Johann the Horrible Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I just know I am going to take a lot of flack for this, but this is what I believe. A gun in the hand is worth 100 times more than no gun. I have several guns and the ones that I carry is a 357 snubbie( not recommended for women) and a 6.35mm(25 ACP) CZ. Of the two I have the 6.35 with me more often. ( I carry my snubbie even to church). I am never without the 6.35, not even in the garden. So the 6.35 only irritates attackers. Why don't you attack me so that I can irritate you for a while? Not takers, never had one, yet. I would rather carry a .22 but with rim-fires it is difficult to guarantee ignition and with a small gun you need every shot you can get. It is going to be difficult to get a lady to carry, been there done that. I would rather have her carry a 6.35 that nothing, and frequently that is the choice after a month of so. If we knew we were going to be attacked we would take our semi-auto rifles and have all our friends with semi-auto rifles come with. Hell we would even get all our friends with friends with semi-auto rifles to come with- but we do not know when we are going to need our guns. If we are honest, do we always carry our big guns, or do we just carry them when we think we would need them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremiah C Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I would consider a full size M&P pistol due to the ergonomics. The larger the weapon the easier it will be on her however, not any easier to conceal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R/T Performance Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 I am very intersted in for tiny carry yet new Walther pps Sigs p238 walther ppks all small and pretty thin curios to see wha the sig going for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 My wife is 5'2" and 105lbs...size 2 with very petite hands. She shoots our Kahr PM9 very, very well. It has a little bit of snap to it, but it's nothing even a very petite woman can't handle. The trigger pull is quite smooth and she struggles with some heavy double action guns, but not the Kahr. When I come home and take off my duty gun the little Kahr goes in my pocket and stays there until I go to bed...usually forget it's there. R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 As much as I love shooting semi autos I think I am pretty firmly rooted in the belief of carrying a small revolver for defense. The 642 w/CT is ideal for my wife. It is NOT a range gun for sure. But it is simple and effective with the right loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry cazes Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 SIG P232 is my pick when size is paramount. Great ergonomics, reliability, and accuracy. It's a .380 but Stoke it with Corbons and it is an equivalent stopper to ANY 9mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 It's a .380 but Stoke it with Corbons and it is an equivalent stopper to ANY 9mm. You do realize that this can't possibly be true right? Cor-bon loads a 90gr bullet in both .390 and 9mm (to keep it apples-to-apples) and it's 450fps faster in the 9mm. There's no way that isn't going to make a difference in penetration, expansion etc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry cazes Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 It's a .380 but Stoke it with Corbons and it is an equivalent stopper to ANY 9mm. You do realize that this can't possibly be true right? Cor-bon loads a 90gr bullet in both .390 and 9mm (to keep it apples-to-apples) and it's 450fps faster in the 9mm. There's no way that isn't going to make a difference in penetration, expansion etc.... For the purposes of this discussion, yes I do. We could go off and argue stats all day long but that has been done ad nauseum elsewhere. Let's not For a person with a small stature that does not carry right now, ergonomics is more important than absolute numbers. If she doesn't carry it, the rest is mute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 (edited) It's a .380 but Stoke it with Corbons and it is an equivalent stopper to ANY 9mm. You do realize that this can't possibly be true right? Cor-bon loads a 90gr bullet in both .390 and 9mm (to keep it apples-to-apples) and it's 450fps faster in the 9mm. There's no way that isn't going to make a difference in penetration, expansion etc.... For the purposes of this discussion, yes I do. We could go off and argue stats all day long but that has been done ad nauseum elsewhere. Let's not For a person with a small stature that does not carry right now, ergonomics is more important than absolute numbers. If she doesn't carry it, the rest is mute. Sure, I've always said carrying anything is better than nothing (generally) but I wasn't addressing that...just the comment about one being the equal of the other. Suggesting that 220ft/lbs is the equal of 450ft/lbs using the exact same bullet is kind of a stretch is all I'm saying. Yes, it might be enough, it might get the job done etc, but they're not really "equals" so why give someone who may not know better a false impression? Personally, the micro .380s make very little sense to me for almost anybody. My wife is tiny and has no problem concealing a very small 9mm (Kahr PM9) and she shoots it very well even though she doesn't practice often (working on that!). I don't see how an ounce or two and a quarter of an inch or so here or there is going to make much difference for 99% of the people out there. Since it really isn't a concealment issue at that size why not have twice as much power for free? It's as close to a free lunch as you can get...everybody likes a free lunch right? Edit to add: from an ergonomic standpoint even my wife's very, very, very petite hands are slightly bigger than the grip on the PM9 (I can only get two fingers on it). Any smaller and it would be harder for her to hold and control. So even though the .380 has less pop, it might not offer any comfort/control advantages to smaller shooters. Edited August 11, 2009 by G-ManBart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry cazes Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 It's a .380 but Stoke it with Corbons and it is an equivalent stopper to ANY 9mm. You do realize that this can't possibly be true right? Cor-bon loads a 90gr bullet in both .390 and 9mm (to keep it apples-to-apples) and it's 450fps faster in the 9mm. There's no way that isn't going to make a difference in penetration, expansion etc.... For the purposes of this discussion, yes I do. We could go off and argue stats all day long but that has been done ad nauseum elsewhere. Let's not For a person with a small stature that does not carry right now, ergonomics is more important than absolute numbers. If she doesn't carry it, the rest is mute. Sure, I've always said carrying anything is better than nothing (generally) but I wasn't addressing that...just the comment about one being the equal of the other. Suggesting that 220ft/lbs is the equal of 450ft/lbs using the exact same bullet is kind of a stretch is all I'm saying. Yes, it might be enough, it might get the job done etc, but they're not really "equals" so why give someone who may not know better a false impression? Personally, the micro .380s make very little sense to me for almost anybody. My wife is tiny and has no problem concealing a very small 9mm (Kahr PM9) and she shoots it very well even though she doesn't practice often (working on that!). I don't see how an ounce or two and a quarter of an inch or so here or there is going to make much difference for 99% of the people out there. Since it really isn't a concealment issue at that size why not have twice as much power for free? It's as close to a free lunch as you can get...everybody likes a free lunch right? Edit to add: from an ergonomic standpoint even my wife's very, very, very petite hands are slightly bigger than the grip on the PM9 (I can only get two fingers on it). Any smaller and it would be harder for her to hold and control. So even though the .380 has less pop, it might not offer any comfort/control advantages to smaller shooters. Fair enough. I DO carry this indoors at my place of business at times and the slightly smaller size and weight is significant for me over the space of a whole day. I wish I could get a carry permit for elsewhere but the powers that be deny me that right in our county........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddjob Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 XRe, What was the final choice?? I'm curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modoc Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 XRe - I am going to add another vote for the Springfield EMP. My wife is of similar size and build, but she is a shooter (CAS and hunting). We bought her a S&W J frame a couple years ago that she liked, until the 100+ round qualification for her CCW. After that, she wanted a bottom feeder. We tried everything that we could get our hands on locally and she setteled on the Springer. Yes, it is a bit on the large side. But, it is smaller than my Kimber Ultra and recoils less too. That was another issiue for us, having all of the defense guns be the same controls. If she is around the house and grabs my Govt. Model or the Kimber, it is no big deal. She usually uses a CCW purse or a fanny pack when she is carrying, although the Phobus holster (solid) does well under a baggy overshirt in cool weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calishootr Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 Yrs ago when running an indoor shooting range, we had a smith and wesson 3913??? (lady smith stainless single stack 9mm) and every lady who had problems hanging onto the the bigger double stacks(beretta 92F was all the rage due to being picked up by the US military) did not have any problems with the lady-smith, tho as it has been stated smaller-ish gun/weight, your going to get more pronounced recoil, tho can I also toss this in??? why not shoot somthing a lil more controllable ammo-wise??? a few yrs back federal came out with a reduced recoil personal protection round, that is a dream to shoot in my G26, less bang and more accurate rounds on target than lots of power and zero hits....also would chime in on a smith and wesson 640...lots of choices for ammo there up to and including mr. zambone's red-hot magsafe which need i say, is a handfull in that gun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpeltier Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 I did not see it mentioned how she plans to carry? If it is one of those specialy made purses with the holster slot for quick access, pistol size is not so important. Shootability is of prime concern in my opinion. Most of the little "cute" guns are harsh to shoot indeed. Not a very good confidance builder for a new shooter. I would recomend insisting on a method of carry such as those purses, that would allow a truely shootable gun for much needed practice. And then a standard size M&P 9mm. My 11yr old (85lbs soaking wet) shoots my M&P better than many adult shooters I know, and can rack the slide without help. Many of the guns mentioned have extremely heavy recoil springs and are very difficult to rack the slide on. If she can't rack the slide--she should just leave it at home... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modoc Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Many of the guns mentioned have extremely heavy recoil springs and are very difficult to rack the slide on. If she can't rack the slide--she should just leave it at home... I have to second this. When we were shopping, Minta tried EVERY single pistol to see if she could operate the slide. By the way her second choice was the Sig single stack 9 (can't remember the number). XRE, I am "afraid' that you are in for a LOT of gun shopping with this lady to see what feels good in her hand and how she plans on carrying it. Who knows, you might find out that one of the local shooters has a sample that she could try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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