Riomouse911
Member
One of my best friends called me the other day and said his MIL was down visiting from Washington State. Apparently she has an interest in self protection and wanted to go shooting and try out a few firearms to see what type of handgun she might like to get. He said she has shot handguns before and asked me to give her a refresher on gun handling and shooting. He also said she was advised to get a 4” .38 revolver by others, but she wanted to try out some autos as well.
I grabbed a sampling of potentially suitable handguns and laid them out on the table when they arrived. I initially had a S&W Model 442 .38, a 4” Model 15 .38 and a 4” Model 65 .357 and a new Colt Cobra .38. For autos, I took out a CZ75D compact 9mm, a Glock 48 9mm and a Glock 44 .22LR.
When they arrived we had a three-hour refresher on gun safety, handling and operation. She was a good student and took to the rules really well. Using dummy ammo she learned the differences between the S&W and Colt, loading it and unloading as well.
The issues she had involved hand strength, the weight and grip size of the K frames was almost too much and the DA pull on these revolvers was not easy for her. The Cobra and 442 were smaller and easier to fire DA. But she gave it a go and with effort was able to operate them all. She preferred the Colt over the 442, especially with the extra shot and the slightly heavier weight.
The autos, not so much. After seeing her have to work a bit with the DA revolvers I knew that the CZ would be an issue, both with trigger pull and retracting the slide. Sure enough, it was too much.
The Glock 48 felt better in her hands, but it also was too much for her to operate.
The lightly-sprung Glock 44 .22 was fine. She loaded the magazine with dummy rounds and was able to operate the slide and slide lock. Since the auto I also tried a Ruger Standard .22, but the tiny “ears” on the bolt just weren’t enough for her to get a good grip on.
She then expressed interest in trying a .22 J frame revolver, my two J frame .22’s are a very clean .22/.32 Kit Gun and an 8- shot Model 317. She tried the lightweight 317 and deemed it good.
So, I sent them to the range with the Cobra and Model 15 with a 148 gr WC/2.8 gr Bullseye load and a 146 gr RN over 3.5 gr Unique load. The Glock 44 and Model 317 went with a 325-round box of Federal 40 gr Automatch. (My buddy is a former Marine/LEO and is able to run a safe range.)
I called later, and all had a great time. It looks like MIL will be looking to buy a Colt Cobra in the future. The lighter loads were not too bad recoil-wise, so I recommended Hornady Critical Defense lite as a decent SD option.
She kept the shots on paper and enjoyed the process. I am glad that I was able to give her a chance to “try before you buy” and she found a gun that fit her hands and abilities without buying something that did not.
She understood the need to continue to shoot and become confident with her firearm, I do hope that she is able to keep it up once she finds the gun she is looking for.
I hope you all out on THR are able to help another newer shooter out in a similar way, soon.
Stay safe.
I grabbed a sampling of potentially suitable handguns and laid them out on the table when they arrived. I initially had a S&W Model 442 .38, a 4” Model 15 .38 and a 4” Model 65 .357 and a new Colt Cobra .38. For autos, I took out a CZ75D compact 9mm, a Glock 48 9mm and a Glock 44 .22LR.
When they arrived we had a three-hour refresher on gun safety, handling and operation. She was a good student and took to the rules really well. Using dummy ammo she learned the differences between the S&W and Colt, loading it and unloading as well.
The issues she had involved hand strength, the weight and grip size of the K frames was almost too much and the DA pull on these revolvers was not easy for her. The Cobra and 442 were smaller and easier to fire DA. But she gave it a go and with effort was able to operate them all. She preferred the Colt over the 442, especially with the extra shot and the slightly heavier weight.
The autos, not so much. After seeing her have to work a bit with the DA revolvers I knew that the CZ would be an issue, both with trigger pull and retracting the slide. Sure enough, it was too much.
The Glock 48 felt better in her hands, but it also was too much for her to operate.
The lightly-sprung Glock 44 .22 was fine. She loaded the magazine with dummy rounds and was able to operate the slide and slide lock. Since the auto I also tried a Ruger Standard .22, but the tiny “ears” on the bolt just weren’t enough for her to get a good grip on.
She then expressed interest in trying a .22 J frame revolver, my two J frame .22’s are a very clean .22/.32 Kit Gun and an 8- shot Model 317. She tried the lightweight 317 and deemed it good.
So, I sent them to the range with the Cobra and Model 15 with a 148 gr WC/2.8 gr Bullseye load and a 146 gr RN over 3.5 gr Unique load. The Glock 44 and Model 317 went with a 325-round box of Federal 40 gr Automatch. (My buddy is a former Marine/LEO and is able to run a safe range.)
I called later, and all had a great time. It looks like MIL will be looking to buy a Colt Cobra in the future. The lighter loads were not too bad recoil-wise, so I recommended Hornady Critical Defense lite as a decent SD option.
She kept the shots on paper and enjoyed the process. I am glad that I was able to give her a chance to “try before you buy” and she found a gun that fit her hands and abilities without buying something that did not.
She understood the need to continue to shoot and become confident with her firearm, I do hope that she is able to keep it up once she finds the gun she is looking for.
I hope you all out on THR are able to help another newer shooter out in a similar way, soon.
Stay safe.
