Dilema: what gun my wife needs?

[rmoraes]

B"H
My lady decided she want a gun she can handle in case of necessity. So there I went happy to a gun show to show her all the pistols and revolvers. She decided for a revolver. Great! With laser. SUPER!. and pink...No way honey. First she opted for a 38 bodyguard, but she realized that recoil could be a problem, so a S&W 640 in .357 I got. Her problem is the trigger pull is way too heavy.
Question: is there a way to "lighter" the trigger? Comments on any other revolver with a light (~5 pounds) trigger?
Any comments on those revolvers in 9mm or 40SW?
Thank you for your ideas and comments.

[MoJo]

A qualified gunsmith can alter the trigger pull weight on a double action revolver. The problem is this comes at the price of reduced reliability. See if she might be interested in a semi auto pistol their trigger pulls are usually lighter.

[Crossfire]

First off, if she wants pink, then let her have her pink gun! It doesn't make it go bang any less reliably. Taurus has a really cute one.

All the S&W hammerless revolvers will have really, really long and heavy trigger pulls. If she has a problem with that, then you need to look at a Ruger, or a Taurus. I like Ruger, but that's just me.

Better yet, take her to a range that rents and let her try a few before you buy another gun that you like, but she doesn't. Just trying to save you a few bucks here, and maybe a few more on marriage counseling down the road.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

OP:
IMHO, if she's worried about recoil from a .38 Special Bodyguard, she'll have a serious issue with a .357 in anything.
I only use .357 in my revolver when I'm at the range. It's charged with .38 Special when sitting in the truck for BUG duty.

A .357 kicks really hard. I think trigger pull will be less of an issue than heavy recoil hindering getting back on target after round 1.

SIA

[A-R]

You might try one of these kits. https://apextactical.com/store/product- ... pid49.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

but notice fine print, this takes the trigger from 12 lbs down to about 9 lbs. I don't think you'll find a 5 lb double-action revolver trigger outside of a competition gun (like a Jerry Mickulek model 625) or a lot of gunsmith work and not sure you'd want one for safety reasons, but that's a personal decision (note: I'm not looking to start that debate in this thread - I carry a 4.5 lb trigger in S&W M&Ps and Glocks - just making mention of it).

I have not tried that particular Apex parts kit for J-frame, but I have their kits in both of my M&P semi-autos and love them. If you or anyone else does try one of these kits, please post a review I'm interested to know what end-users think of it.

[A-R]

OP:
IMHO, if she's worried about recoil from a .38 Special Bodyguard, she'll have a serious issue with a .357 in anything.
I only use .357 in my revolver when I'm at the range. It's charged with .38 Special when sitting in the truck for BUG duty.

A .357 kicks really hard. I think trigger pull will be less of an issue than heavy recoil hindering getting back on target after round 1.

SIA

Just a guess, but OP's wife is probably thinking of running .38 or .38 +P out of the .357 J-frame because the larger/heavier frame will help absorb more recoil than a typical modern airweight J-frame chambered in .38

[40khammer]

OP:
IMHO, if she's worried about recoil from a .38 Special Bodyguard, she'll have a serious issue with a .357 in anything.
I only use .357 in my revolver when I'm at the range. It's charged with .38 Special when sitting in the truck for BUG duty.

A .357 kicks really hard. I think trigger pull will be less of an issue than heavy recoil hindering getting back on target after round 1.

SIA

I think he meant to buy a .357 to shoot .38 in. The heavier weight of the .357 firearm would reduce the recoil of the .38 round.

I love Rossi Revolvers. They are reasonably price and very reliable. My first gun was a Rossi Model 68 in .38 special. the trigger pull was just right for double action and recoil was manageable.

I would suggest the Rossi Model R46102 http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product ... s_id=83502" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also, if your lady wants a pink gun, then give her a pink gun. You need to get her a gun that she is going to love. If you don't like your gun, you won't practice with it, and if you don't practice with it you're better off not carrying it.

Ultimately you should let her pick the gun that feels best to her. You can steer her away from POS manufacturers, but make sure the gun you buy is the one she picked.

[The Annoyed Man]

B"H
First she opted for a 38 bodyguard, but she realized that recoil could be a problem, so a S&W 640 in .357 I got. Her problem is the trigger pull is way too heavy.
Question: is there a way to "lighter" the trigger? Comments on any other revolver with a light (~5 pounds) trigger?
Any comments on those revolvers in 9mm or 40SW?
Thank you for your ideas and comments.

I own a 640, and I can tell you that recoil with a .357 load in it ca be considerable. I would advise she carry it with a standard .38 Special round in it. Secondly, my wife owns and carries a .642 Airweight in .38 Special. Practicing with that heavy trigger iis a pain, but in all likelihood, in the event of a real necessity, she's not going to notice the weight of the trigger that much. The primary concern with it at that point is how it will affect her accuracy.

Also, both my wife and I have recently acquired 9mm Kahr semi autos. These have a long, but reasonably light and VERY smooth "double action-feeling" trigger (they are actually striker fired like a Glock). I highly recommend these pistols. Mine is a PM9, and hers is a CW9.

Lastly, IMHO, a small .40 cal pistol is not particularly a good choice for a novice shooter due to the particularly snappy recoil of that particular cartridge. Believe it or not, but a number of novice female shooters I have taught have actually wound up liking .45 ACP due to the more forgiving nature of that cartridge's recoil characteristics. In any case, Kahr pistols are available in all three of those calibers, and they are certainly worth a look.

Echoing Crossfire.... If your wife wants a pink gun, get her a pink gun. It's her gun. What do you care? She can buy her own if she wants to, you know.

[gwashorn]

Well, I can appreciate your dilemma. Been there - done that. Wife loves her S&W3913 but felt too hard to carry. (that is changing but I digress). so she got the S&W642 with CT grips. Nice but the trigger pull is a bit more than she likes. Her arthritis is tough in both hands. I have dry fired it a lot and that helps a great deal. But in the interest of making sure she will carry it we checked out some of the smaller pistols. Tried the LCP and others. Finally I got her to try the Sig P238. she fell in love because the trigger is better and the slide racks much easier than the others. So she now carries it. The S&W642 is now my BUG. But she is starting to realize that S&W 3913 is not all that hard to conceal. Oh well, she likes them and that is what counts.

[v-rog]

+1, renting pistols is how I decided on my first pistol. I wouldn't even consider a purchase without renting. Too many drawbacks.

First off, if she wants pink, then let her have her pink gun! It doesn't make it go bang any less reliably. Taurus has a really cute one.

All the S&W hammerless revolvers will have really, really long and heavy trigger pulls. If she has a problem with that, then you need to look at a Ruger, or a Taurus. I like Ruger, but that's just me.

Better yet, take her to a range that rents and let her try a few before you buy another gun that you like, but she doesn't. Just trying to save you a few bucks here, and maybe a few more on marriage counseling down the road.

[fannypacker]

Be thankful she is willing to try. My wife is too tiny to master a handgun. I really think going to a range and trying the guns is the way to go. A revolver is a good choice but shoot single action only.

[SewTexas]

there is the cutest pink revolver out there!!! makes me consider getting a new one!!! I love pink! I could start me a collection of pink guns! ooooo, honey........

basically, what I'm saying is, you want her to be safe, to be at least a bit excited about something you're interested you are, right? so what if it's pink? what bad guy is going to admit that a shot him? with a pink gun?!

[doc.lonestar]

I find the Ruger LCR in .38 to have a light SMOOTH trigger pull. I shot a lot of snubbies before I purchased this one. S&W (several), Charter (ultra lights), Taurus (Ultra lights) - but I kept grabbing the LCR.

It can be had with laser grips from the manufacturer.

[Sputz]

Does it have to be a revolver? I mean a nice glock 19/23 gen 4 have real nice recoil systems in them now and you can change the backstrap to fit her hand. Their recoil is very manageable and you can get the 3.5 trigger bar to make it easier on her. My wife shoots the gen4 23 with no problems and in fact prefers it over hers and other guns I have. If it has to be pink you can always have the glock duracoated pretty cheap. Also lets not forget about Khars it has a nice smooth trigger like a revolver on them and the 9mm has a decent recoil. Once again you can have the polymer duracoted and keep the pretty stainless steal slide the way it is. Plus you can put night sights on the above guns. Anyways its best to get a whole bunch of different guns and let her shoot them and tell you what she felt comfortable with.

Sputz

[thatTexasLady]

I love my Ruger LCP!!