Conceal Carry Opinions for a "Small woman"

[joshb]

Nice! You’ll love em

Amazon thanks you, too! Problem is if I really like them, I’ll need three more sets!

 

[Tori.F]

You may look at the P365 from Sig. Its available in .380 and 9mm. If you can handle 9mm, I would recommend it over .380.

I did some research; I think this would be a good option too. The recoil of the 9mm is too much for me. I don't understand how I can shoot a .308 rifle with and have no problem with recoil, but not be able to shoot a 9mm. Thank you for your advice. The P365 is one of my choices.

 

[Tori.F]

Smith and wesson shield ez is a good choice. Ill keep carrying my bobcat 22 though. Ill take my chances on pissing someone off with it

Thank you. I had never heard of the SW Shield-I think I would keep my Bobcat over that one though.

 

[Tori.F]

Kel tec 32, Kel Tec 380 or Ruger LCP small auto in 380 is not bad at all given improvements in the bullets available.

Thank you. What about a .32acp over a .380?

 

[Tori.F]

sig 938 9mm is pretty small and conceal easily.

Do a lot of women carry a 9mm?

 

[Tori.F]

Try CCI segmented rounds in that bobcat...wicked good bullet.

I didn't know those were an option. Will those kill someone-I mean hurt them so they can't chase me?

 

[Tori.F]

How mad can you be when you've been shot and know there are more where that came from. Keep carrying that pistol.

Thank you for this. I don't think I like being put down when I am trying to better myself, more so being nonchalantly told I am stupid and don't know what I am doing. You are right, I don't have to shoot just once, I can shoot multiple times in a row.

 

[Tori.F]

Opinions will be all over the place here I am sure. A lot of people like to recommend service caliber pistols in micro packages. Recoil and blast can be sharp and noisy and discourage a shooter from practicing. Such as the old recommendation of a j frame with 38+p. My wife hates shooting my 38 j frame but shoots her vp9 just fine. The recoil from my j frame isn't pleasant. Neither is the blast with stout loads such as my carry rounds. If you arent comfortable with it you won't practice. If you don't practice your likelihood of succeeding under stress will be sorely reduced. My best advice is to find a person or place with multiple firearms in 380 or 9mm and look for the largest you could conceal. Longer sight radius, potentially less recoil/muzzle flip/blast and grip size yield better hit potential. Rounds on target are what we want. I will take 2-3 rounds of 22lr on target over 7 rounds missed with 45acp.

Gotcha-thank you for the insight.

 

[Tori.F]

Without getting too much into the fight stopping ability of any particular round, I am fond of the Glock G43 for small concealed carry. It is an inch longer than the bobcat, and about 3/8 of an inch taller, but the slide is slightly narrower. It isn't terribly hard to shoot, even for my extremely small handed daughter. Be forewarned, 9mm has more recoil than 22, but I believe a little practice will get you accustomed to it.

Before I buy any pistol, I go to a nearby indoor range and shoot their rental gun some to see if the pistol works for me. I would encourage you to do that. I've had pistols in the past that I didn't shoot well enough to be worth having. Endlessly trading guns looking for the right one just gets expensive.

The downside of the G43 is the limited magazine capacity. You have to have good marksmanship with such limited capacity.

From what I have seen in my research, a defensive pistol use is rarely a shoot to stop event. They look more like shoot until the attacker is significantly hit and decides to discontinue their attack. In that, I believe that one has to be prepared to fire every round they have, and then beat their attacker with the empty pistol if necessary.

I believe that even with perfect marksmanship with the 22, it has the potential to fail to cause the attacker to flee with a single, well placed hit. 9mm hasn't demonstrated that in the evidence I've seen.

As with any advice you get on the internet, this one is worth exactly what you paid for it.

Good luck in your search, and good for you, taking command of your own safety!

Hey, thank you for taking time to write a thoughtful response. If the guy who made fun of me took the time like you did to explain why a .22 may not be an appropriate carry choice, I wouldn't have gotten my old reddit account permanently banned from reddit, I had to create a new account because of the argument we got in and how it escalated.
Anyway, my uncle has a G43 that he carries when not on duty and I have held it and mucked around with it before, and I love it. You are right, I may be terrible at how to manage the science of shooting a 9mm right now, but with practice I can get it down. I can see now that being hit with a .22 could still give you the chance to flee therefore making it more logical to carry a higher caliber pistol. I think I will try my luck at the Glock 43, I can always trade it if I don't feel it is a good fit. Thank you for your insight and helping me to understand, I will let you know how it goes!

 

[Dub]

Do a lot of women carry a 9mm?

A fair number. It is not too bad once you familiarize yourself with it. the 938 is rather small and very easy to handle.

 

[lawman29]

The P365 is one of my choices.

This would be a good choice, I have a couple. My wife and daughter like it to. Working with the granddaughters on it... If you can't tolerate the 9mm, a 380 would be fine. The Glock 42/43 is another one to look at.
My advice would be to stay away from pistols with a manual safety and/or an exposed hammer. Hammers snag on stuff...and as a self defense weapon that means the stress level is up, having to think about taking a safety off adds another task as opposed to draw, point and shoot.
The P365 SAS is anti-snag so to speak.
The P365 has an advertised 10 round capacity magazine...it is very difficult to get that many in the magazine (I only load 9). There is a tool to help loading semi-auto magazines you will want regardless of what pistol you purchase. I use it all the time.

Uplula 9mm magazine loader, universal pistol magazine loader

Military-grade, pocket-size, universal pistol magazine loader and unloader! Loads all* 9mm Luger, .357 Sig, 10mm, .40, and .45ACP cal. easily, painlessly, and reliably!

www.maglula.com

 

[johnfred1965]

My wife has a Walther CCP and loves it. Small, thin, and easy to rack the slide. Hers is 9mm but come in 380 also.

 

[Joe Maisto]

Smith and wesson shield ez is a good choice. Ill keep carrying my bobcat 22 though. Ill take my chances on pissing someone off with it

Damsel,
Dusty is on target with the S&W "shield" EZ. The EZ stands for... easy to pull the slide back... because...They have incorporated two projected knobs on the rear of the slide, which is where your fore finger and thumb automatically search for when needed. I have lost strength at my age and chose this firearm for that particular reason. Pull it up.... and see for yourself. The "9" should be adaquet.

 

[Rsadams]

Great post!

Hey thanks , after many years of being on this planet I have seen some crazy stuff.... Being ex Leo I also understand a criminal looking to steal something most always looks for an easy target no matter if it's a house or a person.... I am the kinda guy that if I am walking out of a store and somebody is close to me on my six I will stop and make them walk by me where I can see them , I just smile and say , after you sir.... In all the years of carrying a sidearm as a civilian I have only had to put my hand on it twice to stop a bad situation from happening... Everytime I have witnessed someone getting shot at they have ran like the wind right after the first shot went off... I understand that's not always the case though...

Speaking of stealing I recently bought a utility trailer I will use when I move at the end of the year and didn't figure it would be cheaper then the way things are going... Now to keep it... If you take a look at reviews on Amazon on ANY sort of trailer lock you will understand how even locks that are huge etc can be removed by a determined guy in seconds , it's absolutely nuts and with you tube out there you can easily have a video show you how... I ordered a boot like the police use and will hide it behind my house out of sight at least some asshat will have to work at it and if I catch them there's only two ways their leaving my property and that choice will be up to them...lol.... It seems anymore you have to be a scumbag to get ahead , lie , cheat and steal...That literally goes from the top of our society to the bottom anymore....

I live out side of new California (AUSTIN TX) for now , can't wait to move and the police won't even show up anymore to a residential break in , here in Texas you could get 99 years for that if I remember correctly.... But if you're home and actually defend yourself against these criminals I promise you the cops will show up except they will want to talk to you for doing it... I never thought I would see America in this light...

Good shooting
Shawn..

 

[Dave M.]

My wife carries a Kimber micro in .380, the Bel Air model.
Small light weight, accurate, easy to shoot, and it's "CUTE" just ask her.
The slide is easy for her to operate also, something to keep in mind.

As much as I love my kimber, I’ve heard the kimber micro has been a nightmare for some customers. Constant jamming and very particular about the ammo you feed it.
dave

 

[Rsadams]

Ok! On your recommendation I just ordered some optic Fed tritium sites for my Glock. Thanks

Ok! On your recommendation I just ordered some optic Fed tritium sites for my Glock. Thanks!

That's the absolute first thing I do to my carry gun , have night sights installed.... Normally before I leave GTs police distribution... Before they ever hand me the pistol.... After having them I would never go back to non night sights... Don't forget to carry a small tactical flashlight in your pocket also.... Plus it works as a flashlight when you drop something...lol I also don't have a problem with my Glock factory sights but removing the basic factory plastic sights and replacing them with metal is also a plus in my opinion on a carry gun...

 

[Drop Port]

Damsel here-

Currently I carry a Beretta Bobcat .22 pistol which is exceptionally perfect for my size; however, recently I had someone tell me it was a BABY PISTOL and would only "piss someone off" if they were shot by it. As I think about it more, I don't enjoy getting slammed for my decision to conceal and carry a handgun that I feel comfortable shooting; especially from a guy who should be cheering on women for even owning a handgun for protection.

I guess what I want to know is, what are some other options as an upgrade, but something similar to the Bobcat size to conceal and carry? If I were ever to find myself in a situation where I needed to use my handgun, I don't want to "piss someone off" -I would probably want to do a little more to stop them.

I appreciate any insight, thank you.

First off, I commend you for researching the topic. It's hard to make an easy decision on what to carry without considering the most overlooked questions. I take it you are a civilian and most likely looking to use it for self, protection? If this is the case, there are two parts to surviving a deadly force encounter.
1 Walking away alive.
2 Not going to jail.
If you have not done so I suggest speaking with a defense attorney who has defended people who have
used deadly force in your state and knows the laws because if you use it, you will be interviewed and what you say could drastically change your life. Just something to think about, in my state justified use has mostly taken place at 3 to 5 FEET.

 

[Bc'z]

As much as I love my kimber, I’ve heard the kimber micro has been a nightmare for some customers. Constant jamming and very particular about the ammo you feed it.
dave

Never any issues with various brands, and types...
Blaser ball ammo, MagTech ball ammo, Winchester white box semi wad cutters , Reminton hollow points, hand loads with Hornady xtp's.
If it had any feeding, or FtF issues I wouldn't let her carry it, the firearm works flawlessly.
And its cute too!!
Mama's other pistol is a Walther PK380 it operates perfectly also, just not as cute.

 

[snert]

I didn't know those were an option. Will those kill someone-I mean hurt them so they can't chase me?

I would suggest you review the literature on this design. I have found it to be very effective on larger varmints and on vehicle hit but only injured deer. I used it as an effective round while dispatching the above in the course of my duty.

 

[dellet]

To s of great advice here, but something missing that was very important to my wife. Other women’s opinions.

There are a couple of very good national woman’s shooting groups. Hopefully one close to you. My guess is you could visit and get the chance to have hands on multiple handguns and see and hear why the choice was made.

With some practice and regular shooting, her group meets once a month, she was confidently carrying a 9mm 938, over her original choice of a .380 LCP. Part of that was weight differential, part ergonomics. But the 938 is easier for to operate and shoot.

Realize your first choice may not be what you ultimately decide to carry, and don’t be afraid to make a change. Expecting that half the people you know will say it’s a mistake, while the other half agree with your choice.

My wife is part of the local chapter

Teaching Women to Shoot Guns | Babes with Bullets

Babes with Bullets hosting ladies' handgun camp, Diamond Camp, Ladies Adventure Camp Experience, and the Ladies' Run & Gun Challenge.

www.babeswithbullets.com