Semi-auto or Revolver: What's the best CC for a female?


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xzlaatc

New member
I'm looking for a concealed carry weapon for my wife. I have a SA XD40 and she doesn't have the hand strength to chamber the first round. I'm thinking a hammerless revolver would be the best choice, but I'm really hoping to get input from others in the same situation.
 

I got my wife the S&W 908, older gun, and it is double action, but my wife doesnt have the issue with racking the slide, I would almost suggest a revolver for OC and CC, however, the only other thing you have to worry about is the recoil typically included with the revolver choices especially if theyre snub nose or short barrel weapons.
I would take her to a gun store and at least have her try several different weapons as far as racking them and pulling the trigger to see what is most comfortable with her. Aside from that, revolver maybe be the best choice.
 
My girl carries a Ruger LC9 everywhere she goes. She's very petite and has no issues with recoil or chambering a round. She loves it and shoots as often as possible
 
I have both a revolver and a semi-auto. I like them both, and carry both. I do find the flat semi-auto easier to conceal... One thing to try just in case you haven't yet: make sure you're teaching her to rack the slide the girl-way... a guy has the hand strength to pull the slide back an may not notice. A woman might not (I sure don't!). We need to hang on to the slide firmly, and instead of pulling it back, we need to SHOVE the gun forward while holding the slide still-kind of like what you would do as part of the draw-stroke if you don't carry with a round chambered. I always had issues until a female instructor showed me that... find a girl in a gun shop and she can probably teach your wife to rack a slide properly.
 
She needs to shop and shoot.

One daughter-in-law prefers the EAA .357 revolver (2") bbl, one (5' tall and slender)carries the Ruger LC9, the other matched her husband with a 45 caliber Taurus 845 . My wife is mid 50's with early arthritis but has no problems with (and loves) her Ruger SR9C.
 
telpinaro said:
I have both a revolver and a semi-auto. I like them both, and carry both. I do find the flat semi-auto easier to conceal... One thing to try just in case you haven't yet: make sure you're teaching her to rack the slide the girl-way... a guy has the hand strength to pull the slide back an may not notice. A woman might not (I sure don't!). We need to hang on to the slide firmly, and instead of pulling it back, we need to SHOVE the gun forward while holding the slide still-kind of like what you would do as part of the draw-stroke if you don't carry with a round chambered. I always had issues until a female instructor showed me that... find a girl in a gun shop and she can probably teach your wife to rack a slide properly.
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Faster and easier yet -- back with slide hand, forward with grip hand simultaneously.
 
cwm1611 said:
Faster and easier yet -- back with slide hand, forward with grip hand simultaneously.
Click to expand...

I also suggest turning sideways so that action can be peformed directly in front of the abdomen where the strength is greatest and the firearm is kept pointing downrange.

I don't think the real solution is to find a gun adapted to her strength. I think the real solution is to become strong enough to work any slide on a semi-auto.
 
cwm1611 said:
Faster and easier yet -- back with slide hand, forward with grip hand simultaneously.
Click to expand...

I can't do that one... pulling back is too tough, I can only push forward. But yeah, that would be fast!

Also, you can learn to do it right near your chest to make reloads fast and you automatically are somewhere you can fire from. Doesn't work as well if you turn sideways, but that is a good way to go, especially with a new gun that might need some breaking in.
 
xzlaatc said:
I'm looking for a concealed carry weapon for my wife. I have a SA XD40 and she doesn't have the hand strength to chamber the first round. I'm thinking a hammerless revolver would be the best choice, but I'm really hoping to get input from others in the same situation.
Click to expand...

I really hate these questions. There is no "best" gun for a female, just like there is no "best" gun for a male. Let's just say there's no best gun for people.

Too many factors: does it fit well in her hand, does it balance well in her hand, can she rack the slide easily, is she comfortable with the recoil? These are all questions that need to be answered by HER, not anyone else.

Get her into a gun shop and let HER feel several different types of firearms. Let HER tell you what feels nice and what doesn't. Get her to the range and let HER tell you what she's most comfortable shooting.

Remember, this is going to be HER firearm. She has to be the one that makes this decision.
 
telpinaro said:
I have both a revolver and a semi-auto. I like them both, and carry both. I do find the flat semi-auto easier to conceal... One thing to try just in case you haven't yet: make sure you're teaching her to rack the slide the girl-way... a guy has the hand strength to pull the slide back an may not notice. A woman might not (I sure don't!). We need to hang on to the slide firmly, and instead of pulling it back, we need to SHOVE the gun forward while holding the slide still-kind of like what you would do as part of the draw-stroke if you don't carry with a round chambered. I always had issues until a female instructor showed me that... find a girl in a gun shop and she can probably teach your wife to rack a slide properly.
Click to expand...

Roflmao... I have never heard this called the "girl" way of racking. When training we are taught to rack this way since it uses only gross motor skills, the motor skills that will still be available to you in a SHTF situation.

Thanks for the good laugh, I will tell all the burly guys at our next qualification that we have all trained with the "girl" way of racking the slide.

For a visual, I'm 6'1", 220 lbs and I'm one of the smaller guys there.
 
wolf_fire said:
Roflmao... I have never heard this called the "girl" way of racking. When training we are taught to rack this way since it uses only gross motor skills, the motor skills that will still be available to you in a SHTF situation.

Thanks for the good laugh, I will tell all the burly guys at our next qualification that we have all trained with the "girl" way of racking the slide.

For a visual, I'm 6'1", 220 lbs and I'm one of the smaller guys there.
Click to expand...

Taught to me by a woman instructor! Every guy had me trying to just pull the slide back; even half the guys were doing it that way until she showed us this. So we started calling it that in class :lol:
 
My mom carries a LCR-22 due to arthritis. It is easy to shoot and easy to operated. I know all the caliber arguments, but it comes down to what works for the person carrying.
 
xzlaatc said:
I'm looking for a concealed carry weapon for my wife. I have a SA XD40 and she doesn't have the hand strength to chamber the first round. I'm thinking a hammerless revolver would be the best choice, but I'm really hoping to get input from others in the same situation.
Click to expand...

You might consider the Beretta Tom Cat, 32, with the tip-up barrel and doesn't need racking. My wife loves hers and could not do racking. It is well made, a little heavy-good for recoil, and she shoots great groupings. About $400.
 
At a gun shop in Norfolk my wife was taught a little differently: Grip the slide with left full palm (fingers pointed down) right hand on the grip, Straighten both arms and lock elbows, Now twist/rotate your shoulders. Prior to learning this she could not cycle many autos.....She now carries a Ruger LCP and has no trouble chambering a round/racking the slide (now she can even work the slide on my 1911).

Hope this helps.
 
wolf_fire said:
Roflmao... I have never heard this called the "girl" way of racking. When training we are taught to rack this way since it uses only gross motor skills, the motor skills that will still be available to you in a SHTF situation.

Thanks for the good laugh, I will tell all the burly guys at our next qualification that we have all trained with the "girl" way of racking the slide.

For a visual, I'm 6'1", 220 lbs and I'm one of the smaller guys there.
Click to expand...

telpinaro said:
Taught to me by a woman instructor! Every guy had me trying to just pull the slide back; even half the guys were doing it that way until she showed us this. So we started calling it that in class :lol:
Click to expand...

Gotta go with telpinaro on this one. I got ya beat by a few inches and more than a few pounds, wolf_fire, but I rack my slides exactly like telpinaro describes the guys she's observed doing it. However, not sure where I picked it up, probably long-forgotten girlfriends that I taught how to shoot my guns, but I've always shown women that I've noticed having trouble racking a slide how to do it the "chick way" (or some variation thereof similar to how telpinaro describes it) if no one else was giving them a solution to not being able to do it the "dude way." I combine the technique telpinaro describes with what Navy said, turning sideways so the muzzle is always pointed downrange.

I'm certainly not saying it's a "girly" way of handling one's weapon. As I get older and my hands progress getting more arthritic than they already are, I will likely adopt this method as my normal way of racking. If someone has always trained to do it that way, great, I am not suggesting a criticism of it, but I tend to agree with telpinaro that the majority of males (myself included) learn to rack facing downrange in the low-ready position and "pinch" the knurling of the slide with (mostly) their thumb and side of their fore-finger with their weak hand. Their strong hand does little except hold the weapon firmly.

As to the OP, I'll echo what several others have said; make sure SHE is heavily involved in picking out and training with a gun SHE likes and works and fits well for HER. Many ranges will have guns of various models for rent. (One range near me has a bunch of the shop's best-selling models already in the range that you can test-fire for free. You just have to buy your own ammo, so you do need to have an idea what you're looking to try out before going in, but there's no added rental costs involved.) In any case, let your wife shoot as many models as you can afford to test. One or more will "speak" to her. Help her suss out if her favorites are good conceal carry weapons, good self-defense weapons and good, reliable weapons. There are variables to all of those (and more) considerations, but that's what I mean by "sussing it out." It's a decision that should only be made after a lot of thought, and if you are reasonably proficient with those variables, you can help her best by sharing your knowledge and advice. But picking something for her with little of her participation is a recipe for wasting your money, IMO.

Blues
 
There is no "best" gun for a woman...I am a woman and I carry either my XD Compact 45 or my XD subcompact 9, depending on my clothes. I know other women who won't carry anything but a revolver. We're as individual as men are. There is no one right answer.

She can be taught to rack the slide. As someone said earlier, there are different methods to getting the job done. She just needs to find what works for her. If it is a strength issue - practice, practice, practice. She can develop the strength. To find the best gun, take her shopping and let her find what feels right to her.
 
DO NOT PICK OUT YOUR WIFE'S WEAPON. I did this and am still in trouble. There are slides that she can work, if that is what she wants. There is a double action revolver for her, if that is her choice. Above all let her make the decision. She will be the one carrying it all day.

Don't make my mistake.
 
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