Need some suggestions please

[skipper]

So, do I have a valid concern about carrying a revolver versus an semi-automatic from the vantage of a child getting ahold of the revolver. With a semi-automatic, barring carrying it in Mode 1, cocked and locked, a child would probably struggle to cycle the slide. Whereas a revolver is always ready to fire. Am I being overly concerned? I know that the child shouldn't have access to ANY weapon without qualified parental supervision. But a mom might be in a situation where the kids are in close proximity to her carry sidearm more often.

I feel like I'm opening Pandora's box.

[TEXAS222]

Skipper, totally valid concern. I will not let my daughter have a revolver just for that reason. I agree 100%.
Jim D

[-CN-]

To me, an LC9 or LC9S is the perfect size gun and caliber for concealed self defense. A woman can more easily control a larger gun, vs a sub-compact like the LCP, and the available bullets for the 9mm make it a fine choice.

[TrapperDan]

Still shopping. We have looked at almost every pistol suggested above except the LC9 or the LC9S. Couldn’t find one around here. She liked the Kimber for its size and weight but she has arthritis in her hands and especially her thumbs so we have ruled out the automatics because she has a hard time working the slide and safety. I think I will eventually end up buying a S&W hammerless even though I don’t like the idea of no safety. The other double actions that we looked at with safety’s were also hard for her to take the safety off.
She had to use two hands and that made it very slow . She had to turn it on its side and use both thumbs to take the safety off. Lot longer than 1.5 seconds.
I should forget the whole thing and buy myself a new 17 HH but about the time I didn’t get her one , she would probably get mugged or raped or hmmmmmm Anyone have good a 17HH for sale.
Thank to all for giving me all the options. Dan

[acloco]

Don't forget, there is a nice selection of grips available for multiple flavors of revolvers.

...and...as my wife is in the same boat, she carries a 22 magnum revolver with Hornady Critical Defense ammo.

Before anybody jumps on the bandwagon, until you experience how far BULLET TECHNOLOGY has evolved......

[Rick in Oregon]

Before anybody jumps on the bandwagon, until you experience how far BULLET TECHNOLOGY has evolved......

Tom, precisely why the .22 Mag was on my short list when I first posted. The .22 Mag with the correct ammo is NOTHING to fool with! It gives new meaning to the word "penetration".......

An excellent choice for a lady as small purse revolver, just wear good hearing protection when practicing, 'cause it's LOUD!

[Valar]

My wife carrys a smith 38 spl in plus p the airweight as well. We did change out to a hogue grip. It offers another finger on the grip and allot more comfort. The factory grip hurt even my big hands! this gun hurt you after a few rounds. you lose a bit of concealment with the Hogue but if it hurts to practice, what good is it? personally I have a little smith and wesson body gaurd in 380. I carry it loaded with plus p rounds from buffalo bore. This little gun is the most accurate 380 I have shot to date! even at 25 yards tou can be consistant on a 1/3 size plate sillouett target! Ive tried the ruger lcr 9 , the old and new s version. What a inconsistant piece, Ruger needs to go back to the drawing board this time! I have recently added Big dot tritum sites to the smith! Awsome little gun , still love my Kimber Classic but she is a bit big to hide in warm seasons!

[skipper]

I bought a Walther CCP. It has Softcoil technology which directs some of the gas to slow down the rearward travel of the slide resulting in reduced recoil. The additional benefit is that Walther can use a recoil spring that is WAY easier to cock. If you have trouble with recoil or cocking a semi-automatic you should check out this pistol.

[Valar]

I havent shot the ccp but I do have a Walther PK 380 recoil and spring are modest as well . very easy gun to cock. However the slide on my pk 380 is very sloppy, so is accuracy! While it is good enough for concelled carry as most shots are close, it sucks at 25 yards. The smith Bodygaurd 380 at 25 yards is as a 85 percent gun n my book. The Walther PK less that 25 percent. Just my experience, maybe its me with the gun?

[Jim White]

Dan,

My expertise in this area is somewhat limited but I’ll add with what I feel comfortable putting out. In a nutshell there are two areas of concern; first and foremost is the pistol and caliber and, the second is the ammunition.

PISTOL
That little G43 in 9mm is about as compact as they come, however, with it comes a more recoil. Certainly it is manageable but because of its light weight, well...the physics of the subject has to be weighed in. Round capacity is 6.

Some have said “ignore the 380” and I'll confess it is the lightest I would ever consider but with the right bullet they're lethal. I have two, a Walther PPK/s and a Glock-42, which is the 380 version of the Glock-43. They both shoot and function quite well but the PPK/s can present issues if the hands are on the large side. In the summer months when people are wearing light cloths I would feel a 380 “with” the correct ammo would perform quite well. But come winter, when the heavy Carhartt, leather and oilskin jackets come out, I would opt for something stronger. At 25 yards both of mine shoot quite similar.

For me; the minimum is a 9mm or 38-Spl with my preference being either a 40 S&W or 45 ACP. For outdoors, I’ll step up to the 10mm, 357 or 44 magnums. If I were to settle on a 9mm I'd probably go for the Glock-26. Although wider, it is the same height and just a smidgen longer than the G43 but it has almost twice the ammunition capacity.

In the end, you have to choose what the carrier will like. When I got the G42 for my wife my first intention was to get her the Springfield Armory EMP, a small 1911 style and/or a Glock 43 in 9mm. She liked the Glock 42 in 380 so that's what I got her.

AMMUNITION
One thing that was touched on briefly with Rick's picture is ammunition. For the small compact pistols the ammunition is paramount and directly proportional to performance of your gun/ammo combination! And what works in one size, may not work to its full potential in another leaving you shorthanded with rounds that either; under penetrate, over penetrate, under expand or come apart; none of which is worth a dirty patch in your time of need.

YOU must test ammo and I would suggest testing all ammo to ensure it functions and performs as advertised. Because believe it or not; THEY-DON’T. The authority on the subject, the FBI, tests under given conditions. Just because they report it works, or doesn’t work, may not apply to your situation. In my findings most DID-NOT meet the advertised velocity but the biggest factor that affected performance was the barrel length.

Just recently, I just finished doing numerous test of self-defense/performance handgun ammo. It-is expensive to test when you have to pay full retail to test several brands but the cost is miniscule when one considers the alternative. Here is what I’ve been doing over the past several months with the following combinations of equipment and ammunition;

- 380 ACP (Glock 42 and Walther PPK/s) Barrel length approx. 3.3” for each one.
- 9mm (Glock 17 and Glock 19); Barrel length is 4.5” (G17) & 4” (G19).
- 38 Special (Smith & Wesson Models 36 and 686) Barrel length is 3” (M36) & 4” (M686).
- 357 Magnum (Smith and Wesson 686) Barrel length is 4”.
- 40 S&W (Glock 22, Glock 23 and Glock 27) Barrel length is 4.5” (G17), 4” (G23) and 3.4” (G27).
- 10mm (Smith & Wesson 1006) Barrel length is 5”.
- 45 ACP (F/S 1911) Barrel length is 5”.

I shot them into water at a distance of 10'. Now I know this isn't all and encompassing but it does give one an idea of how it will perform and besides, certified ballistic gel is quite spendy. I tested the following and briefly here is how they turned out;

Remington Gold Saber (Green and Gold Box)- 357 Mag; 125 gr had significant jacket and core separation, expansion was good.
- 40 S&W; 165 grain had full jacket and core separation, expansion was good. The 180 grain had mild jacket and core separation, expansion was good.
- 45 ACP; 230 gr had significant jacket and core separation, expansion was good.

SUMMARY; POOR. I would-not use this ammunition is my personal defense choice.

Remington Ultimate Defense (Green and Silver Box) BONDED
- 380; 102 gr, excellent results
- 38 Special (M36); 124 gr, excellent results
- 45 ACP; POOR full jacket and core separation, expansion was good.

SUMMARY; Outstanding results in 380 and 38 Special (M36) but I would-not use this ammunition in my 45 ACP as a personal defense choice.

Federal Hydra-Shok
- 380; 90 gr, excellent results from PPK/s, not tested in G42.
- 9mm; 115 gr; Bullet fragmented from G17, not tested in G17.
- 38 Special (M36 & M686); 110gr, poor expansion from the M36, performed very well in M686.
- 40 S&W; excellent results from G23 & G27, not tested in G22.

SUMMARY; Very good results in all 40 S&W and the 4” M686 but only so-so in the short barrel 38-Spl. As old as this bullet is, it still performs pretty darn good.

Federal HST
- 380; 99 gr, mixed results from the G42. Some were great and some separated completely. Not tested in PPK/s.
- 9mm; 124 gr, excellent results from G19, not tested in G17.
- 45 ACP; 230gr, outstanding results.

SUMMARY; Superb results in all but the 380, which was inconsistent.

Hornady XTP Custom (BONDED)- 380; 90 gr, excellent results.
- 9mm; 115 gr, excellent results.
- 10mm; 180 gr, excellent results.

SUMMARY; Excellent results, however the bullet doesn’t expand as pretty as some of the others but it has better penetration than those that do. I liked them

Speer Gold-Dot (BONDED)- 380; 90 gr, excellent results.
- 357; 125 and 158 gr, excellent results. The 158 gr doesn’t open up quite as pretty as the 125 but it still gets the job done.
- 45 ACP; 230 gr, excellent results.

SUMMARY; excellent results in all calibers tested. My go-to choice for the 380 (along with Remington Ultimate Defense) 357 and 45 ACP. I’d like to get some of the 135 +P for the short barrel 38-Special but have been unsuccessful in laying my hands on some.

Winchester Ranger T/SXT - 9mm; 147 gr, excellent results.
- 40 S&W; 180 gr, excellent results.
- 45 ACP; 230 gr, excellent results.

SUMMARY; excellent results in all calibers tested. This is LEO ammo so it can be difficult to find but it is out there and tends to be quite pricy. It is the “talon” style and yes, they still look like little ninja-stars when flipped over and they’re quite sharp too. No other bullet I tested has this attribute.

Winchester Ranger T/SXT (BONDED)- 40 S&W; 180 gr, excellent results.

SUMMARY; excellent results. My personal choice because I have several boxes of it and its readily available to me here locally, plus it is bonded.

Winchester PDX1 (BONDED)- 9mm; 147 gr, excellent results.
- 38 Special (M36); 130 gr, excellent results
- 40 S&W; 180 gr, excellent results.
- 45 ACP, 230, excellent results

SUMMARY; excellent results. My personal choice for 38 Special (along with Remington Ultimate Defense). Truthfully, it looks strikingly identical to the Winchester Ranger T/SXT bonded bullet. A good choice, IMO.

Sig Sauer V-Crown- 380; 90 gr excellent results.
- 10mm; 180 gr, POOR, full jacket and core separation, good expansion.
- 45 ACP, 230, excellent results.

SUMMARY; excellent results in 45 and 380. I imagine this bullet is designed around the 40 S&W parameters and I’m guessing that since the 10mm has more horsepower it infringes on the bullets performance. This bullet when expanded is almost a spitting-image of the Federal HST.

PMC Starfire
- 38 Spl; 125 gr, POOR, jacket separation in M686.
- 40 S&W; 180 gr, good results.

SUMMARY; I don’t know if this bullet is still out there but I with todays options I would look for something else, just my opinion.

Buffalo Bore
- 10mm; 180 gr JHC, POOR. Total separation.

SUMMARY; The first round pierced the primer and separated, the second didn’t pierce the primer but still separated. This is primarily a hunting bullet vice self-defense but even still I can’t recommend these to anyone for any reason. When I got home I unloaded all of them and will keep the cases for future use.

I know this was long and I may have gotten a little carried away but I hope it helps out. Hope to see ya' in the rat-patches in a few months.

Jim