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handgun for girlfriend

noittinen

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Oct 24, 2008
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Granite Falls, WA
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Hi, I need some advice. I am going to get my girlfriend a handgun for christmas but there are a number of factors i need to take into consideration to select the perfect one: it must fit her tiny hands, must have light recoil, must be a revolver, preferably have stainless steel or nickel finish, preferably barrel longer than 3", must have wood grips , most importantly under $400.:D i was thinking along the lines of a Cimarron Lightning or 32 h&r mag Single Six.
 

Sonora Rebel

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noittinen wrote:
Hi, I need some advice. I am going to get my girlfriend a handgun for christmas but there are a number of factors i need to take into consideration to select the perfect one: it must fit her tiny hands, must have light recoil, must be a revolver, preferably have stainless steel or nickel finish, preferably barrel longer than 3", must have wood grips , most importantly under $400.:D i was thinking along the lines of a Cimarron Lightning or 32 h&r mag Single Six.


Tell her you want'a get her a gun first. Take yer to a gun store (one with a range) and let her get the feel of somethin'. .32 is worthless as a defensive round. .38 minimum. Wood grips are worthless for absorbing recoil. Pachmeyr makes great rubber ones. My wife put 'em on her .38 snubbie 'cause she has small hands. Control is worth far more than appearance. It's a tool... nota toy.
 

noittinen

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I have told her that I want to get her a gun. the nickel/ss and wood grips were her idea not mine. She has shot my bersa .380 and that was pushing it. I need to get her somthing that won't scare her and appeals to her aesthetically. Life is too short to spend it with an ugly gun. She always says how pretty my stainless super blackhawk is. This isn't a defensive gun so much as a " hey come with me to the quarry and shoot off a few rounds with your new gun" gun. She can't carry a gun on the army base she works at anyway.
 

cccook

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I agree with Sonora Rebel. If you can get her to sampleas wide a range of handguns as possible (within reason) she might loosen her criteria a bit and narrow down your best options. And if she really wants a handgun you won't ruin the surprise. She'll probably appreciate that you put so much effort into getting it right.

You're fortunate. I wish my old lady shared my affinity for firearms...or at least was more tolerant of my enthusiasm. But I digress. Good luck.
 

Walleye

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I'd suggest trying some of the heavier gun types if she's concerned about recoil. Get her to try out some of the heavier full sized guns and see if she likes it. Most of the .380s I've seen have been fairly compact and as a result tend to be lighter and kick more - look for something with a little meat on it to absorb the force.
 

Springfield45

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My Ex-Wife used to love her S&W model 66, 2.5" barrel .357 Magnum Stainless Steel with Houge Monogrips. You should be able to find one used for under $375.

My Ex also had very small hands. She carried a .38spl+P load which had less felt recoil than my P226 9mm.

It's a K frame Smitty, Heavier than most 6 shot .357's in its class, yet the extra little "heft" of the gun made recoil minimal with even the heavy .38's./ light .357's

But, as most others have said on the subject, Take her out and let her feel a few that she likes, Then let her test fire 'em (if possible). Otherwise, you/she might end up with a gun
that is beautiful, but she's afraid to shoot it.

S&W M66 w/monogrip- http://www.armouryinaction.co.uk/media/revolvers/sw66-25.jpg






~~Springfield
 

deepdiver

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I agree with the .38 spl idea if you stick with a revolver. I have a nearly 100 year old S&W .38 nickel finish revolver with original wood grips. I have allowed several smaller women with smaller hands shoot it. Not one of them had a problem handling it with target loads. Their only complaint is that the wood grips are somewhat narrow even for their smallish hands.

On the other hand, every newb woman I have taken out shooting has preferred my Sig P228 9mm to the .38 revolver, .22 or .25 semi-auto or FIE Titan II .380.
 

Marco

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Sonora Rebel wrote:
.32 is worthless as a defensive round. .38 minimum.
snip
Always love these comments.
http://www.handloads.org/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=0

The new .327 looks promising, both Ruger and Charter Arms have revolvers chambered for it, they will also shot .32 SW, .32 Long and .32 H&R mag.

http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_Patriot_73270.html

The soft rubber grips are nice for range guns and guns that aren't going to be carried Concealed.
Ihave found them to cling to cover garments when concealing.
 

hp-hobo

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Jun 24, 2008
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Manchester State Forest, SC
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cccook wrote:
...I wish my old lady shared my affinity for firearms...or at least was more tolerant of my enthusiasm...
Or maybe you don't.

My wife does, and she has a safe full of Glocks, Walthers, Sigs, Rugers, S&W's, Mossbergs and a Mosin Nagant for good measure. Remember, every gun you buy for her is one less you can buy for yourself. :?
 

shad0wfax

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Oct 11, 2008
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Spokane, Washington, USA
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noittinen wrote:
Hi, I need some advice. I am going to get my girlfriend a handgun for christmas but there are a number of factors i need to take into consideration to select the perfect one: it must fit her tiny hands, must have light recoil, must be a revolver, preferably have stainless steel or nickel finish, preferably barrel longer than 3", must have wood grips , most importantly under $400.:D i was thinking along the lines of a Cimarron Lightning or 32 h&r mag Single Six.

Consider a .357 mag (which can fire reduced loads in the form of .38 special +P or +P+) or a .327 Federal Magnum (new cartridge). The Ruger SP101 can be had with a 3-1/16" or 4" barrel in either chambering and is relatively inexpensive. (Although it may be slightly above your budget, but only by 50-60 bucks.) To outfit it with wood grips, you'd pay an additional 50-80 for a very nice set of Hogues or something comparable. You may also be able to find a used S&W J-frame (or a larger K-frame if you want) for less, if you shop around. Grips are more readily available for the J and K's than they are for the SP101 at this point. Ruger Redhawks are another thing to consider.

The .327 Federal Magnum is supposed to have similar terminal performance to the .357 mag out of a short barrel, but have recoil closer to that of a .38 special +P which is quite managable. With a good set ofwood grips that promote a solid grip of the firearmand a moderately heavy framed and well balanced revolver, perceived recoil will be at a minimum and controllability will be excellent. To save money you could go with Hogue monogrips instead. (They're rubber, but they're an excellent design.)

As others have mentioned most 32's (the .327 FMag is an exception) are less than adequate and even a .38 Special +P is on the low end of what would be ideal for a defense firearm. I don't think that a .380 auto is adequate. A 9mm is borderline, in my opinion, and the 40 smiths seem to have very snappy recoil from what I've felt. If I was going for an auto, I'd stick with a .45 ACP in a 1911 (or shortened 1911) style. They're heavy enough that recoil is not so much of an issue and the grips aren't too wide for smaller hands.
 

buzzsaw

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I have another suggestion to consider. Have you looked at the Taurus 4410? 5shot chambered for 45 colt or .410 shotgun shells. I understand it comes in either a 2in. or 6in. and is priced in the range you mentioned. Makes a formidable hole or a lot of little ones depending on the circumstances required.
 

Sonora Rebel

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This guy was shootin' the thing at about 40' from the target, which is NOT the normal self defense range. Somebody tell me 4+ inches of penetration won't kill or incapacitate? There's no allowance for bone fragmentation. Since the last time this came up... I borrowed a Taurus'Judge' 410/.45 Did a test of my own on a pair of cow skulls at about 5'. The .45 put a hole in it... and blew the innards out. (My .45 Ruger Vaquero will do the same thing.) The 000 410 Buck destroyed the other skull with one shot. 000 Buck doesn't flatten in the barrel... it flattens when it hits somethin'. If it won't flatten inna shot gun... why should it magically flatten inna gun barrel of the same bore diameter? This guy is goin' on about 'expansion'... What the hell does he think them balls are doin'? Not only that... those flattened 'disks' are gonna go sideways in 'meat'... and hydraulic shock in a body is gonna rupture and displace organs, 'cause massive bleeding. Only reasonI didn't recommend this weapon for a girl is 'cause of weight 'n recoil.
 

EMSIG

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Oct 17, 2008
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Goshen, Indiana, USA
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I personally think that my RugerSP101 327 or glorfied 32 is an excellent personal defense gun with its 110 grain hollows that cn go through 14" of meat it will do some damage I can shoot a wide selection at the range. It is small, but solid.
 

AbNo

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FWIW: Kendo_Bunny has a Taurus Tracker in .38, and she likes it a lot.

She has tiny hands, and it fits her well. The seven shots is a nice touch, too.

Oddly enough, I was out with it a couple of weeks ago, and I found I had slightly better groups one-handed than I did two. :shock:

Then again, I have large hands, and I prefer something like a full-size 1911, or that old Star 9x25. :)
 

Marco

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AbNo wrote:
or that old Star 9x25. :)

I think you mean 9x21.
[line]
It is a slightly elongated 9mm case and has been around for a while.
The 9x21 shoots a 100 gr bullet @ about 1500fps from a 5" bbl.

Then there is the 9x23 which is even longer and was developed during the mid to early days of IPSC (I believe).
The 9x23 can shoot a 124gr bullet @ 1600 fps from a 5" bbl.
Winchester's factory loading the ST isn't that fast.


The 9x25 round as we know it is a fairly modern cartridge developed by Dillion for IPSC, it uses a 10mm casing necked down to 9mm.
It can propel a 90gr bullet @ 2100 fps from a 6" bbl and a 125gr bullet @ 1800 fps from 5" bbl.
 

Marco

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Actually I could be wrong.:(
The 9x23 (Largo) has been around for awhile.
Modern 9x23 introduced in 1996 by Winchester should not be used in guns chambered in 9mm Largo but Largo can be used in 9x23 chambered guns.
Modern 9x23 ammo is loaded to higher presuures and could be unsafe in older guns.

[line]
This is the gun my Mother choose.
http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?id=31&category=Pistol


My wife prefers 10mm.
 
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