What do women carry?

[tt3]

We're trying to settle on a gun for my wife after she takes her class and looking at as many options as we can, what do other women carry? And in what rigs?
Cornered cat gives a good starting point, but we're looking for more info. Is there a forum out there for women? We both obviously want to get a good fitting one.
(The Bersa was hard for her to reach the magazine release with one hand.)

This is great, when I first met and married her she insisted "NO handguns in the house"
Ain't growth and change grand.

[hammAR]

(The Bersa was hard for her to reach the magazine release with one hand.)

I would say that a lot of women, and men, have difficulty reaching the MR button on most autos. Unless she is going to carry an extra magazine for reloads, it is a mute point for carry. My SO carries that same Bersa that your wife shot, and usually carries it in her purse, sometimes on a tuckable IWB, also, she does not carry an extra magazine.

I DID NOT SAY THIS: You and your wife may want to look at a revolver as an alternative. ...

[tt3]

We're leaving all options open, even revolvers.
Tongue in cheek because the only revolvers I've shot are either 44mag or 50 black powder. Not exactly intended for concealed carry.
Good point on the Bersa, and mag releases in general. I'll re-introduce that to the mix.

And here I thought I was narrowing the field.

[selurcspi]

We're leaving all options open, even revolvers.
Tongue in cheek because the only revolvers I've shot are either 44mag or 50 black powder. Not exactly intended for concealed carry.
Good point on the Bersa, and mag releases in general. I'll re-introduce that to the mix.

And here I thought I was narrowing the field.

There are lots of good options for smaller hands, the Bersa is one the CZ83 another, the Browning HP is quite small and if you change the grips you can reduce it even more. A 1911 can, believe it or not, be made to fit small hands (ask ChinaKay) reaching all of the controls are not strictly necessary on a defensive handgun, as a reload is probably not going to be needed. That said, think about it, a 5 shot revolver with a 10 to 15 second reload or an 8 to 15 shot autoloader with a 4 to 6 second reload using the weak hand to release the mag: no contest for the reload part!
J and K frame revolvers can be configured to fit almost any hand so they can be a good choice; but my recommendation is that you and your wife get together with other couples and test as many guns as possible, spend some time talking with other women shooters and see what their concerns (not recommendations) are when the choose a gun, this will give you some insight into what works for women, how they have overcome problems and what concerns a woman in regard to using the gun.
Let me know if you would like to get together and test some toys and we’ll get to a range and perforate some paper.

[GregM]

Has she considered one of these?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJGRk2oQaLg

[westberg]

My wife has the Para CCO 45 cal and loves it and shoots it well. She does have a Galco purse but has not carried in it yet. The reason she has not carried in the purse is becasue she is aware of the problems with off body carry and trying to work thru most of them first with out the gun. The main thing is that her circle of friends and co-workers always check out new purses and that means handling them, she has a lockable cabinet next to her work station and then up at the farm she will start practicing drawing from it. She has to dress up for work and her wardrobe doesn't really allow on body carry, she has been looking at different types of holsters for this. She also has a XD9 she shoots IDPA and Bill's Advance classes with and really enjoys shooting this gun also (I think she really is a 1911 closet freak thou because she wants another one). The XD9 did start acting up last week at Bill's with FTE's on almost every round, we got a rental gun and no problem with the same mag's. I sent it back to Springfield and they are looking at it, I am having the custom shop do a trigger job and extended mag release while they have it. Now she told me she wants a bug in 380 cal. I don't know how long I can support her gun habit I may need support or intervention soon.

Ron

[tt3]

Let me know if you would like to get together and test some toys and we’ll get to a range and perforate some paper.

Well, thats silly. Who wouldn't want to get together and poke holes at a distance!

Its also silly for me to continue scoping out guns at the store without her along, but difficult with the kids since they want all the mommy time they can get.
We may be taking a carry class together (the instructor agreed to let me sit in, since I have my permit already) this Saturday. Perhaps that will also give her some better ideas. I've already asked grandma to watch the kids all day Sat. to do so for an evening yet this week would be fun, but might be pushing her generosity.

1911fan also offered in that other thread. Maybe an impromptu shoot where she can at least look and listen about many guns? I can never tell at the store if the person talking with me knows the gun or is just saying what he's heard.

Anyway, more advice is welcome.

(GregM, she might have issues with concealability with that rig. )

[tt3]

Thanks for the input Ron! I'm going to have her look this over and get her opinion too. Purse carry scares both of us, not just because she's forgotten her purse a few times at different locations.
She's kind of thinking carrying in an ankle holster or a iwb kidney or slightly in front. Carrying at work will be really risky since its posted and my job right now doesn't have an income.

[westberg]

I'm sure if our schedules could match my wife would love sharing her experience with shooting different guns and challenges with carry she is facing with your wife. My wife shot a EBR at shoot a couple of weeks ago and was then upset with me for not letting her shoot mine before, I just never thought there would be an interest. I also have revolvers so I'm sure if we could get a date together with all of the helpful guy's and gals here on the forum your wife could pretty much shoot any type of pistol or revolver.

Ron

[meltedeyes]

With all this talk of women who carry...

Is there a girls night out at the range? Would there be any interest in this? I'm going to be taking my GF to the range for the first time on Thurs, and I think that any future outings would be encouraged by not having the macho ******** factor (meaning most guys).

Since I have a range/rental coupon from Bill's and all I own is an XD-45, I'm looking for suggestions on a rental for her that she might like. (Hence why I'm putting this here instead of starting a new thread.)

so two questions:
Any all-female shooting groups in the north metro?
And what to look for in a rental/potential carry gun for a woman?

[JoeH]

I definitely think that a local range should have a Ladies Night. They could offer 2 for 1 gun rentals.

I know that I would bring my bride for such an event.

[Seismic Sam]

Just to repeat some conventional wisdom and also some conventional heresy on the choice of guns and holsters, first I'll repeat the CW: IWB molded leather holsters work great for guys, don't work great for women. Sometimes a shoulder holster with a gun on one isde and two extra mags on the other in a "Miami Vice" rig can work a lot better for a woman than a man. The mags are useful for weight balance, BTW... In addition, there is the very real advantage of misdirection available to a woman. All she has to do is wear the proper bra and blouse, and she can carry a 454 Alaskan and 95% of the guys would probably never see it.

As far as caliber, my CH is that you shouldn't make ANY assumptions based on her weight, size, or level of expertise. After several years of being a range officer at the first-time's ladies day at Oakdale, I have come to the conclusion that assuming that the little woman needs a little gun is complete ********, in addition to being somewhat sexist and condescending.

ttousi had a class where there was a woman who was VERY tentative with a Ruger 9mm automatic, and she looked like a horrible newbie who couldn't hit anything and was afraid of the gun. Then her (I think husband) handed her the 4" BBL Nickel plated Smith 629 (yeah, 44 mag) that she had shot before, and she blew the center out of the target with full power factory loads.

Additionally, with every group of 25 women newbies, I always get one or two who think my 10mm with hot 180 grain loads and my 50GI are a blast to shoot, and they would have NO problem with either of these guns for defensive shooting.

I would go to Bill's and prepare to spend a fair amount of money renting guns and ammo in a couple of different calibers, and in the long run you will wind up where you need to be as quickly as you can.

[westberg]

We would try and make it again depending on our schedule. Any of our guns would be available for trying out. This may lead into the differet shooting sports, my wife and another gal are pretty regulars at the Twincities IDPA at Beaverbrook. Both woman started with their permits, then a holster class and then advance handgun and tactical classes at Bill's. This was a very natural progression of training for them before shooting IDPA. To say the least they were very nervous the first few times seeing all of the guy's, but they do get confidence as they shoot more and are not finishing at the bottom of the pack.

Ron

[phorvick]

Sounds like you have it more or less under control...but...just in case...

I typically bring about 20+ handguns to my permit classes for people to try if they wish...

The next class is October 13th at Bill's in Robbinsdale if you wanted to stop in and try some....

[tt3]

How does Bill's feel about a group of folks sitting around a table/tables passing around handguns and familiarizing themselves with them before shooting?
Like: "Here's my .32, here's the safety, here's the mag release, it doesn't lock back when the mag is empty..." etc
I see a great potential for a fun evening, but also a great potential for a nervous range too.

For the record She's shot my little Colt .32, the Bersa .380, my Kahr .40, and a .44 mag and would like something in the middle. .380 to 9mm or so.

Anyway, it'd be nice to be able to try the fit in the hand and all that before actually loading and firing, even buying the shells. Right?

Thoughts?

phorvick, the 13th would be a no for us. Its our anniversary. Hopefully she can settle on something before then so I can give it to her as her present. (Iron, right? got the idea from the other thread. )