Whatcha think of the PPK

[bratch]

Atleast she is toying with the idea.

My wife has no desire for on body carry. She doesn't like belts and doesn't want to dress around it. She carries in a purse but she has to carefully shop for her purses as she thinks most of the dedicated gun purses are ugly, so it has to be a commercial purse she likes that is also suitable for carry.

I don't see ankle carry working real well with current female styles. I don't think the pants have enough extra material to cover and be easy to access the pistol. IMO trendy female clothing does not lend itself to CCW at all. The shirts are fitted and usually a light clingy material and the jeans are also more fitted making ankle and pocket carry difficult if not impossible. I'd love for my wife EDC on the waist but her wardrobe just doesn't allow it. I can't think of any girls that I know under 30 that could easily either with their current way of dress.

I'd get her to a store that has a good rental selection and let her go to town shooting everything in the store. My wife handled every 9mm in H&H and ended up with a P2000sk. She shot my M&P Pro a while back and fell in love with it. She now has her own Pro, she's shot it more in a month than she had her HK in 2 years. The first pistol she ever shot was my 1911, she really enjoyed it but decided the weight and manual of arms would not be conducive to her carry use.

The problem with the little pistols is they aren't real fun to shoot and they are harder to shoot well. If you don't enjoy shooting them they aren't going to get shot much and profeciency will be lacking.

 

[carleb]

Yes Cards81fan, I understood your point. You made several good points.

 

[carleb]

Bratch, Yes I think we'll go to a store & range that has anything she'll consider. I bought her mother a J-frame 38 Spl and she won't shoot it unless I almost make her. I thought it would be perfect for her, but I guess it was my will instead of her's.

Sounds like I need to let both of them pick out what they think they need.

 

[bratch]

Sounds like I need to let both of them pick out what they think they need.

Words of wisdom right there. The only thing I'd add is to try and shoot them first if at all possible. What feels good in the hand and looks nice for carry could be miserable to shoot.

I wanted my wife to get a Glock or M&P really bad when she bought her HK but I stayed out of the way and let her pick what she wanted. Since then I bought a M&P and she added her own so I'm happy.

I showed my wife a couple of my J-frames and she wanted nothing to do with them, the revolver had no appeal to her.

Good luck in the hunt

 

[carleb]

Thanks for all the comments and help. I'm glad to hear none of you voice great concern over the .380. I honestly don't know since I've never shot one. My son has a Kahr CW9 and he likes it. I've shot it some and think it is probably a good choice for him.

Other than two or three others, all I've ever shot in autos is 1911's. I started with them and it just seemed to be a good match for me, but therefore I am pretty ignorant of double action small autos.

 

[MadDogs]

30 years ago, I had a German PPK/s. Great gun. Would feed anything and had a really nice trigger. Looked at some new PPK's and PPK/s' and was not impressed with them in the least. Especially the triggers.

Lot more options available today to consider.

 

[Johnson184]

Maybe a Walther PPS 9mm in a Smart Carry holster?

 

[Rob72]

She's a young, slender, pretty girl and dresses like young, slender, pretty girls. She's a good girl, just happy with how she looks.

Bratch, she's got it in her head that an ankle rig is what she'll like best, but I just don't see that working out like she thinks. It doesn't look like the best choice to access in a crisis. Maybe a BUG, but not a primary. I'll let her pack one around that way in practice until she's sure.

You need to take her someplace where you can spend a little change, and can rent a couple or three of these options for her to try.

LCP, Keltec, etc, are small and concealable, but very snappy (more so to me than the PPK). I have a Seecamp .32, for reference, having gotten out of .380 because of the size, several years ago. My youngest daughter (19 y/o, 5'6", 120-ish) liked the "boom-flash" from the Seecamp, but didn't want to shoot it to actually hit things.

Unless she's very experienced, ankle is bad, in so many ways, but particularly in the fact that a grown man can fold up a "small, pretty girl" who's in a kneeling position, with no effort at all.

I'd suggest the PPK or the Sig .232, as they offer a frame with weight and large grip surface, and minimal controls to fugger with. The frame is easy to grip, as are the slides, and the mainsprings are not as stout as most (not all) 9mms.

Depending on her body-type and style of dress, appendix carry might work best, as women have longer abdomens. Hip, 3-5 o'clock involves some convoluted movement to draw for most females; purse is okay(look at Galco leather), if she's a girl whose purse never leaves her shoulder/hand.

You're close to Mike Brown and TSSA. $200 or so on a class for her is cheaper than $400 on something that sits at home.

 

[Nraman]

I used to own a PPK back in the 80s, it was OK but nothing special, it was special last century, I don't think it is special today. A friend bought a stainless Interarms PPK. The corners were so sharp that the slide used to cut him, his hand wasn't fat enough to justify the blood.
A few years ago I bought a 232 for my wife, never really liked it, sold it bought a Beretta Tomcat that I hated even more. All that recoil from a mouse gun. Finally I sold the Beretta and bought a Ruger CLP.
One day at the range, I asked my wife to shoot side by side the CLP and a Glock 26. She found the 9mm Glock a lot more comfortable, fun and more accurate and since then the CLP is collecting dust.
Women have the ability to conceal larger guns in their handbags.

 

[Buzzdraw]

The PPK is a classic and was perhaps the most reliable, modern pocket pistol of its era. It has become dated, with its 1929 era introduction more obvious with each passing year.

The slide tends to cut tracks down several users hands. I had trouble keeping the rear sight on the one I used to own. The double action lockwork is on the stiff side, even for a carry gun.

The PPK is worthy of consideration, but so are other more modern pistols.