abmblsnowman

Hey everybody, my girlfriend has expressed a desire to CC, she is recoil shy so my guns are out as they are 45 acp. I was leaning more toward a revolver for simplicity, and she wants to get into CAS as well so maybe a 32 or 38 single action. I currently reload so thats and option as well, any help/advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance

andybothel

I carry an LCR 357 loaded with 38+p. The recoil is manageable but still noticeable even with 38s. I consider a DAO revolver a great choice for someone new due to simplicity and one of the safest options for carry.

You can reload some very light loads for the LCR to get more trigger time.

You'll get a wide variance of opinion on whats the smallest caliber to use for carry, but in the end, it has to be what works for her.

I'm sure I'll get a lot of people agreeing with my when I say don't pick a gun for her, big mistake. You can give her some advice, but in the end she has to be happy with what she gets or it'll get left in the safe.

Good luck on the hunt. I'm working on my wife to get the range with me then take a CCW class and get something to carry.

RugerRon60

I have a female friend in the same predicament. She took a basic handgun class and my wife and I took her to the range several times and she shot .22. .32 .38 and a .40. The larger handguns she would shoot but anything small (like she wants) to be an easy carry she didn't like. She only liked the .22. It's been a few months and she has not purchased anything because of this. I am close to saying just get you a nice little .22 it will be better than nothing. Comments anyone?

OcalaCCW

A nice .22 can get the job done if she is a good shot. A well placed .22 is better than a missed .45

TacticalKoala

Pepper spray.

hideit

i bought my wife the KIMBER pepper blaster

North country gal

Okay, it's a stretch to use a Cowboy Action shooting SA as a concealable gun for carry, but if that's where she is leaning, I would let her explore it. As andybothel says, you need to give her some room to decide. It has to be her gun. She has to feel a sense of ownership if you expect her to maintain an interest. If she's thinking of CAS, help her with that, first and think in terms of a CCW gun, later. it's more important to encourage her interest in shooting at this point and what could be more fun than CAS?

As for recoil, has she tried shooting standard 38s? Those would be very mild in a 357 Blackhawk or Vaquero. She could then work up to the 38+P or even the milder 357 SD rounds as she gains more experience. Since you reload, this could be done very gradually, making sure she is comfortable along the way.

Best of luck to you and hope you can get her out there shooting with you. Speaking from experience, shooting is a great sport for couples.

spartan1039x

I honestly would recommend something along the lines of a compact 9mm semi-auto weighing at least 20 oz, anything less is somewhat hard to control when in rapid fire like you would in a defensive situation. My wife is looking to get her first gun and we are stuck between a Springfield XDm 9mm and a Ruger SR9. The first gun my wife ever shot was my Springfield XDm 9mm and she had no issue with recoil (then again it weighed 38 oz fully loaded lol). I myself have fired an LCR and I find it just is way to light t be controllable enough for a recoil shy female in a defensive situation, plus you have to worry about reloading under stress. I can do ok loading a revolver in a hurry under stress but it isn't easy and I've practiced a lot. If she is set on a revolver for defense then I'd look into a Ruger SP101 or a GP100 and and that depends on whether or not it's a carry gun or a home defense piece. If it's gonna be a CAS shooter only then look no further than a Ruger Blackhawk convertible. It gives you the option or shooting 9mm, 38's, and 357's or shooting .45ACP and 45C but thats just my .02 cents.

Marine Division Two

S&W 637 airweitght with practice ammo 38 semi wadcutters make for a very low recoil even in this gun,and 38 125 jhp for defense,NO +p is necessary.

daytona_knight

CAS guns and CC guns are generally quite different from each other. CAS rules requires a pair of cowboy 6 shooter type guns (plus a couple of long guns). CC requires something ... well, that can be easily concealed and handled.

Although any revolver can be used to get her accustomed to shooting single action mode, using the same gun for CC and CAS is not something many can pull off. I would recommend concentrating on one application at a time.

Flahotrod

I have run into similar dilemmas with some of the women whom I have taught or taken to the range. What they are comfortable shooting is not what we generally recognize as adequate for self defense.

I have come to a place where I am no longer trying to convince them to "deal with it" and get a larger caliber. Reality shows that they won't, and in many cases, end up going without. I am in agreement that anything is better than nothing (or throwing rocks).

If the only gun someone is comfortable shooting is a .22, I am now encouraging them to get one and to practice with it. A .22 is inexpensive to shoot, is fun to shoot, and can be kept for plinking forever. In the back of my mind I am hopeful that it will eventually lead to them being willing to later experiment with some larger caliber guns.

In your instance, since she likes revolvers, I would steer her towards something like an SP101 in .327 magnum or something in a .32 magnum load. It falls in that middle area between a self defense caliber and a low recoil caliber. I believe you can shoot a variety of .32 caliber rounds in it to lessen the recoil even more while she is learning and practicing.

Good luck.

gunaddict826

I remember a line from The Blind Side when Sandra Bullock (pause for a visual....mmmm) confronted the thugs in Michael's old neighborhood.

They were talking about 'poppin a cap' in him. She replied with "...I'm in the NRA and I'm always packing" and tapped her purse. The head BG said something like "What you packin? .22? Cute little Saturday night special?". She said "Yep. And it shoots just fine every other day off the week too. And I hit what I'm aiming at."

Kudzu

Taking her to a range to try a variety of guns is good advice. Guidance is good, but let her make the final decision.

I went through this process with my wife a couple of years ago. My wife is 4'10" with small, weak hands and arms. After trying a variety of guns from .22 up, she selected the Ruger SP101 DAO with CT grips. Shooting standard pressure .38 only through it is no problem for her from a recoil standpoint.

I was trying to nudge her toward the full hammer version for the SA/DA option, but she insisted on the DAO...said she didn't want to be able to cock the hammer and risk an accidental discharge with the much lighter SA pull, especially under stress. I couldn't argue with her logic.

If she insists on a .22, she may want to consider the Ruger .22 LCR -- lightweight, concealable and holds eight rounds in the cylinder -- or the Ruger SR22 with a 10+1 capacity and still relatively small and lightweight.

Let us know what she decides.

Tellico

Though it won't work for Cowboy, don't rule out the 22 Magnum for self defense. they make SD loads for short barrel guns now.

Shadyw

MY wife and I got our CHL's together. Her SR9c is her main range gun and is her carry gun. She initially had trouble racking it but with practice,familiarization and confidence build up She prefers it to anything else we tried. I got the .38 LCR thinking she would use it more easily, but she doesn't like the recoil @ all and definitely doesn't like my LCP. We rented a few different options @ the range, but I agree try before buying and let her pick it out. It's going to be her gun and my wife seems thoroughly satisfied with her SR9c and goes to the range regularly with me now. She wasn't even interested in guns, shooting etc. for the 30 yrs. we've been married, but it's become something we do together and get outside etc.