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Selfishly, the best part of this whole experience is that I finally get to purchase a 1911. In the past my wife has always fussed at me for the amount of money I spend on guns and really threw a fit when she saw the cost of a good 1911. Now that my wife shot Charles' 1911 so well and we spent yesterday looking at several I have the green light to get one.

SWEET!

Well my wife and I finished up at the range with Charles Cotton not too long ago and it was an awesome experience. First, Charles, thank you again. I know that we are going to take you up on your offer again to come shoot as my wife had a great time and really felt empowered by the whole experience. She had fun and talked about it the whole way home.

Now to the shooting... Through some helpful techniques that Charles taught, my wife was racking and locking the slides back on every gun Charles had including his 1911 .45ACP. Heck, I even picked up on a few pointers that I'm going to try the next time I hit the range. What's funny about the 1911 .45 is that my wife was a better shot on that than any other gun he brought with him. We have some more shooting to do to see what fits best to her but .45ACP is absolutely on the table (and a future purchase for sure).

I wanted her to go to this meet-up today to feel more comfortable around guns and on the car ride home my wife was talking about how she would conceal a .45 and would it be better to go with something smaller to wear as her conceal carry. I can't say enough about Charles' teaching and if you have the chance absolutely attend some of his classes. I have a feeling that my wife is going to sign up with him for her CHL once we get a few more rounds down range and we find a gun that suits her.

What a day! I was hoping that my wife would at least gain the confidence to hold and shoot a gun and feel comfortable with them in the house and we leave one 2 hour session with Charles and my wife is talking about what gun she can conceal carry and what type she should get!

Thanks, Charles! We will be in touch to try out that other 1911 .45ACP you mentioned before we make any final decisions on what .45 to get her. I have a feeling that at the gun show this weekend I'll be leaving with at least one purchase if not 2 or 3.

Thank you, all, for the great suggestions and advice. My wife is really getting excited about meeting with Charles Cotton tomorrow so that is an excellent sign she's getting over some of her apprehension. I'll be sure to report back on how things go.

Thanks, again!

MeMelYup wrote:

Songbird wrote:Along with finding a good instructor and taking a CHL class and/or basic pistol safety and operation class, I would recommend finding a range where she has the opportunity to rent and shoot several firearms, both revolvers and semi-autos. As for racking the slide, I have small, fairly weak hands with some arthritis, and I can rack anything I can get my hands on since I was taught how to make it easier. A revolver may be what she ends up deciding on, but she needs to have the opportunity to gain some hands-on experience before making that decision/purchase. Best of luck to you both!

Pls what is your trick to racking the slide. My wife has rheumatoid arthritis in both hands and cannot rack the slide on any of my guns 22-40 cal.

This was mentioned earlier, you might see if this helps.

http://www.corneredcat.com/Rack_the_Slide/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It helped my wife chamber a gun but she's still working on locking the slide back.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:Since you are in the Houston area, I'd be happy to meet you and your wife at PSC and let her shoot a variety of revolvers and semi-autos to see what she likes best. Then she can decide on formal training.

Let me know if you are interested.
Chas.

WOW! Very generous offer and I think we will take you up on it. What a community!

Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions. I must say, I'm kind of kicking myself for being a lurker for so long and not joining the forums sooner. THANKS!

The Annoyed Man wrote:Have her read this web page specifically and this site in general: http://www.corneredcat.com/Rack_the_Slide/

My wife used to have trouble with racking the slide. Her two carry guns now are a Glock 19 and a Kahr CW9.

Really great read, thank you. I'm going to go try the techniques mentioned just to see the difference.

Crossfire wrote:

WildBill wrote: In my experience it is harder to rack a slide on a 32 Auto and .380ACP pistol versus a larger caliber. I think that may be due to them having a blowback design.

I agree with you. My Colt Commander is much easier to rack than any of the little pocket pistols.

A revolver might be a good idea here, but she still has to pick it out for herself. And, just because it feels good in the hand does NOT mean it will feel good to shoot. The air weight revolver that seems like a great idea at the gun counter will turn into the gun that NEVER makes a second trip to the range.

If I had to make a recommendation for a small revolver, based on what I like, I would say a Ruger GP100 or SP101.

Thanks for the suggestions. I keep telling her that she needs to go with me to the store to check out a few guns but she's really hesitant. I sometimes think that I should just drop the subject because after all, some people just aren't gun people. But in my opinion, there are guns in the house, I travel, and I feel she should at least know how to handle a gun in the event that she needs to get into the safe to protect our kids.

Besides, it's a ton on fun and I think she may like the range with me once she gets over her fear.

In my experience it is harder to rack a slide on a 32 Auto and .380ACP pistol versus a larger caliber. I think that may be due to them having a blowback design.

You got that right. The Kel-Tec I have is a beast compared to my XD-45.

JustMe wrote:Get her with an instructor who is adaptive & receptive to working with a "newbie" woman (notice I DIDN'T say it HAS to be a female instructor!!) Sometimes taking the husband/wife factor out of the equation helps--I don't train with my husband!

See if there is a chapter of A Girl & A Gun anywhere near you. The facilitators are all NRA instructors and we are accustomed to working with women who have never even picked up a gun before! And she will get a chance to practice & learn in a supportive, encouraging environment without any pressure.

There are also some tricks that we girls can use to do things that make things(like racking the slide) easier. I taught an 85 y/o woman with arthritis how to rack the slide on my glock!

Thanks for the suggestion, Mary! There is a chapter of "A Girl & A Gun" in Houston and I'm going to have her look into it. I totally agree with you about removing the husband from the equation. While I don't get frustrated with her at all I think she feels somewhat embarrassed that she is so timid about firearms in general.

JustMe wrote:OK--here's the deal----does she WANT a revolver??? I will be the first to admit that I'm not a revolver girl!! To me, it is more complicated than my semi-automatics. I have a couple of them for training purposes--but they are NOT in my carry arsenal.

In order for her to be consistent with practicing-and eventually carrying, it needs to be something that she is comfortable with. Some of the revolvers & the smaller semis litterally hurt (for me) to shoot. I shoot them often enough to stay proficient--but they are always the last in the line up--when I finish shooting them-I'm done!

So many people think a woman needs a revolver because it is "easier" to learn. but, my Kitchenaide mixer has more moving parts than my semi automatics!

My saying is that guns are like shoes & underwear--if they don't fit right, they will make you miserable! And by "fit", I'm talking about more than just size

I know you didn't want a lecture--so I tried to stay nice!!

I appreciate the feedback but she just doesn't have the hand strength to rack the slide. I agree with you that I like the feel of the semi-auto's a lot better but if she can't chamber a round then what's the point? I figured starting her off with a 380 revolver so something like that she will gain some confidence. Further, loading, unloading and pulling the hammer back to shoot should be easier for her. I bought a 32 auto for her thinking that would be a great starter gun for her (Kel-Tec) and she can't pull the slide at all.

She's tried my XD-40 and my XDS and she just doesn't have the strength. Aside from starting a workout program that consists of adding semi-auto racking I'm hoping to get some thoughts on firearms to at least get her started.

Thanks!

I should probably add that this gun is for getting her familiar with firearms, shooting and gaining confidence so that she feels competent in handling a gun on her own should she need one. I travel a lot and want her to feel safe at home and she is really intimidated by my guns that I have in the safe.

Thanks!

Ladies,

I could really use your expert opinion on the best revolver that I can get for my wife. I have several handguns ranging in a variety of calibers but most of them are Semi-auto and she can rack them. I figured a revolver is the way to go but my smallest revolver is a .357 and given her size (5'6" & 115 lbs) and the fact that she is still somewhat timid around guns, I don't want to start her with that one.

I'm looking for suggestions from first hand experience so any insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help!