Ain’t going to happen.

The Ruger LC9s 9mm kicked too much for her (I knew it would) and she had trouble with the loooong trigger pull on the LCP .380 - even with the Rossi trigger upgrade. Didn’t like the kick from the .380 either.

Looks like either the Glock G44 .22 caliber or the Walther PPQ .22 caliber. I might look at a .22 revolver but she’s already tested the trigger pull (no ammo) on the Glock. She still likes that one.

She’s concerned whether it will stop a perp - I told her with 10 shots + 1 in the chamber - to keep shooting until he’s on the ground.

That or a Beretta 25 ACP are your best moves at this point.

11 CCI stingers is going to be better than her hands.

Get her something she can get her hands around, and with a little weight to it. It will make a difference for her.

The worst kicking pistol I have is Walther PPK knoock off, the FEG in 9x18. That think is just not at all pleasant to shoot.

Glock 19 is a whole different story.

M&P® 380 SHIELD™ EZ®

There's a 9mm version as well.

Wifey has a 9mm Glock, she likes it. She shoots 40’s and 45’s some, but loves that 9mm.

I really think the 380EZ is worth a test drive.

The LCP 380 she dislikes is small and light, a lot more felt recoil. The added size/weight of the 380EZ will make it feel much softer.

It would cost a whole lot less to go to gun shop with in-door range and let her rent different types and calibers to try out. IMO

agreed. might have been a better idea to start her on a .22, then graduate to .380 JMO

How about a revolver in .22 Magnum?

This a carry gun or a home defense or house gun? My wife was the same as yours...

She's got a KelTec PMR30 on her side of the bed. One of the funnest pistols I've ever shot. 25+ of 40 grain .22 Magnum softpoints. I've done some tests with them. I wouldn't want to be shot by them...

The 380 Auto version is smaller to the tune of 4.5 oz. as well, and sorta cheap now that there's a 9mm version - $339 at SOS.

The LCP 380 weighs 9 oz.

S&W 380EZ weighs 18 oz.

Bersa Thunder 380 weighs 23 oz.


There's a reason the LCP isn't a lot of fun to shoot. The heavier pistols are easier to hit with, have better ballistics, and felt recoil is much less, while significantly improving stopping power over a 22 rimfire.

Just food for thought....
Don't know about the rest of you, but I've had way too many misfires with rimfire rounds to ever trust one for self defense. One of those WAS a self defense situation that could have gone very badly for me and mine.
Every 22 I've owned (well in excess of 20...Remington, Winchester, Browning, High Standard, Colt, S & W, etc.) has occasionally misfired. The only misfires I've seen with centerfire ammo occurred over 50 years ago when I first started reloading and those were due to sloppy handling and seating of primers.
With a little practice and proper training, a 38 special revolver can be easily mastered by just about anyone as can most mid sized/full size 9 mm and locked breach 380 autos. A far better path, IMHO, to consider than ANY rimfire.

Try different ammo. The "Hornady Lite"will have less kick ammo.

Beretta 84/85

Get her a Ruger MKII or MKIV.
If you're going with a 22 you need all the barrel you can get.

A revolver solves the .22 rimfire "misfire" potential. Just pull the trigger again. As for the "excessive felt recoil" issue, a .25ACP has the same felt recoil as a .22 rimfire, the same effectiveness, and the tip-up barreled Beretta 950 Jetfire simplifies the loading.

Look at a Walther PK 380...easiest slide to operate anywhere and with enough weight to absorb more of the recoil. When the store was open we sold a ton of them to women.

Tell her, to take it from an old paramedic who has worked hundreds of gunshot wounds.
The .22 will kill the bad guy. Hit him in the torso, either belly, or upper chest two or three times he won't be there to testify in court, he will be in the graveyard.

Manly men sneer at the .32 ACP/ 7.65 Browning. But it solved a problem in our household. If there was ever a situation, the pistol she carries and shoots for fun is somewhat more effective than the one she always left at home. Tons of old European police trade ins out there, the market is flooded right now, the price is right. The little Ortgies patent by DWM is her favorite...about the thickness of her checkbook-wallet.
Beware the .25...testing one, for function,new ammo, a Colt, for my non gun boss one day...shot it at a aluminum construction sign at 15 yards in the shop..bullet bounced back at about 170 degrees and struck the shop roll-up door, didn't penetrate either. Dumb but informative. He bought a more effective pistol.

That 380EZ is a soft shooting pistol that’s easy to operate, but it isn’t that small. After much research I bought a Bodyguard 380 and carry it in a pocket holster in my pocket. Also pretty soft shooting. Long trigger pull though, so I’ll replace it with the Santiago trigger. The wife is a revolver girl and won’t carry anything else, and she likes her S&W hammerless 38 with the polymer frame and red dot sight.

I carry a little S&W 317 when I'm working out in the yard, never worried about running into something 8 minimags wouldn't take care of. Tons of nice Beretta 81s floating around now. For $225 those little 32s are a hell of a bargain.

If going 22LR, then use a double-action revolver. The ammo isn't reliable enough for an auto.

Originally Posted by OrangeOkie
A revolver solves the .22 rimfire "misfire" potential. Just pull the trigger again.






WRONG! Sometimes you may only have time for one shot. In a self defense situation, when milliseconds may matter, one needs that first shot to count! What happens if the next round goes 'click' as well? Multiple assailants...need as many rounds as possible, etc.
There's so much that could go wrong with "just pull the trigger again".

When I was a LEO we got a report from a nearby city about a man found staggering around like a drunk that had been detained by a local LEO. Long story short, the suspect was not drunk, he had been shot in the head multiple times with a .25 ACP giving the victim a massive head ache. The bullets had failed to penetrate the skull. Powder burns in the scalp indicated a very close range shooting. Based on that, don't believe I'd want to trust my life to a 25 acp either.

With practice and training there's very few people that can not master a 38, 380, or a 9mm. When it your life or the life of a loved that is on the line being armed with the means of defense is critical. Both practice and training are essential.

Do you reload?
get her a 38 snubnose to try, load some 38 special at about 400 FPS maybe less and let her shoot that.
Then load it for defense with milder 125-158 grain rounds.
That's what I did for my wife, she can shoot it al she wants and never have recoil be a bother.
I bought my Mom a Beretta 950 about 40 years ago, that seemed to go well also..

That worked for me and mine but we ain't you or your wife, to each his own

OP,

Pretty sure that what we have here is "a failure to communicate" - your wife is 72 has arthritis and is not small statured, you are trying to buy her what you think will work for her but that is not working out so well.

Let her try a 22 revolver - it is pull the trigger simple, keep pulling the trigger until it doesn't go bang anymore and then pull it a couple of more times. No recoil, intuitive and simple to operate - I don't know how this can be so hard.

drover

The M&P EZ above was made for people with arthritis.

OP really should have her give one a spin.

Wrong? In what way? Riddle me this . . . how many milliseconds does it take to pull a trigger twice? Get back to me when you've done your homework.

Read my post again. Your answer is there.
Rim fires are the problem, they simply are not reliable enough to risk your life on it working EVERY TIME the trigger is pulled.
If you're in a life or death encounter a few milliseconds can make the difference.

What I did for KYHillChick with her SP101 was do a reverse version of the ladder-- 5 rounds each reducing the load .2 grains at each step. When we got about halfway between a 357 Mag and a 38 SPL she said that was perfect. She and I both shoot 357 mag, but hers is just a tad lighter than my LCR load.

We were using 125 grain Hornady XTP's and Universal. Both loads ended up faster than a Fiocchi self-defense load in 38spl +P that I'd used as a benchmark. That load used XTP's as well.

Go rent a 5.7. See if that recoils to much for her.

Or better yet .32 H&R

So many options, but some folks are either recoil sensitive in the extreme, don't have the hand strength, have arthritis, or something that keeps them from weilding a battle weapon. I myself don't much care for the 50 AE, ya know?

My wife enjoys to the Sig P238 in 380 ACP. Slide is soooo easy to rack.

I like the suggestion for 32 H&R. That would be a nice light round in even an alloy framed revolver. Other than Charter Arms I don't know who makes one.

Actually my wife is of small statue. I think you’re confused - I never thought my LC9s 9mm nor my .380 LCP would work - and I was right. She didn’t like the recoil so convincing her a different model .380 still isn’t going to work. I do know my wife - she didn’t like my .32 Arminius revolver she shot years ago but loved my .22 Ruger MKII auto. I sold that one a few years otherwise she’d be keeping that one in the drawer.

My direction is still the Glock G44 .22 or the Walther PPQ .22 with CCI Stingers. Thanks for all the help.

My Wife likes her Airweight Chief's Special, loaded with 148 Grain full wad cutter target ammo.

It's only doing a little over 700 FPS and has very light recoil.

She tried the S&W EZ and a half dozen other guns over the years, but this S&W is her favorite.

She is 69 years old, and has arthritic hands. We also had a trigger job on the Smith, to reduce the DA trigger pull.

Virgil B.

I have been a big advocate for the .22 on this thread. However y'all are bringing up the problem of misfires.
I must say, I haven't fired a .22 in several years. My brother brought over a Ruger 10/22 the other day and we ran 200 rounds through it.
My God we had about 15 misfires! What in the world? We thought there might be a problem with the rifle, but it looked like good firing pin strikes on all those duds.
Is .22 ammo that bad these days?
Isn't there one particular brand that is reliable?

Body neck face body neck face.

Not all rimfire ammo is the same.


If she likes the 22 stop trying to fit a square pg in a round hole. She's not going into battle. Get the 22 practice a lot and buy quality ammo. You'll know what jams and what doesnt, and you wont need some magazine article to tell you.

Lots of .22 LR talk. Why not the .22 Mag?

These are going for about $200.00 a piece.

Kel-tec P-32 .32ACP for the win. I prefer a .38spl snubbie tossing target wadcutters, but the P-32 is tiny and easy to shoot for smaller folks.

Stoke it with FMJ or TC or FP.

FTW, we own two: his & hers.

My bad, i accidentally typed NOT for what ever reason, it was not supposed to be there, I meant to type small statured.

drover

All I've been talking about....grin

Since you have made up your mind on going 22, this vid is worth a watch before committing to the Glock 44. The Taurus TX-22 seems like a more reliable feeder, and comes with 16 rounds in the magazine.


I like Glock pistols, but I'm not sure the G44 is quite ready for prime time.

Well that surely peaked my interest.

I still would prefer the safety incorporated into the trigger like on the Glock -she could mess up the manual safety unless i kept it on fire all the time in a gun vault..

I disagree on the CCI stingers. They start expansion as soon as they enter the body. On small animals it works great. However through coats and if it hits ribs, no penetration. I recommend CCI Mini Mag solids. Tests from survivalists say they will penetrate a deer skull at 50 yards, thus penetration of humans at close range. Now that was out of a rifle. May not do as well at a distance with a pistol. All things said, a 22lr using CCI Mini Mag solids should be fine for a woman who can't handle a 380 or 9mm.

She might do better with a full size 9mm pistol with small grips. My wife can hold a 9mm Springfield XDM with the small grips better than a Glock. It was hard for her to reach the trigger on a Glock. The larger pistol being heavier will cushion the recoil better. I have a Diamondback DB9 and it kicks harder than my 9mm Springfield XDM. Can't get my little finger on it. It is just easier to carry concealed in the hot summertime in the deep south. Also, she may not be holding the gun snug and extending her arms and using both hands. My wife has more trouble racking the first round in. A 38 special revolver may also work.

I've had one since they first came out. Mine's been completely reliable with FMJ and flush magazines. For some reason, when I use the ten round extended magazine offered by Kel-Tec for it, I get jams. I guess gripping it must alter the angle of the magazine a little.

Much easier to shoot than the Ruger LCP.

Ruger LCR 22
Crimson Trace laser grip
CCI Velocitors

She'll give the bad guy a bad day with that setup, every time.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/857498293

98 grain Speer hollow base wadcutters over 2.3 grains of Bullseye.

My wife is currently running a Shield EZ in .380. I run a Shield M&P in 9 mm. Now I see Smith is offering the EZ in 9mm. I will get one for her and let her decide which one she prefers. We both like the Shield platform and she shoots the .380 very well. We tried a little Taurus in .380, and neither of us liked the recoil. It has become my tackle box gun.

I think it was in my other post but I got to handle the Ruger SR22 - I think the narrower frame would fit her small hand much better. Going to call A2 Guns that have an indoor range to see if they have one available to shoot.

It sounds like more range time would have her get her more comfortable with the recoil. It's a learned skill.