Recoil .380acp revolver vs pistol
Would a Taurus .380acp revolver be a good choice over a .380 pistol like Ruger or KelTec for a lady shooter who does not care for racking a slide or would it be a pretty 'snappy' recoil?
I know Taurus quality is kind of hit and miss or should we be looking at a Lady Smith air weight .38 since a pistol is not being considered
I know Taurus quality is kind of hit and miss or should we be looking at a Lady Smith air weight .38 since a pistol is not being considered
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If two handguns were the same weight and had close to the same size grips then the semi auto would recoil less because some of the felt recoil would be taken up in the function of loading the next round. HOWEVER many of these sub compact semi auto pistols have VERY SMALL grips and may actually feel like a sharper recoil. A 380 of old school size like a Remington model 51 or a Colt pocket would be less then the revolver. I know most people want the lightest smallest Carry gun but I think a pistol that is pass the shooters threshold of recoil is a BAD choice. 0 -
I think you can get a lot more choice of ammo in a 38 Special. I would think she would want to shoot the gun first before buying that model. 0 -
I agree, a .38 spec S&W Ladysmith revolver is a great choice for a woman. If the trigger pull is too heavy for her, you can have any gunsmith put in a set of Wolff springs for a reasonable price.
If she isn't going to carry it, an all steel gun would be a better choice to reduce felt recoil.
Like Charlie says, you have a wide choice of ammo. Start out with factory wadcutters (choice of the 1st generation US Air Marshals), & move up if she tolerates that well.
Neal0 -
I went through this with my wife years ago, and she recently went through it with my newbie daughter-in-law.
While shooting less that 2 mags on a semi-auto, or 2 revolver reloads, SOMETHING was always 'missed' on the auto..( i.e. forgot how to release slide after reload, safety on/off ? , etc. )
Both chose the revolver [which was 5-shot 38spl snubby], just because it was easier to use.0 -
quote:Originally posted by seb1999
Would a Taurus .380acp revolver be a good choice over a .380 pistol like Ruger or KelTec for a lady shooter who does not care for racking a slide or would it be a pretty 'snappy' recoil?
I know Taurus quality is kind of hit and miss or should we be looking at a Lady Smith air weight .38 since a pistol is not being considered
Well its up to the shooter to decide what is, and isn't "snappy" recoil. How about having this lady shooter actually TRY the gun(s) in question before making any decisions here?
What I will say about this is the following:
a. .380 is a fairly anemic round, and .38 special, while not awesome is still better. .38 special ammo is also available in a wider variety of loads, including light loads that ought to approximate .380 ballistics, if you like. So from a purely ballistic standpoint, I don't see much reason to pick a .380 revolver.
b. The Kel Tec and its clone the Ruger pocket .380s are difficult to operate. The slide is hard to grab and stiff to rack, the controls are hard to work, the sights are hard to see, its hard to get a good grip on the gun, the double-action trigger makes it hard to get good groups, and to top these negatives off, the guns often don't run right out of the box.
To me this is a "niche" gun, for an expert/advanced shooter who wants something light and easy to slip in a pocket. This is not a gun for a novice shooter (especially a novice female one who may not have quite the hand strength as a male), in my opinion.
c. .380 is a rimless cartridge not designed to run in revolvers. Given Taurus' shall we say spotty history of revolver design and quality control, a .380 revolver offering from them would have to be fairly proven before I'd take a chance on one.
d. Get the Smith 38 revolver. Get rid of the "boot" grips and put on a nice set of full sized rubber grips and that will cut the perceived recoil in half right there.0 -
Years ago, an old girlfriend wanted a good defensive pistol. After trying out various 9mm, 380s and 38 Spls in autos and revolvers, she decided on the small frame S&W M60 in 3 inch w/ target sights.
Not the most dainty gun or a Ladysmith version, but one that took P+ ammo and easier for her to bring to target. Also, the muzzle blast and flash was not over powering as the 2 inch models.
The felt recoil was also minimized by the full underlug on the 3 inch model as the gun was heavier than the 2 inch models. Back in 1991, the workmanship was excellent and trigger pull was smooth and light enough for her. I had to get a trigger job on my M66 back then to get a smooth trigger pull as that M60 was right out of the box.
I see that currently there is a similar M60 3 inch model that is in 357 Mag, but I don't know if the quality of the workmanship is the same as it was 20 year ago.0 -
As BTS posted, get her to try out a variety of them at a range that rents them beforehand...both revolvers (easier for the novice to operate, especially under stress, IMO) and semis. The rental and ammo cost is pennies compared to buying something that she shoots once and hates. (There is nothing worse than buying something based on gun mags or internet sites... then hating it once it's put into play at the range. I bet most of us here have done that, and it's not fun to lose a bunch of $$ on a gun that wasn't what it was cracked up to be and was sold later for a loss over the retail price)
I am a Smith guy myself, but I have a Taurus .22 and a .22 mag in the lockers for plinking about. Some guys hate them, I haven't had an issue with them (or an older taurus .357 I had years ago). But I prefer the S&W hands down.
The LCP or LC9 and their ilk are great carry guns, but they are hard to shoot well without a lot of practice. The .38 revolver is much easier to learn and shoot decently without lotsa range time.0
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