re: Revolver recommendations for a 70 year female

quote:

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Not a revolver.....

Glock 43 is perfect for females.

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Not what I've found with my female students. The 43 is very snappy.

To the OP:
You've been given some very good advice:
1. Make sure she plans to use a revolver (and practices) DA. She probably won't have time to thumb the hammer - and she'll be compromising her grip if she does that.

2. Stay away from all airweights (I think you already knew that one).

3. Almost all snubnose revolvers, pretty much irrespective of caliber, are going to have strong trigger pull weights. You can change springs to reduce the pull, but doing that will make the revolver much less reliable.

4. Have her try the M&P .380 EZ and the Glock 42 (also is .380). She will be amazed at how much less recoil they have compared to the .38 snubnose revolvers, and she will notice a much lighter trigger pull.

5. The .380 is a caliber that requires some homework/searching for the most effective cartridge (bullet has to penetrate, and hopefully it will expand to a larger diameter. Some trainers recommend FMJ in a .380 to ensure adequate penetration - there won't be any expansion, but it will get to vital organs.

If you can find it, Hornady's 90 Grain FTX Critical Defense is one of the better jacketed HP's. Expansion to .50" and penetration to 13" LINK

Good luck. We all know that needing a handgun is a low probability event -- but it's a high consequence event. So she needs something that she will practice with to achieve proficiency. Basic manipulation and marksmanship skills are imperative, but those need to be "auto-pilot" skills (so she can focus on the threat).