[Whiskey Six]

I took my GF shooting yesterday for the first time. She put 100 rounds or so through my Glock 19 and 15 through my Glock 22. She handled both well and enjoyed them.

My question is the recoil on a S&W J frame. I plan on buying her a conceal carry gun and it will be a J frame probably with a laser in .38 special.

How does the recoil compare between a light weight J frame in .38 and a G19 in 9mm or a G22 in .40 S&W?

 

[cowboy1964]

I have a J-frame and G4 19. The .38 kicks more. It's especially more noticeable because of the small grip. If she's ok with the .40S&W she can probably get used to the .38. The J-frame is more difficult to shoot well though. Definitely want to practice quite a bit with that. Also, for carry you'll want to use +P ammo and that kicks even more. I start losing skin on my thumb knuckle after 20-30 rounds (even with standard ammo, but it's quicker with +Ps).

Why not a small 9mm? There are a lot of great choices out there now.

 

[Nakanokalronin]

A revolver is going to react different during recoil over a semi-auto. A J-Frame will be enough of a difference that I would recommend that she shoot one before you buy it. They are somewhat easy to conceal but not nearly as easy to shoot well.

I have a lightweight 638 which does rare/special carry duty that I can shoot okay but I prefer semi-autos. I don't like the kick of it at all and I'm a person who likes shooting a S&W 500 and a Ruger Redhawk with 330gr. 45LC +P loads. Many guys end up buying their GF/Wife a small gun that's easy to conceal but when they shoot it, they don't like the kick so they never practice with it. Try before you buy, especially when it comes to someone new to guns.

 

[fnfalman]

I took my GF shooting yesterday for the first time. She put 100 rounds or so through my Glock 19 and 15 through my Glock 22. She handled both well and enjoyed them.

My question is the recoil on a S&W J frame. I plan on buying her a conceal carry gun and it will be a J frame probably with a laser in .38 special.

How does the recoil compare between a light weight J frame in .38 and a G19 in 9mm or a G22 in .40 S&W?

Depends on the J-frame. Is it all steel or is it lightweight alloy?

Depends on the load. Is it just standard pressure .38 load or is it .38 +P?

The combination of lightweight alloy and +P load could be quite painful which will turn her off real quick like.

If it's a steel frame snubbie coupled with standard .38 load, then it's no biggie though a snubbie is a lot harder to shoot and train on.

 

[PlasticGuy]

Try before you buy. A .38 snubby can be a snappy little beast, at least to somebody with little shooting experience. My wife likes shooting revolvers, but not the pocket versions. Might be nice to find that out before laying down cash on one.

 

[byf43]

I echo what's said about the 'bite' of the J-Frame with the small stocks.

Consider a set of Pachmayr or Hogue stocks.
Yes, it will make the gripframe larger, but, I've got a Charter Arms Undercover (.38 Special) that is right pleasant to shoot with Pachmayr stocks on it. (It is an older Charter Arms and isn't +P rated!)
Although. . . if my life depended on it. . . I'd shoot +P through it!


Have your G/F try the G26 in 9mm. It's a great pistol, but, it is going to be heavier than a J-Frame.

 

[HotRoderX]

I own a 637 and I gotta say Snubby are not for beginners. They are way more snappy then a G19 and the grip is lot smaller. I would even go as far as saying with +P ammo its only marginally less snappy then my 686 running 357magnum. The other thing is J-Frames are not easy to shoot they take practice practice and more practice. They have heavy double action trigger pulls. I have found its easy to move the sights around when your pulling the trigger double action.

I just dont think you can compare a Glock or any Semi auto for that matter to a Snub Nose revolver. Think about this when you pull the trigger on a semi auto such as the glock. The round fires and the slide blows back. The slide takes on part of that recoil where a revolver there is no slide to absorb part of the recoil. The entire recoil is going thought your hand. When we add in the fact a snubby weights around 1lb unloaded vs the Glock 19's 1.31lbs don't seem like much but think about the other factors playing a role also.

Dead set on getting her a snubby I look at something like the 36 that's all steel that way it weights a little more and can absorb more of the recoil.

 

[Gregg702]

I would recommend an LCR .357 instead of the 642, if she is going to try out a small revolver. Loaded with .38+P(or even standard pressure .38), it has less felt recoil than a 642(I own both), and it also has an easier trigger. See if you can rent them at your LGS before buying.

 

[beancounter81]

Don't make the same mistake I did.

I bought my wife a 642 with Crimson Trace laser because I "knew" this would be the perfect carry gun for her. She had trouble mastering the j-frame. Then one day she shot my G19 and immediately declared that it was her gun now.

So I have a 642 CT sitting in the safe and my G19 has been hijacked. Luckily she does not like my G23 and G30.

Definitely have her try the j-frame before you buy one. The recoil, while manageable, is completely different than a semi-auto.

 

[PEC-Memphis]

Take her to a range that rents different types of pistols and/or have friends come along to the range and have her try different types of semi-autos and revolvers. If it is for SD set a minimum caliber of firearm to evaluate.

Then purchase the gun she likes to shoot, shoots well and (if for SD) will carry. Of course someone knowledgeable in firearms and knows her well will be able to evaluate if she understands and can operate a revolver/semi-auto.

I made the same mistake you might make. I thought a Lady Smith J-frame would be just the ticket. Small, lightweight, snag-free, failure drill is pull the trigger, easy to tell of loaded or not, reliable - but not so easy or comfortable to shoot.

She shot my G17. It is more pleasant to shoot, she is more accurate - now my 17 is her 17 (in addition to her Lady Smith). We are going to shoot a 19 to see if this will be her carry gun of choice. I've actually carried the Lady Smith more than she has.

Her choice may not be a J-frame or a Glock - there are lots of good options out there don't limit her or yourself.

 

[ronin.45]

Definitely let her TTY as many guns as possible. Then let her pick. I like a J frame, but admit they are hard to shoot well.

 

[kokopelli123]

dude- get her a G26. Much easier to shoot than a snubby, same principle- pull trigger; repeat. Less recoil, easier to hold, real sights...

 

[21Carrier]

Personally, I think buying the wife/girlfriend a snubby revolver is one of the most common mistakes made in the gun world. They DEFINITELY kick more than a G19 or G26, even with standard pressure Remington UMC .38Special. They have a tiny handle, they usually bite your right thumb with the cylinder release, and they are hard to shoot well. SO MANY guys buy these guns for their women, and almost all of them shoot it, get scared, and never use it.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY HER A GUN!!! SHE NEEDS TO PICK OUT HER OWN GUN!!! That is the problem here. You are buying what you THINK she needs, but you are not a girl. We (men) still can't figure those crazy women out. What makes us think we are qualified to choose a gun for them? In my experience, most girls like shooting Glocks. Even .45ACP Glocks don't seem to bother them. But hand them a .38Special snubby, and after 2 shots, they will turn around and give you that look that says, "I don't like this, do I have to keep doing it?"

Take her to a range where you can rent guns, and rent her some before buying. I have a good feeling a G19 or G26 will be the best choices. She needs to be comfortable shooting it, or else she will be scared of it, and scared of using it, no matter how cute and small it is. Generally, the smaller the gun, the worse the recoil. Even most little .380ACPs will kick more than a G26 or G19, because they are so small. You KNOW she likes a G19, why not go with that? And about the Ruger LCR, my shooting buddy (we shoot almost exclusively 10mm, so neither of us is bothered by recoil) used to have one, bought it as a house gun for his wife, and even he didn't like the recoil with .38Special +P. He sold it.

 

[HotRoderX]

Personally, I think buying the wife/girlfriend a snubby revolver is one of the most common mistakes made in the gun world. They DEFINITELY kick more than a G19 or G26, even with standard pressure Remington UMC .38Special. They have a tiny handle, they usually bite your right thumb with the cylinder release, and they are hard to shoot well. SO MANY guys buy these guns for their women, and almost all of them shoot it, get scared, and never use it.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY HER A GUN!!! SHE NEEDS TO PICK OUT HER OWN GUN!!! That is the problem here. You are buying what you THINK she needs, but you are not a girl. We (men) still can't figure those crazy women out. What makes us think we are qualified to choose a gun for them? In my experience, most girls like shooting Glocks. Even .45ACP Glocks don't seem to bother them. But hand them a .38Special snubby, and after 2 shots, they will turn around and give you that look that says, "I don't like this, do I have to keep doing it?"

Take her to a range where you can rent guns, and rent her some before buying. I have a good feeling a G19 or G26 will be the best choices. She needs to be comfortable shooting it, or else she will be scared of it, and scared of using it, no matter how cute and small it is. Generally, the smaller the gun, the worse the recoil. Even most little .380ACPs will kick more than a G26 or G19, because they are so small. You KNOW she likes a G19, why not go with that? And about the Ruger LCR, my shooting buddy (we shoot almost exclusively 10mm, so neither of us is bothered by recoil) used to have one, bought it as a house gun for his wife, and even he didn't like the recoil with .38Special +P. He sold it.

That is so true I think the Kel-Tec P3AT kicks harder then a 357magnum. Thing is painful to shoot to me its ultra compact and tiny. Think 380 and the size would make it perfect for a lady. There no way I let any one I love have one as there CC weapon unless they insisted.

 

[M2 Carbine]

The J Fame kicks (uncomfortably) with the small grips.
With the right Crimson Trace grips on the gun it is no problem for girls/women to shoot.
Top CT grip is is hand filing and comfortable to shoot. The bottom CT "boot grip" is unpleasant to shoot.

This young girl is a good example. A hour and a half before this picture she had never touched a gun before. Here she is, not only shooting the little S&W J Frame very well, but doing it as she is moving, and I only use full load 38 Special, no
target" loads.

Now here is the same girl on her second day shooting the 38. The closer girl is also very good with the 2-3 inch revolver. Her revolver has a Tyler T Grip Adapter. Not as good as a hand filling grip but better than the original plane grip alone.
I had told the girls, "You are making this shooting stuff look to easy, so shoot left handed for a while", and they did.:supergrin:

 

[Warp]

The worse recoiling pistol I have shot was my j-frame 642 with stock grips and Buffalo Bore .38spl +P. It just plain hurt.

 

[Whiskey Six]

Thank you all. You have given me a lot to think about. You are right about assuming that a small revolver is the perfect "woman's" gun. Small, light, pretty much dummy proof, no slide to rack or magazine to fool with. Point and squeeze. But if she won't train with it or is scared of the recoil then she might as well just throw it at the bad guy. She did well with my G19 but locking the slide gave her a little trouble. But nothing that training and experience can't overcome.

 

[mrt949]

My wife does not like autos period. So years ago she got a SMITH WESSON LADY SMITH M 60 38SP.With CT laser grips.In love. Now she shot my ruger sp101 357mag likes it a better due to the extra weight not much but a few ounces.

 

[D3S3RT_P3NGU1N]

My wife carries a G26 with a pearce +0 extension. The pearce +0 really helps her shooting by letting her get her whole hand on the gun comfortably. Because its so easy to shoot she really enjoys practicing with it too, and being able to practice regularly and comfortably with a carry gun is key. The +0 adds almost nothing to the weight or overall size of the gun either

Another reason she went with the G26 is the lack of a manual safety, as even though she is an excellent shooter with some good training, she does tend to get flustered in stressful situations, so there was a worry that she might forget to disengage a manual safety if she ever needed to use her gun. A j frame revolver would also have worked, but she really didn't like the long heavy DA trigger pull and she just couldn't shoot it as well.

If your wife likes Glocks and shoots them well you should really consider a G26. I'd also highly recommend using the pearce +0 extension

Here's a G26 with the +0

 

[elde]

I learned the hard way after purchasing a Smith .38/.357 J Frame for my wife. She hated the recoil - even with mild .38 loads. I also brought my Ruger SP101 with Hogue rubber grips to the range that day. She shot that gun with .38's and I've never seen it since. The rather small amount of additional weight the 101 has vs. the Smith, coupled with the grips really sold her. Rent the Ruger and let her shoot it vs. the S&W before you buy.