Ok guys, I know that it may be a mistake, but I am looking to get my wife a pistol for Christmas. Any of you that have wives that shoot, what do they prefer? I am leaning towards a hammerless 38 spl revolver. What are ya'lls thoughts?

Thanks,
JTF

find out what she likes or buy something you dont mind shooting.

Good choice!

We tried that, she shot a walther.40, Glock .40, smith 38 spl. She knows what she doesn't like about them, grip, trigger pull, feel. We are still looking for what she likes. The recoil on these has not bothered her, I didn't have the cajones to drop .357's into the smith and let her try that. Maybe there is something that I haven't thought of. As much as I hate it, looks like it may be shopping trip to the gun shop.

My wife does not have very good grip stringth. She has trouble making repetative trigger pulls with a revolver,
tires and gets frustrated.
Semi Auto.....She shoots it well and enjoys shooting it.
She has a Bersa 380 and handles our Sig 239 9mm.
Some autos she has a little trouble getting the slide pulled back,
especially if she is trying to engage the slide lock at the same time.
Find a range with guns to try for her....

Take my advice and do NOT buy a gun without having her shoot it first! I was dead set on buying my wife a steel frame 9mm. I just knew that's what she would be comfortable shooting. Until I let her shoot one. She hated it!!! I took her to Academy and let her pick out the one she wanted (out of a pool of acceptable calibers). She left the store with a Bersa .380 and Crimson Trace grips, and she loves it because it's HER gun. She picked it out, she filled out the paperwork, and HER husband paid for it...


But there's nothing wrong with a revolver! If she isn't going to carry it, get her a mid-size weapon like an L frame S&W or a 3" barrel SP-101.

thats what i did too, took wife to Academy and let her get the feel of them in her hand to find one she liked 9mm and she loves it

My wife has her own .38 Diamond Back special and loves it. She has a hard time cocking the semi-autos for some reason, so a revolver is the best for her.

Listen to KC.

Don't overlook the Smith and Wesson Lady Smith. My wife also has a hardtime with the slide on an semi-auto.

Bought a S&W model 66 snubby. Load 357 hotter than 38+P and milder than 357 mags. Excellent balance and her weak hands have no problem operating it. 6 for sure!

My wife has the same problem with most slides but she doesn't care for them anyway.She is a wheel gun fan,has been and will always be one.Her favorite is a model 36 chief special 1 7/8" barrel with hogue grips.

Absolutely. Make sure she gets to shoot several different calibers in both semi auto and revolver. You'll find out pretty quick which one she's happy with. My favorite is my Glock M19, but honestly I'm pretty content with just about anything that shoots well on a consistent basis.

Happy shopping!

CZ 75 or Ruger P89.

Thanks for all of the advice. Lord knows that I need it. I'll let you know what we end up with.

+1 hammerless .38 special snubbie.

The one she wants.

My wife's 5'2 and shoots 9mm, .40 and .45 (for that matter, .303 Lee-Enfields and .30-06) without a problem.

Racking a slide for women is a matter of technique, not strength. Instead of pulling back with the weak hand, (assuming a right handed person) point the gun to the left. Grasp the slide with the weak hand, push the slide to the right, and with the gun hand, push THE GUN to the left (force against force). Using both hands, very few females can't do this. I taught a 4'9", 90lb female cop to rack an M9 that way and she never had trouble after.

My wife's favorite pistol is a Kahr K9, followed by a Glock 17 and M&P 9mm.