It was a bit disappointing. She did not shoot it very well and flat out said, "I don't like it."

Maybe she'll warm up to it.

She was a natural handgun shooter but has been regressing in ability over time.

With 158gr LSWC I found it to be a pleasure to shoot and quite accurate.

She less than enthused though it did not appear to recoil much in her hands.




It's a great little gun. I'd hate to trade it in for a 22 mag.
20150409_132722 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

We'll be back to basics for some time in the mean time.

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Put on some finger Hogue grips that fit her hand and she'll have a favorite gun.

Honestly, I don't believe the j-frame should be carried by women. Too light and recoils just a bit much.
I know because they're light it makes it nicer and easier to carry, but also makes recoil too much.
You should keep the Chiefs Special for yourself and get your wife a M&P 38 snubby. Heavier for sure but recoils much easier on the hand.

I got a 2.5" PC 686P with pretty wood grips, but hated shooting it. Too much sting. My husband put the rubber Hogue Bantams on it and now I love it.

Let her pick the gun.......

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Sheriff Russell Cottle. ret

+1 on the Hogue fingers

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USN 2007-Present

This is an all steel gun.

An M&P snub is a big gun...not the kinda things most ladies will carry.

As I told her, it's her gun and she can do what she wants with it.

The only gun she's had interest in other than what she has is a Walther PPK/S. Those guns do not shoot smooth and have terrible triggers. Hardly a confidence booster.

She isn't good at and doesn't enjoy shooting any of them at the moment.

She started out a natural, doing plain amazing things right off the bat with one of my first autos. She took that one. She's been getting progressively worse at shooting whether an airgun, auto, or revolver. She needs to get back to basics and work back up.

On the rubber grip suggestions that's certainly a good idea...but she likes fancy grips.

I may need to get on the list for a set of Spegel boot grips.

My wife is 5'2" and 100lbs soaking wet. She did not like her J frame until I had her change the way she held the gun. I see that your wife holds it the same way. Have her wrap her weak hand thumb over the top of the strong hand thumb and point the thumbs down. Tell her to use more pressure with the weak hand.
My wife now can tolerate her J frame.

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Tom
NRA Pistol Inst

Perhaps she would like it better with a grip more suitable for her hands AND the fact that she is gripping the handgun wrong. She needs to place the gun in her right hand firmly and then wrap her left hand around the right hand with her left hand index finger pressing upward against the trigger guard. AND the thumb of the left hand needs to be locked downward over or under the thumb of the right hand and kept in that position while shooting. She also needs to bring the handgun all the way UP to her eye level and to not duck her head downward. ......

On the grip, I had just corrected her from putting her off hand thumb behind the slide of her auto, so I wanted to keep things consistent. I showed her a correct grip, but she did her own thing.

A majority of handgun shooting is technique and practice, and she doesn't have a whole lot of either at this point.

She found an M&P 22 Compact intimidating, so she has a long way to go!

It would probably take a model 17 or 617 to get her comfortable with revolver shooting, and we have neither.

I think I see her support hand thumb loose during recoil... I find that thumb needs to lock over the strong thumb, at least for me. Either down load some light loads or get the same frame 22. And experiment with smaller grips that she can wrap her hands around but with the filler behind the guard.
I am a fan of Hogue grips & still have a set on my previous duty M66. I had them on a blue 19 & thought they were butt ugly but they really tamed the hot SuperVel loads I was carrying. There's something very sophisticated about the shape. But hands do vary & it's important for the shooter to test.

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NRA LIFE
Reserve Officer 9yrs

Sorry to hear of her woes. If she likes the PPK platform, may I suggest trying a Bersa? I've had them in the past and found them to be accurate and with great triggers.

That's a fine example of a baby chief. I hope you keep it for yourself if she decides to shun it.

I've got a few J frames... and don't really have a need for another.

I actually have suggested both the Bersa and the Sig P230/232 but she likes that Walther.

Those loads were light. I guess I could load some lighter.

The kid did a good amount of dry fire practice to get things down before we hit the range. The wife is stubborn.

J frames just have a lot of muzzle flip. I was quite surprised by a Glock 33 (a small gun) in .357 SIG having less muzzle flip than a model 38. Certainly, more thump in the hand, but the slide absorbs a LOT of the muzzle flip.

Probably why she prefers the semi-auto.

I have Hogue bantams on my Wife's m-65-they work for both of us.

Not the first thing to do with which gun, nor how to/how not to hold it,--------------------------------------BUT

It occurs to me most folks are more interested in and enthusiastic about stuff they do well-----or so it may seem. With that in mind, may I suggest shooting at a (much) larger target-------perhaps something on the order of a 50 yard slow fire----or anything else with a GREAT BIG black circle on it. The scores will improve markedly----not that we care about the scores---we care about enthusiasm---and interest----in that order.

Ralph Tremaine

I agree with that to a point.

I'm a frugal guy, and we used what I had. Next time it'll probably be a full sized silhouette.

You have to remember that a BC is even worse than a Model 36 for shooting due to the shorter I Frame Grip.

I asked her about it, and she said she'd like to keep it and practice more.

Nobody I know shoots a J frame for enjoyment. Most shoot them to maintain proficiency.

I enjoy shooting both the Airweights and steel framed guns with light and heavy loads as it's fun and challenging.

She ultimately gets what she wants. Believe me, I don't force nothin' on her.

I use the same grip that I thought my wife on every gun I own. Even the semi-autos. And that is the fingers on fingers, thumb on thumb with both curled down. This helps no matter what gun I carry. I find this grip to give me more strength for recoil. Try a test. Grip a broom with both thumbs pointing down the broom with fingers on fingers. This is the grip taught to some semi-autos shooters. Have someone push up with the end of the broom. Try to stop them. Now grip with fingers on fingers and wrapped thumb on thumb. Have the same person lift again. You should see an improvement stopping the broom with the second grip.

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Tom
NRA Pistol Inst

40 years ago my wife packed a Model 10 snubby as a duty weapon. She carried a concealed Model 36 for years and finally when we moved back to town she went with a Model 642 for walkin' and shoppin'. It had Crimsom Trace grips with that air pocket at the back of the grip.

Still hurt her hand and she wasn't having fun anymore. So we went shopping.. I had in mind a 380 or a 9 mm in an medium sized semi-auto pistol.

She picked out a Kahr .45ACP. I was concerned about recoil and muzzle blast. After she put 100 rounds through it, I asked if she would like something smaller.
She said "I like it. Leave me alone."

If you been married to a champeen tommyhawk thrower and dang good shot for 44 years, you learn to take a hint.

Proper reply is "Yes Dear, Ma'am!!"

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Eccentric old coot

That is an AWESOME vintage photo, Iggy. Where does time go?

The J frame .38 is much better suited for CCW and honestly I actually do not "Like" shooting it either even when loaded with milder 148 grain HBWC loads moving at 750 fps when compared to a 4" to 6" K, L or N frame loaded with Hot 38 special or mild 357 Magnum.
I also do not enjoy shooting the J frame 357 or N frame .44 Magnum Airweight or 44 Mag Mountain gun with wood grips and full house Magnum loads as they leave my hand red and aching after firing one full cylinder.

Rubber grips that cover the backstrap and milder loads will tame fealt recoil considerably on most revolvers but the J-38 is a tiny little thing and can be tough on the hand especially a short grip Baby Chief equipped with factory Magnas and while there are some that subscribe to the
theory that " If Enough is good, More is better and Too Much just about right"... sometimes a little too Much is still too much....

A steel J-frame with .38 Specials generally isn't too bad. Maybe using lower powered ammo for practice would help her. Hornady does make a 90gr defensive ammo with low recoil. It's the one in the pink box

I don't know if a .22 Magnum J-frame is the answer. The alloy models are about 11-oz and the recoil can be fairly snappy in that light frame. The trigger is also a 16-lb monster.

If you haven't experienced it, those two two mags are VERY loud, especially in a snub. Almost kinda like a .357 mag. They crack!!, not boom! Sad to say, I can personally testify to hearing lots of them without ear protection before I wised up.

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So long ... Ken

Iggy,

Were we really ever that young? It's hard to remember but interesting to see those "vintage" photos. Thanks for sharing.

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So long ... Ken

The load she was shooting was only 710 fps.

I've looked into the 22 mag and was surprised to find people found them snappy to shoot. The trigger pulls are indeed stiff.

Light bullets loads at a high velocity feel worse to me than a heavy bullet going slow, and they're usually quite off for impact on the way most fixed sight guns are regulated.

I have a J magnum rubber grip with a covered backstrap we could try. It's ugly, but if it works, it works.

My concern is HER hand size when you said she was small. I have smallish hands for a guy & find covered backstraps difficult to grip well. I'd go to a shop & maybe get her to try some grips at the counter... or borrow some from friends.

People do like things they do well & I found it valueable to start with big targets at half distance (I see you are indoors & that may be a factor)... and 22s to start. I used a kitgun as starter, switched up to light 38s, back to 22s before stepping up again.

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NRA LIFE
Reserve Officer 9yrs

I have shot and owned several PPK's over the years. i love the little gun's looks but it is not an easy shooter. it has sharp edges, kicks briskly and has a very stiff recoil spring that some have a hard time retracting the slide to chamber a round or clear a malfunction. There are better designs out now and many in 9mm rather than .380 in a similar size package.

Few thoughts. 1). Shooting is like showering, if you don't do it regularly, you stink. Just more practice I reckon is all that's needed. 2) my wife is 5'2 and a little gal with small hands, but like Iggy's wife, she really likes a Colt .45, GI spec. 3) You mention that she does real well with the first gun you gave her, maybe just practice getting really good with that one then. Neat thing about this hobby is that it's up to you, have fun, be safe, and enjoy the time together.

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Rather be outdoors

I'm not a fan of 2" barrels. I like the 3"HB to include the 36-1 HB. The barrel length is a non-issue in a proper holster... CC IWB the extra inch is verticle... the bulk is in the cylinder & possibly the grips. I like the balance of the barrel.

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NRA LIFE
Reserve Officer 9yrs

I've always been a natural at handgun shooting, so I find it odd when someone does poorly. The fundamental concepts are simple, and not too difficult to execute. That said, I have done my best when shooting on the regular. For a time my hands were like random rests, but I digress. She's reluctant to put in much time working on the basics.

The gun she started on was my old Ruger P89. It's a big ugly 9mm that shoots pretty smooth. Lately it's a bit harsh to shoot. All the recoil springs on our old autos have been going south lately so maybe that one's up, too.

I need to get her "snapping in" with some snap caps and doing more 22lr practice, me thinks.

I hear that...but she's pretty adamant about it. I've heard they're pretty nice in 32acp and the non /s version seems a lot smoother with the grips wraping around the backstrap.

I'm thinking she can buy that one herself...that way if she doesn't like it she can blame herself.

She hasn't been getting along with anything we've got between us, and there's certainly some sweet and easy shooters.

The 3" makes pocket and ankle carry difficult if not impossible and I don't think the barrel length makes much difference in shooting. It's also tough to find holsters as well.

If it turns out she just can't get along with it I'll search for a Colt Detective Special or something similar and keep the old girl for myself...though I have absolutely no use for it. If I'm carrying a steel framed gun it's going to be a magnum.

She's had some interest in these SP101's:

...but that's one bulky five shot. That said, I'm sure it'd be an easy shooter with 38 Specials.

I can only say, I felt the 3" made a difference in my hands. We are all individuals, our hands are different & the rest of the aiming triangle is different. While I would start with what I like... I would try to get another shooter to experience as many as possible.
I don't disagree on ankle holsters.

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NRA LIFE
Reserve Officer 9yrs

Maybe the ultralight 43c would work for her. 8 shots, 11-oz, .22lr. The trigger is supposed to be better than the .22 Magnum Centennial. Recoil is nil. Buy a brick of primer-only Colibris and she can even practice in the basement. Carries like a dream, follow up shots are quick, and she can practice as much as she wants without pain.

That's definitely a consideration.

Those little guys are pricey, though.

My bride is not recoil sensitive. She is an NRA pistol instructor whose personal battery includes a 4 5/8" Super Blackhawk. She found the recoil from wadcutters in my 642 unpleasant to the point that she was dissatisfied with her groups (we tried stock grips, Uncle Mikes, Hogue Tamers, Delta Ergos and Pach Presentations). Arthritis made it impossible for her to work the slide on all the pocket autos. She ended up bringing her dad's Colt Cobra out of retirement (with wood service grips and a Tyler). Apparently the grip profile made the difference.

There may be more at work here than caliber or grip material. I know this is the S&W forum, but there may be times when you have to throw brand loyalty to the wind.

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I need ammo, not a ride.