Time to buy a gun ... again

[Stereodude]

After I leave for work, my wife sits on top of the roof with one of these:

Is her name Nikita?

 

[Patrukas777]

Is her name Nikita?

haha, unfortunately it isn't

 

[mike c]

Out of the 4 Smiths that I have owned all them had issues with reliability. I have never had an issue with my Ruger or Taurus revolvers. One of my Smiths developed a timing issue and sent copper shavings flying back at me. If not for my shooting glasses it would have hit me in the eye.

This is what I am getting for my wife.

http://www.taurususa.com/product-details.cfm?id=265&category=Revolver&toggle=&breadcrumbseries=

This is another excellent choice but not ported. It is however one of he strongest .357 made. http://www.ruger.com/products/gp100/specSheets/1705.html

i would love the one in the first pic, but it looks like our taurus gun dealers don't have the latest and greatest and stock the old models. a .357 or .38 costs about 500 bucks (not even in the taurususa website) while an equivalent s&w here is about 1500USD.
(all no ports)

while talking to the gun dealers, they all seem to hint that a (small asian) woman might not be able to handle the .357 kick?

 

[mike c]

ok ... i'm looking at these three SA's

Walther P99 1700USD++
Sig Sauer 229 1700USD++
HS2000 (recommended by a gun crazy friend over the above two due to price) about 1000USD

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additional questions about ammunition:

if you dropped one right onto it's back, will it fire?

what if you used a hammer or something hard to bang the back?

just checking the extremes of handling ammo, i regularly get in contact with 7.62 ammo and i'm super careful handling them avoiding the front and back part of the ammo.

 

[JerryLove]

After I leave for work, my wife sits on top of the roof with one of these:

My local dealer for .50 http://www.serbu.com/

 

[Warpdrv]

I assume this is a gift she doesn't know about....?

If it isn't you really should have her handle a few different products to see what is comfortable in her hand/hands


Everyones hands are different - does she have small hands...?

I have a number of guns, I handled a good number of them before I found only a few that were comfortable to me..

 

[Warpdrv]

The springfield HD is a really nice gun...

and comfy for smaller hands...

 

[m-fine]

From that list, my first choice would be the sig 229 in .40 S&W. It is dead simple to operate, reliable, well built, and accurate.

In the US, the HS2000 is sold as a line of Springfield XD and XDM models. I have no idea which one or ones are available to you. In general they have been well received, but some models will be much better for your purposes than others. They are a tad unusual in that they are a modern polymer design but include a 1911 style grip safety.

 

[m-fine]

while talking to the gun dealers, they all seem to hint that a (small asian) woman might not be able to handle the .357 kick?

The kick is usually quite manageable with practice, but if she has any issues, she can always use .38 specials which are light recoiling especially in a heavier .357.

 

[mike c]

I assume this is a gift she doesn't know about....?

If it isn't you really should have her handle a few different products to see what is comfortable in her hand/hands


Everyones hands are different - does she have small hands...?

I have a number of guns, I handled a good number of them before I found only a few that were comfortable to me..

it's not a gift ... that's like Homer Simpson "giving" Marge a bowling ball

told her she needed to learn to handle one if i wasn't around, we have a scheduled trip to the gun store this weekend so i can find out what barrel length and weight she can handle (that's still optimal for both of us)

it's just so tempting to just hit the buy button without leaving my chair.

The springfield HD is a really nice gun...

and comfy for smaller hands...

are you talking about the springfield XD? (hs2000 US equivalent)

it is the cheapest of the lot and if you guys say it's good, i can skip my "want" the cool looks of the sig or walther.

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for the SA, i think it will most likely be 9mm.

 

[mike c]

From that list, my first choice would be the sig 229 in .40 S&W. It is dead simple to operate, reliable, well built, and accurate.

In the US, the HS2000 is sold as a line of Springfield XD and XDM models. I have no idea which one or ones are available to you. In general they have been well received, but some models will be much better for your purposes than others. They are a tad unusual in that they are a modern polymer design but include a 1911 style grip safety.

what are the sig or walther made of?

 

[Warpdrv]

Most all those type guns are now going to be a polymer handle....

I was talking about the X or XD
They are all good guns, let her comfort make the decision - and firing as well, the dealer should allow a supervised trial to help make those kinds of decisions.

Good luck and above all else - have fun and be safe

 

[jeffsg4mac]

while talking to the gun dealers, they all seem to hint that a (small asian) woman might not be able to handle the .357 kick?

They are full of crap. A ported .357 is a dream to shoot and with 38's in 357 frame it's like shooting a 22. My wife shoots a .357 with full power loads in an unported Ruger GP100 just fine and she is the biggest wimp you ever saw. Have you seen a picture of my wife?

Remember Mike; don't assume everyone at a gun store knows what they are talking about. Just as people who work at audio stores don't always know what they are talking about.

 

[mike c]

They are full of crap. A ported .357 is a dream to shoot and with 38's in 357 frame it's like shooting a 22. My wife shoots a .357 with full power loads in an unported Ruger GP100 just fine and she is the biggest wimp you ever saw. Have you seen a picture of my wife?

Remember Mike; don't assume everyone at a gun store knows what they are talking about. Just as people who work at audio stores don't always know what they are talking about.

.357 it is! (though my wife IS a lot wimpier) she'd probably have a hard time with my nerf gun.

what about barrel length ... what's the difference between 2.5 and 4"? (pros and cons)

 

[jeffsg4mac]

.357 it is! (though my wife looks a lot wimpier)

what about barrel length ... what's the difference between 2.5 and 4"?

I am personally not a fan of anything less than 4" for a barrel length, but if it is going into a purse for a defense gun than 2" is fine. The shorter barrel will have a little more recoil and may be a little harder to control. With a compensated barrel it is less of an issue but the shorter barrel will always be less accurate. I hunt deer with a 357 and a 4" barrel and have no problem taking a 50 yard shot.

 

[m-fine]

what are the sig or walther made of?

The sig 229 has a milled stainless steel slide and an aluminum frame. It will be the heaviest of your choices, but since you will not carry that is a good thing. The beefy slide will make it the easiest for her to handle, in 9mm it will be a pussy cat.

The Walther is a steel slide on a polymer frame like the HS2000.

 

[m-fine]

I am personally not a fan of anything less than 4" for a barrel length, but if it is going into a purse for a defense gun than 2" is fine. The shorter barrel will have a little more recoil and may be a little harder to control. With a compensated barrel it is less of an issue but the shorter barrel will always be less accurate.

Agreed. The super compacts make a lot of compromises. The idea being an OK gun you have with you beats a great gun you left home because it was too big or heavy. You said no carry, and even if you wanted to I would strongly advise you to stick with the 4" compacts, or larger for your first gun.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Just remember to start her out with 38's in the 357 then work her up once she feels comfortable with it. You will be surprised how fast women get the knack of shooting and how much fun they have doing it. Full power 357 magnum loads are really not that big of a deal recoil wise. Nothing like a 44 mag is and I have seen plenty of women shoot those too.

 

[mike c]

i see. so you guys think the wife can handle a longer than 4" barrel?

is there a 5"er? (like the barrel of the 92FS which seems to have minimal kick to me or does the slide take some of the kick?)

 

[jeffsg4mac]

i see. so you guys think the wife can handle a longer than 4" barrel?

is there a 5"er? (like the barrel of the 92FS which seems to have minimal kick to me or does the slide take some of the kick?)

If it is not going to be a carry gun then get a six inch ported barrel. Still small enough to carry if need be and will be very accurate. It is usually 2, 4, 6 and 7.5 or 8 for a target pistol. Please Mike, DO NOT start her with an autoloader. Too much going on to learn with. No one should ever recommend and auto for a beginner. Once she gets the hang of it and wants to continue then trade up for an autoloader. There are basic fundamentals you need to get down first before shooting a semi-automatic pistol. That would be like giving a new teen driver a Ferrari for his or her first car. Just not a good idea.