Revolver for wife

[red man]

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I need suggestions for a .22 cal. revolver for my wife to try. I got her a Ruger lcr 'bout a year ago and she only shot it a time or two and lost interest.
Now she is interested and tried it again but she says it is too hard to pull the trigger. I had it checked out by a gunsmith and the dadgum thing has a 14 pound trigger! Gunsmith talked to Ruger and they say it cannot be adjusted.
Long story short, I am looking for suggestions for some revolvers for her to try out. She wants a .22 double action that has a trigger that she can pull without it being too hard or that a gunsmith can lighten up for her. Please make suggestions for some she can rent and try out at the range. I have been thinking about a S&W 63 in .22 LR. That way she could shoot it single action and DA later after she got used to it.

 

[JP@AK]

The Model 63 Kit Gun Stainless would be an excellent choice as would be carbon steel Kit Gun (Model 34). I gave a Model 34-1 to my wife for Christmas last year and she loves it.
Bear in mind, these revolvers are not cheap. I saw an ANIB Model 63 sell at the gun show this morning for only $600, but that was an excellent deal (many are selling in the $800 range). The Model 34 is a bit easier to find at a decent price and they can be had with either the 4" or 2" barrel. They were also made with either round or square butts, so pick the one that fits your wife's hand the best.
Here's a photo of two Kit Guns, both are round butt revolvers, one each with the two barrel lengths.

 

[22hipower]

+1 for the 63/34.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[Snowninja]

Check out the Ruger SP101, or the Taurus Tracker. Or if you can find one, I have a Dan Wesson .22 my wife absolutely loves. Great trigger on it.

 

[JP@AK]

Check out the Ruger SP101

My SP101 4" is a fine shooter. However, the double action trigger pull is much longer and less smooth than any of our Kit Guns. Also, the SP101 is built on a larger frame than the I/J frame Kit Guns. I would not trade any of my Kit Guns for a Ruger SP101, nor would I recommend the Ruger over the Kit Gun as a ladies' revolver. But, of course, that is just my opinion, and it is not a slam on Ruger handguns. I have several and like them all.

 

[hardcase60]

No disrespect to the .22. However, for the money you would put in a 63/34 it might be possible to find a .32 in either a Model 30 or 31. I have a pre-model 30 and a 31. My little lady loves both of them. Yes ammo is more expensive than the .22 but it's still available on line and in some LGS. Just my two cent. hardcase60

 

[JP@AK]

it might be possible to find a .32

Like this one? (Made in 1915, bought nearly new in box at an estate sale a few years ago for $420):

Very sweet little guns, but slightly more expensive to shoot than the .22 rimfire.

 

[CATI1835]

All rimfire revolvers have very heavy triggers. It is required by the nature of the rimfire cartridge. You can reduce the pull by replacing the hammer spring, but you will do so at the cost of reliability. I have tried two different .22 revolvers for my wife, one a mag the other LR. The Mag had about an 18lb pull on it. I got it down to under 12 lbs but had about a 25% failure to fire rate. That was as unacceptable to me as the trigger pull was to my wife. On the other hand, she does like my MP22 Compact. She can rack the slide easily and a much better (for her) trigger. I fear there is no rimfire solution for you. We did find a suitable center fire revolver/round that my wife took to immediately. We settled on a .32H&R Magnum revolver. She can shoot .32 S&W Long wad cutters out of it and I believe the recoil is not much more than a .22LR round. Good luck in your quest.

 

[hardcase60]

The ".32 S&W Long wad cutters" is an excellent target round as well as an up close and personal self defense round. Lot's of folks a still grave yard dead from both the .22 and .32 rounds. hardcase60

 

[RobertJ.]

Whatever you choose, make sure it's something you've always wanted!

Just some advice given to me many years ago, and I found it to be sound.

 

[tcon]

Not good about the LCR. The trigger pull on those is supposed to be manageable for those with smaller hands and is typically between 7-9 lbs factory. I would stay on it myself with Ruger - tell the Ruger CSR that you had it tested at 14lbs, it was for your wife and you bought it specifically because of the raves about the trigger pull. Ask if you can send it in to have someone look at it to see why the pull on your particular revolver is so stiff. There should be no charge to you for this besides shipping.

 

[Jim Watson]

A Lady instructor here says: "And FYI, a S&W Bodyguard, a small lightweight revolver, and a Ruger LCP are the top three guns that are rejected by the ladies in class after shooting."

 

[midwesternmutt]

Ruger Single Six

Oops: just saw that you said Double Action. YMMV. [emoji3]

 

[midwesternmutt]

Whatever you choose, make sure it's something you've always wanted!



Just some advice given to me many years ago, and I found it to be sound.

Hahahaha! Yep, this ^^^.

 

[jackvs1]

Interesting thread - I asked a similar question about a year ago, wanted to know what revolver to get my 16 year old daughter. The responses were similar, Model 34 or Model 63, kit guns. I also had someone recommend the S&W M&P 22 compact. So what did I do, bought them all. Started my daughter out on the Model 34, quite frankly it was a Pre 34, lnib but what the heck, smooth action and pretty accurate. What I didn't expect was for her to fall in love with the M&P 22 compact, so accurate and smooth. Now my wife carries it, and daughter shoots it.

Keep an open mind and good luck.

 

[murphydog]

A range that has rental guns is a good idea, unless you have an unlimited gun budget (or appetite ).

If she has adequate hand size and strength, I would consider a K frame model 17 (6") or 18 (4") in .22 LR. The model 18 in particular is not much heavier than a 4" J frame, but the frame size allows better trigger leverage to the action, and the DA pull can be much lighter.

 

[W.E.G.]

I suspect the lady is good at a lot of things.

Guns not being one of them.

Your effort will be better spent aiding her in the betterment of the things she is already good at.

Everybody I've ever crossed paths with who complained about the "rigors" of operating a firearm never blossomed into a competent shooter.

YMMV... but it probably won't.

Not what you wanted to hear I'm sure, but reality is real.

 

[red man]

Lots'a good answers. am doing a lot of looking and will check out some of the above advisories. I'm in no hurry.
Forgot to mention, she is 82 and not the most athletic lady around. Any gun she tries will have to have a light trigger pull and very low recoil at first.

 

[g-dad]

Lots'a good answers. am doing a lot of looking and will check out some of the above advisories. I'm in no hurry.
Forgot to mention, she is 82 and not the most athletic lady around. Any gun she tries will have to have a light trigger pull and very low recoil at first.

Great info from all. Hand strength is important to the decision. At the other end of the age spectrum I started my twin granddaughters on a BB rifle, then to a Rascal -22LR bolt rifle and just recently to a revolver. They are 10 and don't have a lot of hand strength yet. The revolver is a 4" model 34. They are not able to pull the trigger from double action but are "dead eyes" in single action.

So it looks as though I'm in the 34/63 camp also.

 

[mg357]

I have a few suggestions

S&W Model 617 4 inch barrel

Ruger Sp101

Ruger Bearcat