.380 for Wife to CCW suggestion?

[cam75]

I want my wife to carry a handgun, but she thinks my Glock 17 has to much recoil, and of course hates shooting my .45 1911.

So I'm thinking a .380 should do the trick. She's not a huge gun nut, so it needs to be simple to operate, load/unload, etc., and must be a reliable shooter, nothing with a propensity to FTF/FTE.

She'll be carrying in her purse most likely, so it has to have a good safety mechanism. No real price point I'm set on, just what meets the needs.

Any recommendations?

 

[sartwell]

Bersa Thunder 380 is a great little gun for the money. My wife really likes hers .

 

[wolfman]

If she is recoil shy, have her try a M&P 9mm, it will be way softer shooting than almost any .380 out there.

 

[sgreen3]

If she is recoil sensitive dont get her a pocket 380, the Bersa would be a good choice.

 

[cam75]

If she is recoil sensitive dont get her a pocket 380, the Bersa would be a good choice.

Sorry, should've mentioned it should be small, due to carrying in her purse. If its full size she'll never carry it.

I haven't shot a .380 in ten years, but was a full size Walther.

A pocket .380 will have more kick than a standard 9mm?

 

[GBuck]

I would look at the Walther PK380. That's what MrsGBuck has and she LOVES it. She is 5'1" and 95#. Fits great in small hands and is super soft to shoot. Not a "poket" .380, but not big either. Smaller than a Glock 19... considerably.

 

[indyjoe]

Sorry, should've mentioned it should be small, due to carrying in her purse. If its full size she'll never carry it.

I haven't shot a .380 in ten years, but was a full size Walther.

A pocket .380 will have more kick than a standard 9mm?

A tiny .380 is harder to shoot than most hand guns. My P3AT feels much more recoil than a Glock 17. It is about size of the gun to get a good grip on and weight of the gun. A heavier gun will recoil less. Basic physics.

I would recommend trying to find a 9mm that she can handle the recoil on for two reasons.

1 - More powerful and better defense round.
2 - Ammo cost is much lower, so it will be cheaper to buy practice ammo for.

Have you tried a Gen 4 Glock, as they supposedly helped the recoil with the mini-Glock styled recoil springs. Either way, you should be looking at something near Glock 19 size or a little smaller. Pocket guns are just hard to shoot.

That said, there are some good .380 suggestions above that would probably work well with her.

 

[seadoodr.]

Bersa Thunder 380 is a great little gun for the money. My wife really likes hers .

I agree, picked up a bersa thunder for my girlfriend. We have put about 200 rounds through it and we both like it alot, nice gun, great price.

 

[sgreen3]

Sorry, should've mentioned it should be small, due to carrying in her purse. If its full size she'll never carry it.

I haven't shot a .380 in ten years, but was a full size Walther.

A pocket .380 will have more kick than a standard 9mm?[/QUOTE]


Short answer....YES! If she dont really care for recoil she wont like a pocket 380. Either go with something like a Bersa or something in a 9mm(which would be ideal).

 

[mrjarrell]

Get her a snubby .357 and load it with .38's. Ot just get her a .38. The recoil's not too bad and it doesn't need a safety.

 

[GBuck]

Get her a snubby .357 and load it with .38's. Ot just get her a .38. The recoil's not too bad and it doesn't need a safety.

I can't say I agree with this suggestion if she's going to be carrying it in a purse. Most women's idea of purse carry, is carry it like everything else in that God forsaken black hole.. Just throw it in there.

 

[X ring]

Mrs. X Ring has a Bersa .380 in her stable.

 

[cam75]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Haven't shot a Gen 4 Glock. The smallest id want to go is the Bersa Thunder size. Was thinking maybe Sig P232/238.

Ill have to take a look at the Walther PK380. Smaller than a G19..thats good size. Looks bigger on internet pictures.

 

[cam75]

I can't say I agree with this suggestion if she's going to be carrying it in a purse. Most women's idea of purse carry, is carry it like everything else in that God forsaken black hole.. Just throw it in there.

Exactly! Ive seen her purse, it is the black hole of calcutta, thats why I mentioned a solid safety is necessary.

 

[mrjarrell]

I can't say I agree with this suggestion if she's going to be carrying it in a purse. Most women's idea of purse carry, is carry it like everything else in that God forsaken black hole.. Just throw it in there.

I assume she'll have whatever she gets in a holster. If she carries a small .380 semi it would be the same deal. No difference. But, with a gun firing .38's she might be more inclined to carry it more often, due to the recoil.

 

[BlueEagle]

I'll second the notion of a good .38 snubnose. Many women have issues loading magazines or racking slides, and a revolver solves those, plus it doesn't get much simpler to train on. Something to think about.

If you're set on an auto, could look into PPK and derivatives, and the Bersa Thunder is a very good option at a very good price.

Also, she REALLY needs to be adding input to this decision; don't go out and just buy her a gun. Let her help pick it out; its going to be her gun, so she needs to be comfortable with it, and you can't know what will feel right to her without her input.

 

[EvilElmo]

I'll recommend the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380. It's got a very sturdy feel, integrated laser and a manual safety. My wife carries one now and loves it.

 

[kludge]

She'll be carrying in her purse most likely, so it has to have a good safety mechanism.

A gun in a purse deserves a proper purse and a proper holster. Try it... get a squirt gun put it in her purse with all her other junk, and have her walk across the room. When you yell "NOW!" she has to get into her purse, pull out the squirt gun and point it at some predetermined target. With a proper gun purse/holster she can keep her hand on her gun and if someone pulls the purse off her bodey, there's still a chance that she will still have her gun.

And unless she's really, and I mean really going to practice with it, then I would personally choose a gun without a safety.

A pocket .380 will have more kick than a standard 9mm?

Yes.

Anyway here are some guns WITH safeties. I will echo the recommendation of a Bersa, the Bersa .380 CC. The Sig Sauer P232 would be a good choice if you can afford it. The Walther PK380 feels good in many women's hands too.

IMO, these guns cane be safely carried IN a holster with the safety off. the Bersa also has a "notch" on the hammer that further enhances safety (other than the long DA trigger pull), making it "more" drop safe when carried with the safety off. I don't know if the others have this "feature".

I would also take a long hard look at the Ruger SP101 with the 2.25" barrel. Shooting .357 Mag loads from this gun feels like shooting .38+P's from a Airweight snub nose. And shooting .38's from the SP101 is fairly mild.

Learning to tolerate recoil can take some time... When someone is shooting a 9mm for the first time, most of the time it's not really "painful"... it's noisy and unpleasant, but rarely is it "painful", with some practice most people can learn to tolerate the recoil, then deal, then manage, and maybe even enjoy.

 

[Snake Eater]

walther PK380 Is the ****!!!!!

 

[cam75]

I'll second the notion of a good .38 snubnose. Many women have issues loading magazines or racking slides, and a revolver solves those, plus it doesn't get much simpler to train on. Something to think about.

If you're set on an auto, could look into PPK and derivatives, and the Bersa Thunder is a very good option at a very good price.

Also, she REALLY needs to be adding input to this decision; don't go out and just buy her a gun. Let her help pick it out; its going to be her gun, so she needs to be comfortable with it, and you can't know what will feel right to her without her input.

That goes without saying. Just trying to narrow down her choices. She won't know what to look at, or research any handguns. I want to be able to have 3 or 4 choices for her to handle at a LGS and pick one.