.38sp question

[stash]

My wife is getting real serious about getting her CHL and I would like to take her out and shoot a little bit with my 642. It has been years (like 40 or so) since she last shot a gun and at that it was a rifle when her daddy was in the Border Patrol. I have lined up an NRA instructor to teach her gun safety and such but she would like to go out first and take a couple shoots to just get the feel of shooting. I need a recommendation on a really weak (as in recoil) 38sp load for her.

Also, as an aside, she wears glasses and I was wondering about those eye protection glasses you can buy at Lowe's that they sell when using a chain saw or whatever. This would be something that she could wear over her regular eye glasses that she need to wear to see.

By the was I say 642 because my .40's and .45's would probably be to much initially for her.

Thanks

[Rex B]

Target wadcutter rounds should be low recoil.
Also look for Cowboy loads.

Both should be easy to find in that caiber.

Beyond that, for getting acquainted, you might look into wax loads, primer-only.
Easy to make at home.

There are also practice ammo with plastic bullets, if you can find them.

[MoJo]

If your .45 is a full size steel framed 1911 I think it woould be a better choice in both recoil and accuracy. The lightweight and short sight radius of the 642 will make shooting unpleasant for a novice shooter even with light loads.

If you have a .22 handgun that will be the best for starting a new shooter. If you don't have a .22 maybe you could borrow one or - - - NEW GUN!!!!

[Rex B]

Good point. Start her with a .22. Almost any .22 would do to start, then move to the revolver.
If you have a heavier .38 revolver, say 4" barrel all steel, that would be a good transition.

[stash]

Thanks for the good info fellows. I wondered about the 642 even with light loads. No 22 and the 45's are Glocks. I do have a G19 that is a nib late model gen3. I know there have been problems with some of them. I will have to see if it works and if it does, maybe that will be a better option. Thanks again.

[JustMe]

Don't automatically assume that she wants a revolver. But whatever SHE choses--it needs to fit her hand and be what she is comfortable with.

[TexasGal]

I have a 642. No matter what rounds you use, your full size .45 will be easier for her if she can grip it properly. Many women don't have a large enough hand for a glock. I love my 642, but it is one mean little gun to shoot. I enjoy a 9mm or .45 in a bigger gun any day of the week. The 642 could also give her a flinch she would have to work to overcome.
Use a heavier grain ammo on the larger guns. You could also see what is available to rent at the range. A .22 would be a good choice as others have said.

If you guys are in the Ft Worth area, I would not mind meeting you at a range and she could try my XDm 9 and my stainless medium frame .38 revolver. Both are fun to shoot. Any excuse to go to the range works for me.

[Heartland Patriot]

I have a 642. No matter what rounds you use, your full size .45 will be easier for her if she can grip it properly. Many women don't have a large enough hand for a glock. I love my 642, but it is one mean little gun to shoot. I enjoy a 9mm or .45 in a bigger gun any day of the week. The 642 could also give her a flinch she would have to work to overcome.
Use a heavier grain ammo on the larger guns. You could also see what is available to rent at the range. A .22 would be a good choice as others have said.

If you guys are in the Ft Worth area, I would not mind meeting you at a range and she could try my XDm 9 and my stainless medium frame .38 revolver. Both are fun to shoot. Any excuse to go to the range works for me.

I like the line in your signature: The only bodyguard I can afford is me.

[glbedd53]

642 probably has good grips on it already but my mother in laws old Mod 36 square butt cut her old dried up hand pretty bad til I put some Hogues on it.

[flechero]

My wife MUCH preferred my 1911 (.45acp) to the other options... it's not a snappy round and the recoil is more of a "push" back. The 1911 also has a narrow frame since it's a single stack... fit her small hands better as well. She hated the jframe, .380 and 9mm. She took my 1911 to the CHL class and had no trouble.

[TexGalRK]

I used my husbands .40 when I first learned to shoot, but realized it was not for me. It was too large(a Taurus 24/7 OSS, too "much" for me to handle at first. The first one "I" owned was a .38(rossi) and it was just fine until I got used to shooting and realized I'd like to "move up," though its still fun to shoot it. I then got my 9mm and absolutely love it! (also a taurus 24/7) I have a 380(bersa) and .22(walther) which are fun and I occasinally fire our .45 but prefer my 9mm's(I also have a slim 9)
So, I guess what I am saying is, let her choose. Start off with lower caliber, varying makes/models(rent guns at the range) and let her see what feels right to her. No one can tell better than her what she will like and will fit her best! Lots of luck in your/her quest... HAVE FUN!

RK~

[fannypacker]

Prescriscion glasses are safe to shoot with. No need for safety glasses.

[JMPJr]

Stash, I'm sure you're picking up that most people will advise against the 642 to re-introduce her to shooting.

I'm in Austin and would be happy to meet at the South Red's off 290 to let y'all shoot some other options.

I have a Walther 22 that I always use when at the range with folks new to the sport, women or otherwise. A person would be hard pressed to find something with lower recoil that still maintains a modern appearance. I also like the model to introduce the various different controls found on a firearm (trigger, magazine release, safety, sights, etc). I also have larger-frame revolvers that would be better to shoot any low recoil .38sp if you wanted her to shoot a revolver in addition to a semi-auto pistol.

I'm sure you remember that if you qualify for your CHL with a revolver, you are only licensed to carry a revolver. If you qualify with a semi-auto, you are licensed to carry either semi-auto or revolver (or both!). While a .22 isn't a large enough caliber to qualify, your g19 could come in perfectly there once she works up to it; I always say ease in though and would recommend starting with a .22 and seeing how that goes first.

While I concur with fannypacker re: prescription glasses being sufficient eye protection, every step you can take to make her feel more comfortable will be worth it. If that means industrial strength safety glasses over hers, I say go for it. You might want to tell her if you think the extra glasses are overkill (but not if she wants them!), that way she could make her own decision once she gets out there and be comfortable if she decides to take them off.

Let me know if you'd like to meet up. Weekends don't work for me, but I have some flexibility M-F.

[TexasGal]

I wear prescription eyeglasses and they do provide a measure of safety from debris coming from the front, but if a buddy next to you has a casing that flies in from the side, it can enter between the glasses and your eyes. Yikes! So I wear these safety glasses that go over mine and cover the sides too. They are not pretty, but they are a very good safety measure. When I qualified for my instructor's license, the guy's gun on my left flew one casing after another into the side of my head while I was shooting. It was nice to be able to keep shooting and ignore them knowing they could not get behind my glasses. I happen to like the yellow tint, but you can get them in grey and clear too. They have good optical clarity compared to many of the others out there and they are cheap.

http://www.amazon.com/Escort-Safety-Gla ... y_hi_img_c

[stash]

The main reason I was trying to get her shooting before the NRA class was that the NRA instructor said it would be probably good if she brought a gun with her for the class. He did say that he would have 2-3 guns that he would bring to the class for her to shoot. So maybe we will just take this route and let her shoot whatever he brings.

I appreciate all the good info from you all and TexasGal and JMP Jr thanks for the offers. I live south of Austin so pretty far from Dallas. Pretty close to Red's on 290. As a matter of fact took my last renewal there. This NRA instructor is also a CHL instructor and he only lives a couple miles from me so my next renewal in Oct. will be real convenient for me. My wife will take her CHL class from him also if she decides she can shoot. Hope she can because right know she is pretty hot about getting her CHL.