Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Need some recommendations: compact, concealed carry weapon for a petite woman. [View all]OneTenthofOnePercent
(6,268 posts)The modern baby .380 and 9mm pocket pistols have come a long way than the old pocket pistols of yesteryear. Simply superior to pocket revolvers in terms of capacity and concealability. But given your statement that she is not very experienced and may be caliber sensitive... I might say get a small revolver. In addition to being absurdly simple in operation, a revolver can let you fire anything from reduced-recoil .38 to nuclear .357 magnums. With an autopistol, especially short action auto-loaders, you MUST fire nearly full power loads for reliable function.
The S&W are not price-friendly... but the Ruger SP101 revolvers come in 2.25", 3", and 4.2" and are all stainless. In and of itself, this soaks up recoil nicely unlike the lightweight Smiths. They are small frame just like the comparable to the J-Frames but are much more robust due to the brick-shithouse construction (stronger top strap, stainless frame and thicker forcing cone). Due to this, unlike alot of the J-Frames, the Ruger's can handle full house .357 magnums. They are a bit cheaper and a simple home trigger job (hone, polish, & springs) gives you a trigger rivaling any S&W factory trigger. I love my SP101.
Disclaimer: Just because a small frame revolver can fire .357 does not make it a good idea to feed it nuclear loads. I'm a recoil junkie... I love me some primer-flattening 10mm out of my Glock 29. After about 2 boxes of 10mm there is a bruise in the web of my hand - yeah baby! I threw some buffalo bore .357 (125gr/1,700fps) through my small SP101 for shits and giggles and it WAS NOT FUN. After 10 shots I was done... never again.