Ladies/wives opinions wanted...

[Mitch Rapp]

My wife and I are trying to decide on a carry gun for her. She has always been a huge fan of the Glocks, but they are hard for her to conceal. Part of the problem is she wants to dress in a way that looks nice and she is fairly slim, so hiding a Glock presents a problem. She doesn't want to try the flashbang or other non-conventional holsters, she wants to stick with IWB, or AIWB. She really likes my current EDC, which is a Glock 30. I am going to get her hands on a G36, but don't think that will be quite slime enough. I know what yall are thinking, G42 and problem solved.... She has in the past heard me disparage the .380 so now that I am recommending it, she is unsure. She likes the idea of the 36, or maybe an XDS in 45, since the 36 at least should shoot like my 30, which she loves to shoot. We had a LC9 that was a bit painful to shoot, and we have tried revolvers, she isn't a fan...

My take on it is this, she likes guns, and likes shooting. If I can find her a gun that she has some affection for, the chances of her making the effort to EDC it skyrocket. I think she would like the G42 in all aspects, except that she thinks it is somewhat lacking in power, and I tend to agree. I think she will love the 36, or even just the other baby Glocks, but they are still fairly thick. The single stack mini guns in common carry calibers (9,40,45) that we have shot, are not fun to shoot so she is timid with them, the only one we had much luck with was a Beretta Nano, again she just didn't "like" it enough to make an effort.

Any of you have input, or advice? She wants to carry, but not as bad as I want her to, so while I dress around a gun, she needs a gun that will work with her normal jean skirt, and a blouse type of apparel. The blouses are never tight, but around her hips there just tight enough to usually print fairly obviously. She carries my G30 on her late night runs to Wal-Mart, but this time of year usually has a jacket to cover any extra bumps.

Suggestions please?

 

[Boehlertaught]

I've got all kinds of ideas on guns, e.g. Para Carry 9. My wife has one and loves it. But since you're local to Tulsa, take her to 2A and rent various pistols and let her decide.

 

[tharper]

Tried a shield? My wife has a sub compact xd9 but it is thick.

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[streak]

eh, carry guns don't have to be fun to shoot. She just needs to be able to put 50 rounds down range each month to keep up her practice IMHO. Carry guns get carried and should be comfortable to do so while being fairly accurate. Range guns can be fun to shoot but suck to carry. Each has its place. Find a gun she likes the size of, ask her to shoot 1 magazine as fast as she safely can at a target 7 yards away. Explain to her that is the purpose of that gun. Then go break it in for her. Also get her a full sized glock, take it to the range and let her have a literal blast. Every time you go to the range with her just go through that same scenario.

While I agree that being able to shoot the wings off a fly is awesome. I don't believe that is necessary in a carry gun, minute of man in a hurry.

 

[ASP785]

My wife carries a S&W Bodyguard in 38 special everyday. It is a tough gun to shoot with a long and heavy trigger pull. The recoil is a challenge to manage because the revolver is so small. The advantage is that it is a hammerless and fits in tiny purses. We went shooting on Saturday and she really was not too pleased with how it shot. I am going to buy her a 9mm Shield when I come across one because she really liked it. Recoil in the 9mm was easy for her to manage.

 

[piston10]

Can't help. My wife carries a glock 26 in her purse, refuses to carry it on her.

 

[rawhide]

Has she tried the Kahr? My wife tried and rented several before settling on a TP9. Slinder with a longer grip than the subcompact 9s.

 

[Brandi]

The best gun for her is the gun she chooses. Take her to several gun stores and gun shows and let her pick up and feel each gun. After that compare the ones on the "yes" list and let her pick the best one.

We did this with my sister, went to all the gun shops and a couple gun shows and literally picked up and felt every single compact and subcompact that was available at the time. The one thing that really amazed me was how incredibly bad they all felt (minus one, I'll get to that). They were rough, had ridiculously sharp bits all over and were generally completely miserable to hold and that was without shooting which is going to intensify every one of those sharp edges. Now you guys with calloused, crusty man hands aren't going to notice or care but you can bet your wife will.

My sister already had a G30SF, which is a very good gun but it was still too heavy and cumbersome for concealed carry unless it's winter and you're wearing heavy clothes. She wanted something she could wear with summer clothes but all the guns (minus one) were, frankly, like trying to conceal carry a sea anemone. Then we tried a Kimber Solo....Dayum..what a total opposite. The felt spectacular in the hand, concealed extremely easy and was a 9mm, all our prerequisites covered.

Well, it was expensive (the CDP night sight/laser grip version) and I was bombarded by people saying the Solo was junk and wouldn't run more than one or two rounds before jamming. Now, I had heard this before when I bought a Kimber Ultra Crimson Carry II and that gun runs like a champ so I would ask them when they bought their Solo and got the same answer from all of them..."I never bought one but I've read a lot of people saying the same thing". Well yeah, he was one of those people so there are people all over the net repeating things as fact despite having no first hand experience. Not just an issue with Kimber's but with many things on the net.

Anywho, we finally, after a year and a half search, found a Solo CDP (actually Mark from Mark's Firearms did his thing and got it for us a great guy, if you can't find something or just want something check him out!). We now had the Solo CDP, took it to the range and followed the Kimber break in guide. We had one minor hiccup when she accidentally reassembled it incorrectly during it's pre-break in cleaning and oiling. The hiccup was fixed and the gun has been perfect since. I'm a gun snob in that if I pay that much for a gun it better do more than just work, it has to impress me and that little Solo CDP impressed the heck out of me. It is absolutely the finest subcompact ever made in my opinion but it isn't perfect. It is the most expensive of them all and it requires premium ammunition to perform as designed.

I can understand the price, it's an amazing little gun and since this gun is designed to be a high performance subcompact I can understand it requiring only premium ammo. Not much different than a high performance car requiring premium fuel, not an issue when you put it into perspective.

All that said, Kimber did rush to release the Solo and the demand for them was huge so they screwed up and released the gun before it should have been. The first Solo's out the door were flawed and they started coming back as soon as the new owner tried to shoot them, all while Kimber denied there being a problem. This means there are some funky ones out there because the first owner turned around and sold it instead of sending it in for repair/replacement, very likely making a good bit of money because the resale prices were staggering. If you've bought a new one in the last 4 years or so you are safe, if you want to buy a used one you should probably research the serial numbers to see when it was made, or better yet, ask to shoot it before buying. I doubt there are very many funky ones out there and even if you got one you could have it repaired for free and maybe get comped a new magazine or something.

I apologize for going off on a tangent here, I had only planned to say "have her pick it out and consider a Solo".

P.S. Mine is an STI Elektra .45acp. Easy to conceal, lightweight, has the "carry" treatment, extremely reliable, amazingly accurate, night sights and a magazine full of big .45acp boolits....plus its a beautiful gun.

 

[Mitch Rapp]

Thanks for the advice so far, I have told her that the final decision is up to her, as long as its not something stupid. Here's hoping!


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[Lakenut]

My wife has a Kahr CM9. Small enough conceal, big enough to hold onto. Very accurate. The recoil spring is stiff and racking the slide isn't the easiest out there....but my wife handles it just fine.

Ill second the idea to take her to the range and shoot the guns that make your short list.