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What was your wife/girlfriend's first CCW?

It always makes me nervous, encouraging gun ownership to someone not raised around the, and didnt own guns by 12y/o...
I try to start them fullsize 9mm, but some girl hands just dont fit the frame..

A ruger .22 rifle or handgun are always a good starting point.
 
My wife it was her father's LCP.

She wasn't really a fan due to the typical reasons for that type. When I asked her about if she were to buy her own carry gun she said probably an LCP because she at least already knew it and she wouldn't want to have something so big it was even harder to dress around. Unsurprisingly at the range she likes the full-size 9 mm.

My FIL is on a continual search for something my MIL would carry (she has no desire to search on her own), hasn't found one yet. (Hasn't bought anything, just getting her to try friends stuff)
 
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OP, not sure where you are located, but Tactical Dynamics offers a Handgun 101 class that allows you to shoot 10-15 different pistols to see what you like. It’s a pretty common class for females. My old lady is signed up for one this month. Just a thought.
 
When my wife gets around to getting her LTC, she will get my grandfather's 1903 Colt Pocket Hammerless, made in 1932.

It currently lives at my uncle's house, but that firearm was with my grandfather through Korea.
 
Pocketbook carry tells me Sig 238, BG 380, Ruger LCP or Kahr 380 if you can find the latter two in Mass. All 4 of these have great reviews.
For a revolver, personally, I'd take a Ruger LCR over the Airweight J frame because I think the Ruger has a better trigger.
 
Glock 42, appendix carry (which seems to work well for the ladies) w/ 2 spare mags. I managed to talk her out of a revolver. CW380 had a really stiff slide and lcp just seemed chinsey. I was actually really impressed shooting the 42, it is s nice gun.

On a side note, off-body carry has some major downsides (like access to the gun!), make sure she understands the trade off.
 
gxx9sdb said:
Glock 42, appendix carry (which seems to work well for the ladies) w/ 2 spare mags. I managed to talk her out of a revolver. CW380 had a really stiff slide and lcp just seemed chinsey. I was actually really impressed shooting the 42, it is s nice gun.

On a side note, off-body carry has some major downsides (like access to the gun!), make sure she understands the trade off.
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. . . and understand the illegalities of putting the purse down anywhere if it has a gun in it!
 
G19 originally after enjoying mine, but then the one she bought kept launching spent casings at her forehead. Sold it and bought a 320C, shot it once and has yet to carry regularly. Ymmv
 
gxx9sdb said:
On a side note, off-body carry has some major downsides (like access to the gun!), make sure she understands the trade off.
Click to expand...

Some of you have met my wife and she is a total fashionista. For a long time she worked for a designer and her wardrobe mimics that type of lifestyle. Very well put together, but there is no way a holster and gun will fit into that kind of wardrobe. Plus she is dead set against it. While she's receptive to the idea of having a gun with her, it has to be in her purse or she'll never wear it. Took me a while just to warm her up to mace in her purse. Now a gun is finally starting to creep in there. So it's purse carry or nothing. My wife is very protective of her purse and it never just sits around. Then again it's a designer purse so it probably cost as much as one of my guns. I don't ask as I don't want her asking about my safe either.
 
StevieP said:
Sig P238.

You can rack the slide with the safety on. My wife has bad hands, and it's easier to rack the slide than most others. She doesn't really carry it. Primarily for home protection for her.
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You can rack the slide with the safety on only if the hammer is cocked. The safety locks the hammer in whichever position it is in ... I had to read the manual closely to find that one.
 
Sig 238. I think .380 is a great caliber for carry. I understand the drawbacks, but its just so easy to control even when shooting extremely fast and the subcompacts that shoot it are tiny.
 
rcoolbaugh said:
You can rack the slide with the safety on only if the hammer is cocked. The safety locks the hammer in whichever position it is in ... I had to read the manual closely to find that one.
Click to expand...
My wife figured that out on her own, she was showing my brothers girlfriend the weekend before Easter. I was kinda half listening to the conversation and I thought " No shit, I didn't know that". She had a hard time racking the slide on her PPK. She loves her P238. My daughters were always asking to borrow it. So now both my daughters and my son-in-law carry Sig P238's, . . . . that I paid for of course :-( . Due to my job and wardrobe, I can carry a G21 year round.
 
StevieP said:
Sig P238.

You can rack the slide with the safety on. My wife has bad hands, and it's easier to rack the slide than most others. She doesn't really carry it. Primarily for home protection for her.
Click to expand...
Will look into the P238

Thanks.
 
Olympus Racing said:
SR22. Actually still is.
She’s super comfortable and insanely accurate with it.
Yes it’s 22 but she hates the shield and everything else she considers too big (gun related only).
Click to expand...
Same with my wife. she recently shot a a Ruger lLCR .22 magnum and is now on the fence about switching over to that
 
Rockrivr1 said:
Some of you have met my wife and she is a total fashionista. For a long time she worked for a designer and her wardrobe mimics that type of lifestyle. Very well put together, but there is no way a holster and gun will fit into that kind of wardrobe. Plus she is dead set against it. While she's receptive to the idea of having a gun with her, it has to be in her purse or she'll never wear it. Took me a while just to warm her up to mace in her purse. Now a gun is finally starting to creep in there. So it's purse carry or nothing. My wife is very protective of her purse and it never just sits around. Then again it's a designer purse so it probably cost as much as one of my guns. I don't ask as I don't want her asking about my safe either.
Click to expand...


You are dead wrong that holsters don’t fit that style of dress.

dene adams - Google Search


Whether she wants to defend herself or not is another question entirely.


Pocketbooks are for lipstick not guns.
 
I'm going to be another in the choir of "bring her to a range, rent a bunch of different guns, let her decide"

In your search for options, here's another data point. I have taught a bunch of women over the last few years. There seems to be a lot of love for my Shield 9 (w/ Apex) over both my G19 and SR22 - fits their hands well, and the recoil isn't bad. Of course, it also broke the RSA after ~200 rounds; fortunately S&W just mailed me a new one that's lasting far better.
 
Lady Radtekk started with a Mustang 380, then a g26, now a Shield 9, just bought a Springfield xD-S in 9mm she is getting comfortable with. May carry it, may stay with the Shield, has yet to decide. OP's Lady is welcome to try them all. Lady Radtekk also has an SP101 for range fun, never carries it because capacity/reloads.

I strongly suggest OP has his Lady discuss carry options with another WOMAN, their needs and issues are completely different from ours.

As always, my/our offers to share guns extends to ALL members, feel free to PM any time. We are members of Westford Sportsmen's and just joined Granite State as well.
 

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