well jl you might want to rethink that one
your wife is ready and willing to carry it and is unlikely to have a accidental discharge. That might be all one could hope for in a new to gun's wife?
My wife has weak and small hands and is recoil shy, so I have gone through this same scenario. I wish my wife would agree to reliably carry her snubbie.:banghead:
That said i have had this same idea as you have. its only 5 rounds, well I think most shootings happen at 10 feet? or something rediculously close. I think no would be rapist or robber is going to stick around after the first shot probably wether it hits anything or not even. UNLESS she allows the person to close, technique training is good there, if a guy is close you dont extend your arms torward him. If the attacker is behind her she should turn to her her left if she shoots right handed, and vice vesra, so that the arm can not be grabbbed and gun removed or be held where its not usefull. I know some tactical as my son teaches at a local range. ok all that is just things she should know about how to handle whichever gun she is carrying in a really close qaurters exchange.
if your asking which gun can she rack the slide on, my wife can really only work Glocks or things with no more resistance then a glock (which in any caliber is few). 22 slides she is usually able. and those flip up barrel guns make it so a woman need not rack the slide, but i consider them total crud not worthy of a self defense. I had a NAA and worked a lot of similars and few inspire confidence. The little 22auto like a SNW 422 but was made under another model number in a 2 inch version. I would carry but not with much confidence because we all know 22's :banghead: . I have a 22 taurus 94 9 shot and at least you can just pull the trigger again, but its not worthy of self defense as it has a horrible trigger and it likes the cases firmly in the cylinder. which walking around they would work loose over time. 6 shot one maybe fine as the geometry of the gun would not make the trigger so awkward. you have to fire one to understand its a variable trigger pull to be kind
ok well let me get around to the topic.
three guns basically come to mind.
number1 glock 9mm sub compact or compact matters little in cocking ability ,someor major in capacity, concealablilty clearly the baby glock has a edge, the down side of the baby, is the grip angle, tends to leave most shooters natural hold trending upward and in a panic situation shots may go high, its weight and recoil may magnify this. I would highly recommend either the little pinky mag bottom for a 26 or the mags with that built in? as i like sticking with factory glock stuff, i would make one mag with the pinky grip and see if i like it and keep the other one stock. 19 or 19c if the space is around? is a great gun that even my wife found comfortable to shoot. I woudln't let her loose with one and to secure it to my liking its not a carry gun to me unless you can carry open, remember I am in SC and it can 110 in with 98% humidity so concealing is not easy here on the worst days of summer
chioce 2 would be the new springfield EMP9 (9mm and 9 rounds) , i know you said no safeties, you know your wife and I know mine, this gun she could carry cocked and locked, you could cock it even if need be and again its about 10 rounds? and this gun has a wonderfull tigger and naturally points well. i know its not a DAO but its a workable answer to her need so i am putting it. safety you can flick with your thumb while drawing and start firing is a good thing in my mind
choice 3 also does not exactly fit your question but may fill her need well. The little Sig 232 .380auto its the only sigarms that is niether boxy looking or a 1911 style gun, its debateable cocking wise and only gets you 2 rounds but it fits small hands (and oddly) big hands well, spreads recoil around well, it's trigger on initial pull is long, light, and smooth and pretty reasonable right out of the box. so A/D if you hit the trigger or grabbed it in emergency situation is very unlikely. I would go with some hot ammo on this one if you want it to hit like a 9mm. it is accurate as anything you could hope for in small guns.
My Sig 229 is the only gun I think I have ever owned that had NEVER malfunctioned in anyway.(thousands of rounds) ever, no matter what its fed or anything else. I have had bad 38 ammo that locked up one of my smiths for a second and some other cheap range ammo for my 38s that after firing were hard to remove, so techincally my SIG has been even more reliable then my revolvers
but only because of cheap range ammo
I didn't forget about kahrs or hopefully any other great gun?, I own one
and handled several and known several women who have tried them and didnt stick with them. I love my kahr but with one your not really picking up many rounds and the slides are usually hard for a woman and long but still pretty easy trigger with no safeties external. Kahr only gets you 2 rounds also in K9 not sure on the PM9?
I know my post is kind of not on target with DAO and no safeties etc, but I having been all up and down your street. These are the only three semi-auto guns that I consider worthy of self defense when I consider all factors in my mind and I have owned or tried most the guns in this category looking for the perfect gun for a wife. I should put a star beside the springfiled EMP as I heard some of the new ones had some kinks and it is a new design and not time tested. The good news is she has a great gun allready, if you worry about capacity maybe have her carry a second 640
how about that after bundles of guns it still comes down to glock or not to glock
