Wife wants a small used pistol. Advice?

Tim Hancock · 10-05-2006, 05:20 PM

Lately, there has been quite a few breakin/thefts in our rural community and my wife was getting on me to start keeping a gun in our bedroom instead of spread out in various other places in the house/shop. I am presently collecting some parts to turn my old Mossberg 500 pump into a nice "home defense" gun, but she wants a pistol. We both grew up using guns and presently have quite a few (I am not interested in starting a gun safety debate here).

I have a couple revolvers (colt .22 LR and Ruger Blackhawk .44 MAG) that my wife occasionally likes to shoot but she expressed an interest in having a small semi auto type (something about the size and caliber of a Walther PPK) to keep in the bedroom.
I am no gun "collector", but if a wife tells a husband to buy another gun, he better do it.

I have no interest in spending $500 plus on new gun. I intend to search for something used. I am not "into" pistols enough to know what brand and models I should be looking for other than I want something small like a PPK or a Makarov. It will likely get played with in the backyard for a week, then forgot about as it sits under the bed collecting dust while making my wife "feel safe". Any suggestions?

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

As with Porsches, buy the best one you can afford. My car gun is a SIG P239 in .40 cal. with night sights. It's small, single stack mag 7+1 and I can shoot it well and it ran me $475 delivered. If you're gonna trust your life to it, you want something reliable and $100 or $200 difference in price should be worth it. My night table gun is a SIG P220 in .45 and I have a Mossberg Mariner 12 ga. next to that. You need stopping power, reliabilty and something your wife can shoot well. I think .40 is just right. 9mm is too weak. .45 may be too big and .357SIG is too difficult to control.

rouxroux · 10-05-2006, 05:39 PM

I might suggest a hammerless "Ladysmith" S&W 38spl. or a nice Walther PPK. Great little guns and also great backup rigs.

Moses · 10-05-2006, 05:41 PM

Wife with a gun? Yikes!

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

I don't agree that 9mm is too weak, especially if she shoots it well. We do agree on Sig though

You should be able to find a used p232 which is a .380 ACP. It is small but perhaps not the ideal round for self defense. p239 can be had in 9mm.

id10t · 10-05-2006, 05:44 PM

Like the PPK and cheap, check out a Makarov. Good little pistols. The LadySmith semis from S&W are nice - I have small hands, and they fit good. More firepower, check out a Firestar in 45acp. 6+1, all steel construction, very well built, or a good used 357 revolver from S&W, Colt, or Ruger.

id10t · 10-05-2006, 05:45 PM

Moses -the only problem wih the wife and guns is that each time I get something I've wanted for *years*, she shoots it, likes it, and then claims it is hers. I'm just plain afriad to let her shoot the FAL.

Tim Hancock · 10-05-2006, 05:48 PM

Thanks for the response Rick, I highly doubt this weapon will ever be used for "actual" self defense. It is more just a sense of security for the wife. I value my shotgun (with a light) the most for home defense and it serves me well for cat food stealing varmints at night to boot!

Discharging a pistol or rifle in the house can be very dangerous to other family members in other rooms, while a shotgun is less likely to penetrate walls and such. I just want to pick up a $200-$300 used pistol to make her happy. She can "handle" our huge Ruger .44 mag revolver, so I am not concerned with recoil due to larger calibers. The main qualifier is that it needs to be semi-auto and fairly small in size.

Our 10th anniversary is approaching.....I wonder if a gun is an acceptable gift. I think that might be pushing my luck!

fastpat · 10-05-2006, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
Lately, there has been quite a few breakin/thefts in our rural community and my wife was getting on me to start keeping a gun in our bedroom instead of spread out in various other places in the house/shop. I am presently collecting some parts to turn my old Mossberg 500 pump into a nice "home defense" gun, but she wants a pistol. We both grew up using guns and presently have quite a few (I am not interested in starting a gun safety debate here).

I have a couple revolvers (colt .22 LR and Ruger Blackhawk .44 MAG) that my wife occasionally likes to shoot but she expressed an interest in having a small semi auto type (something about the size and caliber of a Walther PPK) to keep in the bedroom.
I am no gun "collector", but if a wife tells a husband to buy another gun, he better do it.

I have no interest in spending $500 plus on new gun. I intend to search for something used. I am not "into" pistols enough to know what brand and models I should be looking for other than I want something small like a PPK or a Makarov. It will likely get played with in the backyard for a week, then forgot about as it sits under the bed collecting dust while making my wife "feel safe". Any suggestions?

Here's an example. A nice Browning BDA, made by Beretta, in .380 automatic caliber. Current bid $350.00 which is about right. I bought one new last spring. A model with a slimmer grip, in a single column magazine is the Sig model P232.

The Browning look's like:

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

FWIW, I got my SIG Pro 2340 in .357 for $450, but it included $200 worth of ammo and a $50 holster. So I really got it for $200ish. It's a super gun and you can get them in 9mm and .40 too. It's definitely the best bang for the buck I've ever had, though my $275 Springfield 1911 is a close second.

Tim Hancock · 10-05-2006, 05:54 PM

A couple votes for Walther PPK as well as Makarov. A friend has a Makarov and it looks like about the right size. I wonder if these two show up for sale "used" very often. I will go to the local gun store tomorow and see what they have on the "used" shelf. Any other sugestions on where to look for used handguns (I have heard that local gun shows are good places to look) ?

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

My P239 is the one in the middle.

And the SIG Pro is the bottom one.

Tim Hancock · 10-05-2006, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee
FWIW, I got my SIG Pro 2340 in .357 for $450, but it included $200 worth of ammo and a $50 holster. So I really got it for $200ish. It's a super gun and you can get them in 9mm and .40 too. It's definitely the best bang for the buck I've ever had, though my $275 Springfield 1911 is a close second.

Sorry for my lack of knowledge on modern pistols, I just never got bit by the bug (yet), although looking at RockRiver 1911's while researching my "AR15 build" almost sucked me in! While I have heard of Sig's I dont have a clue to how big they are in various models.

EDIT: Rick you answered my question with the pics before I could ask it!

competentone · 10-05-2006, 05:59 PM

Stay away from "cheap" guns if they are something to be used in a self-defense application.

I would also suggest trying to find someplace where you can test shoot some "small" handguns. They can be more difficult to master than a full size handgun.

For what you describe, I would think a full size handgun would serve your purposes just as well as a "small" one -- you'd also most likely be having a firearm chambered for a more powerful round with a full-size pistol -- something potentially important if you ever needed to shoot an intruder.

If you're really focused on "value" -- that is getting the "most" gun for the lowest price -- I'd say your best deals are some of the imported military surplus handguns. It may not be best for someone not real familar with handguns, so you might be better with something like a Kel-Tec P-11 or (full size) Ruger P-89, but you still could consider these excellent surplus handguns:

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Grade_2_Czech_CZ-82_9x18_Pistol.html

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Czech_CZ-83_.32acp_Pistol.html

Or full size:

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/CZ52_7_62x25_Pistol_Excellent_Condition.html

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Walther.html

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/copy_of_Glock_22___40S_W_Pistol.html

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

Wife wants a small used pistol. Advice?

Don't piss her off?

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

SIG's are best known for being double-action with no safety, but rather a unique decocking lever. They are as reliable as any gun in the world and pretty accurate right out of the box. CDNN in FL sells police turn-ins dirt cheap. I got my P229 in .357 with night sights and rubber grips (top on in 2nd photo) from them for $392, a total steal. That would run around $900 new. Now SIG makes all kinds guns, but their classic line (P225, 226, 228, 229 and 220) are some of the finest handguns out there and they're not too expensive or hard to find.

fastpat · 10-05-2006, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee
SIG's are best known for being double-action with no safety, but rather a unique decocking lever. They are as reliable as any gun in the world and pretty accurate right out of the box. CDNN in FL sells police turn-ins dirt cheap. I got my P229 in .357 with night sights and rubber grips (top on in 2nd photo) from them for $392, a total steal. That would run around $900 new. Now SIG makes all kinds guns, but their classic line (P225, 226, 228, 229 and 220) are some of the finest handguns out there and they're not too expensive or hard to find.

Rick is quite right, Sig handguns are among the best in the world, if not the very best.

My Browning BDA is approximately the size of the smaller one in his picture, if not slightly smaller. As 380 automatics go, it's one of the larger ones, with the Sig P232 being one of the smaller, about the size of the gold standard, the Walther PPK.

Some more of my Browning.

jyl · jyl's Garage

Why does she want a "small semi-auto"? It's not going to ride in her purse, it's going to sit under the bed, and as such has no need to be small. Small pistols are harder to shoot accurately.

Nor does it have to be semi-auto. Nor does it have to be a marginal cartridge like the .380.

I think she should consider a double action revolver with a 4" barrel.

Quality revolvers from Ruger, S&W, etc are inexpensive if bought used.

357 Mag should be plenty powerful, and she can practice with 38 SPL.

It will be extremely reliable, more than any semi-auto. No worries about failing to seat the magazine, failing to grip the gun tightly, old/squib ammunition, etc.

It will be extremely simple to use. If she ever does have to fire it, in the dark after not having touched or thought about it for a year, she'll simply pull the trigger. No fumbling for the safety and hitting the magazine eject or decocking lever instead.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

John, there's no fumbling with a safety or decocking lever on a live chamber SIG. I keep mine with one in the pipe and it's always ready just like a wheel gun.

jyl · jyl's Garage

By inexpensive I mean you could probably find a quality used revolver in good condition for $150. Why spend $450 for a SIG semi-auto?

If she really insists on a semi-auto for some reason, then consider a Glock e.g. a G19. Also fairly inexpensive if bought used, very reliable, and very simple to use - no safety, just pull the trigger.

I have a G19 that has served well since, roughly, 1986. In 20 years all it has ever needed is a new magazine spring and a new recoil spring, $15 and 5 minutes with no tools.