Female friend of mine asked about what pistol she should get. Being a Glock fanboi, I immediately began to preach of the wondrous gift God bestowed upon us mere mortals.....then I realized maybe for her, it would not be such a great choice.

She doesn't wear outfits that'll really conceal an IWB-carried pistol, and she wouldn't be carrying to work anyway (state gov't). She talked about carrying in a purse, and I thought about several cases where something in the purse got inside the trigger guard and the firearm discharged.

So....what's the opinion of the new S&W M&Ps with the manual safety? Seems like that'd fit her budget and needs.

My daughter carries her G42 in her purse with an Ozarks Holster Guard Glove. She is very pleased with it.

https://ozarksholstercompany.com/shop/guardglove/

The S&W 380 Shield EZ also has a grip safety which should make it even safer inside a purse.

Revolver. Pick something low recoiling, and use 38 +p.

Ruger LCR or LCRx

quote:

Originally posted by GaryBF:
The S&W 380 Shield EZ also has a grip safety which should make it even safer inside a purse.

That'd be my suggestion. Medium-sized. Light weight. Light recoil. Easily manipulated. Available with both manual safety and grip safety.

Ideal for purse carry.

quote:

Available with both manual safety and grip safety.

The grip safety is not an option. It is available with and without the manual safety.

J frame Smith.

Yup, nice J-frame.

My wife’s primary carry is a S&W 642. She carries about 50% of the time, although not in a purse. While she loves shooting my G26....she does quite well with the 642.

She has been looking at off person carry methods, such as in a purse, and the small J-frame makes perfect sense.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Revolver. Pick something low recoiling, and use 38 +p.

LCR-22, very low recoil, eight shots of 22LR. It's my wife's HD gun, far superior to harsh words.

Allen, you need to tell us a lot more about your friend's familiarity with guns.

Whatever she gets just get a decent pocket holster, maybe the DeSantis Nemesis, put some Velcro on the holster and inside the purse, that’ll help keep it in place so she can access it quickly without fumbling around for it.

First, the weapon.
GF tried a Glock but did NOT like the ergonomics.
She much prefers the S&W M&P Shield in 9mm w/o a manual safety. And that's what she carried . . .
. . . Until she tried my P239!
Now she carries the P239.

Now the purse(s).
She has 3 concealed carry purses that she uses interchangeably.
I think one is from Gun Toten' Mama's.
Don't know the brand on the other two.
They all have dedicated gun pockets and a couple have locking zippers.
Not really high security, but it would keep a child from accessing the gun.

Mrs. 'Hook prefers the light weight of a S&W 642 over any semi-auto she's attempted to carry. <Warning: Generalization zone ahead> We men tend to carry based on capacity, threat level and other factors. Based on what my wife says and what I've read for years in other threads, I'm convinced that gun weight ultimately becomes the primary factor for deciding what to carry in a purse. If a gun is too heavy, they ain't gonna carry it regardless of how well they shoot it. <end of generalization zone>

Her 642 is carried in a dedicated concealed carry purse which has two main compartments for all her stuff, and has a slot in between to hold the gun. The slot is located at the end of the purse, is kept closed with a velcro strip and contains a holster to hold the gun in place. The slot is completely lined with fuzzy velcro, and the holster (one of three sizes which came with the purse) has the prickly velcro on each side for security. When carried on the shoulder the velcro slot faces forward so she only needs to rip open the velcro with both hands and slide her hand into the slot to access the gun. Her bag has an inconspicuous decorative medallion to mark the end with the slot.

There are good arguments to be made that purse carry is not the best way to carry for a variety of reasons. But if your friend has already determined that purse carry is the best way for her, then a dedicated concealed carry purse is the better way to go.

Plus 1 on the revolver choice, hammerless for safety's sake and ease of presentation. And for all the usual reasons: simple manual of arms, good ammunition choices, ease of training for close quarters encounters, but more difficult to train to proficiency for longer combat distances. Simplicity may be it's biggest advantage, especially where the owner is not dedicated to a regular training regimen due to lack of interest or time constraints.

My wife, two DIL's and son's MIL all carry airweight Smith's, practice at least twice a year with them to proficiency, and THEY CARRY THEM ON A REGULAR BASIS...because of the simplicity, and light weight. A choice for a carry piece that offers better sights, more weight and bulk, and complexity just doesn't interest them...AND THEY WON'T CARRY IT.

YMMV, but the above works well for the women in our households...Rod

My wife has pistol packed in a dedicated "gun" purse very similar to Mrs. Hooks above. Because of her job, (state institution) she must dress a certain way that doesn't work well with body carry, hence the purse. WEIGHT is a huge deciding factor for her. She has carried many different handguns and settled on a J frame 638. Been carrying that for about 6 years now with no complaints.

Another vote for J Frame..642

I wouldn't recommend anything without a holster. So she should also learn to strip it off as she presents.

I know women lock into the idea of carrying in their purses. In a good pocket-style holster it's relatively safe...right up to the moment when she needs the gun and fumbles to get it out amongst all the misc. crap...er, stuff, that's in that handbag, or she gets too accustomed and 'forgets' as us humans are wont to do that she has a gun and leaves it in unattended in the shopping cart where an opportunistic miscreant pinches the bag and wallet, ID, keys and gun now go adios, senora. Had a customer come in during work today telling that exact latter tale of woe happening with his wife at a grocery store a day or two ago.

Purse carry...I've long preached to customers that it's a very bad choice.

 
What about a gun purse specially designed for that purpose. There are many out there. They typically have a separate pocket for the gun, accessible from the end of the purse. I wouldn't consider just throwing a gun into a regular purse with all its other contents to be a good idea.

If the lady likes revolvers I would suggest a LCR .327 Federal. It can be downloaded with .32 H&R Mags or even .32 S&W Longs.
6 shots instead of 5 with a .38/.357.