corner. Anyhow, she is very pleased with the Glock and has become very proficient with it. We had to get her a car safe since she is an surgical assistant and mother of two. There are still places where you must leave your handgun in the car.

[oldfox]

Also I totally agree with acloco, I would not carry reloads for self defense.
Jim D

May I ask why you would not carry reloads? I have never had a misfire after 1000's of rounds. To me factory ammo, being mass produced, would have more of a chance to fail then carefully reloaded ammo. MHO..

[Rick in Oregon]

oldfox: All decent advice above, but as to the 'why not carry reloads for the street' question, here is an answer you may want to consider.

I've got a background in LE, and have seen what can happen in a court of law in regard to a self-defense shooting in that the prosecutor, if known that you're "gunny" and handload, he/she will almost always pounce on the fact that you are a handloader and produced your own ammo to be even more "deadly" or to cause more pain, trauma and sufferings of the perp. Yeah, I know, what a stupid ridiculous point, but this is what typically can and does happen. Best to carry an off the shelf defensive load designed and sold for such use, as then there's no stigma of your evil experiments at home on your reloading bench that they can use to twist the view to the jury. If you ask any local cop this question, they'll most certainly agree. Save the handloads for the range and the bunnies in the outback.

Trapper Dan: As for the wife's carry gun, a small frame revolver in .38 Spl or .22 Mag is usually the best choice, especially a hammerless model. If an autoloader is really wanted, one of the new very best offerings is the Glock 43 single stack 9mm. About the same size as most .380's, barely larger than the G42 in .380, a full pound lighter than my lightest 3" carry .45, much more effective than any .380, and nothing to dink about with upon presentation...no manual safety, just draw and fire. And being a Glock, it WILL go "bang" every time, guaranteed. No matter your choice, I'd stay away from the .40 for wife's use....much more snorty than she'll be comfortable with.

See you in a few months for squirrels?

Whatever you end up with for her, the main thing to keep in mind is get her out with her new piece and practice, and practice often.

[oldfox]

oldfox: All decent advice above, but as to the 'why not carry reloads for the street' question, here is an answer you may want to consider.

I've got a background in LE, and have seen what can happen in a court of law in regard to a self-defense shooting in that the prosecutor, if known that you're "gunny" and handload, he/she will almost always pounce on the fact that you are a handloader and produced your own ammo to be even more "deadly" or to cause more pain, trauma and sufferings of the perp. Yeah, I know, what a stupid ridiculous point, but this is what typically can and does happen. Best to carry an off the shelf defensive load designed and sold for such use, as then there's no stigma of your evil experiments at home on your reloading bench that they can use to twist the view to the jury. If you ask any local cop this question, they'll most certainly agree. Save the handloads for the range and the bunnies in the outback.

Thanks Rick for that advice. It sure makes sense in this day and age..now to find some bunnies!

[TEXAS222]

Oldfox, what Rick stated is pure fact, seen it way too much with courts & lawyers. What a shame. Hey Rick, roger the Glock going bang every time. That's the phrase I use when talking about my HK's.
Jim D

[Rick in Oregon]

JD: I'll be the first to admit that Glock's don't have the 'wow-factor' of a nice 1911, ugly as sin, and being part plastic, do not excite me one bit. BUT, for pure utility and reliability, guns like the Glock and your HK make a lot of sense.

Going "BANG" each and every time is a very good thing!

[acloco]

Also I totally agree with acloco, I would not carry reloads for self defense.
Jim D

May I ask why you would not carry reloads? I have never had a misfire after 1000's of rounds. To me factory ammo, being mass produced, would have more of a chance to fail then carefully reloaded ammo. MHO..

...for the reason RIO advised. If reloads are used in your self defense, if the DA is worth a bit of salt, you just became the expert witness, at your trial, against you.

Would NOT advise on a semi auto for a purse gun because, ideally, the purse should be a "shoot thru", true concealed carry purse. Have hand on pistol without ever uncovering.

At minimum (and look at competitive times), it takes 1.5 seconds to recognize:
1- There is a serious threat of life to you or a another person
2 - there is a serious threat of significant bodily injury to you or another person
3 - kidnapping
4 - sexual assault

........and.....

You have to draw and possibly expend rounds.

Time yourself with an OWB and your favorite pistola with a first round hit (and train to double tap, as this is the WORST possible moment in any person's life).

...and...

Don't use sights. Finding AND using sights is a fine motor skill. 99.9999% of humans cannot achieve this goal, in the 1.5 second timeframe....nor should. Practice instinct/point shooting. If the pistol fits you (back to my original post about fit & ergonomics), the pistol is, and should be, a natural extension of you.

My example - Did ANYBODY reading this wear a pair of shoes today that hurt your feet or are awkward to go about your daily life with? Why would you want to carry a pistol from the same category??

[TEXAS222]

My last comment on the subject. When I speak of " they always go bang", I'm talking about a weapon that shoots when clean, dirty, hot, cold, bloody, muddy, or what ever with just about any kind of ammo. A lot of pistols can be real finicky about ammo, especially hollow points. In my experience the glock & hk's will shoot just about any kind of ammo you shove down them in just about any condition. I like my Sig Sauer's but sometimes experience FTF's with certain ammo. NOT acceptable for a defense weapon. Just my 2 cents worth.
JD

[TrapperDan]

I was going to buy her the pistol for Christmas but I can see now that she is going to have to pick it out.
What I think would fit probably won’t. Darn, I guess it’s back to sportsman’s warehouse. Thanks for all the suggestions as it gives me a direction to start. I think the hammerless revolver is what I will ultimately end up with. Our local gun show is this weekend. Hopefully I can find something there.
How about one with a laser, or is that just false security? Thanks. Dan

[Rick in Oregon]

Dan, by the sound of it then, you are looking for a S&W Model 642 .38 Spl +P revolver. I've got one with a Crimson Trace laser, and it's quite a compact and powerful package. The laser is NOT false security either, as I can't imagine some fool continuing with his act of malfeasance once he sees the red dot upon his chest.

If that is indeed your choice, then you'll want to check out the Speer Gold Dot Personal Protection ammo that features a 135gr GDHP specifically designed for Short Barrels, and is labeled such. It was designed at the behest of the NYPD Detectives for use in their 2" J-Frame revolvers, and believe me, this stuff delivers!

One nice thing about a .38 Spl, is that there's a huge choice of inexpensive ammo available for practice, and your wife can practice with light recoiling ammo until she builds confidence and graduates to the Personal Protection stuff she'll carry.

The S&W M642 w/Crimson Trace Lasergrip:



Flipside:



The Speer Personal Protection ammo for short barrels:



And a view of the business end of the Gold Dot 135 gr. GDHP problem solver:



A caveat: I'd stay away from the .357 Magnum version of this revolver, as with full power ammo, it is NOT fun to shoot, and she'll not want to fire it a second time when loaded with .357 Mag carry ammo. The .38 Spl version should suffice for any conceivable event IMO.

[acloco]

Ladies do not have the same strength in upper torso, arms, and hands as men.

I would HIGHLY recommend a full steel revolver of the same size and an airweight to carry (if so desired). Start practicing and carry the heavy weight and eventually work in the airweight.

Recoil arrives in two different methods - kinetic energy and sound. Short barrel pistols recoil in both avenues. Only thing worse is a short barrel pistol with a ported barrel. BUY SOME GOOD EARMUFFS.

Fit and Ergonomics - tied in the priority.

Caliber selection - 9 so fine, 38 no slouch, and the others begin with a .4x With bullet technology, any of the four will be perfect....and hope NEVER to have to use.