# Birthday present for wife



## cruzthepug (Mar 16, 2008)

I've had a couple of thread about a gun for my wife. This had been quite a long process deciding on what she liked and what the actual intended use would be, range gun or carry. At first we were looking in the small 9mm range, then after shooting my 1911 she thought that's what she wanted. After a couple of range trips, the .45 was just too much to shoot enough rounds to get in some good practice. I then bought a 4" .357 and she loved shooting the revolver. Didn't have to rack the slide, could fire single or double action and it just felt good in her hand.

Her birthday is this Friday and I had decided to get her, her own gun. We knew she wanted a revolver and was thinking of something in a 4" barrel since that what she liked. After deciding the end use of this gun would be for her to carry (later after some more practice and training) we decided on a 2" .38 special. Knowing that if it was ever needed, the smaller weapon would be easier to handle getting it out of her purse and that it should be just as accurate at close defense distance.

This what we ended up getting this afternoon. Smith & Wesson model 360 airweight, scandium frame.


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## AC_USMC 03 (Apr 5, 2009)

Nice piece for a ccw. I would carry one like that myself. I am trying to convince my wife on a revolver for a self defense. But she likes the walther P22


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## Ptarmigan (Jul 4, 2008)

Nice gun, but has your wife ever shot an Airweight J frame before? They are not pleasant to shoot at all, and are often very hard to master. Not to rain on your day, but J frames are not good guns for novice shooters, and the Airweights are a handful.


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## Pistolero (Mar 6, 2009)

I'd love to have one of these as an ankle gun. Great pistol for the wife! I hope she appreciates it and doesn't hate you for spending big $ on a gun. For my wife, it would be like buying her a bowling ball for our anniversary -scary business!


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## jimmy (Feb 3, 2009)

Nice Gift.. :smt023


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## cruzthepug (Mar 16, 2008)

Pistolero said:


> I'd love to have one of these as an ankle gun. Great pistol for the wife! I hope she appreciates it and doesn't hate you for spending big $ on a gun. For my wife, it would be like buying her a bowling ball for our anniversary -scary business!


Since I finally got her to go to the range, she's hooked on shooting and that's what she wanted. Yesterday while at the store she told me she didn't want me to spend a lot and kept looking at some Charter Arms and Taurus revolvers. The Taurus I didn't have a problem with but the CA's just felt "cheap", but she really never found a Taurus that felt good. She really liked the S&W from first feel and it wasn't too much more than the Taurus.


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## cruzthepug (Mar 16, 2008)

Ptarmigan said:


> Nice gun, but has your wife ever shot an Airweight J frame before? They are not pleasant to shoot at all, and are often very hard to master. Not to rain on your day, but J frames are not good guns for novice shooters, and the Airweights are a handful.


No, she hasn't shot a Airweight. She can handle my 3" 1911 pretty well and shoot my .357 with .357 loads just fine. I guess we'll see how she does, didn't realize the J-frames were so difficult to handle. If she ends up not being able to handle it, I guess it will go in the safe and we'll try something else :mrgreen:


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## Ptarmigan (Jul 4, 2008)

I would try to find some light ammo to start off with, or at least not +P stuff the first day. One ca get used to the airweight but it is not a range gun. You do have a good point about shooting a .45 and .357 Magnum. The main problem with the J frames is that they are so small. As long as she is prepared that it will not be like a full sized .38, I am sure she will be fine.

I do think it is pretty darn nice of you to get her a gun that you feel she will like. I have seen so many guys just buy their wives what they themselves wanted. I kind of did that myself.


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

Those air weights are not bad at all with a 38 spl. in them. And surprisingly accurate. I've not shot one in 357.


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## bruce333 (Sep 1, 2006)

cruzthepug said:


> the smaller weapon would be easier to handle getting it out of her purse


I'm not a fan of off body carry.

The biggest drawback to me is you can never leave the "container" (purse, manbag, planner, etc.) unattended. Go to a store or mall and watch how careless a lot of women are with their purse. Can't set it in the cart and turn your back on it to grab something off the shelf. Can't ask someone else to hold it while you use both your hands.

Kathy Jackson has more to say about it and says it better than I could: http://www.corneredcat.com/Holster/purse.aspx


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## clanger (Jan 27, 2009)

Excellent choice. 

Great revo and great grip on it too. The Mrs. should love it. Nice to know she shoots it both SA and DA. 

And in case she don't love it, my B-day is coming up and, well....even though we aint married, I'd be happy to accept it as a token of your esteem

:smt033  :anim_lol:


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## clanger (Jan 27, 2009)

bruce333 said:


> I'm not a fan of off body carry.


Non-LEO's I know prefer the (proper kind of) purse carry.

Holsters, belts etc are usually not part of normal feminine garb. Esp in a professional environment. The tactical purse fills a niche.

+1 on having to babysit thing, but, prolly should do that anyways. And +1 on the less-than-uber tactical carry.

But, it sure beats having the little lady unarmed. :smt1099

I just noticed I am going on and on about a ........PURSE.

Doh-


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## Q!! (Nov 5, 2008)

Very nice....


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

*Cruzthepug:*
I have two suggestions for you and your wife.

Start her off with standard-pressure, .38 Special cartridges loaded with the _heaviest_ bullets you can find (_e.g._, 158-grain). Heavy bullets are loaded to move more slowly than are light ones, so the recoil they produce is more of a slow push than a sharp shove. Beginners find that kind of recoil much easier to comfortably control.
Have her investigate Kathy Jackson's "Cornered Cat" web site, at: http://www.corneredcat.com/. Kathy teaches shooting, and knows what she's talking about; and her site is dedicated to educating women about guns, holsters, and shooting in general.


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