Personal safety handgun opinions wanted
 

This is primarily fo my petite wife. What caliber and if you have experience, what specific handgun would be a smart, quality choice?

This purchase would go along with cc classes and possibly gun club membership for experience and range time.

Also, I may purchase the same gun as well.

the tarus judge...it shoots a .410 round and a regular caliber bullet...i cant rember what caliber...winchester makes special home defence 410 ammo for it...check it out at cableas

Are you thinking revolver or auto? I bought a Ruger LCR for CC. I don't mind the recoil but my wife didn't care for it much. She didn't grow up around guns or hunting, but after being with me for 8 years she didn't really have much choice. I bought a Browning Buckmark after the LCR just to get my wife into shooting. It's worked out well. A gun that will be used for CC probably wont be all that enjoyable just to go out and shoot. Unless your going to carry a full-size gun. I shoot my LCR to stay familier with it, but I don't put round after round through it. I'll suggest a couple of guns which will be Rugers but thats only because I have some experience with them. There are alot of good guns out there. Go out and handle as many as you can to see what feels comfortable.
CC guns
Ruger LCR 38 Spl+P
Ruger SP101 357mag heavier gun less recoil if loaded with 38s.
Ruger LCP .380 auto
Guns for fun and just shooting
Browning Buckmark
Ruger Mark II or III

Nothing finer than a lady smith 637 S&W 38spl for a self defense hand gun for a lady and it conceals very easily in a purser or waistband. Has a five shot cylinder.

One must choose between a large capacity magazine.....a 9mm auto holds usually 17 rounds and the reliability of a revolver.

Ruger makes a great revolver in the SP101.....in .32 H&R and .357 Mag. S&W also make superb revolvers!

Load the .357 with .38 specials for a easy to handle and easy recoil gun.

Either choice requires a lot of practice and familiarization with the firearm and a committment to "shoot to kill" should one ever have to use it!

A lot easier said than done

I've tried almost everything. My wife has small hands to begin with, and somewhere in her past was a "macho" LE officer who thought it'd be cool to put her behind .44 magnum revolvers and .300 magnum rifles. As a consequence, she physically can't handle anything with a double-stack magazine, and she equates the sound of the shot with intense recoil.

She also thinks differently than I do. While clearing a stoppage in an auto is basic stuff to me, she's intimidated by figuring out what to do next with a FTE. Not a good thing to happen if she's under pressure. On the other hand, she's unconcerned when it comes to a revolver, they're just mechanically simpler to her.

She's tried a .380, but doesn't handle it firmly enough and nearly always wound up with a stoppage. She does okay with the 9mm, but the double-stack handles don't fit her hands. My .45s are all just too large.

If I could overcome her mechanical phobia, I'd probably prefer she shoot a DA 9mm single-stack. But I believe a better solution for her is a lightweight .357 revolver like the Smith or the Ruger, shooting .38 specials.

They're all different though. See what your friends might have available to loan you, or if there's a range nearby where you can rent various handguns. And then practice, practice, practice....

Like NCZO9, my wife and mother-in-law didn't care for the recoil of my Ruger LCR, even with plan 'ol 38 special loads. I ended up with M&P 9 mm's for both with the smallest back strap.
With some shooting/practice, they're getting better and gaining more confidence with the semi-auto including what to do with FTF issues, which aren't many with the gun.
Only issue I have with the double stack M&P is that the darn mags. are kind of tough to reload, especially the first round.

I'd say a .38 SPL revolver would do the trick nicely.

+1 to a 38 special ! My wife is petite & we went to the range this past Sat. She handled the Taurus 85 snub just fine. My .357 was too much for her & she liked my S&W .22 semi-auto, but it jammed once & she couldn't clear it by herself. A revolver always says bang & a .38 is plenty of punch for defense. Like the bumper sticker reads, "Nobody ever raped a .38!"

38 or 357 revolver, load with 38's for practice if 357. The bigger (thus heavier) the gun, lower the recoil. Train her to pull the trigger until she's fired all cylinders or the threat is incapacitated. Most encounters will be 3-5 shots at 3-5 feet in 3-5 seconds. Make her practice from concealed carry. Make her practice on a human silhouette target to condition her.

When I first got into the business a very wise man told me the only revolver was a S&W or Ruger. Maybe other brands have established themselves since, but I have never tried them.