Creeper at wife's work, shes gonna carry

What do you recommend for a small pocket carried pistol?

She likes the ruger LCP but isnt very comfortable with a gun that doesnt have a safety (I know keep your finger off the trigger blah blah) but the point is if she isnt comfortable with it., she isnt getting it.

so who makes a good micro .380 that has a safety?

and before any of you ask..

S&W BodyGuard.

Hey I work with that girl.

Has she shot the LCP? And realized how long the trigger pull is? I really is more like a revolvers trigger and they aren't going to have a safety.

BTW, you married up.

SIG p238. It's easier to rack the slide since it fires from a locked breach also. This might be a factor for a woman, or someone with weak hands. And if you look at the bodyguard, have her try everything with the pistol. One at a local shop has a 15lb trigger pull, easy.

You know what they say about scarves and adam's apples? joke

Bersa 380cc, its not quite a true pocket pistol. But my wife picked it out because of the redundant safties and the fact that...it fits in her Coach bag . Anyway, she really likes it.

ok didnt realize the lcp had such a heavy pull... what about LCR in 357?

LCR is a good gun!

LCR would be my recommendation. Start her out with light 38's though.

she owns a glock 23 and is used to recoil...

also owns a mossy 500 and loves it...

she can handle her firearms

.357 in a gun that small?!?! You're going to make her hate carrying very quickly. I would recommend a LCP or Bodyguard. As the poster above said, if you do buy a revolver use .38's.

The 357 will have more recoil then the 23 but it sounds like she'll be fine. There was a member here complaining about the 357's recoil. Another member spoke up and said his wife(or maybe it was her that posted) shoots them in her LCR 357 and does just fine. I have a 38 model so I can't give an opinion from personal experience.

sig 238, or the new 938. But I would make sure to break it in with at least 250 rounds since Sig Sauer's QC blows.

How does she plan on carrying ?

ankle holster and sometimes IWB

Frankly, I'm going to say stay away from small autos if you ankle carry. Either that or clean daily. It can, even in a "clean" office get awfully dirt down there next to the floor. Every time you take a step you kick up grit and dust. And, for simplicity (if it's a life threatening situation, simply trumps complicated in spades) a revolver can't be beat. Plus, they tend to function when dirty and gritty better than comparably sized autos. Then too, you can tailor the ammo to her abilities without worry about ammo induced failure to properly function.

Also, make sure it is a fairly light weight firearm. Two reasons. Most folks walk funny with ankle carry, very easy to spot, and the heavier the gun the more pronounced the "funny" walk. And, if it's heavy and uncomfortable to carry, in time she won't (simple human nature). The old saying that a .22 in you pocket beats a .45 acp in your safe, everytime, didn't become and old saying for nothing.

If she isnt very comfortable with a gun that doesnt have a safety, why would you get her an LCR?

Think about that for a minute then rethink the LCP.

well being a wheel gun it will ( in theory) have a heavier pull... but the LCP isnt out of the question, because of what some of these comments have informed me of

I don't think I am that creepy.

S&W .38 BodyGuard

Or

S&W j-framew/ crimson trace laser

Use good self defense .38 ammo and it will easily pack more punch than a .380.




I carried a Berreta .380 for quite a while. Love that gun and shoot it well, but I now carry the M&P9c with a 17rd reload mostly. When that can't work, I carry a J-frame with crimson trace laser and a reload.

Bersa Thunder .380 is a fine weapon, but the 7 rounds is a setback. I would say drop the .380 and go with a single stack 9mm. In that case, look at the Kel Tec P11. 9mm, 11 rounds, compact, good looking, I think it has a safety *will check* and it is very affordable. Dont get a S&W...they are way over priced.

No safety on the P11 :( Look at the CZ 2075 RAMI, that there is a spiffy and fine weapon.

wife likes her LCP and isn't worried about not having a safety with that trigger

If you're staying with .380, I'll also recommend to check out the Bersa Thunder. It's pretty inexpensive. My MIL has one, and my wife likes how it fits her hands. My coworker (female) also has one that she uses for concealed carry.

None of the pocket 380's are really all that easy to shoot for someone with limited experience. The two I know of with a safety is the Sig 238 and S&W BG380. Both are great little 380's. The BG380 I have owned and think is one of the softer shooting 380. The S&W trigger is smooth, long and heavy but did not find it that difficult to shoot the weapon well. The Sig has a better trigger but is heavier weapon and more expensive. Snubby revolvers are more difficult to shoot than pocket 380's. The Bersa, Walther PPK are not really pocket pistols but the Bersa is a good pistol. The Walther PK380 is a good option but again not a pocket pistol.

All handguns are a compromise. Pocket guns exploit the compromises made. She needs to get a gun that she can shoot well. Small, lightweight may not be the best option unless she gets some proper training.

I just shot a S&W BodyGuard over the weekend, and it's not my cup of tea, but would probably make for a great pocket pistol. It's REALLY slim, has a safety, really smooth DA trigger pull, etc. I found it difficult to shoot well, and I only shot 1 mag out of it, but that just takes practice. I've never held such a slim gun, so it felt a little odd.

The bodyguard does have a safety, but I found it a little difficult to operate, as it sits nearly flush with the receiver. It doesn't stick out nice and far like a 1911 where it's easy to reach.

The trigger pull is fairly heavy and long, and therefore I'd have no problem carrying with the safety off.

If she wants a safety, it's worth a look. Try it out.

My wife has the Sig P238, it is my favorite of the pocket pistols that are for sale today. Much easier to shoot accurately than the KelTec P3AT or Ruger LCP. I don't like the safety on the S&W bodyguard, its too hard to turn off.

I don't like the safety on the S&W bodyguard, its too hard to turn off

Yes, forgot to mention that. Finding it with your thumb is a bit difficult, and requires some effort to move the safety. Could be dangerous

I recommend the Bodyguard .380. I personally like the longer trigger pull on it. I also lubed it up really well and played with the safety........ ALOT. It loosened up quite abit, so now it is easier to release but still difficult to pop on. I carry the BG380 ever since I got it at Christmas time. Seriously like this little gun. My wife and Mother in Law both shot it and agreed it shoots very well for being a little guy.

It's always a wonder to me why people always recommend hard-recoiling difficult-to-shoot micro guns for women.

The Bersa .380 is a good choice, as is a Walther PPK. They are made of metal and much more apt to shoot accurately than a plastic micro gun, which is especially important if she's not much into shooting.

LOL @ LCR in .357 magnum

People always act like women cant shoot or something.. I am a firearms instructor and she has taken three of my classes, not to mention the countless range runs we do... I am confident in saying she can most likely out shoot many men on this site, she just hasn't concealed (not old enough) and this will be her first gun she carries on her person, legally.

I personally dont want my woman carrying a low capacity handgun. To me, you are asking her to do too many things under stres...safety off, pull trigger, readjust, and maybe mag swap, and ride slide forward. Granted, I can mag dump and clear a malfunction and mag dump again in perty good time (not saying im some competitive shooter), but I know what the hell I am doing with my firearm. My woman will be proficient and accurate with her handgun...but geeze...some of em just freak out and training doesnt stick as hard. I want my girl to have enough rounds to pull the trigger as many times as she needs to. three shots to half mag? Oh hell no...

+1 S&W Bodyguard

Dont rule out a small nine.
the Ruger LC9 shoots easy, feeds everything, and packs pretty easy.
The LC9 also has a manual thUmb safety.

SW J-frame and training

if she aint comfortalble w/ a firearm w/out a safety (cant keep her trigger finger outta the guard/trigger), then she should get it all the more

she has great trigger discipline but i think fears what would happen in a split second decision to pull and fire.

She needs 9mm/hot 38sp minimum. For autos I'd point at Kahr PM9/CM9 or the other new micros. One not older than 3 years. My SO loves hers and can shoot it well, also it's small enough that she'll actually carry it.

Honestly having a safety is a liability in a situation with someone who doesn't practice a lot with it. It's a very easy thing to forget to take off if it's not ingrained into you. Even then there is no point in one for a handgun (unless you have a 2 pound trigger) since it's either in a holster or your hand, rifles need one since they are slung around you banging against crap. As soon as she draws the safety should come off anyway so it's a moot point.
She's used to glock so training is even more of a issue.

I don't know how much she'll practice with it so ymmv. Head over to the Woman's forum for more ideas of a gun.

Having been down this road with my wife ....and going through several different guns she finally settled on a s&w 442 with crimson trace grips.

It weighs 15 oz and recol is controllable. Easy to conceal too. If she isn't going to be able to conceal the jframe then I recommend a keltec p32...after you try it out yourself to make sure it's reliable.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product4_750001_750051_775003_-1_757767_757751_757751_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y

MACE. It's the best choice for women that have your wife's mindset....it's the nurturer in them....knowing it won't kill allows them to respond quicker....and time is everything.

A $1000 dollar pistol? Revolvers are not a great CCW....just grab the top of the gun ( like if some one was trying to take it away) and pull the trigger....locks up... I know an auto will only fire once with the slide being held..but as long as you pull back to keep the slide inposition it will work. A guy will have a better chance or ability to free the gun...but I wouldn't suggest a revolver as my first choice for a woman ( and I do like the LCR..I sometimes forget just how easy it is to make a revolver useless)

I'm gonna jump on the pile and state that the LCP has a very heavy and long trigger pull and is definitely not going to accidentally get pulled in my pocket, ever. That's besides the fact that the trigger is covered by the pocket holster. You may want to look into the LC9 as well for more power.

Have her check out the Walther PK380. My wife just bought one (her first gun). She handled all of the other popular 380's. She bought the Walther because it's light, fits her hand extremely well and the slide is very easy to pull. Not quite a pocket pistol, but will fit in her purse very nicely.

Very nice gun.

I have the LCR in .357mag. It is a nice .38, but as a .357mag, I hate it. I bought it with the intent of making it my carry piece, but since I could never get comfortable shooting it with the .357 loads, it got put away with my other pistols. I'm currently carrying a S&W Sigma in .40 until I can pick up a new carry piece. Now, I'm not suggesting the Sigma as a carry piece, because once I get a better option, it is going back to being a range gun.

A co-worker was having a similar issue and got a S&W Bodyguard .380 for his wife. He went with the LC9 for himself. I haven't gotten to shoot the LC9 myself, but that might be another pistol to look into. They are about 1" longer and 1" taller than the LCP.

This.

The LC9 is not much bigger than the LCP and has the safety. As a matter of fact, that's the very reason I went with the LC9. Shoots very nice, trigger is fine (there's a lot of on-line complaints about it, but I have no idea what they're complaining about, it's a small gun not a full size 1911).

the biggest downside is that it can be a royal PITA to disassemble/reassemble for cleaning. There seem to be quite a number of them that have takedown plates that are exceptionally difficult to operate. May require some modification/trip back to Ruger if you have one with that problem.

I had thought about one of these for me, but after shooting a cylinder of .357 out of one, no thanks . The only gun I've ever shot that I will concede was downright painful to shoot. I'd never practice with .357, so I just bought a 442 for half the price . .38's are much nicer

she does have OC

heyy thanks everybody for the input.. where she works she has to do a lot of moving around and cant carry her purse so I am going to go with a gun that can be carried on her person..

plus im not a fan of carrying a gun that itsnt on your person

Good. Glad to hear this.

Make the sacrifices necessary in order to be armed 99% of the time. There are lots of ways to make guns disapear.

Xachary82
Have you considered a Walther PPS 9MM it's thin, quite accurate and great for IWB it maybe a little big for ankle carry, then I would say either a Diamondback DB9, or a Rohrbaugh R9 for deep concealment and ankle holster use, all have the capability of having spare ammunition easily accessible.
GOTURBACK

I agree, get one she can carry on-person. In a mugging type situation, the first thing to go will be her purse. Even if it's just a purse snatch and run, now the little bastards are armed

I don't know how organized your SO's purse is, but my SO's purse is a disaster of trainwreck proportions... Takes her forever to find anything in that mess Not suitable for acceptable draw times.

Moral:
Carry on-person

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.