Buying The Wife A Gun For Xmas

A question I should have asked from jump is what do you plan to have her to have this for? Are you just looking at getting her into shooting or are you looking for personal protection/home defense? If you’re looking for a plinker/starter gun then by all means a .22 is an awesome choice but if you think she might want to carry it then bigger is always better.

The .357 mag is a great choice for reasons stated above and the good Dr’s post is spot on about the caliber conversion kits. Buy a 9mm and get a .22 conversion.

Only obvious choice is the Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas.

[quote]gregron wrote:
Only obvious choice is the Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas.[/quote]

But she will shoot her eye out…

[quote]pushharder wrote:

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:

[quote]harrypotter wrote:
You’d buy your wife a gun?

here’s hoping you don’t divorce. :slight_smile:

What will happen if you go into the shop and go “aww look! This gun suits you perfectly!” pointing out the small itsy bitsy pistol and then she goes for the Magnum or .45?[/quote]
.357 Magnum allows not only that and .38 Special, but also 38 Short Colt or 38 Long Colt.

38 Long Colt makes a nice training round for a novice shooter as it is quite soft, at least if the revolver is not very light.

In other words, with a nice 357 Magnum you can’t go wrong with regard to what power level she may prefer.[/quote]

Agreed.

With that cartridge in mind I have a question for Sen: is her gun intended for “fun” or CCW or home defense or all three? If it’s CCW or home defense I’d steer you to a Ruger SP 101. Then I’d go for the hammerless version.

If self defense is paramount in your gun purchasing decision, and for a woman it certainly should be as no one is more deserving of carrying than a woman, then get her a gun that is simple to use (revolver), compact (so she is not inconvenienced by carrying it and actually wants to have it with her at all times), and hammerless (so it doesn’t snag if she carries it in her purse or coat pocket or whatever).[/quote]

Why is there a need to buy a gun? Is everyone mutually armed? And why defend your home with lethal force? Just curious.

I dunno where I am from we get an alarm system for home defense and a big dog.

I wish my husband was that thoughtful to buy me a gun for Xmas.

This is the one I want.

[quote]dirtman wrote:

[quote]pushharder wrote:

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:

[quote]harrypotter wrote:
You’d buy your wife a gun?

here’s hoping you don’t divorce. :slight_smile:

What will happen if you go into the shop and go “aww look! This gun suits you perfectly!” pointing out the small itsy bitsy pistol and then she goes for the Magnum or .45?[/quote]
.357 Magnum allows not only that and .38 Special, but also 38 Short Colt or 38 Long Colt.

38 Long Colt makes a nice training round for a novice shooter as it is quite soft, at least if the revolver is not very light.

In other words, with a nice 357 Magnum you can’t go wrong with regard to what power level she may prefer.[/quote]

Agreed.

With that cartridge in mind I have a question for Sen: is her gun intended for “fun” or CCW or home defense or all three? If it’s CCW or home defense I’d steer you to a Ruger SP 101. Then I’d go for the hammerless version.

If self defense is paramount in your gun purchasing decision, and for a woman it certainly should be as no one is more deserving of carrying than a woman, then get her a gun that is simple to use (revolver), compact (so she is not inconvenienced by carrying it and actually wants to have it with her at all times), and hammerless (so it doesn’t snag if she carries it in her purse or coat pocket or whatever).[/quote]

Why is there a need to buy a gun? Is everyone mutually armed? And why defend your home with lethal force? Just curious.

I dunno where I am from we get an alarm system for home defense and a big dog.

[/quote]
We need them for the impending takeover of Canada… Since you guys only have home alarms and big dogs.

[quote]dirtman wrote:

[quote]pushharder wrote:

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:

[quote]harrypotter wrote:
You’d buy your wife a gun?

here’s hoping you don’t divorce. :slight_smile:

What will happen if you go into the shop and go “aww look! This gun suits you perfectly!” pointing out the small itsy bitsy pistol and then she goes for the Magnum or .45?[/quote]
.357 Magnum allows not only that and .38 Special, but also 38 Short Colt or 38 Long Colt.

38 Long Colt makes a nice training round for a novice shooter as it is quite soft, at least if the revolver is not very light.

In other words, with a nice 357 Magnum you can’t go wrong with regard to what power level she may prefer.[/quote]

Agreed.

With that cartridge in mind I have a question for Sen: is her gun intended for “fun” or CCW or home defense or all three? If it’s CCW or home defense I’d steer you to a Ruger SP 101. Then I’d go for the hammerless version.

If self defense is paramount in your gun purchasing decision, and for a woman it certainly should be as no one is more deserving of carrying than a woman, then get her a gun that is simple to use (revolver), compact (so she is not inconvenienced by carrying it and actually wants to have it with her at all times), and hammerless (so it doesn’t snag if she carries it in her purse or coat pocket or whatever).[/quote]

Why is there a need to buy a gun? Is everyone mutually armed? And why defend your home with lethal force? Just curious.

I dunno where I am from we get an alarm system for home defense and a big dog.

[/quote]

Here in the UK the increasing violence in home robberies makes you wish you had a gun to even things out.

Yes they might have a gun as a result of increased gun ownership but not having one makes you too easy a target.

Thing is most people are not trained to shoot properly, even the in the USA.

[quote]Alpha F wrote:
I wish my husband was that thoughtful to buy me a gun for Xmas.

This is the one I want.

[/quote]
Well, it had been on your list, but now that I see it would count as being thoughtful and the surprise is ruined and now it would appear you had to hint otherwise I wouldn’t have, I guess not! A banjo for you. Electric, six-string, gas-can, fretless, or regular?

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:

[quote]Alpha F wrote:
I wish my husband was that thoughtful to buy me a gun for Xmas.

This is the one I want.

[/quote]
Well, it had been on your list, but now that I see it would count as being thoughtful and the surprise is ruined and now it would appear you had to hint otherwise I wouldn’t have, I guess not! A banjo for you. Electric, six-string, gas-can, fretless, or regular?[/quote]

What did he say?

:smiley:

I am going to buy you commas for punctuation for Xmas, Mr Woberts.

Anyway; guns for both of us so we can go hunting with Push!

I want to kill the wabbit!

If she has never shot before, I would get her something relatively fail-safe like a Glock or a Springfield XD. I would go with the Springfield but since I own three of them I am biased.

[quote]sen say wrote:
I need some help in getting She Say a gun for Christmas. Not sure what facts you lot would need to help me, but:

  1. We live in MD
  2. She’s never shot a gun
  3. I asked her last night if she would want a rifle or a handgun. She said handgun. I’m trying to keep it a surprise, so I didn’t just say, “Hey you want a gun for Xmas? What kind?”

I was also thinking I’d get her this gift certificate for the intro. pack here: http://www.gilbertindoorrange.com/Beginner.html

So…any suggestions?[/quote]

First,

This is a fantastic gift. Getting her a gift certificate is a great idea. I also think she should get to “pick” her gun. It will go a long way to making her feel like it is “hers” and making practice enjoyable.

I think there are a lot of good options for the “second” hand gun. I have strong opinions about what the first should be.

I would have her pick from the .22’s for her first gun. For semi-automatics I strongly recommend anything in the Ruger Mark II or III line, including the 22/45 style. These are fantastic autos and are a great value. I also like the Browning Buckmark series. There really is not a bad choice in these lines. They are cheap to shoot and easy to shoot well. They also stay fun so that even if she grows to love shooting and owns a ton of other guns, they will still get used. Finally, if properly maintained they are multi-generational firearms. Meaning her son, daughter, or grand child may someday learn on “her” first gun.

If a revolver will ultimately be desired(say for carry/self defense) than both Ruger and Smith and Wesson have fantastic .22 cal double action revolvers. These are more expensive than the autos, but .22 is cheap and learning to fire a double action revolver with accuracy and at speed pays great dividends. I suggest that if you go the revolver route, that you get a model with a longer than “snub” barrel and adjustable sights. The longer the distance between the front and rear sights the more visual “feed back” there will be about alignment and the easier it is to see and correct errors in aiming.

None of the above choices are ideal, or even good, choices for defense against 2 or 4 legged threats, but I would feel more comfortable with a .22 revolver than an auto if my other option was finger nails and bad language. Rimfire ammunition is less reliable as a whole than the centerfires, and the immediate action drill on a revolver is to simply press the trigger again as opposed to a more elaborate manual of arms.

Again, these are all great choices and any of the above should give great service for years and years. I would avoid the Sig Mosquito line and the Walther p22. Neither of these guns is made in the same factory as the namesake and the quality control associated with them is very hit an miss. There are better options.

I would also avoid Taurus firearms because of quality control AND customer service issues. If you get a good one they can be great guns, but the ratio of lemons to “good” is way higher than it should be. I owned a Taurus 85 that had multiple issues relating to tolerance stack.

I have no first hand experience firing either the Smith and Wesson M&P 22 pistol or the Ruger SR22, but have heard good things about both they seemed nice enough when I handled them.

I would not get a “service” caliber (.38 special, .357 magnum, 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 acp) to start. The ammunition is more expensive and I think putting at least a few thousand rounds through a .22 and shooting other people’s “serious” guns will give your wife a better idea as to what else she might like, if anything.

I absolutely caution against getting a lightweight(aluminum or scandium frame) .38 or .357 revolver for a first gun. These are typically 1 pound guns, with 12 pound triggers, small and difficult to use sights, and serious recoil. I know several individuals who tried to go with a “snubbie” for a first gun who never got past the “making smoke and noise” level of shooting(think 12 inch “groups” at 5 yards, slow fire) until they purchased a larger, easier to shoot gun and started working fundamentals. Again, a .38 or .357 revolver could be a fantastic “second” gun, but it is a rugged choice for a first. (The SP101 in PushHarder’s post has been on my list for about 10 years. I don’t know what I would do with the damn thing, since I have 2 9mm’s that offer more capacity, less weight, and similar terminal ballistics compared to such a short barreled .357. I do know I would call her Blasty.)

For similar reasons I would caution against getting a “micro” 9mm like the Beratta Nano or Kahr PM9/CM9. These are not the easiest guns to shoot well. Even among folks who claim to be able to use them “just fine”, a shot timer and a comparison with a larger framed auto usually reveals that a lot of performance is lost moving down so far in size.

I mentioned “terminal ballistics” before. There is a thread in the combat sub-forum if you wish to read more about that topic.

Sorry for being so wordy. I hope at least some part of that was helpful.

Regards,

Robert A

[quote]Alpha F wrote:
I wish my husband was that thoughtful to buy me a gun for Xmas.

This is the one I want.

[/quote]

If you are being serious, I have to ask if you have any experience shooting pistol grip only shotguns?

They are really difficult to use with any accuracy or speed. That same model with a more conventional stock would be awesome though.

I have been told that a pistol grip only shotgun has use for “breeching” but I am so far removed from High Speed Low Drag, I am damn near all drag, that I have no idea if that holds true.

Regards,

Robert A

[quote]Robert A wrote:

[quote]Alpha F wrote:
I wish my husband was that thoughtful to buy me a gun for Xmas.

This is the one I want.

[/quote]

If you are being serious, I have to ask if you have any experience shooting pistol grip only shotguns?

They are really difficult to use with any accuracy or speed. That same model with a more conventional stock would be awesome though.

I have been told that a pistol grip only shotgun has use for “breeching” but I am so far removed from High Speed Low Drag, I am damn near all drag, that I have no idea if that holds true.

Regards,

Robert A[/quote]

Dead serious.

No experience. However, I always buy at the high end level of difficulty precisely because I am motivated and very stimulated by the challenge.

What is a source of frustration for most beginners it is a source of excitement for me:

It builds my confidence to be able to conquer a difficult task and that makes me happy.

I think I will be bored quickly if the bar is low.

What does it mean to be “near all drag”?


That’s good advice so far. My two cents:

Walther P99 compact. I bought my wife one (I also own the full-sized version) and she loves it. Wonderful weapon. It has a nice grip that fits a small hand and it’s designed for concealed carry. The German police insisted that it should have no protruding parts that will snag on the inside of pockets or a purse, so it uses a striker instead of a hammer. There’s a nice feature where the end of the striker protrudes when it’s cocked. There’s also an indicator on the side of the slide when it’s loaded.

There’s an old rule of thumb–no disrespect to the ladies–that you should never give a woman an automatic pistol. If you subscribe to that, Walther has a double-action-only version (which is what I bought my wife, lol). It also uses a stress trigger to prevent accidents (another request from the German police). It’s not the “breaking glass” you want in a great trigger, but that isn’t what it’s for. This is all about lessons learned in the streets and the battlefield, etc. At the end of the day, it doesn’t fire unless you mean it.

Plus, it looks damn good! :wink:

If you’re not going to buy a Lady S&W–which is, I think, the first thing most of us think of–I wouldn’t buy anything else.

I saw it first here, where a couple of skinny women use the shotgun also and I thought it would be a piece of cake for me since I am stronger then they are: