I'm lookin for a hammerless Revolver for my wife as a personal CCW. Any ideas on what make and why you prefer it would be helpful.
She wants the hammerless so it is safer when removing it from her purse. No hammer to hang on anything.
-------------------------------------------------------------- When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying
This may not be exactly the sort of answer you're hoping to get, But it is my advise to you and the wife to help her make the right choice for her.
You guys are on the right track there, a revolver is a good choice for CCW and the hammerless ones do provide a cleaner "draw" especially from a lady's purse. A quick check reveals that both S&W and Taurus offers hammerless models. Rossi, as far as I can tell, doesn't offer a hammerless model. Ruger does, I have very little experience with Ruger revolvers, many people like them I'm sure. Charter 2000 also has a hammerless model but I have zero experience with this manufacturer's guns.
I would lean toward a S&W to start with, in a CCW gun reliability is everything, and the S&W's give you that in spades! This is not to say that there is anything wrong with the Taurus guns, I own one, as well as 4 or ? Smiths(though none are hammerless) and though it developed a problem shortly after I bought it (used at a gun show). I am convinced that the problem was caused by the previous owner's attempt to take it apart incorrectly. To Taurus's credit they fixed the problem in short-time in spite of the fact that the gun had had extensive modification done to it for competition use, which was the reason I bought it, in the first place.
In either case, You'll want a competent local gunsmith to go through whatever you do buy, to make sure everything is as good as it needs to be. Remember Mr. Reliability. And in fact, since that's where your gonna go anyway, find out what your "local competent" gunsmith likes and works on well. Since most gunsmiths know Smiths, they will lean that way also. Though the Taurus is an older-Smith clone, making this issue an almost moot point. If your guy has lots of experience with Rugers or something else and recommends them, then take into account his recommendation, since you'll be coming back to him with it. Beware though if his recommendation seems to be geared toward selling you something he wants to unload. Seek out a gunsmith that doesn't sell guns if at all possible, and you have doubts. Unless you know him well, have a relationship with him and know you can really trust his judgement, be carefull who's advice you take. Look below and consider choosing a gunsmith the real number 1 item in the process.
The last part of my advise is: shop around, buying a CCW gun is a very personal decision. Spending time on "the homework and legwork" will be time well spent, and could save you from making a poor purchase choice, and having a gun the wife isn't happy with and won't carry. Look for the latest version of "Shooter's Bible," I believe a new one just came out, and other publications which will show you and the wife a good cross section of guns from all manufacturers. I have a copy of "Gun 2007 Buyer's Annual" which I believe I got about this time last year. And all major manufacturers have web sites now, the internet is a good way to work up a list of what you want to see and handle. Have your wife handle as many as she can get her hands on litterly. Go to every major gun store, and some lesser ones as well, in any reasonable driving time to see and handle as many different guns as possible. Even consider a day trip to a larger city, if you live out in the boonies, to go to a Cabella's or Gander Mtn, or other major gun seller or several of them. Beg, borrow or whatever any you can get for her to actually shoot and even non-hammerless ones for her to get a feel for different calibers and their recoils, especially if she doesn't shoot much.
The order to this chain of events, for most of us guys several parts of these steps are automatic and we don't think about them, 1. Choose the caliber, 2. Choose the type of gun(you guys have done this part), 3.Get the right fit for the user( grip size, frame size, type of grip frame) and remember that grips are easily changed (and most major gun brands have a variety of aftermarket grips available for them) and make an enormous difference in the fit and feel of the whole gun. 4. buy the right gun (the easy part, when you've done the shopping work first.)
Hope this helps.
Best of luck to you and the wife in this endeavor.
K-Mac
-------------------------------------------------------------- If they won't trust us with guns; We can't trust them with our Government!
Thanks I'll let you know when I get her setteld down to make a choice.
-------------------------------------------------------------- When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying
I've done a little more research, not a lot mind you, but I checked my passed issues of 'Gun Tests' magazine. They haven't, as far as I could tell, specifically tested hammerless carry guns, thats over about 3 years of back issues.
I can report that they consistently give high marks to S&W and Ruger guns. Taurus guns seem to be either quit good or very bad, probably quality issues in manufacturing. Rossi also shows pretty good, but there weren't a lot of tests on Rossi guns, and as I said in earlier post, I don't think Rossi has a hammerless model. No surprizes there, the major manufacturers turn out good guns, minor manufacturers turnout lesser quality firearms.
If you'd like to use 'Gun Test' for some research on your own, go to gun-test.com, their comparison test are organized by gun type and then caliber. Such as "revolver .38 Special" or "revolver .357 magnum" and so on. They have a free 14 day trail membership offer going right now. They don't provide full articles on-line, but allow you to purchase and download individual articles from the website. Prices are $10, $7.50 or $5.50 per article, depending upon your subscriber level. That would add up quick if you where to buy a bunch of articles, for a wide cross section of firearms and calibers you'd like to check into. But considering what you're going to be spending for the handgun and a gunsmith, whats another $40 or more weighed against the cost of buying the wrong gun and the importance of what the gun is going to be insuring. You can generally get the jest of the what's good and what isn't from the first few paragraphs they let you see in the tease, but that will fall far short of seeing the whole article.
Lastly, a commercial, of sorts, for 'Gun Test'. 'Gun Test' is like a 'Consumers Reports' for guns. They accept no outside advertising, and purchase at local stores the guns they test. So what you read about in their pages is honest and fair to us the buying public. I recommend a subsribtion to the magazine to anyone who is interested in guns and wants to buy them with confidence in your purchase decision. http://www.gun-tests.com/index.h tml
Happy Shooting, K-Mac
-------------------------------------------------------------- If they won't trust us with guns; We can't trust them with our Government!
