What would be a good make, model, and caliber for the wife to carry for personel protection. She hasn't shot in awhile but now needs to get her CHL and carry it with her.She used to own a 38 revolver, but she says wants an auto. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I would want more info on her to give my opinion.

1. How much experience shooting handguns does she have? What calibers, types (semis/revolvers), etc.

2. How big is she/What size round is she comfortable shooting?

3. How does she intend on carrying said weapon, (purse, holstered on hip, etc)?

my wife and i both carry Kahr PM9's w/ lasers. so far they have shot reliably at the range and handle the hotter factory loads.

She is about 5'6" 120#s. She has minimal experience with hanguns, but not totally uneducated either. Probably would be carrying it in a holster or just keeping it in ther vehicle. I thought a 9mm would be a good round, but not sure if there was one made to fit properly. I want her to have something she is very comfortably shooting alot.

My suggestion would be a revolver over a SA. Something like a S&W .38 J frame. There are lots of choices.

I would go with a 9mm. I got a Springfield XD Compact for my mother in law (fits the description of your wife) and she shoots it well. She had no prior experiance shoot and we took it slow but she defenatily feels comfortable with the gun now. Another option would be a 380, I think Beretta still make a pretty nice one.

whatever you pick out, be prepared to wait forever and day to get you permit from the state.

In addition to the questions listed above, you have to consider the guns reliability first. If it malfunctions in a fight, you are likely to lose the fight.

With that said, my advice would be to stick with the major manufacturers that are renowned for reliability in smaller, compact models; ie S&W M&P, XDs/XDMs, Glock, Khar, Kimber, among others. These are the major names that came to mind that I would trust my life on without a doubt.

The KelTecs, Bersas, EAAs, Barettas, should be avoided in my opinion...there are just better options.

Before anyone gets their panties in a knot. Anyone might have any one of these guns and have had zero malfunctions with it, ever. Very true. These guns just don't have the reputation, as a particular model, of being totally reliable. Some don't feed hollow points well, some factory mags are junk. They just aren't proven reliable designs, IMO.

Another bit of advice would be to stick with nothing smaller than a .40. This might not be feasible for your wife, if she's not able to handle them or is recoil sensitive. Just keep in mind that you are planning to save your life with this round and will only be used for self defense, not plinking, so go as big as she can get used to.

My advice, since she wants to carry an auto, would be something like the Khar. Maybe a PM40. My experience with Khar is very positive but if you, or she, is partial to a particular maker, stick with that one.

Outside of the gun to chose, she needs to have as much hands-on experience with whatever pistol you choose, in safe handling, loading, unloading, reloading, drawing, employing the safeties, if any, keeping the finger off the trigger until ready to fire, etc.

There's a saying that goes something like this, "The most dangerous person in society is an untrained person with a gun." If you have enough knowledge to do it, train her and drill her and train and drill some more. If you don't have the experience or knowledge, pay for it. Her training will be just as important as the gun itself.

Personally, I am absolutely appalled that we allow people to carry handguns with only 10 hours of training. The clowns that blow your ballons up at the fair have more training than alot of CHL holders in Texas.

Good luck -Kelly

I got my wife a KelTec 380 for a carry gun. She loves it and is very comfortable shooting it.

my wife uses a s/w model 66 snubby. it's a 357 mag that i load somewhere between 357 and 38 +p with a 125 gr jhp.

revolver is simple, safe, and gives here the opportunity to squeeze the trigger or pull the hammer back. can't get much more simpler or dependable than that!

6 for sure!

I agree rvrrat14, a revolver is simply more reliable. Even, if that is what she prefers, I would still encourage my old lady to carry at least a Khar in .40 or better yet, a .45. But that's just me.

armadillo joe, the KelTec is a great gun...once you find one thats actually dependable or do a little filing and polishing on it yourself and make it dependable. It just barely misses my preference for a pocket pistol. That and the .380 just doesn't have any punch compared to so many other rounds. It's pretty much an arms length gun which almost makes it useless...almost. I'd still MUCH rather have a .380 than a knife or nothing at all.

a 500 smith and wesson??? she would not even have to shoot it! any punk messing with her would just [censored] in his pants!!

LOL, They'd just give her THEIR money and say thank you ma'am.

I'm a 5'8, 115 lb female, and am comfortable with a .45. Nonetheless, for daily carry it's my Glock 19. Best advice I can offer, is to let her shoot a variety of both semi-auto's and revolvers in different calibers.

You'll both find out quickly what's comfortable. Like Kelly already said. Practice, practice and practice some more.

Mid sized Glock 40 cal. is what my wife carries. If yours can handle a 40, go with that, if not, 9mm. The Glock will be easy the shoot and very reliable. The issues people, usually female(no offense ladies) is "limp wristing" the gun. Go to a range that rents guns and let her shoot 'til she finds what she likes.

Avoid the Kahr PM40, get a bigger model . The PM40 is tiny but the recoil is bad. I carry two everyday; one in an ankle holster and another in a holster on my vest, for backup. They kick!

Glock or Sig in 9mm. Both very reliable. My wife has a glock and loves it.

woah woah yall are all of base. first of all, how is your marriage? make sure you have no reason for her to want to shoot at YOU... and as far as caliber, think about what caliber will hurt YOU less... might even want to get her one with bent sights, that way you have a chance.. oh wait im thinking of my situation, haha. but seriously whatever she feels comfortable with. a readily available caliber, that can be loaded heavy and light. revolvers are great because they are point and shoot. in the heat of the moment, you want to make sure she can get a shot off. if she is pretty proficient with guns then an auto is probably ok. but if not then i would definitely recommend a revolver. might look at a 357, that way you can practice with the .38 special and load it for defense with a 357 load.

What Jainie & Rob said. Go to the range and let her shoot different ones that SHE is comfortable with. My wife and I like the Sig. 239, mine is a .357sig, hers is a 9mm. Mine came as a .40 but you can drop in a .357sig or 9mm barrel

wife's gun: Ruger P89 in 9mm
my gun: Glock 22 in 40
her preference: my gun she is more accurate with my glock than she is with the ruger

I am a law enforcement firearms instructor and have been training officers and civilians for years. I would recommend a Glock 26, 9mm with a +2 extension in the 10 round magazine. It will hold 12+1, manageable recoil with 115 Cor-bon HP's, the magazine extension will help with hand control and the gun is small and light. I purchased this gun for my wife and she shoots it well. Plus they have a fair amount of ammo in the gun if they are forced to use it.

my mom just got a 357 S&W hammerless revolver. Its a great gun to carry in a purse, and it shoots 38s for practice. She shot semi-autos before she got this one but didnt like it because the weak wrist made the gun go to far up and backwards causing a jam. the simplicity of a revolver gives her peace of mind and she doesnt have to ask if she has to put a round in the chamber, ect..

Best thing to do is have her handle and shoot a large variety of different guns, if possible. Once she finds a type she likes (DAO, DA/SA, single/double stack, polymer/metal, etc etc) then go from there. People will give out LOTS of recommendations of specific calibers but, just start with the basics first, and once you know what general type she likes, you can go from there. Personally I would suggest a caliber of at least .38spl for revolvers, or at least 9mm for auto's. Anything in those calibers or larger will be perfectly sufficient for self defense. People have used smaller calibers for self defense, and effectively in some cases. Personally I don't see a reason to use smaller calibers like .32acp, .380acp, etc except for maybe a backup gun or very low profile carry (summer clothing). With the advent of guns like the Walther PPS, Kahr's, Kel-Tec's, etc there are plenty of compact guns available in calibers of 9mm or larger that offer significantly improved ballistics over calibers of .380acp and below.

Unless she is very proficient with a handgun and shoots a lot, I would recommend a revolver as well over the auto. They are very simple and safe, just pull the trigger or pull the hammer back and shoot. She won't have to think if she forgets how to use it.

The S&W J frames are hard to beat. I would get a 357 and start out shooting 38+p. You can't get much simpler or more reliable than that.