Small defense hangun questions

[longtalltechsan]

After shooting my 642 for the first time I was pleasantly surprised at the recoil or lack thereof. I was really expecting more and found it much easier to shoot than the Keltec P3AT.

Flash, do work for the Alb. police or sheriff's dept?

[flashdragoon]

Security officer for U.S. Security Associates actually, want to graduate to PD but the "Must be less then 500.00 in collections thing kinda ruined that.

[Edubya]

Originally Posted by 1lowlife

+1

Since she has little experience with pistols, a revolver may be the way to go.
I'm sure others will disagree, and thats OK.

I just bought a S&W 642
Product: Model 642 Revolver
Paid $400 for the pistol.
38sp + P, stainless steel, hammer-less.
I bought the Crimson Trace grips for it, LG-405.
Crimson Trace Lasergrips - LG-405 for S&W J-Frame
Paid $224 shipped for the grips.
Shooters Resource: LG405 SMITH & WESSON J-FRAME ROUND BUTT
I love it.
The wife likes it.
No malfunction worries like a semi-auto would have.
Literally point and shoot.
Easy to conceal.
If you purchase one, have her shoot it with and without the laser on.
Just in case it fails.
A bit of recoil, but it is an SD gun, not a range gun.

Good luck to her, I hope she never needs to use it..

I have the exact same set up. I agree with everything that you've said! One note of caution to all "Laser Sighted" guns; Read the instructions!
DO NOT ALLOW ANY GUN CLEANING SOLVENTS TO CONTACT YOUR GRIPS OR LENS!

[jerryl]

derringer not a good idea need something with more ammo.some training a good idea. don,t want some jerk taking it away from her

[JiffyGriff]

Anyone know if S&W has any plans to offer a J-Frame model in .327 ? The SP-101 is just a tad large for my liking in a snubbie.

[flashdragoon]

Originally Posted by jerryl

derringer not a good idea need something with more ammo.some training a good idea. don,t want some jerk taking it away from her

when my quals come up again were both going to enroll in the densive shooting/combat handgun teqniques class, and yes I agree on the Deringer I think I have her steered towards the small framed wheel guns, but as of right now the gun shop I use doesnt have anything in that size available, but he is keeping an eye out for me.

[nw_gun_nut]

Originally Posted by flashdragoon

Thanks for all the helpful posts guys, think we have narrowed it down to the SP101 or the Bersa Thunder 380 (I'm votin for the Wheel though.) In a few week's I'll let everyone know how it goes.

I have two Bersa's and love both (thinking one for each of us). When my wife was taking here CHL class, this is when I found out the slide was a little too hard for her to pull back. I never knew this. Maybe my slides need a little smoothing, not sure. Anyway we decided to get a revolver. Her hands are small. After hands on feeling of all brands the Ruger SP101 was calling her name. AWESOME gun. Yea it's a little heavier, but it helps. Since my wife is probably never going to carry in the city, it's primarily a home gun or woods gun - so we chose the 3" model. Great feeling gun.

The Bersa's have also been 100% dependable for me and very comfortable shooters.

[George Costanza]

I really like the Bersa Thunders, I used to have one, foolishly I sold it and bought a Walther PPK.... more or less the same gun for twice the money.

[ForTehNguyen]

anyone mentioned the Ruger LCP, however its hard to find since everyones buying it

[Wild Rice]

I have had a concealed handgun permit for 20 years. Here is my ranking of my favorite (small) carry guns. 380 is below my minimum requirements, so I don't own one. I usually use an IWB holster with retention at the small of the back. I can carry a full size service pistol/revolver with a vertical shoulder holster.

#1 Taurus PT111 Millennium Pro: 12 rounds of 9 mm, 100% reliable, compact, and accurate.

#2 Kahr CW9: 7 rounds of 9 mm, ultra slim and ultra comfortable to carry, smaller than many 380's, can nose dive rounds on the feed ramp when rack loading (not when firing), so not 100% confident with it. I think I fixed the nose dive problem by polishing the feed ramp and mag lips. The stock grip is actually too small and feels much better with a Hogue Handall Jr slip on grip.

#3 Taurus PT145 Millennium Pro: 10 rounds of 45 ACP, powerful, accurate, 100% reliable, only slightly larger than the PT111.

#4 S&W M640 hammerless: 5 rounds 38 Sp +P, simple manual of arms, easy to carry with shoestring covert "holster". Heavy for pocket carry but fine for IWB.

#5 CZ75 P01: 14 rounds of 9 mm, decocker, 100% reliable, comfortable to carry. Small slide should be grasped sling shot style.

#6 Springfield Armory XD-9 SubCompact: 10 rounds of 9 mm, safety features, excellent design, but bulky for a 9 mm. Grip a little too short, works better with a Pearce Grip extension.

#7 Colt Combat Commander: 8 rounds 45 ACP, accurate, and powerful. It used to be my #1 carry with a horizontal shoulder holster (Superman carry), but the light trigger, weight, and limited capacity have demoted it.

The yet to be released Taurus PT709 "Slim" (8 rounds single-stack 9 mm) might replace my Kahr CW9.