She should have included mentioning small .38 Special revolvers.
I'll bet if had an afternoon with Hollie, I might make a smal-concealed-revolver person out of her.
I have sincere doubts that the average woman will ever enjoy shooting .38 caliber J-frames. OTOH, I think it would be easy to get women to handle snubbie K-frames. But buying them for their simplicity and ability to drop into a purse - oh, yeah, THAT I can see.
Admittedly, the Ks are heaver and harder to conceal than the Js but they are far easier to shoot, and to shoot well.
As for J-frames, the only ones that I think a woman would even come close to becoming fans of are the all steel versions. Airweights and Scandiums are just nasty for almost anyone's hands, especially a woman's.
Now, before you flame me with examples, I am sure there are women out there happily toting their J frames every day, and maybe enjoying shooting them, too. Those would be in the minority, but I am sure there examples so my generalization is not meant to be the ONLY story on the subject.
I have carried J-frames for years and years. Switching to K frame snubs was a recent decision and I'm very pleased with the result.
There is a world of difference between "tiny guns", however, and even J-frame types of revolvers. The little .380s extant today, never mind .25s or .22s, are ever so much smaller and lighter than J frames and when they say Colt, S&W, Ruger, SIG, Kahr, Beretta, etc., you know it's a quality gun and will do its job.
Tiny guns are still mouse guns. The size and calibers have not changed. The big change is the found in the rules of carrying - people everywhere have permission and, as a corollary, people everywhere are looking for concealment guns. Modern, casual dress lends itself to mouse guns quite readily; not so much for larger tools.
Historically, the .380 has had a reputation for poor quality that earned it the derisive nickname of “Saturday Night Special.” In the 1960s and '70s, the tiny weapons were cheap and associated with criminal acts. Subpar materials and production made them susceptible to accidental discharge incidents and jamming.
I like this part, where the author derides an entire caliber due to one particularly infamous pistol manufactured to fire that caliber . . .
Back in the day I recall that Saturday Night Specials included a host of small, cheap handguns, and cheap .38s were included. There were a number of pot metal, small .38 caliber revolvers available, many from Spain or elsewhere in Europe. I took umbrage with the section quoted above, too.
Speaking of tiny guns, besides various J frames, I have to admit to having some real babies. My smallest is a .22 Short caliber North American Arms mini-revolver. It's hard to cock but it's a great deep cover gun if that's where you find yourself. I'm not in that business so it stays in the safe. My two High Standard .22 WRM derringers are tiny, too. Tough triggers but they're great hideout guns - and we have a Forum member who owes his life to one of those. Next up would be .25 ACP pistols; I presently have three, having sold off one or two over the years. The smallest is a PSA Baby Browning (jammamatic now but it will be fixed), then a CZ Duo from 1944 (made in German occupied Czechoslovakia), and finally a Beretta Model 950-BS (which I carried ceaselessly for 20 years). I had some of those tiny .380s, too, but I sold them off for various reasons. So I'm not exactly anti-mouse gun.......
