Safe Method to Conceal Carry...

[Petrol & Powder]

Lot's of good input here.

I'll toss in my $0.02 worth:

I gave up on giving woman advice on how to carry a handgun. I show them what is available and let them choose. I DO NOT like off body carry, such as a purse or bag but that seems to be popular for woman. I think off body carry is full of danger.

A single action semi-auto pistol is a proven tool but as others have pointed out, it requires dedication and LOTS of training. Most woman are not willing to put in that time. I would not want a SA pistol rattling around in a purse. For that matter, I wouldn't want ANY handgun rattling around in a purse. At a bare minimum the purse needs to be designed to carry the handgun and be secure.

A DA revolver is a fine self defense tool and about as simple as it gets. Under stress, Simple is Good !
Some woman lack the hand strength to operate a DA revolver proficiently and that brings us to the striker fired pistols.
A single stack Glock such as the Glock Model 43 is about as close to the snubnose DA revolver concept as you can get. It is point and shoot and the trigger is easier to master for some females. When carried in an appropriate holster that covers the trigger, it is perfectly safe and still quick to deploy.

Training is key.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Even a SA revolver that she has with her & can shoot well, beats no weapon, if she NEEDS it. Nurse I know picked a Ruger stainless BH and it turned out she's incredibly accurate with it; It'd be a bad idea to try to attack her. Training trumps inexperience, best if it's GOOD training (Isn't free - How much do you value her / your life?)

If an inexperienced gal wanted a 1911 she definitely CAN learn to use it, with training, to where she's darn good with it. Sister had a stalker and she went the 1911 route. More training, yes, but - compare speed of reloads between a 1911 & a revolver. (And no fair using Mikulek or McGivern reload times.)

"El Presidente" drills run about 5 seconds or so vs. 11 seconds or so, last Police Department shooting session I was at. Revolver guys were annoyed a bit. Reloads are rarely required for civilians, fortunately.

[justashooter]

the only gun in would ever recommend for woman to carry is a S&W 49. it is idiot proof and foul-proof, with double action an an enclosed hammer in 38 special. can be carried anywhere and fired anyhow. and, never allow a woman to carry a gun in a purse. she will leave it in a resteraunt or it will get stolen.

[opos]

Our house guns (besides a couple of shotguns in our 'safe room" are revolvers...38 special +P in a six shot revolver..if I can't protect us with that combination we are not going to make it anyway...older folks...simple is better...38 special +P Golden Saber in a GP100 is a highly managable combination for "in the drawers"..I do carry (only on my premises where it's legal) a Smith 3" model 36 with wad cutters...it someone were to attack me during the day in the yard or garage I think what those wad cutters do would be enough and the 36 is super simple as are the gp-100's

Shot guns in the safe room are full load semi automatics with full magazines and one in the chamber...we have no children and where the shotguns are stored is someting we can deal with..if our safe room door is forced open it get's met with 12 gauge #6 shot...until the semi is empty.

[charlie b]

FWIW, my wife's carry gun is a Colt Light Commander. Yes, she is competent with it. Several thousand rounds including stoppage drills. Yes, she carries it cocked and locked in a holster.

She used to prefer her Python, but, now likes the auto better. She never did like small revolvers (I've had 3, SP101 was my favorite).

So, some women will migrate to semi-autos despite what many men might say

[Rodfac]

Autoloading pistols are more complex to operate for folks who are not willing to spend time to become proficient with them. Women seem to have trouble even loading the magazine unless trained. For any person who wants a handgun for protection and is not interested in hours of range time, a revolver is the way to go for many reasons.

This is excellent advice...and I'll add that carrying any 1911 SA auto, cocked and locked loose in a pocket or purse is a bad idea. That said, the 1911 as designed really has 4 safeties: the thumb safety lock, the grip safety, plus the pistol must be in battery (slide fully forward), and the trigger pulled to fire. HTH's Rod

[country gent]

One problem with the loaded chamber hammer down is the safety cant be engaged on most 1911 style pistols with the hammer down. This form of carry leaves the hammer resting on a live round as you put it rattling around in a purse. It negates the safeties .

[bob208]

I don't think it is a problem as both the 1911 and h-power have inertia firing pins. which means the pin is too short to touch the primer with the hammer down.

[Wialco]

There is a third safety feature found on series 80 1911 pistols that I don't believe has been mentioned here and that is the firing pin block. On these models the firing pin cannot reach the primer unless the trigger has been depressed. In the highly unlikely scenerio where the safety catch was off and the gun was subjected to conditions such that the grip safety was depressed and the hammer dropped, it would still not fire due to the firing pin block. The series 80 models aren't favored by Bullseye competitors but for self defense it adds another level of security from ACD. I often carry a 4" Kimber in Condition 1 inside an IWB strong side holster and feel very comfortable doing so.

[dverna]

Contender nailed it. Too many times, we recommend guns based on our experience and training. I was such a fool. I doubt more than 1 person in 200 shoots as much as I do. Many of us here are in the same boat. We can shoot anything well as we have used all sorts of weapons and shot them 10’s, if not 100’s, thousands of time. A new shooter does not have that experience....most will need years to get there...others will never get there.

I carry a Glock because it is the best choice for me. Most women and new shooters will be better served with a DA revolver. No FTF, FTE, no risk of limp writing, no chance of accidentally bumping the magazine release or not seating it properly. We do rack and tap drills for a reason...semi-auto can and do fail. Not often but it can happen. A trained and experienced shooter can overcome those hiccups and balances those risks against having 2-3 times the round count before a reload.

[GhostHawk]

It is my opinion, that if you need a gun, you need it, fully loaded ready to go RIGHT NOW. In your hand ready to aim and fire. There is no 1 second, 3 seconds, 5 seconds. If you have to do anything other than flick the safety off, you may not have time. It is as simple as that. This time you might, next time you might not.

So if you are not going to carry it ready to go, you might as well put it, empty, 2 magazines in a small zippered case and put it in your car and not carry.

If you see the problem coming the gun in your car would be able to be made ready in time.

The problem is you will NOT always see the problem coming.

So if you are going to carry, carry ready. Because your life, and the lives of your loved ones may depend on you being able to draw and make ready while incapacitated by a head blow, or pepper spray.

[BCB]

Well, I continue to read. Many opinions here and all seem to be justified…

Allowing the wife to try different handguns is not really an option around here. The LGS don’t seem to do such things, except hold the gun after it is removed from under the glass. As far a shooting, it doesn’t happen…

I gave the Kimber to her on Christmas day and with the handgun I also had loaded 6 rounds, (DUMMY ROUNDS CLEARLY MARKED WITH ORANGE PAINT AND no primers in place. The 25 live rounds were locked in the gun safe so there was no live ammo available)) for her to practice loading the magazine, or placing one in the chamber by working the slide, or single loading, etc. Working with the safety and the magazine release button. Basically all the physical aspects of the Micro 9. She read the manual also…
(She does shoot a Model 1894 Marlin 357 Magnum for deer so she is not completely unfamiliar with firearms—she knows the safety rules, at least of long guns)

I did this and allowed her to become familiar with the weapon when I was not home. Some people get very self-conscious and hand-fumble when they have a crowd. If you pinch your finger, it is easy to shake it off without a crowd looking and chuckling. Regardless, she became pretty familiar with the mechanisms on the handgun. I would ask her really simple stuff “how do put the safety on and off”, “insert and remove the magazine”, “operate the slide and use the slide stop”…

Yesterday the weather finally got a bit warm as I didn’t really want her to try the handgun with cold hands. Not good for dexterity and recoil can be a bit more noticeable when hands aren’t functioning well because of cold. I loaded 2 rounds in the magazine, loaded one of them into the chamber and fired both of them at a 6” circle on a piece of cardboard about 15 feet away. Easily put them both in the circle. Then she got 3 live rounds. She put them in the magazine, inserted the magazine and worked one into the chamber. She fired the first shot and didn’t even hit the paper—this I sort of expected. Explained the sight hold again and she fired the last two, both hit the paper, one in the circle. She then removed the magazine and worked the slide and visually looked into the chamber to be certain the handgun was clear and unloaded. Enough for that day. Today we will make the same practice, but maybe with 4 live rounds. She was a bit scared of recoil, but that went away after she saw me shoot and then after she fired her 3 rounds. I think it was a successful start. The journey of 1000 rounds begins with the first 3…

If she doesn’t like the handgun after “a good many rounds” through it, I certainly will consider a small wheel gun—maybe. But, her reactions yesterday seemed to indicate this little Micro might be O.K.

Thanks for all the advice—we’re moving forward…

BCB

[Kawriverrat]

Regarding the cocked & locked, Condition 1 carry of the 1911.

We forget that many other guns are in fact caried in this same condition you just cannot see the hammer because it is not exposed. This is evident with many shotgun designs.

A holster with retention strap that goes between the hammer & rear of slide while keeping safety in position can work quite well, while also providing peace of mind for some.... Jeff

[Mr_Sheesh]

A safety or 57 layers of safeties are mechanical things that can fail. Seems to me wiser to not trust them much!

If you 100% trust safeties then having someone cross your body with their muzzle and with their finger on the trigger should not bother you at ALL.

Myself, that's a NO GO. I'm picky

The best most important safety is the brain between your ears, really.

BCB this sounds like a great start IMO it'd be good to work her up to shooting 200 rounds in a weekend, muscle memory and her trust in her abilities and muscle memory comes with repetition. Her competence will get way up after firing a thousand rounds or so (whether they're handloads or factory loads) and her accuracy will go up too. Probably was already in your plans

Watch for pre-ignition syndrome (where she closes both eyes and pushes the weapon away, you can see it easiest with a dummy round a couple rounds down in the magazine if when that round is in the chamber she'd yank the pistol downwards) and for shooting with 1 or both eyes closed, the usual newbie stuff. As you probably already are

Sharing our sport with new people is a neat thing, I miss that from assisting in SD class training. So nice to see someone get the hang of it