CCW for my daughter

lonestarjeff

lonestarjeff

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My daughter has been shooting for about ten years now, but never owned her own weapon. Everything she's handled has been a large frame auto or rifle. I haven't pushed her into it, but she recently asked me about helping her find something for HD & SD. She's a recently divorced 30-year-old living about 4 hours away, so I was quite pleased she decided on her own to do this.

I came up with a list of 9mm single-stack autos for her to rent & try out at the range. I hate to admit this, but I didn't even consider throwing in a revolver. Not to get into a caliber debate, but I didn't consider anything below 9mm & I expected anything higher power would be too much for her out of a carry-weight frame.

After shooting all the autos on the list she told me she didn't really like any of them. The one that shot & handled best was a revolver....I said "what revolver? I didn't put a revolver on the list!" Turns out the guy behind the counter at the range suggested it, so she tried it. A M442 is what she prefers. I still can't believe I didn't suggest it!

Jeff
 
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I gave my daughter a 442-1 with Crimson Trace grips on it when she moved to the big city. She took to it immediately. The first shooting session only ended when she wore a blister on her trigger finger. That took about 150 rounds.

Best Regards,
ADP3
 
It must be genetic. Mrs Biggfoot is a revolver purist. Biggfootette has been exposed to both , but so far is prefering revolvers.

I'm tapping this with a grin as somebody who likes revolvers. But seriously women are people too . Different people prefer different firearms, and there's nothing exclusive or excluded for either gender. Hand size , finger and upper body strength are factors for everyone , gender not a factor in itself. ( Some females see the humor in pink guns , some see them as insulting condencention.)
 
Ruger LCR available in .22, .38 Spl & .35 Mag., light weight, DAO almost fool proof. Semi autos in anything bigger than .32 can be a monster for a woman to rack the slide.
 
Lonestarjeffette just shows that we need to let our wives and daughters pick their own firearms. They may surprise us.

The first handgun my wife bought was a 4" Model 28 after I tried to get her to shoot a K-frame. She said she preferred the weight.
 
Pink is cool

My daughter's S&W 331TI .32 H&R magnum.
DSCN03844.JPG


The S&W 32-1 .38 S&W I gave my daughter-in-law.
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Both of these young ladies also own S&W Shield 9mm pistols.
ShieldGlockS_W_005.JPG
 
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I find most of the single stack 9s to be unacceptable to me. Yes, this is a personal thing. Between really bad DOA triggers to unacceptable recoil characteristics, I really didn't find one that suited me. I ended up with a compact double stack 9. Sorry, it's not a Smith. Unfortunately, a lot of women have real trouble racking the slide on this weapon.

I'm of the opinion that a carry weapon should be enjoyable enough to shoot that you will want to spend some quality time with it at the range on a regular basis. Several of the weapons I dismissed were ones I could shoot accurately enough, but I would have to make myself go and practice with it.

This is not a hard and fast rule, just my philosophy for my own situation.

As to the revolver/semi-auto debate. Carry what you're comfortable with, and comfortable carrying. I would rather see someone I care about carrying a 5 shot revolver that they are comfortable and competent with, than a 15 shot semi-auto they are hesitant to shoot, and might have trouble clearing a malfunction.
 
" a lot of women have real trouble racking the slide on this weapon. "

Teach them to grasp the slide with their weak hand, arm under their rib cage, and push the frame forward With the strong hand (finger outside the trigger guard) to cock the pistol. The muzzle will be roughly 45 degrees away from the body and clear most God-given appendages.
 
I am a woman - I love my 638 that's had an Apex spring kit installed. I can practice for half an hour and my hand isn't sore at all. And I'm pretty accurate with it.

I recommend the Apex kit for any woman getting a j frame. (just my .02)
 
My girlfriend is an avid shooter and hunter but like your daughter, never CC. I had her shoot all of my hand guns at her leisure to see what she liked.

She loved shooting my 4" Ruger Redhawk 44 mag, well we all know that might be the best CCW for a 5'08 150lbs female so I suggested maybe a smaller choice.

She did not like any of the Glocks but then shot my friends 40 Shield, my 442 and sp101.

She ended up settling on the 40 Shield, which she shoots very well and has confidence in.

The big thing to me anyway is confidence in a gun. Alot of guys seem to want to "caliber up " or tell other shooters what they think the shooter would like. If that shooter doesnt have confidence in that firearm and doesnt shoot it well then the point of carrying is lost.

My friends wife loves to shoot a 6 shot 22 mag. She shoots it very well and has tried other calibers and configurations with no luck.

Some say "Oh its only a 22 mag" She says "let me shoot you in the chest with it" and smiles.

If your daughter is happy with it she will be more apt to carry it on a regular basis.
 
dave19113 said:
.....The big thing to me anyway is confidence in a gun.....If that shooter doesnt have confidence in that firearm and doesnt shoot it well then the point of carrying is lost.....

If your daughter is happy with it she will be more apt to carry it on a regular basis.
Click to expand...

Couldn't say it better myself.
 
MaxS said:
I am a woman - I love my 638 that's had an Apex spring kit installed. I can practice for half an hour and my hand isn't sore at all. And I'm pretty accurate with it.

I recommend the Apex kit for any woman getting a j frame. (just my .02)
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with it....need to check that out!
 
rhmc24 said:
Ruger LCR available in .22, .38 Spl & .35 Mag., light weight, DAO almost fool proof. Semi autos in anything bigger than .32 can be a monster for a woman to rack the slide.
Click to expand...

OK, I'm going to get people mad at me here, but I hear this business about women unable to rack the slide all the time and I don't buy it.

There are no doubt some really small women (and men) who don't have the arm/hand/wrist strength to rack a slide. But if that's the case, then they need an exercise program to strengthen their arms.

I have a wife, a sister, three sisters in law, and four granddaughters -- the youngest is 8. And all of them, including the 8 year old could rack a slide if they tried.

That said, I'd go the other way and buy a revolver myself.

But, IMHO, if we are talking operating regular defensive handguns, autos and revolvers, then I think every healthy person, man or woman, can learn to shoot them with, at most, some strengthening exercises. And those exercises are probably a good idea for all of us.
 
It just goes to prove that we all prefer different things. One day my daughter wanted to try my handgun so I asked her which one. She said "all of em." After she shot several including revolvers, 22s, compacts - she declared she had a favorite - the one I least suspected. My full size M&P 40, after that I realized I'll just let them tell me what they like.
 
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Like pointed out....

Cal44 said:
OK, I'm going to get people mad at me here, but I hear this business about women unable to rack the slide all the time and I don't buy it.

There are no doubt some really small women (and men) who don't have the arm/hand/wrist strength to rack a slide. But if that's the case, then they need an exercise program to strengthen their arms.

I have a wife, a sister, three sisters in law, and four granddaughters -- the youngest is 8. And all of them, including the 8 year old could rack a slide if they tried.

That said, I'd go the other way and buy a revolver myself.

But, IMHO, if we are talking operating regular defensive handguns, autos and revolvers, then I think every healthy person, man or woman, can learn to shoot them with, at most, some strengthening exercises. And those exercises are probably a good idea for all of us.
Click to expand...

It's not completely about strength, but technique. When I got a full size 9mm I had difficulty racking the slide and I was wondering how it would be useful anywhere except the range. With a little practice I got better at racking it normally. OR keep the gun close to your rib cage. Reach over with the left hand and grab the slide (It's good if you work on not blocking the port). Push the right hand forward and let go. Easy as pie.
 
Can't beat a 442, or 642 for SD for a woman.
Easy, simple, and goes bang every time.
38 speical is a good round for putting the bad guy down.
 
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For normal, every day carry, whether in a purse or carried on her body, in my experience most women are best served by a 442, 642, 638, etc. If they have serious intentions in re carrying pistols and can rack slides then anything from a Ruger LCP and up will work depending on concealment issues.

Since I carry a 642 every day I'm partial to it, anyway!

***GRJ***
 
The guy behind the counter did good.

I think the chiefs are best too....but---it still always boils down to what THEY want or like. If they have it in their mind they want an automatic, that may be it. Often---I have seen gals gravitate toward the chiefs even when they had "auto" on their mind however.

I am happy to see that so many gals are carrying "heaters"

BTW, a good action job is very helpful on a chief.
 
My wife took the ccw course after four decades of telling her too. She shoots revolvers in double action. I'm proud of her.
 
Not only do women have trouble with the slides. Arthur keeps me from racking the proper way. I have to rack to the left under my left arm. I'm OK with it. But I cannot teach anyone else to do that. At a range I must turn the left arm down range to rack the slide. PITA !
 
Still looking for her a J-frame...she decided to borrow my M37 temporarily & we can get her a 442/642 for Christmas. :-/

In the meantime, I have been looking at options with a laser....the Bodyguard or the 442/642 with laser grips. Prices are all surprisingly close to each other.

I have not handled the Bodyguard or anything with a laser grip. How is the laser activated on these weapons? I'm wondering if they are a good option for wagging around in a purse....will other stuff in there accidentally turn on the device?

Also, are the laser grips substantially larger than the standard synthetics on a 442/642(which she likes)?
 

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In the last 20 years or so I've taken 3 (non-family) women shooting for their first time. All were about my age and of "average" build (i.e., not small). All were perfectly healthy, with no disabilities that interfered with normal daily activities. But none were able to rack the slides on any of the autoloaders I had available. Even using the crossarm technique suggested above.

My daughter, OTOH, who is smaller than any of the other women I taught to shoot, can rack the slide on any autoloader I've ever owned with no difficulty. (She is also the only member of our family who has shot a bolt action 50BMG offhand. It's one of my favorite photos.)

So, I think it all depends on the woman.
 
lonestarjeff said:
...

After shooting all the autos on the list she told me she didn't really like any of them. The one that shot & handled best was a revolver....I said "what revolver? I didn't put a revolver on the list!" ..... A M442 is what she prefers. I still can't believe I didn't suggest it!

Jeff
Click to expand...

Further proof women are the more intelligent of the species.

The last young lady (early 20's) we introduced to conceal carry choices evaluated a wide variety of new and old, semi-autos and revolvers, and ended up with a .38 M&P from the late 1940's. It has as much character as she does. However, just like the guys, one is never enough so she has also acquired a 638.

John
Scoundrel and Ne'er-Do-Well in Training
 
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lonestarjeff said:
..... How is the laser activated on these weapons? I'm wondering if they are a good option for wagging around in a purse....will other stuff in there accidentally turn on the device?

Also, are the laser grips substantially larger than the standard synthetics on a 442/642(which she likes)?
Click to expand...

Of the various laser grips I prefer the Crimson Trace for J-frame revolvers because they work simply. They follow the KIS(S) principle = Keep It Simple (Stupid).There is an unobtrusive button under the front surface of grip just below the trigger guard. Squeeze a little more firmly with your middle finger to activate and relax your middle finger a little to deactivate. The grips do not seem significantly larger than standard grips. The main downside is cost. They are reasonably ergonomic but don't repeat the same mistake by picking out the grips or laser for her. Let her pick it out herself.

According to "expert" ladies, if they are going to carry in a purse, they should carry in a separate dedicated compartment from all other items so as to not hang up on anything or get something caught in the trigger. The laser grips would not be adversely affected in a dedicated compartment of a purse. There are specially designed carry purses too. This issue could start a vigorous debate - carry in a purse versus carry on your person.

Good Luck,
John
Scoundrel and Ne'er-Do-Well in Training
 
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