Help with ammo selection for recoil sensitive wife

[JohnnieB]

It took a couple years, but my wife went from an all steel revolver and LWCs for CC to an airweight with Pachmayr Decelerator grips stoked and LSWCHP +P.
She has purses with central compartments designed for CC, so the added bulk of the larger/softer grips isn't an issue.

She practices with LWC except for the last 5 or 10, those being the full power loads she carries.

Of course, I cannot take any credit for this evolution, she took lessons from the female co-owner (wife) of my LGS owner.

SWMBO has also been known to raid my stash of relatively mild LSWC that I reload for practice and plinking.

 

[Pointblank2U]

Federal Nyclad

 

[Austerity]

I would also suggest wadcutters,the sharper the shoulder,the better.
Does your wife have a disability? I ask only because my wife does,has occured in the last two years and her hand strength has diminished to the extent that she no longer felt confident racking the slide of her G26. She is now using a customed up Mod.10-5 and is really good with it ,but she is a shooter.
The light weight of the airweight gun only leaves a few options for her that would not be intimidating or punishing from recoil. The wadcutters are one option,and the very expensive DPX is another. Some might suggest the Hornady
Critical Defense,which may prove to be another option,but I have no personal experience with it,nor am I familier with any real world shooting results with it
I would have suggested the SP101,but if that amount of weight was a problem,you may have made the best choice.
Best of luck with your choices.

ETA: I just noticed that the Nyclad was mentioned a couple of times.I would agree that it would be worth trying also. It was a pretty good snubby load in past years and I assume that since it came back into production,it is the same load and would work pretty well.

No, not really. Several months ago she had shoulder surgery for a rotator cuff on her dominant arm, but I have had it on both and it has affected me little.

I think it is more mental than physical. She isn't small or dainty, and she worked out before the surgery and now that she is out of rehab has been doing Jillian Michaels workouts which are pretty hardcore and a lot of yoga. She shoots 38 Special +P out of my 66 with ease and it plenty strong to handle it and the airweight. She just needs more practice, but I don't want her to shy away from the gun because of the recoil, I would like her to work her way into it. It's small and lightweight which means she will actually carry it.

She doesn't have a problem racking the slide on any full size gun (except blow-back designs), but any type of slim "concealed carry" semi auto is very hard for her. I have taught her the "slingshot" method of pushing forward with the dominate hand and pulling back and releasing briskly with non-dominant hand. She can do it, but not proficiently and she doesn't enjoy it. She feels more comfortable with a revolver which is fine with me.

 

[Joni_Lynn]

I'd also suggest that if she wants to shoot a lot, get a steel gun to use most of the time and only shoot the other enough to be familiar with it. By steel, I mean the same exact size and style of gun except for heavier. My 342Ti (or 340PD) is a nice gun but it doesn't take much to be enough. That's when the 60-7 while not quite the same style will fill in nicely.

 

[Austerity]

I'd also suggest that if she wants to shoot a lot, get a steel gun to use most of the time and only shoot the other enough to be familiar with it. By steel, I mean the same exact size and style of gun except for heavier. My 342Ti (or 340PD) is a nice gun but it doesn't take much to be enough. That's when the 60-7 while not quite the same style will fill in nicely.

I actually have plans to do that. She loves to shoot my 66, but would never carry it. Once she gets some practice down with the Airweight, I plan to get her a 60 or older 36 all steel to allow her to shoot several hundreds rounds in a range session comfortably.

 

[Joni_Lynn]

The 60-7 I posted a pic of is quite pleasant now that it has grips that fit my hand size. With 148 wadcutters it's a nice range gun.

 

[Austerity]

The 60-7 I posted a pic of is quite pleasant now that it has grips that fit my hand size. With 148 wadcutters it's a nice range gun.

Top notch to have hands on help from a female, thanks!

 

[Joni_Lynn]

My pleasure, I like to see more women getting into the sport. Helping to see that they have a better chance of success is my goal.
When she gets tired of killing paper targets, look into some reactive targets. They're more fun and give instant feedback.

 

[phubai8]

This is a very good thread. I will get my wife to read it. Thanks all for the input.

 

[MichiganScott]

I've never been able to understand so many threads that begin with "I've picked up a model "X" for my wife".

I've always allowed my wife to pick out her own pistols and we are both much happier. She currently owns a Model 28 4" just for grins, 3913 for carry, an M&P9C with light for a bedroom gun, several long guns, and several .22's.

When she picked out the 3913, the salesman (term used lightly) said, "You know that's a 9mm". Her response was, "I shoot his .45 better than he does, so what's your point?" This from a woman that stands an inch under 5 ft.

My whole point is light and small may not be the best choice for a non-enthusiast. I hope the OP's wife can find ammo and stocks so she can enjoy shooting her 642. You have to shoot your carry gun a lot if you want to bet your life on it, particularly if it is light and hard to control.

 

[pff]

I actually have plans to do that. She loves to shoot my 66, but would never carry it. Once she gets some practice down with the Airweight, I plan to get her a 60 or older 36 all steel to allow her to shoot several hundreds rounds in a range session comfortably.

"shoot several hundreds rounds in a range session comfortably." ???????

That might be part of the problem. We're not talking a hardcore gameshooter here.

20-30 rounds from an AirWeight is plenty for most folks.

I limit myself to 15 in the AirLite in any one session. More starts getting painful and is counterproductive.

As a side note, I appreciate you hardcore gun-guys picking out 2 pound plus K frames for your wife to carry; makes for some killer deals at shows.

Regards,

Pat

 

[bigborephil]

I like the wadcutter loads from DoubleTap.

DoubleTap Ammunition

 

[photoman]

The 642 is an excellent personal defense handgun given certain conditions!


1. Large rubber grips are a must for beginners.


2. Standard pressure ammo only until the shooter is used to the recoil of the lightweight 642. That includes carry ammo too! ABSOLUTELY NO BUFFALO BORE STANDARD PRESSURE AMMO! It may be standard pressure but it is +P recoil! Standard pressure, 110gr ammo like the Federal load you mentioned has very little recoil and is a better option even though it doesn't perform as well in testing when compared to heavier/faster ammo.


3. 1000 dry fires as soon as possible. This will smooth up the action quite a bit and make trigger control much easier.


4. The Apex spring kit is a good option if you are handy enough to install it or can afford to have a gunsmith install it. This will do wonders for trigger control (especially when combined with the 1000 dry fires). I use the main and rebound springs from the kit and leave the stock firing pin and firing pin spring in the gun.


5. Practice firing at distances less than seven yards. Anything beyond that will likely frustrate the beginning Airweight shooter.


6. Use silhouette targets at the range. Airweights are fighting guns, not target guns! Trying to shoot small bullseye groups with an Airweight is not the mission of this handgun (although you might find it most rewarding later on).


7. A good pocket holster is a must for your new 642. It's like peanut butter and jelly! They just go together so well.

 

[ogilvyspecial]

I really can't add to the excellent advice that you've already received but wanted to say something else about grips.

Less than a week ago my son & I put around 400 rd's through three J Frame Airweights, a M638 & two 642's. Two of these guns had small wood grips on them with exposed backstraps & the third had the type shown below, which you can get through the S&W Store if so inclined. They really do make a difference when it comes to felt recoil.

One other thing I've found is that when shooting rounds with a heavy recoil the first cylinder or two are the worst. For some reason I seem to get used to them and even end up shooting one-handed with rounds that "hurt" using two hands when I started out that day. As always, your mileage, or your wife's, may vary.

Happy Shooting!!

 

[Krusr]

Might want to try Winchester's Standard Pressure 110gr Silvertips

Another vote for the Silvertips,

Krusr

 

[Rule 303]

I'd try to find a three inch, steel J Frame. Start her out with 148 grn WCs as others have said. As she feels more comfortable with the recoil, get her some Speer 135grn Gold Dots, not the +Ps, just standard ammo.

See how she does with this.

My wife carries a 3 inch Model 60 with the standard pressure Gold Dots and does just fine with it.

Rule 303

 

[blujax01]

I took the route of buying my wife what I thought she should have. 3" J-Frame. She hated it. She then proceeded to rent all sorts of guns she was interested in. Turns our she much prefers a bottom-feeder. She bought an M&P 9C and after trying several weights, goes with the 147 grain heavier ammunition. I cooked up some Winchester STHP as well as Remington Golden Sabre's for SD and she loves them.
She carries in her purse, a unit from Coronado Leather, and never leaves home without it.

Bottom line is that once I treated her as an equal rather than telling her what she needed, I had a buddy at the range and in the LGS.

 

[browntown]

Whenever I encounter someone who can't handle recoil I ALWAYS SEE POSTURE PROBLEMS.
Watch for these DON'Ts
* leaning back from the gun with stomach forward,
* holding the handgun close to the face with elbows down,
* crooked wrists and elbows that do not transmit the recoil straight to the shoulder.

A good posture transmits the recoil along the arm to the shoulder to the entire body.

Even a 500 S&W is tamed with proper posture.

Don't want to take everyone too far off topic, but I don't shoot with straight arms, and even at 250lbs I'm somewhat of a recoil weenie from far too many rounds of trap. I believe the easiest way to shoot a revolver is with both elbows bent and to the side, and they act as shock absorbers -- transmitting LESS to the shoulder. Miculek advocates this as well. See this video
Jerry Miculek - Stance | MyOutdoorTV.com

Now my dad taught me the isosceles rigid arm business, and my retired leo friends use the weaver elbow under the gun business, but Miculek's stance has served me well target shooting at least.

 

[jimmyj]

I would suggest that you get some 148gr wadcutters to build her up some. That would be the lightest shooting ammo available for .38 and would give you a good indication rather or not the gun is going to work out for her. I don't find the Airweights all that pleasant to shoot myself, but the idea is make them light enough you'll carry it instead of leaving it behind because it's too heavy. The longer magnum grips will help, but again they add bulk.

Factory 148gr Wadcutters are an acceptable SD.
You might consider an all steel model "J" Frame. Ladys that shoot a Model 36 w/ three inch barrel are very happy with this model.

 

[photoman]

I took the route of buying my wife what I thought she should have. 3" J-Frame. She hated it. She then proceeded to rent all sorts of guns she was interested in. Turns our she much prefers a bottom-feeder. She bought an M&P 9C and after trying several weights, goes with the 147 grain heavier ammunition. I cooked up some Winchester STHP as well as Remington Golden Sabre's for SD and she loves them.
She carries in her purse, a unit from Coronado Leather, and never leaves home without it.

Bottom line is that once I treated her as an equal rather than telling her what she needed, I had a buddy at the range and in the LGS.

Is she well trained and practiced with malfunction drills?