Wife interested in getting her CPL, but...

P

procarrry23

New member
So, here's the deal. My wife, who didn't grow up around guns, is becoming more interested in obtaining her CPL. This interest has come about because of the birth of our first in July and the daily walks my wife takes with the little one--weather permitting. Plus, now that my wife is a "stay-at-home-mom" she's more aware of the goings on in our *relatively* safe neighborhood.

She and I are planning on taking more trips to the range so she can begin getting more comfortable with technique, recoil, etc. My question is this: what's a good gun option for her to consider purchasing? I want her to shoot as many different calibers as possible (.380, .38, 9mm, etc) and let her decide what's most comfortable, but is there a good place to start? I carry a Kel Tec PF9 and am afraid the recoil might be too much for her, as it's almost too much for me. Revolver or Semi? Is .380 enough or too little?

This has been a long process for us and I'm very thankful she's taking an interest in obtaining her CPL. Keeping her safe when I'm not around has always been at the top of my priority list. The last thing I want to do is scare her away now!
 
Sounds like you have a good plan, But may I add see what ammo you can get your hands on a gun does no good without ammo no matter what the caliper. I don’t think I could trade my car for a box of 9mm right now where I live.
 
You have the plan. Start her out on the range and teach her. Start small with a .22 if you have one available or can rent one. As she become comfortable, move up in caliber. Let her decide what she is comfortable with and then go about purchasing her perfect match. Take the time to do it with patience and you'll be more likely to get it right the first time.
 
There are some ranges that will rent guns. She could shoot a lot of different ones and then she would be able to find the gun that she likes the best. My wife was the same about guns. I have been working her to go for the class to get her CLP. It has been a up hill battle but she is coming around. Good Luck!!!!
 
i would have her shoot the S&W bodyguard it's a .38 spl and comes with a laser on it my wife has one and shes loves it better then anything shes ever shot
 
My wife fires regualy my M&P 40 and M&P Shield also in 40. She likes both very much, but prefers the Shield due to size and weight difference. Sounds like you have a good plan. Good luck to both of you.
 
depends what she's comfortable with...some of the compact 380s have a pretty good kick whereas a few on target rounds of HP 22LR might be a better alternative. Not the optimal round but even one well placed 22 beats a missed shot because she's anticipating the kick. Just one man's opinion.
 
Yeah, asking if .380 is too much or too little will open you up to caliber warriors. What is a caliber warrior? He is an uneducated self-serving arrogant little ape that lives with his head up his.....

Let her pick one, regardless of caliber.

Personally, I have been carrying a P22 for a few months now. I am proficient with it. I can put all 10 rounds in a 1" group, rapid fire, from beyond 20 yards...whatever the length of the backyard is. I can keep it under 3 at a good jog.

Have her carry what she can utilize the best. No sense carrying a gun you hate, right.
 
SCTom said:
depends what she's comfortable with...some of the compact 380s have a pretty good kick whereas a few on target rounds of HP 22LR might be a better alternative. Not the optimal round but even one well placed 22 beats a missed shot because she's anticipating the kick. Just one man's opinion.
Click to expand...

she would be better off with a .25 at least its centerfire. While I agree A .22 could do the job, with all the misfires I have had with .22 I would never carry or tell someone to carry one just my .02.
 
Thanks for the feedback already! I have a Buckmark .22 with a red dot and she's shot this once before. I'm going to let her shoot that all she wants and when she's ready to try something more I'll "rent" a smaller caliber and work up. SCTom--good point and one I'll tuck away. I'm leery of sending her out with a .22, but anything is better than nothing!

My question is this: does caliber really matter? Personally, I'd have a hard time walking out the door with anything less than a 9mm, but I don't want to scare my wife with recoil and noise so a .380 feels like a good size for her. Thoughts?
 
Recoil is not that big of a deal when comparing a steel frame 1911 to any small 9 mm. I have both plus .40 and I prefer the 1911 above all others. Concealed carry is easy if you pay attention to clothing. Large caliber is better for the trained user and nobody should be around any caliber unless they are trained
 
procarrry23 said:
Thanks for the feedback already! I have a Buckmark .22 with a red dot and she's shot this once before. I'm going to let her shoot that all she wants and when she's ready to try something more I'll "rent" a smaller caliber...

My question is this: does caliber really matter? Personally, I'd have a hard time walking out the door with anything less than a 9mm, but I don't want to scare my wife with recoil and noise so a .380 feels like a good size for her. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Speaking from my experience as a small woman new to shooting and concealed carry, caliber and gun size makes a difference. IMHO, a SW bodyguard isnt the gun to start with. It's not the one I would have chosen for myself as a first gun or EDC (my well meaning le husband thought it would be) the trigger is too long and heavy and it tended to jump out of my support hand until I became more proficient with it.

For a total newbie (and I'm thinking in terms of introducing/teaching my daughters) start with a small caliber/big gun and move towards larger caliber/smaller gun until she finds the caliber/gun size that she is comfortable shooting and carrying. The smaller caliber obviously has less recoil and the bigger gun also helps to reduce recoil, so as not to scare away timid first timers.

Props to your wife and have fun on the range!
 
It is cheapest in the long run to rent multiple guns at a range and let her try them. I made the mistake of getting my wife her first ccw gun only to find out she hated it....Needless to say she never carried it so I eventually sold it and let her try some others til she found one she liked....A Sig P238.

If she won't practice and carry it....It does her no good. I have Good job in seeking advice, and gives you the opportunity to learn from mistakes of others.

Good luck!
 
As stated prior, if you have a .22 available to work on her safety, marksmanship, comfort around firearms and fun levels then start there. Of course felt recoil and muzzle torque vary with frame mass as well as caliber (my wife prefers a .357 snubby over a 9mm subcompact and a 1911 in .45 over a .40 of any flavor) -- beg, rent, and borrow every variety you can for her to determine what she likes (it may not be caliber but "I can only get two fingers an this little grip!" issues that rule out a particular "going favorite").

My recommendations for carry weapon decisions has always been: 1. Determine what means of carry fits your life and body best. 2. What's the largest frame I believe I am willing to carry all day in the manner answered in #1? 3. What's the largest caliber I am comfortable shooting accurately in that frame in #2?
 
If a .380 is stuck in your mind then I will 2nd the motion for a Sig P238. I was pleasantly surprised at the very little recoil on such a small .380. It is very easy to shoot and accurate also. Nice looking and small enough for her. With the mag extension it fits my hand perfect and comfortable. It has gone thru well over 1500 rnds with not one issue. I have not had the opportunity to handle the 938 so I do not know the recoil difference between the two. Price is up there but I feel it is well worth it. I use it as a pocket back-up to my .45 and since it operates on the same platform there is never any confusion on operation in a hurry. Hope this helps you.
 
To answer you question directly, yes caliber really does matter. However, what matters more is being able to hit a vital target.

As for recommendations, get her comfortable with a .22 rimfire, then graduate to a mild cartridge like the .38 special or 9mm Parabellum in a mid-weight gun. Once she is comfortable shooting those with some accuracy you could try her on some of the lighter carry guns shooting those same cartridges.
 
Thank you, again, all, for your feedback. Our range trip this past weekend didn't happen due to circumstances beyond our control so we're planning to get out again this weekend. The .22, hopefully, will be getting a lot of use and I'm looking forward to see if she enjoys it as much as I think she will! Once she's settled a bit we'll begin the process of looking for something for her to carry. The only factor: money. Other than that, what she wants is what she'll get! It's her decision on her gun.
 
Before going to the range, my wife was pretty set on either a .380 or a .38. This was mostly because of everyone's advice on what she should get (except, of course mine...which was that she should get a 9mm). So we went to the range.

First she shot a .22 revolver (simple, no slides flying around, no wondering if the gun is loaded....) then a .22 pistol. Then a .32 then several 380s, then several .38s, then several 9mms, .40, .357, and some other odds and ends.

After several hours, about 500 rounds of various ammo, and over a dozen guns, she decided that she liked 9mm the most. In partcular, she liked the PX4 compact. The found the 380's too snappy and hard to hang onto. She thought if she was having that much trouble putting rounds on target under the best circumstances, she could only imagine how bad it would be under stress. She managed about 3 on the paper out of a full magazine, and of the 3, only 1 was on the actual target. With 9mm, she was shooting 5" groups. The 38's heavy trigger pull also made it hard to put rounds on target and she thought that pulling a heavy trigger like that or having to cock the gun prior to firing was also a deal-breaker.

One of the things she liked about the PX4 is that the safety decocks the hammer, so she could carry 1 in the chamber and not worry about having a hammer ready to drop and sensitive trigger, but after the first trigger pull, it's all easy.

Mind you, before that day she'd never fired a handgun before - lots of shotgun, but no handguns at all.

She was really surprised by two things:

1) she actually liked and shot best with 9mm
2) I was right

she also shot my .45 compact, and although it WAS too much gun for her, she thought that with some experience she could definitely shoot it.

anyway, we ended up buying her the PX4 compact in 9mm

she also had a great time with the .22
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 173 (members: 0, guests: 173)

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
49,525
Messages
610,668
Members
74,995
Latest member
tripguru365

Share this page

Back
Top