[CoyoteJack]

Sunday afternoon, sunny and pleasant and shopping for the upcoming muzzleloader season and Mrs. CJ tells me she liked to look into a CCW option and home defense piece for herself.

Well the Gander Mountain selection isn't bad overall but it isn't really tailored to women with small hands. Yet I'm fairly certain those pink handled Taurus Pt-111 aren't too popular with the men. I can't them as too popular with the women for that matter. But she wanted to see how it fit her hand. Still a little big. Next was a Kell-Tec .380. Well it certainly was small enough. Scary small in my opinion. The guy at the counter said that in order to keep the price down the metal was such that range practice would cause them to quickly overheat and often jam. I realize they are a pointblank self defense only type pistol but reliability is the most important aspect of that need to me and I also feel one should practice with their carry weapon frequently.

Next up a S&W 642 Airweight. .38spl +P rated alloy and Stainless. DA only on this particular one but I understand you can get models of it with a hammer or a stubby hammer. Well the size and weight felt good to her. I liked the rubber grips better than the slick wood usually found on the Ladysmith lineup.

She seemed to feel more comfortable with a revolver as well. Probably because they are all she has every really shot with me.

So does anyone have one of these alloy framed .38's? I foresee a lot of standard .38 loads going thru it as she the type to want to practice something important till it is second nature. Once the mindset and motion is ingrained she'll likely setup to +P loads for defense and practice with those as well.

At 15oz. it would seem to be an ideal carry option for her and the +P I feel is enough caliber without making recoil an issue.

My concerns are the visibility of the sights and durability of the alloy frame. Any thoughts? Opinions?

Thanks in advance.

Coyotejack