What are good concealed carry choices for women?

[Gunny]

My wife carries a Charter Arms Off Duty. We spent an entire day looking at available pistols and she liked the way the Charter fit her hand. The trigger wasn't very smooth out of the box, but after I put right around 200 rounds through it, things smoothed up very well. Even with the 2" barrel and triple tapping at rapid fire, she can keep 2 out of 3 rounds on an 8x10 target at 25 feet

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I am a Certified NRA pistol instructor, and also work in the law enforcement field. I will tell you my recommendation for someone who has little to no experience with firearms, and is considering carrying. I believe before anyone carries a firearm they should mentally answer one question "can I kill him?" If they cannot answer that without hesitation ,then they should not carry a firearm, because they may be put into a situation where they are forced to make a choice and that is not the time to make it. There are those out there carrying and I have heard them say they would "scare them" with it..:irked: No, that will get you killed.

1. Now for what type of firearm for a woman? I without a doubt would recommend a revolver.
2. Reason: Under stress with a automatic she may draw it and forget what she has to do to make it work. With a revolver all she has to do is pull the trigger which makes it fail safe. The trigger pull will be a little more than an auto,but under stress she will not have any trouble pulling it.
3.With that being said anyone can learn to handle any firearm,but the key is practice,practice, that includes drawing and re holstering.
I hope this helps some, just my :2cents: from things I have seen and experienced.

Right on. I personally prefer a revolver because of its safety and reliability. Considering that even experts occasionally have accidental discharges of an auto, I wouldn't let my wife use anything but a revolver, at least not until she had plenty of experience under her belt. Friend's daughter in law shot herself in the leg chambering a round into a .25 auto during an attempted break in.

I bought my wife a Ruger hammerless .22 mag.

 

[tractorshopper]

Wow, great feedback here. I'm amazed at the experts we have in this community. Thanks a million.

Based on the responses so far, I've talked to another female family member that has both revolvers and semi-autos for carrying and she'll help out with training and choices, and let her shoot all of them, but she'd also recommend a revolver for starters, even though she personally carries a 9mm Springfield most often.

I think this will help a lot and is in-line with your recommendations.

 

[fried1765]

I am a Certified NRA pistol instructor, and also work in the law enforcement field. I will tell you my recommendation for someone who has little to no experience with firearms, and is considering carrying. I believe before anyone carries a firearm they should mentally answer one question "can I kill him?" If they cannot answer that without hesitation ,then they should not carry a firearm, because they may be put into a situation where they are forced to make a choice and that is not the time to make it. There are those out there carrying and I have heard them say they would "scare them" with it..:irked: No, that will get you killed.

1. Now for what type of firearm for a woman? I without a doubt would recommend a revolver.
2. Reason: Under stress with a automatic she may draw it and forget what she has to do to make it work. With a revolver all she has to do is pull the trigger which makes it fail safe. The trigger pull will be a little more than an auto,but under stress she will not have any trouble pulling it.
3.With that being said anyone can learn to handle any firearm,but the key is practice,practice, that includes drawing and re holstering.
I hope this helps some, just my :2cents: from things I have seen and experienced.

practicing ..."drawing and re holstering"???

I don't see for that in most cases for women.
Women (especially older women) are generally not likely to be packing heat in a shoulder or IWB holster.
My wife carries her Charter .32 H&R Mag in her purse, in a fabric holster (for lint/dirt protection).
Certainly she DOES need to plan ahead (anticipate potential for a problem).
There is no way that she would ever practice becoming a "quick draw McGraw".

 

[azranger]

Not suggesting anyone quick draw, I'm suggesting drawing and reholstering with having to take your eyes off you subject.

 

[JRobyn]

With full acknowledgement to those who laugh at a .22 for self-defense, it is my very studied opinion that it is a formidable round, especially as .22WMR. Handgun fatality-by-caliber statistics are ample proof. Also IMHO, a very small .22 handgun is perfectly suitable for self-defense where the range is <15ft and having it ON YOU and ready for rapid deployment is crucial.

That's why I carry a little NAA SA revolver every day. Concealable most anywhere. Right front pocket for me. Or at the TOP of the purse for females. There's even neck chain holsters.

North American Arms – Convenient, Reliable, Effective!

They are all SA; simplest (and IMHO safest) action. The standard birdshead grips are marginal for self-defense. Either buy the Black Widow model or buy some aftermarket oversized grips. Get both the .22LR and .22WMR cylinders (.22LR is much cheaper to practice with).

I like an old .38spcl J-frame or Ruger LC9S for keeping around the house. Wife SOMETIMES carries her LC9S in a Crossbreed mini-tuck IWB holster. She is most accurate with her CZ 75 D Compact, but that's getting too big for anything but purse carry.

 

[katoomed00]

Kel-Tek P-32, extremely compact, comes with a 7 round clip (10 round available). Was concerned it might punch to much making it difficult to hold on to, but wife has no issue.

Kel-Tec | P-32

 

[RSKY]

I am a firm believer in the KISS principal. That is Keep It Simple Stupid. Even though I like shooting autos my bedside weapon is a revolver. If at 2AM somebody kicks in the back door and I get up sleepy and panicked I want the simplest solution to the problem possible. Which is a no safety, no magazine, no slide, no time to think revolver. Simply point and shoot. For that same reason I bought a S&W hammerless for my wife. If a woman is not familiar with handguns get her the simplest solution to the problem. No magazine, no safety, no hammer, just point and click.....I mean shoot.

Do not modify your carry weapon. They have a heavy trigger for a reason. To keep down accidental discharges. I am by no means an expert. But I have been told many times by people that are more knowledgeable than I am to never modify a carry gun in any way. You may be cleared by the law in a shooting but the civil case will be another matter. No matter if little Johnny was coming at you with a baseball bat, you were carrying a deadly modified killing machine and were just looking for somebody to shoot. That is why you had it modified. That is what the lawyers will say. And Johnny's parents get a percentage of your income for the rest of your life. Besides, if Johnny is coming at me with a baseball bat the heavy trigger pull will never enter my mind. It could be 50 pounds and that trigger will still go back.

I know or have talked to a few women who have pulled out weapons in a situation that made them uncomfortable. By uncomfortable I mean scared. None of them ever fired their weapon. Just the presence of the weapon made the bad guy turn away. Though in one case the guy drove a short distance down the road and blew his own brains out.

All in all I have just taken a long way to say that if the woman is not experienced or comfortable with a firearm get her a 22, 32, or a 38 Special hammerless revolver. Load it with something like Critical Defense or Speer Short Barrel, and make her go out and shoot it occasionally.

RSKY

 

[flewism]

Wife, daughter and sister are all now carrying S&W J frames in .38, It started with my sister when she had surgery on her hand and struggled with the side. Wife and daughter took a liking to it and each got themselves one.

 

[LD48750]

With full acknowledgement to those who laugh at a .22 for self-defense, it is my very studied opinion that it is a formidable round, especially as .22WMR. Handgun fatality-by-caliber statistics are ample proof. Also IMHO, a very small .22 handgun is perfectly suitable for self-defense where the range is <15ft and having it ON YOU and ready for rapid deployment is crucial.

That's why I carry a little NAA SA revolver every day. Concealable most anywhere. Right front pocket for me. Or at the TOP of the purse for females. There's even neck chain holsters.

North American Arms – Convenient, Reliable, Effective!

They are all SA; simplest (and IMHO safest) action. The standard birdshead grips are marginal for self-defense. Either buy the Black Widow model or buy some aftermarket oversized grips. Get both the .22LR and .22WMR cylinders (.22LR is much cheaper to practice with).

I like an old .38spcl J-frame or Ruger LC9S for keeping around the house. Wife SOMETIMES carries her LC9S in a Crossbreed mini-tuck IWB holster. She is most accurate with her CZ 75 D Compact, but that's getting too big for anything but purse carry.

Good point.
I like to remind people that in all the videos I see of shootings. the bad guys turn & RUN at the first shot in resistance.
They NEVER stop to see what caliber it is or if the shooter is a good shot, they just RUN!

That's why I didn't care when my wife started carrying the .32. Not my first choice but at least she was carrying SOMETHING.

Don't get hung up on what she wants to carry, just support that she does carry.