Charter Arms

[high country]

recoil doesnt mean much when your defending your self. and most ladies dont want to lug around a heavy gun just because it will cut down on the recoil the few times she will probably shoot it at the range.

  If that's case you might as well go with the biggest caliber airweight their is.
[/quote]

prolly not. my 450 would buck so hard it would pull 300gr and up bullets even with a lee factory crimp die......that sum bitch was evil bad.....especaily loaded with 360gr hardcast beartooths

[kbyers]

My mom(59 years old) bought a S&W airweight. First pistol she has ever owned, or shot more then once.  She had no problem with the increased recoil over a Ruger security six, and the weight difference between the two is significant.  Look around for a used one.  She picked hers up for under $400 out the door, with less then a box through the barrel, but she always finds good deals like that.

[MtnMuley]

That sounds like the "stopper" I need under my bed, high country!

[high country]

That sounds like the "stopper" I need under my bed, high country!

I would suggest you borrow one before you buy one.......I used to be all about big nasty hard kicking guns, but that thing was a trip to the orthpedic surgeon waiting to happen.

[Gutpile]

Never heard anything positive about those airweights.   I do know that they have more recoil than a standard frame.....and for a lady???

What do you mean? It's a great pistol. You don't have to load ultra hot +P loads. It doesn't kick as bad as a KelTek 9mm. I love mine, fits right in my pocket and carries great. I've never heard anything bad about them other than recoil with +P but if that is a concern don't use +P ammo.  

Mine's a S&W 642. Same as the one pictured but without the laser grip. I do plan on getting one.

[chrisb]

Thanks for the feed back everyone. I'll have to get to a rage that rents and have her try one out and see what she thinks. I don't suppose there is anyone on here looking to trade one away for an AK?

[ICEMAN]

One more vote here for smith airweight.

[AWS]

Used to carry a Charter Arms 4" round butt when I used to work the rail yards in Seattle at night,  I shot it alot and found it very comforting to have along, never had to use it though.  My B in L an ex sherrif carried a Taurus 2" 38 for an off duty gun, still carries it, he trusts it.

AWS

[Shootmoore]

The one to get is the one she will shoot to get profficient with.  The one she will carry and the one that will go bang when you need it to.

Best gun in the world isn't worth spit if you dont have it when you need it.

Shootmoore

[taylorpz]

The one to get is the one she will shoot to get profficient with.  The one she will carry and the one that will go bang when you need it to.

Best gun in the world isn't worth spit if you dont have it when you need it.

Shootmoore

Excellent advice.  First rule of a gunfight is to have a gun.

Don't know if anyone recommended it yet, but it would be worth the money to find a range where they rent guns and she/you can try out a few.  Gun isn't worth anything if she won't spend a little time at practice and she won't carry it. 

I've owned a variety of smaller guns and carried them extensively (backup as a cop in both uniform and plainclothes as well as off-duty).   I prefer Smith's.  The 640 is the all-steel 5-shot that can handle magnums and is a decent shooter, but it is heavy (relatively).  The 642 (Airweight) is lighter but more of a handful to shoot (for practice) because of that reduced weight.  The 300-series (Titaniums) are super-light and absolutely suck to shoot.

If you're not overly committed to a revolver, I would also check out the Kel-tec product line. They make super-compact autos in .32, .380 and 9mm.  I think they're a lot of value and reliable shooters (plus American-made).  Very portable.

The cold reality is no one gun can do everything.  You have to find your balance point between operability, lethality, concealability and portability.  But it still comes down to the most awesome cannon isn't very helpful if its sitting at home or you consistantly miss with it or can't keep it ready to fire.

[MikeWalking]

The Charter Arms she liked is like $350ish and i even saw a Taurus for like $450. So why is the Smith $700 even without the crimson trace grips?

The S&W wont fall apart after a few boxes of ammo like my Taurus did.

Charter Arms? Heard'em compared to doorstops. What's 300+/-$ if it breaks the one time your life depends on it?

[MHWASH]

You should be able to pick up a S&W 642 with out the laser grips for arpund $469. There are several on GB for that now. Evenone with pink grips.

[Buckmark]

Wades in bellevue has rentals simular to what your looking for, not sure if they have a smith though, tauras they do.
My other half has a S&W J frame ladysmith you can have her shoot if you want, there is a range near us in arlington, Aimpoint, not sure if they have rentals.

[Shootmoore]

An addition to Taylorpz's post, If your interested in something other than a wheelgun I would also take a look at the Glock 26 in 9mm.  About the same size of small frame revolver, just thicker at the front and back.  Very concealable and leaps and bounds above a snubby for accuracy.  I carried one for 5 years plainclothes.  I still carry it today as my concealed and at this point have not found anything I like better for a deap cover or concealled carry gun.

Its never had a fail to fire or malfunction with 1000's of rounds down the pipe.  Very forgiving in the maintanance department.  I consistantly shoot low to mid 500's in the 60 round 600 possible PPC course.  Its a struggle, for me anyways, to even shoot a qualifying score with a 5 shot snubby.  Another nice thing about the 26 is if you have the option of carrying a Glock 17 mag as a second giving you an additional 17 rounds with a 2 round extension on the 26 mag that gives you 13 rounds loaded with a second 17 as backup.

Just some thoughts on different options. My first post is still the main things to consider in my opinion

Shootmoore

[demontang]

Supprised noone said ruger sp101. They are a great gun for the money. I will say smith makes some of the nicest revolvers.