Gender silliness and shooting

Several years ago I suspended logic and listened to the enlightened guy at the gun shop suggest a J-frame S&W revolver for The Wife. She of the smallish hands and dislike of the G27.

Foolish me.

The first time we shot it at the range, even the regular .38 range ammo was enough for her to remark "I like the way the grip fits my hand, but it's kind of uncomfortable to shoot".

D'oh!

Several lessons here:

1. Don't buy a firearm for your spouse as a gift unless they have specified that particular firearm as one that they want or like. Nobody likes to get clothes that are the wrong size - this applies to firearms as well.
   
2. Don't take the word of the guy at the gunshop - there are plenty of other resources out there to provide contrasting opinions
   
3. THINK. Short barrel + lightweight alloy frame+smallish grips=felt recoil for me, so it should therefore be even worse for her. Again, d'oh.

There is a happy ending.

Fast forward to the purchase of a S&W Model 64-4 for The Wife. 

Everyone is happier as she has less felt recoil, an extra round in the cylinder, and I get a 642 to carry in my pocket once the CCW permit shows up in the mail.

Marko has a great post about this over The Munchkin Wrangler that includes this pithiness:

I can’t count the number of times I’ve overheard bad advice given to women when it comes to guns. Seven out of ten times, people will recommend a lightweight snubnose revolver as an ideal first “woman’s gun”, even though the airweight snubbie is a terrible first pick for any new shooter, male or female.