Need some advice...

[Xen]

i'm looking at purchasing a handgun for my wife. she is very small and doesn't have much strength in her wrists. most of all, i want her to have the largest caliber gun that she feels comfortable with shooting. she can shoot my browning buckmark .22 pistol all day long and loves it. My beretta 9mm seems to be a little hard for her to handle. i almost bought a steyr s9, and would have if it hadn't have been for the fact that they stopped making them. (warranty issues came to mind) i know that not all guns shoot the same, but i need to find something between .30 and .40 caliber that doesn't have a lot of muzzle jump - any suggestions would be appreciated. thanks in advance

[hangunnr]

That's an easy one.....

I would and do recommend a small frame revolver in .357mag caliber.

A revolver is very user friendly having no safeties to hit or miss. They are basically a point and click interface......

I say .357mag because you can train with low powered 38 special ammo then when it comes time to carry you can stuff it with some hot magnum level ammo.

You can also vary the grip size with a revolver to fit smaller hands. This can be quite difficult with a semi-auto.

hangunnr

[popgun]

Xen, I would recommend a 38 Special. S&W makes some hammerless revolvers that are light, and perfect for a ladies handbag gun.

A Colt Mustang .380 would be my pick for a semi-automatic. I would not really recommend a semi-auto for a handbag gun. There are just too many things in a woman's handbag to get tangled up in it or get into the action and make it unusable.

I really don't think the bark of a 38 Special would be too much for her, and in an emergency, she wouldn't notice anyway. .....popgun

[ZooBear]

What will she use it for? Does she want a target gun or will she carry full time? Do you reload?
I like the 357 & 38 if she can handle the recoil. If its going to be a shooter I would look at a 4" or 6" barrel L frame S&W. If she will carry full time I would look at the 380. Walther and the AMT backup are both good guns.

[VTbowman]

I have to 2nd Handgunnr sugestion.
But because it handles the .38 as well as the .357.
A .357 mag can be a pretty good snap but the .38 is not much worse then your .22 IMO.
Louder yes but the recoil feels low. To me and my wife anyways. And my wife is small too.
The .357 mag can be the stand by round. If she ever needs it for defence, I am sure she won't feel that recoil either... God forbid.
JMO but thats the sweet thing about the .357 mag,
being able to shoot more then one type of round out of the same gun is a definate plus.

[LifeNRA]

I too agree with handgunnr, start out with low powered .38's. Maybe move up to full power 357's later on! I also agree on the .380, but only for self defence. .380 are not noted for having the greatest accuracy!