My female MC will carry a gun at times. I was thinking about a Glock 26.
Any opinions?
Thanks!
Dani
Any opinions?
Thanks!
Dani
What kind of gun for female MC?
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Not a bad choice.
The Walther 380 PPK/S is another good option. I've had one for years. The only problem with using it in a novel is that it's associated so strongly with James Bond.
The Walther 380 PPK/S is another good option. I've had one for years. The only problem with using it in a novel is that it's associated so strongly with James Bond.
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shoot- i was just at the gun shop. The guy showed me their best selling gun for women. I held it in my hand, it was light weight. My husband says that all he remembers was that it was a Smith & Wesson 38 revolver. Don't remember the specifics. But the guy at the shop said it was popular becuase it was small and light. He said with all the 'stuff' women carry in their purses, a gun can start to feel heavy real quick.
You know your guns, Dani. The Glock 26 is small (6 1/4" X 4 3/16" X 1 1/4") and light (20 ounces empty). In 10 9mm Lugers, it has more capacity and less "hand-sting" than 9 .40 S&Ws in the Glock 27.
Ads for Kel-Tec’s PF-9 ask, "Why carry a ‘block’?" The play on near spelling refers to their rounder, smaller, lighter semi-auto in 9mm Luger. It’s 5 7/8" X 4 1/4 X 7/8" and weighs under 13 ounces. You give up two rounds for more compactness and fewer corners than the Glock 26. It also has a conventional de-cocker rather than the Glock trigger safety, questioned by safety people for carry in anything but a holster which covers the trigger guard.
A factor to keep in mind is less weight means more recoil (hand-sting). For smart people who practice, that can be a huge factor in shooting performance.
Both Ladysmith revolvers and sem-autos are good guns, but in applying the ruler and scales, those with the "Ladysmith" stamp are no different from the same model without the stamp. A few have less molded rubber on their grips, but after-market grips will modify any handgun.
The LadySmith is still manufactured by S&W. Here's a link: http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...1&parent_category_rn=15703&top_category=15703 (page down to about the tenth revolver shown)
But really, any of the small frame revolvers or small semi-autos by various manufacturers would be suitable. If your MC is police or military, you will probably want her to carry the standard issue weapon.
But really, any of the small frame revolvers or small semi-autos by various manufacturers would be suitable. If your MC is police or military, you will probably want her to carry the standard issue weapon.
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Thanks for posting that. I can see how they'd be easier for a woman to grip. My MC is a former Insurance Fraud Investigator who's now a PI. She's tough, a recreational boxer, and I want her gun to depict that attitude. The pink handles are definitely out, although they're cute. 
$751.00. I didn't realize revolvers would be that expensive.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...ted=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=15704
$751.00. I didn't realize revolvers would be that expensive.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...ted=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=15704
I didn't even know that made those thing with pink grips until I went to find the link for you.Thanks for posting that. I can see how they'd be easier for a woman to grip. My MC is a former Insurance Fraud Investigator who's now a PI. She's tough, a recreational boxer, and I want her gun to depict that attitude. The pink handles are definitely out, although they're cute.
$751.00. I didn't realize revolvers would be that expensive.
Yeah, high-quality handguns carry a premium. But really, for a story, any basic police or military caliber handgun manufactured by one of the better-known manufacturers will do for the person you described.
If you want the full and never-ending debate on the question, post your question in the "Expert wanted" forum. There you will be treated to more expert opinions than you ever dreamed about; it might get tiresome, but you will probably learn a lot about handguns.
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Strangely, I also have a stainless steel Model 60. Note that it's a five shot revolver. Perhaps I'm a girly man. It was my plainclothes gun for years, a durable, no nonsense weapon.Thanks for posting that. I can see how they'd be easier for a woman to grip. My MC is a former Insurance Fraud Investigator who's now a PI. She's tough, a recreational boxer, and I want her gun to depict that attitude. The pink handles are definitely out, although they're cute.
$751.00. I didn't realize revolvers would be that expensive.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...ted=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=15704
Recoil is a bitch if you're using high velocity rounds, and if you outfit it with too small a grip it will twist in your hands. I put Pachmayr grips on mine -- they're rubberized, not too large and easy to grip.
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RG my husband bought a 38 revolver, so I don't think you are a girly man. He said it is less likely to jam than a semi automatic so it would be good for home defense.
Thanks for the info team, especially on the Glock 26. Food for thought for future books. Gave my MFC a Glock 17 for book 1. She's a government agent though and it's a standard issue thing.
JJ
JJ
Revolvers are better for the 'casual' shooter for that very reason. There's a lot less to go wrong with a revolver.
There's a lot of good info in this thread. I'm thinking of getting a gun for myself. I've always wanted to learn to shoot.
Commenting on Alleycat's implications about the expert wanted forum, there are good answers if you can locate the flowers among all the weeds. I think this is the proper forum for mystery discussions. Of the 19 responses here, only two were directed at other than a female main character's carry gun in a mystery setting. That ratio can go the other way when inexpert experts chime in, as is often the case when the focus isn't mystery writing. Just an observation on the specifics of gun exchanges involving mystery buffs.
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My carry gun, which I am not carrying because I haven't bothered to go get a permit, is a Colt Commander in 38 super. More powerful than a 9mm. Aluminum alloy frame. 4.25 inch barrel. 27oz. Mine happens to be a collectible, made in 1956, but I think they are still making these, in an all steel model. (Heavier at 36oz.) I purchased special grips for mine, and it shoots nice. Small enough to conceal, light enough to carry, packs a punch. I think your character's choice of a gun is going to depend on who she is and why she's carrying it. If I had a main character who was a criminal, there is no way he or she would carry my gun, because it would break my heart to have to throw this in the river (even in fiction,) and any criminal character of mine who carries a gun knows enough about guns to not want to carry something collectible. That said, there are plenty of criminal characters who wouldn't care, but they'd also be unlikely to put their hands on something like this, unless they broke into a gun store.
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On the general topic of guns, the .38 Super is certainly favored over the 9mm Luger by action steel shooters. As you’ve said, the "wonder-nine" just doesn’t have the power to knock down steel silhouettes – or even smaller Bianci competition plates. Seems to me that negative feature can translate to trouble for users of standard 9mms in real firefights. The infamous FBI ambush and disaster in Florida is such a case in point. Many law enforcement people think the 9mm isn’t "enough gun."
In fiction, I’ve used the "favorite gun" thing you brought up. In Judas Pistol, the second in a mystery series I’m writing, one of the antagonists has a treasured semi-automatic he can’t bring himself to throw in the river after dastardly deeds. So he changes the barrel of his keepsake and has various means to keep his ejected casings from falling into the hands of forensic experts.
As a related aside, in competition shooting, casing catching devices on semi-automatic race-guns have become popular. I'm sure canny crooks have already followed suit.
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My main character just polices his brass. He's pretty anal anyway. Aren't those brass catching devices kind of large? Hard to conceal?
This is a great thread, btw.
Yup, the brass catchers I've seen are unwieldy.
I'm pretty much of a competition has-been, still shooting revolvers and trying to keep up with speed-loaders. I shoot with a group to practice with dull duty and carry guns, but I like to watch the kids with their futuristic race guns and holsters looking like Erector set projects.
None of their high-tech equipment is for concealed carry (yet), but they're like formula-one race cars, pushing the envelope until car makers pay attention.
I've seen some compensators and other speed innovations coming out in modern duty weapons and am paying attention for mystery story material.