One successful range trip......

[rwsmith]

I took my SIL along with us to the range. She's in the midst of divorce from her ex-police husband and has shot semi-pistols and is good with a deer rifle (kills and cooks her own) but admits she doesn't know and doesn't care to know a lot about firearms. Her husband told her she had to use a 9mm semi pistol, which she says intimidated her because she couldn't even learn how to strip and reassemble it well, much less understand function and malfunctions. Besides that she has some arthritis. We shot a .380 S&W EZ and my 9mm Shield, along with a 5903 and several carbines and rifles. But what we found out that she REALLY liked was the S&W revolvers I took along, a J frame and my 686. She's concerned about protection since she and her daughter are moving to rural western NC when they get settled and will be alone. When we got home I also showed her the 4" model 10, which she also took to and declared that she DEFINITELY wanted a revolver for her HD needs. Maybe a 'J' frame for carry. I had some problems at the range. Lack of communication among the shooters caused a problem and some loads that I had made severely underperformed to where I'm going to have to pull them apart to check the powder loads (I weighed them individually) and scale calibration. HOWEVER, I declared that giving my SIL the opportunity to discover the simplicity and reliability of revolvers made the trip pricelessly invaluable.

 

[Rudi]

Good work!

 

[stansdds]

Revolvers do tend to be handgun novice friendly. They are easy to load and easy to operate, so long as they are properly maintained. Many years ago my mom wanted to buy a handgun for home defense and possibly carry. I had a fair assortment of handguns at the time and she preferred the revolvers and settled on a S&W 640-1.

 

[H Richard]

When I finally convinced my wife that she needed to be familiar with handguns and have confidence in using one, I took her to the range with a whole bunch of appropriate handguns. I had unconsciously put a 4" k frame in 38 Spec in as it would be the easiest for her to use, (Just pick it up and pull the trigger), but she wanted nothing to do with a revolver. She wanted a Semi auto. After trying a half dozen she tried my .380 Bersa Thunderer, and declared it hers. (She is a good shot). The ease of racking the slide and the smooth trigger won her over.


If you want her to shoot let her pick out her own gun.

 

[BabaBlueJay]

Revolvers are great, just point and pull the trigger. If one doesn't go bang, repeat until the threat is stopped.

 

[rwsmith]

Missus Smiff...

When I finally convinced my wife that she needed to be familiar with handguns and have confidence in using one, I took her to the range with a whole bunch of appropriate handguns. I had unconsciously put a 4" k frame in 38 Spec in as it would be the easiest for her to use, (Just pick it up and pull the trigger), but she wanted nothing to do with a revolver. She wanted a Semi auto. After trying a half dozen she tried my .380 Bersa Thunderer, and declared it hers. (She is a good shot). The ease of racking the slide and the smooth trigger won her over.


If you want her to shoot let her pick out her own gun.

....like the .380 Shield EZ I got her. And she's a good shot with it, too. When we went for our CC permits the instructor told me that if we had a problem, to give her the gun.

 

[lihpster]

It's amazing what people will like. Had a friend ask me to take him handgun shooting. Never shot them before, wasn't a big gun guy. He and his family did a lot of camping, and he wanted something for protection from 2 legged threats. I took him out and let him shoot several handguns. A 1911, a Glock 17, Sig 365, S&W Mod. 15 and even a Ruger P91 in .40 I borrowed from a friend. He shot well enough for a beginner, and expressed a fondness for the G17.
A week later he calls me and tells me he's purchased a gun. What did this novice handgunner buy? A Glock 20. Not the choice I would have made for him, but it's his gun. I told him to practice a lot with it and he did. Turned into a pretty good shot with it. He's still mediocre with any other gun, but he knows that one now.
Oh, and by the way, the next year he went hunting for the first time. High dollar guided hunt paid for by his employer. He took a six point bull, biggest of the hunt. That's how we get 'em boys. One at a time.

 

[jeffrefrig]

You really can't go wrong with the EZ 380 or EZ9. The simplicity of changing magazines when needed is nice & EZ. Along with that, anything from a 4" Model 10 down to a M36 or a DA only Airweight in .38 is fine for the revolver. (Gotta have both.)

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My suggestion is: If you have more than one semi auto handgun in the house (including 22's) make sure the safeties all function in the same direction.

Ivan

 

[jeffrefrig]

Yes, Ivan. This I think about often, but I'm the only one who knows where & how to shoot anything I have ready. Wife refuses to learn...but, 3 Berettas: one flick it up, one down, the other just cross bolt isn't ever used. They are all just ready to pull the trigger. And locked up, except for one over in the......
But yes, Mr. Ivan, that's the best advice for anyone, except for dumbbutt me!

 

[rwsmith]

That was a dilemma......

My suggestion is: If you have more than one semi auto handgun in the house (including 22's) make sure the safeties all function in the same direction.

Ivan

That limited my choice for a long time because having to explain, "This one goes this way and this one goes that way" and "This one has a DA trigger all the time, but this one has as a DA trigger on the first pull of the trigger but is SA on the next pull unless you cock it first, except for this one which is SA all the time". You will lose your audience quickly.

A person has to WANT to know and understand the differences. Now my son's grown up and my wife has her own gun so I have a bunch of semi-pistols and I got what I wanted a year or so ago. A 5903.

Compared to all that it is very easy to understand why someone that didn't care to learn the intricacies of semi pistols would prefer an DA/SA revolver. However like, lihpster posted, if you want to shoot ONE semi pistol, you can learn it well without all of the ifs, ands or buts.