New Female on board needs a lot of help!

[scooter123]

Sunny, I am NOT a fan of purse or shoulder bag carry, too many snatch and run thieves target womens bags and some use box cutters to cut the straps.

While it may seem very old school I would suggest that you may want to look into a shoulder holster and start wearing a fashionable jacket. It's one advantage of the "layered" look so prevalvent in womens fashions today, women have options for concealed carry us men lost when we stopped wearing suits and ties.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

Just a couple of comments. I would suggest that you ask the salesman at your gun store what products you need to buy to clean your new revolver, then ask him to show you how to properly clean your new gun. The ammo you mentioned refer to the weight of the bullet. Usually the higher the weight the greater the recoil. Practice with lighter weight bullets...they are usually cheaper to purchase as well. +P ammo gives a bit more muzzle velocity, but also has more recoil.

My wife has quite a few guns...a M&P9c, the new Ruger LC9, and the Ruger LCR .38spl. Her favorite carry gun is the LCR because it is small, light weight, and felt recoil is minimal compared to the other guns. She also used to carry it in a concealed carry purse, but after a class at Gunsite she now carries either in her pocket in a pocket holster or in a Crossbreed Supertuck holster on her belt. Purses are easy targets for bad guys. You also need a means to carry spare ammunition...Tuff Products have Quick Strips that make it easy to do a reload. Holsters and reloaders are available at Midway USA: Shop Shooting Supplies | Reloading | Gunsmithing | Hunting gear — MidwayUSA

Whatever you decide to carry just practice, practice, practice. A lot can be learned from dry-fire practice, but nothing replaces live fire at the range. Have fun....

 

[arp32]

I second the advice about finding a class that will allow you to try out a few models before you purchase. The Smith & Wesson J frames might be a bit snappy in your hands until you're used to shooting. K frames are a bit bigger, but more comfortable to shoot. Id go with comfort for your first gun, might as well start with something thats pleasurable to practice with!

Lots of different model numbers, dont worry about memorizing them. once you handle a few you can easily tell which frame style it is. Have fun!

 

[arp32]

Just noticed the dates on this thread! Hope you enjoy the 64-4. I have a 64-5 that's one of my favorite guns to shoot. Excellent gun in my opinion, no goofy bells and whistles to screw up under stress!

 

[sunnyskyez]

Keep all those suggestions coming, Im checking them all out. Thanks.

 

[rpbcab]

Congratulations on your purchase. There is some really good information on this forum and some people with great knowledge and advice. I admire how you went about your gun experience, investigating, asking questions and getting training. If more people followed your example there would be a lot more experienced safe shooters around. Keep up the good work. I don't have any advice to give, all the good stuff has already been said....

 

[1jimmy]

lots of good advice so far and from what you say your putting yourself in the right direction. nra course and try many different guns is what you need to do. nobody but you can pick the right gun for you. lightweight revolvers do have a lot of recoil and traditionally have a hard trigger pull. heavier revolvers usually have less recoil but now you get into big and bulky. try some semi autos, but stay away from the so called mouse guns which are pocket size , and have hard triggers. ex: s&w 380, ruger lc9, kahr pm9. etc. imo you need at least a 38 caliber for decent stopping power but it is mostly only available in revolvers. my suggegestion is and i know you said smith and nobody can come close to making a better revolver of which i have many, however try a glock model 27, its a forty caliber with plenty of stopping power and size and weight is about the same as the small revolvers, the trigger pull is about half what it takes in a revolver, can carry 10 or more rounds and the recoil is not that bad. as far as the range problem find some friends with guns and go with them most guys at the ranges i go to don't have any problem swapping off guns for others to try. keep focused the way you are your approaching this, its the right way. hope this helps!

 

[celticfisherman]

Here is new holster just for the Ladies. Interesting concept...

Flashbang Women?s Holster

YouTube - ‪Flashbang bra holster demo, sexy, fast, and practical.‬‏

Thank you for that. I just sent that to my wife. She has just gotten her CCW and we've been discussing the best way for her to carry. We have 4 kids so purse carry is not as good as with some people. And it makes everything difficult.

 

[230therapy]

Hi Sunny!!

What city are you near?

Now that you've taken your first course, it's time to consider more extensive training. The first thing to remember here is that you are now likely to develop bad shooting habits. It is very important that you have someone review your shooting in person and correct mistakes. For now, you should focus upon trigger control and grouping well at 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 25 yards. Good groups mean you are doing something consistently (correctly or not). Get help early if you're all over the place or feeling frustrated.

Self-defense is a complex topic. Some of the skills you need to learn are:

Running your gun and malfunction handling
Movement
Retention
Basic combatives
Managing the police
Tactics
Low Light techniques

"Running your gun" includes many subskills and does not mean "open the cylinder, load, close cylinder". It is far more than that. It includes rapid fire, the sight continuum, alternative methods of loading, and so forth.

There are many self-defense oriented schools and trainers. Unfortunately, the VAST majority of trainers do not know how to properly run a revolver. A few people still train with them: Thunder Ranch, Gunsite, Grant Cunningham, and Michael J. de Bethencourt. Attending a course by a semi-automatic oriented trainer is better than nothing! Much of it will be the same (tactics, managing the police, etc). Gunsite and Thunder Ranch are quite expensive; I generally never pay more than $400 for a two or three day course. I know these may not seem worth it, but they are because you'll really get to know your gun and learn quite a few new skills. Keep in mind that you are increasing the odds of winning; you can do everything right and still die. Some of the most important lessons are when to shoot, how to handle the police, court, and how to properly practice after the course.

Check out SnubTraining.com. There are videos on reloading and de Bethencourt offers training.

Look around your area for ICORE, IDPA, and IPSC competitions. These sports include revolvers...and revolver shooters! You'll meet a bunch of good people who can put you in touch with trainers or groups to train with. If all else fails, just jump into competition (even if your gun isn't very competitive) to get the experience. It's lots of fun and you'll get to shoot a wide variety of fun targets.