A few weeks back, I was on the way out the door to go coyote hunting in the early morning. Well, I woke my three year old and he I could not put him back to sleep. So, I stayed. My wife was sure that I had left. About half and hour later, my oldest boy woke up and we started horsing around. My wife flew through the door and looked terrified. She had thought that someone had broken into the house. She was convinced that the kids were being hurt. After she calmed down, I asked her what she would have done and she had no idea.

A few days later she told me that she was ready to learn to use a handgun. I spoke to an officer who is also a former classmate of mine and married to a close family friend. He offers defensive handgun courses and after a long conversation talked me out of a Ruger LCP style gun and into a LCR for simplicity. We'll take a course from him.

So, I picked up a LCR in .357 Magnum and a bunch of .38 special plinkers to practice with and some stout defensive loads.

I'm pumped!

Just thought I'd share it here.

Good job for getting your wife into a class and a nice sounding weapon. I do think that the 38 spcl is the key for the wife, and keep low-recoil +p 38 spcl loaded for the house/wife. Now, if the pain is not too bad and taking the revolver to the woods I would carry the 357 mag.

Let us know how it handles, I have been eyeing one since I have heard about them in the early summer.

I'll post a review. I carry the LCP in .380 and a XDM in .40. I almost got her a Sig P238, but I have a my reservations about the .380 ACP caliber. I'm confident in my ability maximize the potential of my LCP (through bullet selection, addition of laser, and practice, practice, practice.)

The LCR is on my list of guns that I want. I believe it would be a great CCW.

I think you made a good choice myself, especially with the .357 Mag. You can always download it with .38 Specials for practice or for her, if she's not comfortable with full-house .357 loads.

Huh, I thought you were looking to trade your wife for a new gun.

Just make sure you teach her to look before she shoots. It would be bad to be shot by your own wife because she didn't know you were home. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Good point Tedwca.

That was the first thing I thought of.

"What would you have done?"
"I would have shot you if I had a gun."
"Well then, let's get you 357."
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sad.gif" alt="" />

I am sure the course will teach her better than that, but it needs to be addressed as you realize and tedwca noted.

Kmar,l good for you BOTH! When I went through the Police academy. We were told that the hardest part about teaching someone to shoot is teaching them when NOT to shoot!

Well noted guys. That's why (like I mentioned in the first post) we are enrolling in course.

I appreciate the concern. I re-read my first post and can see where you guys are coming from. But, like I said, we are both going to through a gun safety and defensive handgun course. The officer that conducts the training works with many who have never held or fired a gun.

While the gun safety rules are (generally) universal from hunting to home defense, I have never taken a real course to learn the skill on how to use a handgun defensively.

However, I've seen the damage that a .357 can do on an animal (I would use one to finish off coyotes). There's no way I'd just hand her a gun and say, "Allright, your safe now." While I'm not military, or law enforcment, I do hunt quite a bit and respect the firearms potentially devestating power.

I would have recommended against the P238. I've been carrying handguns (legally) since 1992, and still don't like single action autos.

The revolver was a good choice. My wife and I both have (and carry) S&W 642 38+P routinely. In fact, my 642 is a constant companion.

As Sumo said - the 357 will most likely be too much for her. My wife struggles with the recoil of full +P 38's in her 14.8oz 642. I can only shoot a couple of cylinders, before my hand is hurting. The LCR weights around 13.5oz so I think it will be a non-starter in 357.

Regardless, it was a good choice. The simplicity and reliablity of a quality revolver is ideal for self-defense. My wife actually prefers her Glock 26 (9mm), because she can comfortably shoot it better than the Smith, but this is a personal preference.

Congrat's, and good thinking regarding the training. Just owning a firearm isn't nearly enough - proper training is critical!

Another note on 38Special loads....

We bought several different types of 38Spl loads to test, and found the following:

Remington UMC 158gr FMJ = heaviest recoil & shoots low

Sellier & Bellot 158gr FMJ = middle recoil & shoots high

Winchester "White Box" 125gr HP +P = lowest recoil & shoots POA

Of course the Winchester is the most expensive, but it is the most accurate (out of both of our particular revolvers) and is a +P HP.

Last thought...

Speer has been making a "short barrel specific" 38+P load for a while. The round is specially designed to maximize performance out of a 2" barrel, and has received good reviews.

Hope this doesn't get me in trouble...

http://www.speer-ammo.com/products/short_brl.aspx

Anyway, this is the next load I want to try in our 642's. I would have done so earlier, but it has taken me a long time to burn through the ammo I already have (since these are NOT fun guns to shoot).