Pistol caliber question

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Is there any reason you would not consider having a rifle on hand? A bolt action can be had today for somewhere in the $200- $300 range. M -Nagant for $200 and less.
 
Originally Posted By: Cujet
I am a 1911 fan. But as I age, I prefer something with less recoil, more capacity and longer range.

I've come to prefer the 9mm with high capacity. Still plenty of HP and a good bit more velocity.

A friend owns a Five-Seven pistol and that's my favorite of all. It's a flat shooting, high capacity, low recoil pistol. It's plenty loud for the fun of shooting too. Unfortunately, it fires the "difficult to obtain" but high performance, European 5.7 x 28 mm ammo.

Why not a 1911 in 9mm/ 38 Super/ 40 S&W?
 
I would have her shoot several calibers. IF you have friends with guns, see if they will accompany you and let her shoot them. The right caliber is the one you shoot well. Try revolvers, 9mm .45 etc and let her see what she shoots well.
 
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Gotta love recommending a .45 to a lady in her 70s..

The OP says his wife got her CCW permit. This kinda hints that she's going to carry it.

Wilnis, you're going to have to decide your priorities. Wife's piston, hunting, livestock dispatcher...

A five seven, seriously?
 
Welcome to gun ownership. Now you and your wife need to get familiar with that responsibility. 2 weeks is hardly enough time to practice all you need to do to become familiar with a weapon.

During my military time, we spent hours learning how to disassemble and then reassemble a weapon. We spent parts of many days on ranges firing and qualifying with the weapons.

First and foremost you need to learn how to safely manage, handle, shoot and store a new weapon. And practice with it a lot. Get really familiar with it. If you really do ever need to draw, point it at a human, you dang sure better be ready to pull the trigger.

We always were taught to shoot to kill. Not to wound. Get really familiar with any weapon you intend to carry. Make sure it is not too heavy and does not have too much recoil for your wife. 1911 45 ACP pack a good recoil. And they are heavy.

Before you buy another weapon, try and find a gun shop that will let you shoot their pistols. We have one here where I live. Only costs you a box of ammo. You can learn a lot from that. Especially about weight, recoil, gun management, etc

Revolvers do not leave any casings laying about. If you misfire, pull trigger and it will move on to another round. Not so with automatics. You may have one hang up in chamber. And you do not want that if you are really in a pickle.

And look for warranty. Taurus has a lifetime warranty. Not sure about others.

My Sig is a very dependable weapon. Easy to clean and maintain. It is in 9 mm and ammo is very inexpensive. Therefore easy to go fire and stay familiar with it. In other words, I use it, practice it, and keep her clean.

I never met anyone who would say getting shot felt good. For worries about personal or home safety, look into good hollow point ammo. Costs more but does the job if you really need it to. Use FMJ stuff for the range.

Any way, I hope this helps on the thinking part.
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Gotta love recommending a .45 to a lady in her 70s..


Dude, I need to follow your posts. You seem to have a brain.

You seem one of the very few posters here who read the OP and not just the title and answered accordingly. Instead of just the title and then shatting all over the question like 90% of the posts.

Geez...
 
When muzzle energy can be considered 'sufficient', the determining factor is shot placement;

A .22 in the brain kills a lot more effectively than a .50 in the foot.
 
Originally Posted By: wilnis
I am a gun noobie, even though I'm 71, my experience is with Remington 1100 shotguns as a young man pheasant hunting in Iowa, and 22 rifles on our acreage to rid the barns and land of raccoons, possums, ground hogs, and the occasional skunk.
My wife got her cc permit and we just bought her a S&W MP22 standard pistol 2 weeks ago that we are learning with, and like it and are looking for something bigger.
We have horses on our property and 6-7 years ago a mare broke her leg on July 4th, we were unable to contact our vet (phone service problems on their end) and our neighbor brought his 45 ACP 1911 pistol and put her down for us.
I would like to have a pistol to have in case this emergency happens again, and we like shooting, and wonder what recommendations folks on BITOG have for this purpose. The salesman who sold us the 22 said he liked 9mm but our son in law who is an experience gun owner and hunter in Alabama said not enough power given his experience. Our neighbor who helped us before with our mare said a 357 or 45 is his recommendation and in Iowa a 357 is allowed for deer hunting.
Any recommendations and help in this area would be appreciated. I'd envision using this as another "tool" to have in my "tool box" for that emergency contingency, as well as shooting, and I'm looking as getting my ccp soon and will probably be getting other guns for that purpose and to target shoot, which we find we like.
Thanks in advance. Bill
I bought a M&P Shield in 9mm. I liked it so much that I also bought a M&P 40C. 40 cal might be a good choice.
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Gotta love recommending a .45 to a lady in her 70s..

The OP says his wife got her CCW permit. This kinda hints that she's going to carry it.


We know he's 71, I don't believe he said how old she is, In fact we know very little about her. Not that I don't know women in their 70's that can shoot a .45 without issue.

In a steel gun .45 recoil is not that bad, certainly not as bad as .357. .45 recoil impulse is not as sharp and snappy as others.

Still, the " Gun Store Miss Adventures" article is probably good reading for this situation. She should be choosing her gun.

Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Wilnis, you're going to have to decide your priorities. Wife's piston, hunting, livestock dispatcher...


piston? - Other than that totally agree. Any "do all" gun is going to be a (big?) compromise for some purpose.
 
A great general purpose handgun for having around is a 4 inch S&W K frame .357 mag, like a model 19. With .38s it's a pleasure to shoot. A model 10 in .38 isn't a bad choice either.
 
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Gotta love recommending a .45 to a lady in her 70s..

The OP says his wife got her CCW permit. This kinda hints that she's going to carry it.


We know he's 71, I don't believe he said how old she is, In fact we know very little about her. Not that I don't know women in their 70's that can shoot a .45 without issue.

In a steel gun .45 recoil is not that bad, certainly not as bad as .357. .45 recoil impulse is not as sharp and snappy as others.

Still, the " Gun Store Miss Adventures" article is probably good reading for this situation. She should be choosing her gun.

Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Wilnis, you're going to have to decide your priorities. Wife's piston, hunting, livestock dispatcher...


piston? - Other than that totally agree. Any "do all" gun is going to be a (big?) compromise for some purpose.


Yeah, I tried to edit but it was too late. Pistol.

From the OP she just got her CCW, and is now learning with a .22 semi-auto. Her best path is to jump from a .22 to a .45 1911 and carry it concealed?? It's cool that you know women in their 70s that can shoot a 1911 without issue. Truth is most men can't shoot a 1911 well. Maybe he needs 2 more pistols, one that she can handle and carry and one he can carry to shoot horses and deer and whatever else needs shot on the farm.
 
I have 2 .357s one 3" Model 60 and one 6" Model 586 both are Smith & Wesson. For a dependable easy to maintain revolver that will do the trick I would recommend a Smith & Wesson Model 686 .357 magnum with a 4" barrel.
 
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Originally Posted By: AZjeff
...Maybe he needs 2 more pistols, one that she can handle and carry and one he can carry to shoot horses and deer and whatever else needs shot on the farm.


Yep, I think I said that earlier with: I suspect you may find that the best tool for carry and the best tool for toting around the farm are not the same thing and that the best tool for her may not be the best tool for him.
 
Crisotbal, since it is going to be carried concealed she'll want something with as small a form factor as possible so do not listen to anyone recommending some big hog leg, okay? A concealed carry gun is of no use if she leaves it at home because it's hot out and it prints through her summer blouse too much. Probably same with a medium frame semi-auto.

Therefore, I would say get one of the sub compact's designed from the ground up for concealed carry. They are most commonly in either 9mm or .40S&W caliber, with a few like the Springfield XD-S available in .45ACP as well.

Here are some choices in sub compacts:

Smith & Wesson M&P Shield
Walther PPS
Springfield XD-S
Taurus PT740 Slim
Kahr Arms PM40/MK40
 
My above reply was intended for the OP wilnis not Cristobal.
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Originally Posted By: spasm3
I would have her shoot several calibers. IF you have friends with guns, see if they will accompany you and let her shoot them. The right caliber is the one you shoot well. Try revolvers, 9mm .45 etc and let her see what she shoots well.

IMNSHO this is the best advice. Try many and find the right one for your grip. If I may interject, some have suggested a rifle. My HD gun used to be a 4" Ruger 357. It still has a place, but the primary is now a 357 Marlin carbine. The 357 gets the biggest boost from a longer tube than any pistol round by percentage. If you do go the carbine route, Ruger makes a bolt-action 357 carbine if it would be your knock-around gun on the farm. Out to 100 yds. you can kill a deer reliably.
 
Though I own semi-autos, I'm partial to revolvers. For those who reload, it's hard to beat a 44 Mag. You can load from mild target loads to stiff big game loads. About the only down side to the 44 Mag. is size. If you prefer something smaller, a .357 Mag is a good choice.

Even if you don't reload, the 44 and .357 are still reasonable choices with the ability to shoot 44 Specials in the 44 Mag. and 38 Specials in the .357 Mag.
 
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