Revolver for Wife(Opinions wanted)

[Circuit Rider]

My wife used to have a Rossi 357 snub nose, we sold it because she didn't like the noise. She wants a light, small, hammerless revolver she can carry, with some power but knowing she'll have to compromise to get something less noisy. Trying to stay in the $500.00 range. Suggestions? CR

[garym1a2]

If you want lower noise you need a big fat boolit travelling slow and a longer barrel. Try something in 44spl or 45acp.

[handyman25]

Light, small revolver that is does not have a big noise, I cannot think of anything. How about wearing foarm ears plugs and ears muffs when shooting at the range. When used in self defence it will be loud but who cares.

[subsonic]

No such number.

Show her a PPK or Beretta Tomcat .32?

Maybe this?

http://www.jesusreigns.org/21a_ob2.jpg

[wrench]

Is it really the noise that bothers her, or the recoil?

[imashooter2]

You should have kept the Rossi and shot .38s out of it.

[shooting on a shoestring]

Ahh...I last saw my Antique Colt Police Positive Special when my wife asked me to leave it with her when I headed out of town for a trip. Tickled to death she wanted it. Loaded with wadcutters, she shoots it decently well. She won't touch any of my .357s. Women seem to want small, quiet, pretty guns. They really don't connect with terminal performance.

[williamwaco]

A dead center hit with a .22 is better than a close miss with a .357.

( That does NOT mean I recommend a .22. )

My wife carries a 3" S&W M36 with bull barrel. ( when I am not using it. )

That heavy three inch barrel really tames the recoil.

.

[rintinglen]

If you can get a revolver for your wife, make the trade! (JOke)

There are hundreds of thousands of good 32 revolvers floating around. S&W made something like 600,000 hand ejectors, and Colt made a fair few Pocket Positives. I have seen many at the Gun Shows in the 300-450 dollar range. Loaded with a decent WC, they have minimal noise and recoil, but are still a step up on the 22"s.
I can also recommend a 38 Special, loaded light. My daughter loves her S&W M-36. She learned to shoot it with 358-101 75 grains WC's loaded over 2.0 grains of Bullseye. A Ruger LCR or a S&W 442 would easily fit your budget restrictions, and light, mid-range loads would make it a lot easier on the ears and hand.

[5shotbfr]

a 642 lady smith is very nice , light weight hammerless and strong , but its not going to be very quiet

[Piedmont]

It is tough to beat a .38 special because one can load a wadcutter if recoil or blast are too much with other loads. Light makes it recoil more. If you can find an older Smiff M640 in .38 special it is an all-steel Centennial (23 ounces) and that helps tame recoil.

The older S&Ws were regulated with 158 grain ammo. It is my understanding newer guns may be regulated with lighter bullets, but I won't buy one with the Hillary Hole so I don't know for certain.

[Bret4207]

4" K frame with 38's. Possible alternatives- Charter Bull Dog 44 Spec with handloads, anything Smith in 44 Spec, Ruger Mk1-3 with the most reliable 22's you can find. 10 22's in the target area are going to ruin your day.

[x101airborne]

I own and regularly carry a Charter Bulldog. If I was going to buy my wife a small light revolver, that would be it.

[FergusonTO35]

I would recommend the Charter On Duty, basically their version of the S&W Bodyguard. Its a .38 Special with a concealed hammer that can still be manually cocked and is around $300.00. I have two new production Charters and they're great guns. A 158 grain lead flat point at 750 fps is a good, easy to shoot defensive load. Another great option would be the Undercoverette, a small .32 H&R magnum. You can shoot low recoil/noise .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long all day, it doesn't have a concealed hammer though. Personally, I think placing a bullet in the right spot is the main consideration for terminal performance. If the gun is difficult to shoot that is quite unlikely to happen.

[wcp4570]

I carry a S&W 642 in the pocket or ankle holster. Lite weight and snag free.

wcp

[mortre]

Not sure if the smaller powder charge in a 9mm round would affect the noise level, but I believe S&W made a 2" and 3" hammerless J-frame in 9mm. Kind of split the difference between 38 SPC and 357. Other than that I believe they made/make them in 327 Federal and 38 Special.

[gray wolf]

Take her to the best gun store in your area,
give her the check book--and then go wait in the car/truck.
When she comes out tell her what a great pistol she picked out.
Take her shooting and tell her how great she shoots it
and what it does for her figure, also how it compliments here hair.
You got to stop thinking like a guy.

[Circuit Rider]

Thanks for the opinions guys. Gray Wolf, you must have been married as long as I. Learned a long time ago, I wear the pants, SWMBO tells me which pair! CR

[blueeyephil]

My wife has an early 80's Charter Arms H&R 32 Mag and loves it. But it has a hammer. I bought a Ruger LCR in 38. She shot it a few times and stays with Her gun. She has 6 shots instead of 5 and shoots it better.

I really think the 32's are a little overlooked.

[Hamish]

take her to the best gun store in your area,
give her the check book--and then go wait in the car/truck.
When she comes out tell her what a great pistol she picked out.
Take her shooting and tell her how great she shoots it
and what it does for her figure, also how it compliments here hair.
You got to stop thinking like a guy.


this is the smartest man in the world

[paul h]

Take her to the best gun store in your area,
give her the check book--and then go wait in the car/truck.
When she comes out tell her what a great pistol she picked out.
Take her shooting and tell her how great she shoots it
and what it does for her figure, also how it compliments here hair.
You got to stop thinking like a guy.

You sir are a genious. I'm working on my 19th year of marriage and am just slowly starting to understand how and what to do, but she still keeps me guessing.

To the op, heck, I don't even like shooting 357's in a snubbie! If she likes the feel of a da revolver, then have her pick out something in a 32 or 38. Handload 100's of powder puff loads in whatever she chooses, and take her to range as often as possible.

[williamwaco]

Take her to the best gun store in your area,
give her the check book--and then go wait in the car/truck.
When she comes out tell her what a great pistol she picked out.
Take her shooting and tell her how great she shoots it
and what it does for her figure, also how it compliments here hair.
You got to stop thinking like a guy.


Now there is a guy who knows what he is talking about.

[wv109323]

Don't overlook a revolver in .22 Magnum. Lower noise and recoil than .38 Special. Use HP for SD.
I read an article about a guy that taught CHP classes. He had a .22 Mag that he let woman shoot, instead of the .357 that the women brought to take the class. He said most women liked the .22 Mag.
The main thing is to get something that she will practice with and become accurate with.

[EDK]

Don't overlook a revolver in .22 Magnum. Lower noise and recoil than .38 Special. Use HP for SD.
I read an article about a guy that taught CHP classes. He had a .22 Mag that he let woman shoot, instead of the .357 that the women brought to take the class. He said most women liked the .22 Mag.
The main thing is to get something that she will practice with and become accurate with.

EVEN BETTER. Get a 22 Long Rifle snub revolver. Let her shoot it with the standard ammo for familiarity...use ear protection! Then let her load it with STINGERS or other high performance 22 ammo and shoot it with ear protection again. THEN have her load it with the STINGERS, back off about 20 feet WITHOUT her ear protection, and YOU shoot a few rounds through it. Intimidation factor from the high noise level, but no recoil! Use the cheap stuff for most practice and go with the premium for carry and occasional practice.

I had a non-gun co-worker who had prowler problems at his rural home. (We worked in a power plant on a 24 hour/7 day coverage job.) I laid out the plan above, he followed it...except got a 2 inch rather than 4 inch barrel on his J frame S&W revolver. Mom herded the kids into an upstairs "safe room" when she heard noises outside, opened the window and double actioned a couple of rounds into the hillside. Squealing car tires; end of prowler incidents...probably some kids!

IF an auto loader was acceptable, I'd look at the PPK, SR22 or one of the small S&W autos. A revolver is probably the best choice. The KISS principle applies for the non-gun folks...Keep It Simple Stupid...just shoot double action!

:redneck::cbpour::guntootsmiley:

[375RUGER]

Snubbies are loud anyway. .38 sp makes less noise than .357 rounds in any revolver. .357 has very distinct high pitch report for some reason. I've always found it much more annoying than a 44 mag. This applies to medium warm to hot loads. target loads not so much.

For suggestions:
Lifelong friend of mine, in her 60's, got a Ruger LCR and loves it. She shoots light 38s in it.
My mom on the other hand hates the LCR and shoots a GP100.
Everybody has their preferences.

A 140 - 160g boolit loaded to 1000 fps will be a pleasure to shoot, and will make a nice hole in a bad guy.

[colonelsanders]

I picked up a used LCR in 38 spl +P (aluminum frame model)for $260 for my wife. Its light and effective and i keep it loaded with Buffalo Bore Heavy 38 spl (non +P) waddcutter with low flash powder. The recoil is not terrible, and she will carry it.

She picked the LCR due to the trigger pull.

[rintinglen]

I vote no on the 22 Mag--they are loud out of a short barrel, don't give you much in the way of horsepower for the noise, and excepting those tiny SA revolvers, doesn't come in a smaller package than other guns that give you more bump for your bang.
More I think on, the choices become clear: a small 32 H&R, loaded with 32 S&W Longs for practice, Or a similar 38, with light loaded WC's for practice and a lightweight hollow point for realsies. The 357's, 9MM's, 44's etc need not apply. Too much noise, or recoil, or both, for the OP's lady fair.

[Texantothecore]

Honey? You know that position you hold when you aim the pistol? It makes your chest look much bigger.......

[smkummer]

I used to have a detecitve special in 32 S&W Long. Nice training gun with comfortable recoil but questionable stopping power. I was basically loading 32 mag. and firing them out of the gun and that was a big boost but: You can always download a 38 special and CARRY business loads. The 38 midrange wadcutters are a pleasure to shoot out a alloy cobra or agent. I am loading a 125 grain 9mm bullet sized to .358 and at about 700 FPS it is a copy of the 38 short Colt. Very mild and no one complains about shooting it. And much better of a stopper than the 32 S&W long. I too wonder if the OP ever fired 38 out of the .357 snub. Shooting a .357 snubbie is like having a M80 go off right in front of you. No one likes that let alone women.

[Kestrel4k]

My wife carries a 3" S&W M36 with bull barrel. ( when I am not using it. ) That heavy three inch barrel really tames the recoil.
I definitely agree on the 3" bbl, my wife doesn't seem to mind 180 gr .357 loads from her S&W M60 w/ the 3" full-lug.

But I do like .38's as a general-purpose defensive round, and I can't imagine a better .38 revolver than a 357. :)