LCP Ruger 380 and the wife!

[1Shirt]

Took my wife to the range yesterday for some handgun practice. Took a Ruger Bearcat, and a Browning Buckmark in 22LR and my LCP 380. She did very well at ranges from 7 yds to 15 yds with all 3 on a man sil target, staying in the 9-10 rings most of the time. Consistantly stayed in the 10 ring with the bearcat. Now to the problem. With the LCP, she could not/did not have the strength to pull the slide back to put a round in the chamber. Hard trigger pull was also a problem for her. Had no problem with the Browning. Bought the LCP for myself, and I shoot it reasonably well. Was thinking of getting a second for the wife, but that's out now based on reality. Will probably go with a small framed double action revolver, probably in 38S, due to reliability.
1Shirt!

[Echo]

The LCR in 38 Special should be an alternative. DA, shrouded hammer, light weight (for the purse), and competent. The women I have trained with it liked it. Maybe even in 22 MRF - less recoil, LOUD bang and flash for Shock & Awe, and reasonably effective. A chum saved his own life, and that of others, in Saigon when a VC jumped into the bar and started shooting up the place. 2 shots from said chum's High Standard derringer and VC was toast...

[Poygan]

Consider something like the model 37 Smith. Still fairly light and I would think more user friendly for your wife. Oh, yeah, more accurate and more power than the LCP.

[OeldeWolf]

I would definitely suggest a revolver. Very reliable, and simple to operate if you are in a hurry/nervous/scared. Point, pull trigger, bang! repeat. No slide to rack, no slide stop, safety, magazine release, etc.

[DCM]

Revolver would be good, you may want to try something that is not a straight blowback design also as they do not take as much to work the slide.
Compact 9 maybe, the Beretta Nano is very reliable and quite accurate.

[Westmann]

I've wanted to try the LCR, after finding my LCP laborious to master.

My fascination with small, hammer-shrouded pocket revolvers has me wanting a S&W model 49 bodyguard

80151

or an old Colt Detective Special:

80153

[blpenn66502]

As for working the slide, you might want to work with her on holding the slide firm and pushing the gun forward instead of trying to pull the slide back.

[Castaholic]

My wife carries the LCR and I am very impressed with it. The one we own has a remarkable trigger on it.

[km101]

Any of the "J" frame Smiths would be good. Maybe one of the alloy frame models. Put a Wolff spring kit in it to lighten the double action trigger pull and it will be great!

[Huskerguy]

1shirt

My wife has the exact same issue. She can shoot anything I hand her but she is now a very young 58 but has a little arthur in her hands and just does not have the grip she once had. Consequently she doesn't rack any of my semi autos including my LCP. We looked at everything under the sun when she was shopping for her carry gun. None of the semis worked for her and she knew it. She loves her LCR in 38+P. The LCR is a bit bigger which is a bummer but she handles it well and has confidence in it if she has to use it. Granted, if you carry the LCP with one already in the chamber she may not have to jack the slide but why worry about it. Good luck

[Lefty SRH]

I'd definately recommend a LCR or even a J-frame S&W. Personally I'd stear away from the S&W Bodyguard in 38spl, it felt VERY cheap made to me. I enjoy my LCR, I've been tempted to upgrade my LCR 38 to the 357 but just haven't made it happen yet.

[Jammersix]

Let her decide.

[bosterr]

My girlfriend couldn't pull the slide back on the little semi's either. I got her a Ruger LCR in .357 equipped with the Crimson Trace laser grip. A little button for the laser is depressed when gripped in the hand. It shoots the Lee 358-125-RF with 5.2 gr. of 231 great. Her carry load is 125 Win HP's with a stout load of WC820. She amazes me how well she shoots this gun.

[Bonz]

I have a Ruger LCP and love it =but= the slide is a real bear sometimes. Especially to lock it open. There just isn't enough there to get a good grip. Just perfect size for carrying in your pants pocket. I am one of those paranoid guys that will not carry it with a round chambered. My first choice was the S&W 360pd but the .357 round was way too much for that mini-shooter. Honestly went with the Ruger LCP because of size, weight & price but now wish I would have spent the big bucks for the S&W 360pd and just loaded it with .38 +p

[gmsharps]

If you can, take a look at a Sig 238. It's a 380 and the slide is very easy to operate.

gmsharps

[clownbear69]

if you are looking at a semi auto 380 you may want to look at the PK380 from walther's a lot of people bought it that had hand strength problems. I personally can cock it back with one finger. It will be a training issue with the mag release because its not what most people are use to.

[Boerrancher]

For women I always recommend a revolver, especially if they are going to carry it in there purse. I have personally saw a 25 auto go off inside a purse once. It had been mauled around enough that the safety had come off and a tube of lipstick found its way into the trigger guard. The woman dropped her purse to the floor from about 8 inches so she didn't have to bend over. The impact caused the lipstick wedged in the trigger guard to pull the trigger and bang. Lucky no one was hurt. Situations like that just don't happen with a dbl action revolver. If a round isn't chambered in your carry gun, then there is no need to carry the thing. I have seen situations develope so fast you don't have time to chamber a round.

Best wishes

Joe

[deltaenterprizes]

+1 for a revolver

[Bonz]

Does anyone know of any pocket pistols that is almost 100% impossible for a chambered round to accidentally get fired ?

[Echo]

Modern revolvers have rebounding hammers so the firing pin is not in contact with the primer. In such case, as far as I can see - the only way a round could go off is if the gun were on fire.
I still recommend the LCR...

[clownbear69]

For women I always recommend a revolver, especially if they are going to carry it in there purse. I have personally saw a 25 auto go off inside a purse once. It had been mauled around enough that the safety had come off and a tube of lipstick found its way into the trigger guard. The woman dropped her purse to the floor from about 8 inches so she didn't have to bend over. The impact caused the lipstick wedged in the trigger guard to pull the trigger and bang. Lucky no one was hurt. Situations like that just don't happen with a dbl action revolver. If a round isn't chambered in your carry gun, then there is no need to carry the thing. I have seen situations develope so fast you don't have time to chamber a round.

Best wishes

Joe

I understand everything you say but whats the point of a purse carry? 9/10 a bad guy that is intending to rob is going to rob what on a woman, the purse. So in essence purse carry just as worthless as not having a round in the chamber. That's why I usually recommend a fanny pack carry. May not be the most attractive but much harder to for someone to get it away from you and much easier to accesses your firearm when the time is needed

[Bonz]

I understand everything you say but whats the point of a purse carry? 9/10 a bad guy that is intending to rob is going to rob what on a woman, the purse. So in essence purse carry just as worthless as not having a round in the chamber. That's why I usually recommend a fanny pack carry. May not be the most attractive but much harder to for someone to get it away from you and much easier to accesses your firearm when the time is needed

My wife it talking about a conceal carry purse for herself but I never thought about a purse snatcher. What the heck was I thinking about... Great response, thanks !

[cephas53]

Rural here and wife wanted to carry while taking her daily walks. Had her try everything I had and her favorite was a revolver. Picked up a 4" S&W Model 10 police trade in for her. Snake shot followed by a load with 2 .360 balls finished up with wc's. Carries in a shoulder rig. Would not want to be downstream of it.

[bikerbeans]

If you can, take a look at a Sig 238. It's a 380 and the slide is very easy to operate.

gmsharps

+1 on the P238. I bought one for my wife who is 5'3" and has fairly weak hands but she has no problems operating this gun.

BB

[clownbear69]

My wife it talking about a conceal carry purse for herself but I never thought about a purse snatcher. What the heck was I thinking about... Great response, thanks !

I don't know if that's sarcastic or legitimate "I didn't think of that".

But ive seen it a lot when I was in Milwaukee and this was before a state wide CCW and still WI has tazer and stun guns as a no go

[Lloyd Smale]

I dont know if someone that doesnt have the hand strenght to operate the slide on an lcp is going to have the strenght in there fingers to shoot a DA gun with any kind of accuracy either. Most cheap guns like lcrs and even todays smiths have 10lb da trigger pulls. I started my wife with a j frame smith and she couldnt hit anything with it. She know has an lcp with a crimison trace lazer on it and shoots it a heck of alot better. Sure she would probably stuggle with a mag change but would sure struggle with a reload using a revolver too. For the most part i doubt shes going to have to reload a gun in a firefight in her life anyway. So once the lcp is loaded and good to go all she has to do is press the trigger until its empty anyway. theres no safety to learn so its no more complicated then a revolver. Both schools of thought have there advantages and disadvantges. Its been hashed over for years and will be for years more. Bottom line is i have and still do use both and dont feel any better or worse armed with either. What i did with my wife is take her out a dozen or so times with both and left the decision to what she felt more comfortable with and out of all the guns of mine she tried she picked a lcp.

[BD]

My wife and daughter have occasionally shot with me over the years. They both prefer the 5" 1911 for "shootability", and have always complained about shooting "that nasty little gun", (any one of a number of j-frame smiths over the years). Then one day a guy at the range let my wife try his LCR. Totally different response, and now my daughter has one of her own. The slightly larger grip, and slightly different geometry apparently make all the difference to the women. i'd highly recommend giving one a try.
BD

[Four-Sixty]

While I am a fan of revolvers, I believe the LC-380 (not LCP) was designed to be easier for women to rack the slide.

[Bonz]

I don't know if that's sarcastic or legitimate "I didn't think of that".

But ive seen it a lot when I was in Milwaukee and this was before a state wide CCW and still WI has tazer and stun guns as a no go

My response was 100% sincere; my wife and I truly never thought about a purse snatcher. 99% of the time, she has a death grip on her purse but its that 1% of the time that she doesn't would provide an opportunity. We live in a small town outside of Charlotte NC and over the past year we have experienced a sharp increase in crime. Never heard of an armed robbery here until this year.

[mjwcaster]

One thing for racking the slide is technique.

Many people try to just pull the slide back, I teach more of push the gun while pulling the slide.
Your holding the gun with your strong hand to begin with, use the strength in that hand to your advantage.
Hold the slide with your weak hand and while pulling back, push the gun forward with the strong hand.

To lock the slide back, push up on the slide stop before you rack the slide.
When done right the slide will lock on it's own as it's pulled back.
Trying to hold a slide back and then push up on the slide lock is much more difficult.

It won't work for everyone but these couple of tips have made a major difference for many of my students. People who thought they just couldn't operate a semi auto are able to easily with a little different technique and some practice.

It's always gratifying to see the look on someones face when they realize they can now work the action on a gun that they had struggled with or found impossible before.

Matt

[Blacksmith]

Many years ago my wife had her purse snatched. She was walking down the sidewalk and the thief ran up from behind and stripped it off her arm. She managed to hold on until the strap broke but he had several steps lead before she could regain her balance and try to give chase, in heels. Purse and everything in it gone. I have heard in Europe in some places they snatch them while passing on motor scooters.

Not carrying in a purse is a good idea. If they have the build for it the bra holster looks pretty handy.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.policemag.com/_Images/news/M-Looper-Flashbang-holster-web.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.policemag.com/channel/women-in-law-enforcement/news/2011/05/18/blade-tech-and-looper-produce-flashbang-bra-holster.aspx&h=347&w=500&sz=47&tbnid=2y32Ra5yIlqgQM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=130&zoom=1&usg=__zg0Nf50hXrXNmHjyLRCue_5jTB0=&docid=UpvHSiJoPm2I1M&sa=X&ei=joAsUpuMM7fF4APnqoDoAw&ved=0CFMQ9QEwAg&dur=5239

Here is one source:
http://www.gungoddess.com/flashbang-bra-holster/

[700CDL]

I really like the idea of the bra holster. Thank you for the link. :Fire:



Not carrying in a purse is a good idea. If they have the build for it the bra holster looks pretty handy.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.policemag.com/_Images/news/M-Looper-Flashbang-ho

Here is one source:
[url]http://www.gungoddess.com/flashbang-bra-holster/

[nicholst55]

If you decide to go with a revolver, I would NOT recommend an Airweight or lightweight revolver for someone not accustomed to very stout recoil from defensive loads! An Airweight loaded with +P or other defensive loads has a very significant recoil; something to consider.