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Open Carry Question For The Wife

turbo27

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Mar 27, 2012
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Holly Ridge, NC
Can my wife who is not 21 yet legally open carry my gun and is there a certain minimum size for open carry. I've been thinking about getting her a Walther .22 but was unsure if she could legally open carry it or just use it only in the house for self defense and if it was to small of a gun for open carry.
 

ArmySoldier22

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Aug 21, 2011
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Concord, NC
Can my wife who is not 21 yet legally open carry my gun and is there a certain minimum size for open carry. I've been thinking about getting her a Walther .22 but was unsure if she could legally open carry it or just use it only in the house for self defense and if it was to small of a gun for open carry.

I tend to not recommended any certain calibers for people to carry, because every person is going to be different in what they can shoot effectively. However, a .22 isn't enough. Have you seen the size of a .22 round? lol. It's like shooting a pellet gun. When an attackers adrenaline starts pumping, a lot of times 2 shots from something like a .38 or even a .40 isn't enough to take them down. With something like a .22, she's going to be unloading an entire magazine before it has any immediate lethal affect.

Of course it's all about shot placement as well, but the fact is that very few people even consider shot placement in a self defense situation. They're going to draw and fire wherever they can. So, while she might get a lucky hit with a .22, you're taking an extreme chance at using it as a self defense weapon. I've seen people take multiple hits from a .223 round, which is much much larger, and still keep coming.

As for the legality of her carrying, she's fine. She could even purchase a firearm from a private party as long as your sheriff isn't retarded and knows the laws.
 

J_Oliver

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Haw River, North Carolina
You can be in posession of a handgun (IIRC) at 18 with the permission of the firearm's owner. I know people that carry the P22. I own one myself, I just don't carry it. I think she should get the largest caliber she's comfortable carrying that she's proficient with. The walther PK380 (.380) and the P99 (9mm) are both very similar to the P22 in larger calibers. So if she likes that style I would consider get one of those two.

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turbo27

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Mar 27, 2012
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Holly Ridge, NC
Thanks for the info on the legal stuff. As far as caliber for her, she's weird on that. She shot a Sig 9mm at the range and didn't like that a said she needed a less powerful caliber but when I got my USP .45 Tactical she loved it because it had less recoil than the 9mm and she was able to shoot accurately with it. Any recommendations on any pistols like that but also not as expensive as HKs?
 

spiderjohn

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Jun 25, 2011
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Fletcher, NC
Thanks for the info on the legal stuff. As far as caliber for her, she's weird on that. She shot a Sig 9mm at the range and didn't like that a said she needed a less powerful caliber but when I got my USP .45 Tactical she loved it because it had less recoil than the 9mm and she was able to shoot accurately with it. Any recommendations on any pistols like that but also not as expensive as HKs?

Check out the springfield xd or xdm line. I own the xd 9mm subcompact and xd .45 compact. Can't go wrong with springfield armory.
 

J_Oliver

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Haw River, North Carolina
I have to be partial because I own a couple and say try the glock and see if that fits. Each caliber of glock comes in 3 flavors. The springfield XD's and XDM's are great too. I especially like the backstrap safety on the XD's as compared to absolutely no manual safety on the Glock. With a glock, you really have to take the "my finger is my safety" philosophy especially to heart because there is no backup safety.

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11B2O

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Jan 10, 2012
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High Point, NC
Thanks for the info on the legal stuff. As far as caliber for her, she's weird on that. She shot a Sig 9mm at the range and didn't like that a said she needed a less powerful caliber but when I got my USP .45 Tactical she loved it because it had less recoil than the 9mm and she was able to shoot accurately with it. Any recommendations on any pistols like that but also not as expensive as HKs?

The Glock Gen 4 models have a dual recoil spring much like my Kimber. I haven't shot one yet, but I've heard great things about it. I own a Sig P238 as a back up gun and I think it would make a perfect female starter gun. The only gripe I have is it's chambered in .380 Now don't get me wrong, I feel perfectly comfortable with 9mm on up, but I just don't think that .380 has the penetration needed. I have it soley as SHTF gun and for some astronimcally impossible reason my Glock 23 goes down.
 

Dreamer

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Sep 23, 2009
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Grennsboro NC
I'm not going to delve into the bogus "caliber wars", but "facts is facts", and the FACT is that more people are killed in the US every year with .22LR rounds than any other caliber. Walk into ANY hospital in a major city and ask th eattending ER surgeons what the most common bullet that causes lethality is, and they'll tell you--.22LR...

It's not the size of the bullet that matters--it's ALL about shot placement.

Bigger bullets buy you time in a stressful situation, because they cause a lot more damage if they hit the BG in a non-critical place.

But if we're talking flat-out lethality, a .22lr shot from a handgun is going to make someone just as dead as a 230gr. .45acp if it hits them in the heart or the brain. Period. End of discussion...

All that said, I WILL enter into the discussion of "you should carry what you are comfortable with". If your wife isn't comfortable and won't practice with anything bigger than a .22, then she should carry a .22. She's better off carrying a gun she is comfortable with and can safely and competently handle, than a gun that scares her, is hard for her to shoot, and makes her flinch.

And the fact is, a .22 (especially one like the Walther P22) is easy to carry (light and small), cheap to practice with (so she can get LOTS of practice and not break the bank) and EASY to shoot (so who cares if the first shot doesn't magically knock the BG down--she's got 10 more, and an extra 10 if she carries a spare mag). That's a LOT of bullets and I don't care who you are, getting peppered with 10-20 rounds of .22LR is going to change the attitude of even the most determined thug...

All you caliber queens need to look at the big picture. If his wife won't shoot a 9mm or a .38special, then it won't do her any good to get one--she won't practice with it, and when the SHTF she won't be able to deploy it effectively.

But if she ENJOYS shooting a .22, she will practice with it. And then if the time ever comes where she needs it, she will be confident, competent, and effective with it--and PROBABLY have tighter groups on center mass under stress than most of you "big bore elitists" have on the range...

And truth be told, once she's been shooting a .22 for a while, she will probably want to move up to something more beefy eventually anyway, like a .380 or 38special. It's all about confidence, and many women need to be confident with a gun they can easily handle before they are willing to step up to something a little more challenging (and powerful).

Have her get the gun she is comfortable with. ANYTHING is better than being completely unarmed.

Oh, and BTW, many holsters that are made for the small Glocks will fit a P22 like a glove. I have a Bianchi Special Agent (model #59) that fits my P22 like it was made for it--even the trigger guard molding is a perfect fit. Most holster manufacturers don't list models for P22's, but if you test fit them, you will find that most leather and nylon models for small Glocks fit it perfectly (My Serpa for my Glock 36, however, does NOT fit my P22). And the added advantage of leather holsters is that they look SPIFFY, and most women aren't as turned off by them for OC as kydex or polymer rigs (which look too "tacti-cool" for them)....

Carry on.
 
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chiefjason

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Jan 29, 2009
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Hickory, NC, ,
Try to find a range that rents guns and let her go shoot a few. One thing about the Glock and XD's, they are kind of heavy. My wife loves shooting her XD 9, but she refused to carry it. We bought her a Kahr CW9 which she also loves, shoots well, and better yet carries it. Have her shoot a few different guns before buying one. And consider that she will be carrying it around, not just shooting it and laying it on a table at the range. And before we get into the gunbelt and holster solves everything conversation. My wife was carrying her XD on a Wilderness tactical frequent flyer belt with stiffener and a Crossbreed snapslide holster. She still hated it. She tried purse carry, still hated it. Lots of things to think about here.
 

nobama

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Just my opinion. Puting calibers aside, I would only OC a firearm that is big enough to be an OC gun. Then again my opinion, the Glock 26 is probably the smallest gun I would OC and that is what I carry.
 

sawah

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Jan 22, 2011
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Virginia
Wait, you have an under 21 year old wife and you're posting...oh, nevermind. Let her try various things. Go to a gunshow and handle a lot of firearms. Let her, with vendor permission, dry fire a lot of them. Then having picked a gun look first before buying at carry options, just to be sure there is one or two. Key is let her figure it out with your input.
 

NCBobD

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Read Dreamer's reply, then read it again. If you still don't "get it," continue reading it until you do.

The Cliff Notes version: .22s can be and frequently are lethal. A gun she'll use will provide her with more protection than a gun she won't use. Shot placement is everything and the best way to insure shot placement under stress is with a lot of range time and practice. She won't practice with a gun she's afraid to shoot. Any gun is better than no gun at all.
 

REDFIVE48

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Charlotte, NC
Just my opinion. Puting calibers aside, I would only OC a firearm that is big enough to be an OC gun. Then again my opinion, the Glock 26 is probably the smallest gun I would OC and that is what I carry.

In the summer, I OC my deep conceal gun, Ruger LCP (.380). My normal OC gun is my Glock 23, but if I am wearing shorts, the Glock is too heavy as I usually don't wear a belt with shorts and I would rather have a smaller caliber than 0.
 

turbo27

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Mar 27, 2012
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Holly Ridge, NC
Lots of helpful info on here. Her and I both have the same taste in how guns feel in our hands which is why she likes my USP and also likes the Walther P22 but wants a smaller caliber than a 45. I had heard about .22lr being pretty lethal and that a majority of people in the hospitals with gunshot wounds were from a .22. Right on about her being comfortable with a gun and not being afraid of it to effectively use it under stessful situations and at the same time being fun for her at the range to get practice on
 

MainelyGlock

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Feb 19, 2012
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Portland, ME
She can carry as long as she's 18+. As for carrying a .22, as long as you're proficient with your firearm it really doesn't matter what caliber you carry. 10 well placed .22LR rounds that the Walther holds are sure to stop almost anyone, unless they're on some hardcore drugs like PCP or the latest craze up here known as "bath salts".
 

aosailor

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Oct 10, 2009
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Hampton, AR
She can carry as long as she's 18+. As for carrying a .22, as long as you're proficient with your firearm it really doesn't matter what caliber you carry. 10 well placed .22LR rounds that the Walther holds are sure to stop almost anyone, unless they're on some hardcore drugs like PCP or the latest craze up here known as "bath salts".


Bath salts are still going strong up there? How many people have to die from that crap before they smarten up??? (I'm originally from Dexter, ME) my family was telling about that stuff when I up there this past fall. I don't think there is enough .22lr in the world that could put down someone attacking you while high on bath salts.... Heck, I carry a XD .45, 13+1 hydra shocks and hornady TAP and I'd be worried if that was enough to stop them......
 

MainelyGlock

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Bath salts are still going strong up there? How many people have to die from that crap before they smarten up??? (I'm originally from Dexter, ME) my family was telling about that stuff when I up there this past fall. I don't think there is enough .22lr in the world that could put down someone attacking you while high on bath salts.... Heck, I carry a XD .45, 13+1 hydra shocks and hornady TAP and I'd be worried if that was enough to stop them......

Yeah, mostly in the Bangor/Brewer area though. Not so much in Portland where I live. It's sad, really, but also very stupid. I see an article at LEAST once a week citing a crime committed by someone on them. I went to school up there for two years, and one of my buddies said he saw a man on them walking around with an AR-15. Unloaded, luckily. Tasers seem to have little to no effect, either.

Regardless of caliber, any shot right to the brain will [hopefully] stop them.
 
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