Recoil Reduction: Interlude At The Range, Epilogue

My recent adventures with my wife at the range have been mostly about finding her a carry gun.

The basic criteria are:

1. Comfortable to shoot.
2. Accurate.
3. Safe.  
4. Comfortable to carry.
5. Desirable color.

1. Comfortable to shoot. AND 2. Accurate.
After shooting seven new guns and two owned guns during four hours over two sessions, I think we have some more work to do to cover the first two items in our criteria. During our first range session with the S&W 637 and Ruger SR9c, we were definitely more accurate. During our second range session, our accuracy was certainly degraded by shooting double the amount of new guns.

So for our next range session, I plan to go back to two guns: the Ruger LCR .357 (that my wife loves so much) and a slim autoloader for her. The rub is which one. She wants me to pick for her, when we are at the range. For me, I want to try the S&W 637 again (and end up with the 442). I really liked that little gun.

3. Safe.
My wife has concerns about safety. She was question whether a gun with a safety is, well, safer. That is a very good question, and it brings out bezerkers on both sides of the argument.

4. Comfortable To Carry.

My wife  is thinking thin is best to carry on her hip, but she likes the little revolvers with the cylinder hump.

5. Desirable Color.

This left to the beholder, but my wife is looking primarily for some blue accents or at least pink, but she wants a defensive tool first.

So, the guns ranked:

1. Comfortable To Shoot.

6. S&W 637. The trigger wrapped my wife's finger while shooting. There are after markets grips and grip adapters like T-Grip that can make the gun more comfortable to shoot for my wife.

5., 4., 3. In no particular order, the M&P Shield, Kahr CW9, and Ruger LC9. 

2. In the first session, my wife indicated the Ruger SR9c was interchangeable with my Ruger P95. During the second session, she had forgotten about it.

1. The Ruger LCR .357. I think it gained extra points for its ease of use. My wife really like the fact that she could swing out the cylinder and see that it was loaded, and that she could load it without racking a slide.

2. Accurate.

6. M&P Shield 9mm. I was perplexed by the sights on this gun. My wife was shooting 1-1/2 feet low at 17 feet. Then I tried it, and I was hitting the target at about the same place. We both were focusing on the three-dot sights. Then I tried aligning the top of the sights - and I hit the center of the target, and so did my wife using the same alignment. Maybe the sights just didn't work for US, but I doubt it. If I really liked the gun, then I would just black out the three dots (I don't like three dots anyway). 

5., 4., 3.  In no particular order,  Ruger LC9, Kahr CW9, Ruger SR9c. There was just not enough range time per pistol to parse out the field.

2. Ruger LCR .357. Comfort equals accurate? Seems like every ranking needs a paradox ...

1. S&W 637. My wife just hit what she shot at, period. In the long term, she probably would have done better with a bigger gun, but not yet.

3. Safe.

6. Kahr CW9. Light double action.

5. Ruger LCR .357. Lighter double action.

4. S&W 637. Heavy double action.

3., 2., 1. In no particular order, Ruger LC9, Ruger SR9c, S&W M&P Shield 9mm. Small frame-mounted safeties.

4. Comfortable To Carry.

6. Ruger SR9c. The heaviest and consistently the widest.

5., 4. Ruger LCR, S&W 638. Cylinder width.

3. Kahr CW9. Thin, but heavy texturing on front and back of grip.

2. Ruger LC9. Flat.

1. S&W M&P Shield 9mm. Thin and nicely rounded.

5. Desirable Color.

6., 5., 4. S&W M&P Shield 9mm, Ruger SR9c, Kahr CW9. Limited to colored grip sleeves and grip tape.

3., 2. Ruger LCR, S&W 637. Limited to colored grips.

1. Ruger LC9. 5 feminine (or blue) options available.  

Take Away:
I definitely am an advisor in this whole process, though a more knowledgeable one at that. This is my wife's decision, so I want her to develop the experience and basic knowledge to make her own decision. Oh, and I forgot one of the most basic criterion: 4-1/2. Service Caliber. All guns from this session met that criterion.