Good Gun for my Wife

[fire/law]

Ok here's the problem. I need a good gun for my wife. I am a Firefighter so I work 24hr on 48 off. I also work Part-time as a Deputy Sheriff.

My problem is that my wife gets freaked out when I am gone and she wants a gun.

I have showed her how to fire all my guns (I have alot) and she doesn't feel comfortable due to the size and kick of some of my guns.

I was thinking a .380 maybe...what are your guys opinions.


p.s. My wife is 5'3" and about 110lbs....so not alot to back up a large caliber.

[Rich Z]

Lots of options here!

My wife really likes the H&K P7 out of all she has tried, but will also use the Kahr 9mm. She also likes the S&W Airweight .38 special I carry, but she prefers the black ones over my titanium looking gun.

The Kahr 9mm is very small for a 9mm, actually as small or smaller than most .380s I have seen. I guess a lot depends on whether she is more comfortable with a revolver than a semi-auto. Generally in a high stress situation, the less complicated the gun, the better. So you probably want a gun for her that she can just pick up, aim, and squeeze the trigger.

[fire/law]

I have tried to get her to use my .38 Chief Special...she doesn't like it.

I agree the less complicated the better! I think I may go with a revolver...I will have to drag her out to the gun shop soon.

[KJUN]

Well, I will ALWAYS recommend a GOOD "wheel gun" over a semi-automatic when it comes to self defense. There are a LOT of reasons for this, but the main ones are as follows: no safety to "deactivate" the gun at the wrong time so it is quicker to bring into action when fractions of seconds count, MUCH less likely to "jam" than even the most reliable autoloader in the world, if the first round happens to have a bad primer you get a second round on a second trigger pull immediately without having to work a slide, you can beat someone with it if necessary and it'll still fire usually flawelessly, MUCH simplier to learn to use and operate, much safer for a DA since you can open up the cylinder and make SURE it is empty while people DO forget about the round in the chamber when they drop a mag OR empty the chamber and THE drop the mag leaving the gun in fact loaded, etc.

As far as WHAT calber of revolver, I believe that the .32S&W Long is the BARe minimum to use, but it is still too light, good ammo is hard to find, and the grips are usually pretty bad. BUT, anything larger than that should work. Recoil shy hands don't want anything too large, either, so I'd definitely stay smaller than the .357 Magnum.

My suggestion is the time proven .38 Special. Ammo is VERY available, cheap, recoil is light, bullet type is VERY available, you can purchase from light loads (practice) to +P+ loads (self defense), etc. If she plans to carry the gun, I'd get a semi-light .38Special 2" snubbie. (Not too light, though, or recoil will be bad.) If she doesn't want to carry, and will only keep it in the car or the house, then I recommend getting a .357Mag and shooting .38 Special rounds out of it. That'll give you a VERY well built gun that you COULD shoot hotter rounds out of if YOU decided to use it, too. I'd recommend a 4" barrel for a non-cary gun since it is a good compromise between the compact 2" and the more accurate 6+".

Will all of my options, my "owner" carries a .38 Special ultralight snubbie and I carry a .357 Magnum Snubbie (but I use .38 Specials in it when I'm in the car out of concern for my ears if I ever have to shoot it in a confined space....lol).

Remember: Shoot a lot + Carry a little = heavy gun. Shoot a little + Carry a lot = light gun. OR, if you are a "gun nut" like many of us, shot a lot + carry a lot = heavy guns + light guns and shoot and carry both a lot....lol.

KJ

[KJUN]

..almsot forgot...

As to which manufacturer, check out Taurus. Prices are fair, the .38 Special and .357 line of guns are AWESOME, they didn't kiss Clinton's butt, etc. I LOVE my Ruger double actions, I respect S&W's quality (except for their modern .45 Colts), etc., but I CARRY my Taurus. The unique safety lock is neat if you have kids that you didn't gun-proof properly. I don't use it, but I'm glad it is there in case I ever feel like I need it.

KJ

[fire/law]

#1 thanks for the ideas.

I think she might carry....I have been thinking about going with a wheel gun.

I carry my SIG P229 in .40 S&W most of the time or the .38 Chiefs. I was thinking of a SemiAuto but like was stated the wheel gun is much simpler to operate.

[KJUN]

That's a great Gun (re: Sig 229, 40S&W). I like the 226 more, but the 239 fits my hand a little better. My "owner" has been wanting the 239 - she'll probably end up getting it soon, too....lol. (She is more spoiled than I am. :) That would be my new "house gun" with grip laser sights.

I like a .45ACP more, but I can't put down a .40S&W at all. It's a great round. (Who was it that called a .40S&W a "solution looking for a problem?" They hit that nail on the head, but that does NOT detract from the benefits of that round any IMO.)

[fire/law]

KJUN,

I actually have a P226 that was issued from the department...then I ended up buying throught the department a P229 which was alittle easier for me to carry since I am a smaller guy and I don't feel 100% comfortable with my grip on the 226. The Sheriff initally made everyone carry a 226..then the detectives and the female deputies complained enough that he let us get 229's.

I was thinking of a P239 for the wife...since I just totally love Sigs now. Your wife sounds like mine;) .

[Rich Z]

Yeah, I kind of like the Taurus myself. I stick a titanium .45 Colt in my pocket when I am around the house and in the yard. I think the ammo weighs more than the gun does! Only thing I don't really like about it is that the barrel is ported. That SOB is L-O-U-D!! Incredibly so! I originally got this gun to throw into my Jeep, but if I would ever have to fire it in that small contained space, I am sure my eardrums would be history. Perhaps would blow that ragtop off as well....

Recoil is rather sharp because of the light weight firing those 250 grain bullets. Sharp enough that if you use ammo that is not crimped properly, the projectiles will walk out of the casings in those rounds remaining in the cylinder.

But it has a REALLY big hole at the end of the barrel that would be a great attention getter if I need to pull it out of my pocket.

I tend to like Smith & Wesson quality but I don't think Taurus is that far behind them for a duty gun. I tend to like stainless or titanium simply because I want something relatively maintenance free. Hot and humid here in north Florida, so blued steel may not fare very well for very long without some constant attention.

BTW, as for the Sig 229, I converted mine over to .357 Sig. Very nice package! Damn accurate and never had even a single hiccup. But it's kind of big for me to carry. Now if I could get one of those Kahr's converted to .357 Sig, well that would be real sweet!

[fire/law]

I love the .357Sig round!!! I like to swap out my barrel and pop of round with it when I can. Unfortunatley the Sheriff says we can only carry .45 or .40S&W.

For a while I carried a Smith Airlight .357....that sucker had recoil but like you said its a big hole at the end and that sometimes make the difference.

[Rich Z]

Yeah man! The .357 Sig is great! I sent off a Beretta model 96 I got to Barsto and they mounted a .357 Sig barrel and set it up PERFECTLY for me. I told them if they couldn't get the gun to shoot EXACTLY at point of aim, then put back in the .40 barrel and send it back to me unchanged. They did one hell of a job with that gun.

It actually amazed me quite a bit when I bought a factory .357 Sig barrel and just plopped it into my Sig 229 and it shot exactly at the same point of aim as the .40S&W. Only much tighter groups.

Darn! I'm just itching to go shooting now!

[fire/law]

Rich,

You are not the only one that was surprised. I can say SIG did on heck of a job when they designed the P229. I love shooting the .357SIG. I think soon it may become an accepted LE round not just one of those "novelty" calibers.

[Rich Z]

I'm kind of fuzzy on cartridge history, but wasn't the .45 ACP developed to have the identical ballistics of the .45 Colt in a semi-auto packaged round, which was proven to be a reliable man stopper?

And wasn't the .357 Sig developed to have the identical ballistics of the 125 grain .357 Mag in a semi-auto functioning round, also a proven and very capable man-stopping round?

[KJUN]

> I'm kind of fuzzy on cartridge history, but wasn't the .45 ACP developed to have the identical ballistics of the .45 Colt in a semi-auto packaged round, which was proven to be a reliable man stopper?

I wouldn't place money on it, but that sounds about right. The two ARE very similar, of course.

> And wasn't the .357 Sig developed to have the identical ballistics of the 125 grain .357 Mag in a semi-auto functioning round, also a proven and very capable man-stopping round?

Correct, the .357 Sig was designed to get similar foot-pounds of energy on impact as the .357 Mag. (It does, but in a lighter, faster bulllet, so I'll stick with the heavier .357 Mag for most purposes, thank you.)

BUT, here is what bugs me. The .357 Sig uses the same projectile as the 9mm Luger (.355 to .356) and NOT the same projectile as the .357 Magnum (.357 to .358). It's called the .357 Sig because it is supposed to recreate the .357 Mag, but I wish Sig would have just used a .357 or .358 projectile and then called it a .357 Sig so it would be true on both counts.

Still, a great round, but I don't personally believe it will replace the .357 Mag in knockdown on the receiving end.
KJ
KJ

[KJUN]

> Yeah, I kind of like the Taurus myself. I stick a titanium .45 Colt in my pocket when I am around the house and in the yard.

I've got the tracker in .454 long colt for hog hunting. I LOVE it except that the cylinder is too short to accept some of the heavier projectiles. Still, it's good enough to drop a any deer or hog I see in SE Texas or south LA within 40-50 yards (my personal limit with open sights on a handgun) if I put the bullet where I should.

KJ

[Rich Z]

BUT, here is what bugs me. The .357 Sig uses the same projectile as the 9mm Luger (.355 to .356) and NOT the same projectile as the .357 Magnum (.357 to .358). It's called the .357 Sig because it is supposed to recreate the .357 Mag, but I wish Sig would have just used a .357 or .358 projectile and then called it a .357 Sig so it would be true on both counts.


Yeah, I still wonder where ".38 Special" came from! :)

Actually, I thought the 125 grain .357 was the top dog in one stop shots in .357 mag? The most common weight bullet I see in .357 Sig is also a 125 grain projectile. Is .002 of an inch in diameter of the projectile REALLY going to make any measurable difference?

[KJUN]

>Actually, I thought the 125 grain .357 was the top dog in one stop shots in .357 mag? The most common weight bullet I see in .357 Sig is also a 125 grain projectile. Is .002 of an inch in diameter of the projectile REALLY going to make any measurable difference?

No, in pistol ranges, I don't thin 0.002" is gonna make much of a difference, but velocity will. It is the LIGHTER .357 Sig rounds that approach the foot-pounds of energy of the .357 Mag. The heavier .357 Sig rounds crap out as compared to the lighter rounds - which are pretty dang fast.
Here are two side-by-side comparison:

.357 Sig = 88g/1616fps/510fpe
.357Mag = 90g/1855fps/688fpe

and

.357 Sig = 124g/1320fps/480fpe
.357Mag = 125g/1795fps/894fpe

I don't know anything about the barrel lengths used in those estimates, so take that into consideration here.

For the 125gr-class projectiles, we have ALMOST twice the energy in the .357 Mag. I like the heavier rounds, so just for comparison: .357Mag = 158g/1456fps/744fpe and .357Mag = 180g/1200fps/576fpe

KJ

[fire/law]

I think that the use of the 9mm Luge Projectile was so that it could fit into the same frame as the .40S&W. At least that is my thinking.

As for the lighter rounds and slower rounds I think you have to give a little to get a higher carrying capacity.

[Rich Z]

No man, those velocity specs don't look right to me. I just did a quick scan of Hodgdon's site for loading specs and this is what I see:

.357 mag using a 10 inch barrel

H4227 - 1839 fps
Titegroup - 1497 fps

.357 Sig using a 4 inch barrel

HS-6 - 1339 fps.


The ONLY way you can get those high velocities you showed in .357 mag is by using very slow powders in very long barrels. You try using those bullets in a .357 4 inch revolver and you will be able to weld metal plate with that muzzle flash!

Using .357 Magnum cartridges in an equivalent carry gun with a barrel length suitable for that use, and I suspect velocities will be close enough to .357 Sig for any really practical comparison. Unless you are Wyatt Earp, of course. :)

BTW, I did some relatively extensive testing (for me, anyway) with reloading the .357 Magnum a while back, and the HS-6 is an excellent powder (if you use CCI magnum primers) for all barrel lengths in my Colt Pythons. Just about all the other powders I tried worked well in one barrel length, but failed miserably in the others for one reason or another. But HS-6 produced consistently tight groups for all barrel lengths and would be my choice if I was reloading general purpose rounds for all of my .357s.

Power Pistol produced phenomenal results in my 8 inch Pythons, but lackluster results in the shorter barrels, for instance.

[Clown]

try a Ruger Mark 2. the barrel is a bit long but its light, accurate, and has no kick at all. shoots a .22 round, but it has a 10 round clip so if its needed just empty one and it should be fine

[andy]

People who "can't remember" to manipulate a safety are like those who "can't remember" to hit the brakes when they need to stop a car. I don't want them driving OR having a gun. Best get her shooting a LOT more, preferably with a .22, then see what's what.

[PAPACHUCK]

I don't hear many people using this choice, but nonetheless, I think you should at least consider it:

Ruger SP101 32 H&R mag. 3" or 4" barrel

6-shots; extremely reliable; soft recoil; reasonable priced.

Just my .02

[Wylycoyte]

And tell her to watch "Death Wish" for training tips for the .32 revolver. :madeuce:

[hearty]

the .32 ammo is a lot more expensive than .38 or 9mm, because you can get remanufactured 38 wadcutter ammo all day long, and it's just as "soft" (meaning ineffectual when you shoot somebody with it) as the .32. The 22 would make a lot more sense, actually.

[PAPACHUCK]

the .32 ammo is a lot more expensive than .38 or 9mm, because you can get remanufactured 38 wadcutter ammo all day long, and it's just as "soft" (meaning ineffectual when you shoot somebody with it) as the .32. The 22 would make a lot more sense, actually.

hearty, I'm sorry to disagree with you, but for defensive usage, I believe the .38 wadcutter would be topped by the .32H&R 85gr. HP. I do, though agree that a .22 is better than nothing (or a .25 for that matter), but for a woman or someone recoil sensitive, the .32H&R is much better than a .38. Please don't confuse the .32H&R with the .32ACP. A plus is that with most small frame revolvers chambered in .32H&R, you get 6 rounds instead of 5 like most small frame .38's. Of course everybody has their opinion and this is just mine. I truly believe the .32H&R is one of the most underrated calibers out there. The key is HAVING a gun! :)

[KJUN]

I haven't even read all this thread, but the title makes me giggle. Almost ANY gun ould be a worthwhile trade for some men's wife! ...or do you mean what would be good to use to "take her out?" LMAO.

Seriously, a good gun for a small farmed person who is new to guns is a wheel gun: simple and SAFE. Little chance of a jam, and you just PULL the trigger again if you have a misfire. If she plans to carry it, you can't go wrong with the ultralight .38 Specials that take the +P rounds. Target loads don't usually kick much, and you do not HAVE to use +P rounds if she doesn't like them. If she plans to NOT carry it, get a .357 Mag and just load it with .38 SPL +P rounds. The extra weight of that gun will tame those rounds down a lot.

Look at Taurus for some very good guns with some of the BEST warranties out there and a VERY, VERY fair price.

KJ