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Wives Who Carry

David N. said:
My wife doesn't carry, and does not care for guns either. She understands their use for hunting, recreation, and self defense and agrees with my decision on ownership and application of all three.
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Same here. She does have a non-restricted license to carry in the state, but only has that so she could take possession of them if something happened to me.
 
To keep on subject: Yes my wife carries daily.

And a few parting words on the subject of carrying a firearm.

In Massachusetts me and my wife had to take a mandatory class to apply for an LTC and I have to say it's a joke!!! There's nothing taught at the class that makes you any safer as a firearm owner that isn't already common sense.

The class is just a cash grab as is paying for a license to exercise your birth right as an american citizen and it's just a way for the local governments to make you believe your right is just a privilege that can be given and taken away so they can control the future of all your rights when you fall in line step.

An LTC doesn't allow you to buy a firearm without a mandatory federal background check, the same background check done in every state in the union so what does this really accomplish?
 
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wmg1299 said:
I have carried almost everywhere I go for years, but my wife never has. When things started getting crazy this summer, I convinced my wife to get her LTC. She was excited to get the license, but seems a little hesitant to actually carry. It hasn't been an issue so far because she never goes into the city, or anywhere she considers risky, without me. I was wondering how many of your wives/girlfriends have permits, and how many of them actually carry?
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I am a basic pistol instructor and have classes specifically for ladies. This is a very common feeling among women. I encourage ladies that practicing with your pistol makes you more comfortable and confident handling it, but carrying it is a whole 'nother ball game! I share that when I first got my CHL (Concealed Handgun License), I started by just wearing an empty holster, just to get used to the feeling. Then I added an empty gun. Then added the loaded magazine. It's a process and it depends on her comfort level. I advise guys to encourage (her), but don't push because that could have the opposite effect!

How and where to carry is very personal. What works for her may not work for me and vise versa. I carry a different gun in the summer than I do in the winter. And I carry those two guns differently (IWB and OWB). To be honest, it took me a while to find the "right" carry positions for me. Again, it's a process. I encourage everyone to practice, not just shooting, but drawing the weapon and re-holstering. When I took the NRA CCW class, which teaches holster draws, mag changes and handling gun failures, it was very enlightening. I carry a Springfield xd sc in the winter and learned through that class that the holster I was using, where I was carrying it, was not conducive to having a good grip when I drew my weapon. Even though I practiced drawing my weapon at home, it was totally different drawing it to actually shoot.

I also strongly advise against purse carrying. I try to teach ladies the purse would be the first thing to be targeted in a robbery. If your firearm is in your purse, you are not only losing all your personal items AND self defense, but you would be arming a criminal. All a bad combination. I show a belly band holster and tell everyone they are very good for concealment, but are more challenging to draw from.

The greatest encouraging factor is the basic reason why we all carry....it is better to have (a gun) and not need it, then to need it and not have it. I cannot stress enough, practice makes all the difference in comfort level.

Hope this helps! :)
 
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All off topic posts in this thread have been moved to a new thread in AWK. This action is due to multiple reports of off topic conversation. any further conversation off the topic the OP has set forth will be removed.

The topic at hand is "Wive's That Carry" Please respect the OP's wishes and only talk about that.
Thank you,
Forum Admin
 
The title of this thread conjures up a million witty rejoinders. It's a perfect segue for Rodney Dangerfield one-liners.
 
Getting my wife to carry was a 5 year effort. She was iffy about me even owning firearms when we were dating. The first week she moved in with me, a drug addict hopped my fence, and took a dump while playing with paving stones in my backyard. She got experience firsthand what a 6.5 minute response time actually feels like. So, she didn't mind the guns at home anymore. But was still unwilling to learn to shoot, or get a carry permit. Late 2019, my renewal was due, and convinced her to spend the day with me, and enrolled her into the ccw class as well. Randomly nudged her for 3 months, before she finally went in to drop off the paperwork, and get finger printed. Her permit came in literally the day our governor locked down businesses. She finally started carrying, but only when she went out shopping at first. She's started training more regularly in the past year, and her marksmanship has improved significantly. Just sucks she chose a time when ammo is so hard to come by to start. She has been dry firing training at home to conserve ammo.
 
My wife carries her SA 1911 in .45ACP every day and every where she goes. When she is outside with the horses, she wears a shoulder holster. When we go somewhere she either has it in her GTM purse or on her strong hand hip in a nice 1791 Gunleather holster.
 
Caro said:
I used to carry in a purse when I first started out... and that ended when a boyfriend and his buddy showed me how easily the purse could be ‘separated from me’. It took me a total of 2 seconds to realize how the bad guy now had my keys, my Id, my address, my money, and my loaded weapon. I’ve been carrying AIWB ever since that day.

I carried my gun every time I was at my outdoor range until I got comfortable with having a loaded gun on me. Doing that helped me tremendously.
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Not just HG's are concealed . Many women seen no longer carry purses, just small wallets or pouches. Know one who uses purse occaisionally. Out of sight, out of mind? - No wasn't talking about around here, but out of mind may ID some people here? :)
 
wmg1299 said:
I'm glad to hear that wives and girlfriends carrying is pretty common (except for the rolling ND). We live in Texas, where carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle doesn't require any type of permit or license. She's comfortable with having a gun secured in the vehicle, but I wanted her to be able to carry a gun outside of the vehicle if she found herself in a dangerous situation where she had to get out of the car. We live in a safe neighborhood, but I would still prefer her to carry when she exercises outdoors. I fully understand her reluctance to carry in her purse because she is a teacher and forgetting to remove the gun could result in termination and possible criminal charges.
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Bad things still happen in good areas....unfortunately.
 
10mmLife said:
To keep on subject: Yes my wife carries daily.

And a few parting words on the subject of carrying a firearm.

In Massachusetts me and my wife had to take a mandatory class to apply for an LTC and I have to say it's a joke!!! There's nothing taught at the class that makes you any safer as a firearm owner that isn't already common sense.

The class is just a cash grab as is paying for a license to exercise your birth right as an american citizen and it's just a way for the local governments to make you believe your right is just a privilege that can be given and taken away so they can control the future of all your rights when you fall in line step.

An LTC doesn't allow you to buy a firearm without a mandatory federal background check, the same background check done in every state in the union so what does this really accomplish?
Click to expand...
The "joke" is sad to hear. Unfortunately, that's the case in too many areas.
Sometimes too many Rambo wanna be clown's instructing? - One's more than enough!

Bad side?
Possible false sense of self confidence and someone senselessly getting hurt?
Bright side?
Is if seeing and feeling that definite lacking in a course, it may inspire intelligent people to get good thorough "real" training elsewhere?
 
I shot a lot of IDPA, and a Tuesday night "mini-IDPA" where there were more woman trying to learn to use the new 9mm gun their husband bought for them. I'll take a hit for this, but woman are wonderfully nice, forgiving creatures but lack that mindset that prevents them from wanting to shoot or hurt someone, even if their life is at risk. Even if your wife/girfriend shoots at paper targets at the range, learning that self defence posture or mindset is simply not coded into most women's DNA. Most would scream (good thing if theres people around), or they would "Lock up" ,mentally or try to escape . Most woman are simply afraid of guns, and if you put one in their purse and they relent and say "OK, Honey, for you I'll carry this thing", they will likely either forget it's there under the stress of the moment, or they will shoot themselves accidently, and worse yet, they will almost guaranteed not be able to hit the threat if they shoot, due to, once again, the adrenelin rush and extreme duress of the moment. So the threat will either run or grab the gun or shoot her if she misses with the gun the threat may be carrying.

While I have witnessed woman in competition that are in the Masters class, this is not the norm.

You will have to impress upon them how many feet someone can cover to reach them in one second. (15 ft)
You will have to keep the gun out of their purse, and have a special womens purse with a carry pouch on the outside that doesn't require opening. In questionable areas, they will walk with their hand in that slot. If they have to take the time to find the pistol in their purse, or in a jacket pocket, draw and aim, they will become a victim.

You will have to teach, (or a pro teach) and practice relentlessly the draw and fire procedure, or draw and aim. This is extremely important, more than firing the weapon accurately. This can easily be done at home, and I guarantee it works. I practiced draw and fire for an hour a day or more.

Most male threats are simply not expecting to see a gun pointed at them by the woman they are about to attack. This in itself will stop most of them. Or they'll make an attempt to get away. (A VERY good thing) Shooting should always be the very last resort.

You will teach them (like our female RO) to YELL LOUDLY, "STOP or I'll shoot!" with the gun at the ready position.
You will teach them that if the assailant turns around at this point, DO NOT FIRE, otherwise, pull the trigger if they move towards her several times. Seriously, our female RO would teach this practice to any new women learning to shoot for defensive reasons. There was a lot of irritating yelling going on at one stage whenever she was there.

The majority aren't built like us. They will have to mentally commit themselves to taking on this life or death mindset, and practice a LOT so if that moment arrives, her mind will AUTOMATICALLY do the right thing. It's muscle memory, not conscious thought, which takes too long under stressful conditions.

If you're willing, have a friend with you at 20 ft away, make sure the gun is unloaded, and recheck again.
Have him say something to her in a menacing tone that will imply he intends to harm her, then charge her and see what happens. And he has to be convincing. Put a knife in his hands. (plastic) Impress upon her how important getting to the Ready position is in 1.0 seconds. OK, 1.5, but that's too long really.

She has to see the results of all this training herself facing a menacing threat or she won't buy into it.

Also, training aside, find a light 9mm auto with a grip she can hold onto. Most women don't have the strong grip to shoot a 9mm defence round several times, or even once, before losing their grip and possibly dropping the gun. Try quite a few until she finds one you can't take out of her hands easily. The gun is not supposed to be "cute", or "Pink", it's supposed to fit her hands. (Yes I've seen husbands allow their wives to buy a gun that looked "cute" and another bought one because it was "Pink", and both could not handle that very small grip size when the gun went off. It scared the crap out of them.

I would definetly not advise a .380. It will not stop a drugged up assailant, or a medium to large male that's going wacko. It will just **** them off.

OK, last words.
Start by making sure she will honestly commit to this for her protection, because it's a lot of training.

Go to a large gunshop with experienced pro's, and find the right gun. Looks are not a factor here. Size and grip fit are. She might have to have an extended mag to increase her grip.

Research online for other women who carry, practice and are experienced and committed to not becoming a victim. Very worthwhile point here.

If the large gunshop does not have a good variety of gun purses for her, go online. There are quite a few very slick and fancy looking purses with that necessary side pocket for their gun on the outside. Once again, find out what other women online are using and where they got them.

And buy her a Lock Box so the kids don't have access at home.

If the hubby is a reloader, load up a 1000 rds of light rounds (called "downloading") They have to be powerful enough to eject the cartridge and force the slide all the way back. It will give her a chance to learn the essentials, then as she gets better and more comfortable, increase the load until you can use standard target rounds.

Pay for an initial instruction course that includes the mental part, the legal side of firing a weapon to defend yourself, instruction on how to handle yourself if you are in danger, and lastly includes actualrange work with her new gun.
Clean the gun with her there to see if she wants to do that herself (many women will want to actually), otherwise, take on that part of this responsibility. Keep the kids away while doing this please.

You cannot over stress safety. Both for herself and others.

I speak from many years of experience shooting next to women, but still, this is all my opinions, and to each there own.
I hope this did not offend anyone, if so, my apologies, it wasn't intended.

Robert

Lastly, get her a squeeze ball to carry and work with to increase the strength of her strong hand.
 
Ride2Live said:
I shot a lot of IDPA, and a Tuesday night "mini-IDPA" where there were more woman trying to learn to use the new 9mm gun their husband bought for them. I'll take a hit for this, but woman are wonderfully nice, forgiving creatures but lack that mindset that prevents them from wanting to shoot or hurt someone, even if their life is at risk. Even if your wife/girfriend shoots at paper targets at the range, learning that self defence posture or mindset is simply not coded into most women's DNA. Most would scream (good thing if theres people around), or they would "Lock up" ,mentally or try to escape . Most woman are simply afraid of guns, and if you put one in their purse and they relent and say "OK, Honey, for you I'll carry this thing", they will likely either forget it's there under the stress of the moment, or they will shoot themselves accidently, and worse yet, they will almost guaranteed not be able to hit the threat if they shoot, due to, once again, the adrenelin rush and extreme duress of the moment. So the threat will either run or grab the gun or shoot her if she misses with the gun the threat may be carrying.

While I have witnessed woman in competition that are in the Masters class, this is not the norm.

You will have to impress upon them how many feet someone can cover to reach them in one second. (15 ft)
You will have to keep the gun out of their purse, and have a special womens purse with a carry pouch on the outside that doesn't require opening. In questionable areas, they will walk with their hand in that slot. If they have to take the time to find the pistol in their purse, or in a jacket pocket, draw and aim, they will become a victim.

You will have to teach, (or a pro teach) and practice relentlessly the draw and fire procedure, or draw and aim. This is extremely important, more than firing the weapon accurately. This can easily be done at home, and I guarantee it works. I practiced draw and fire for an hour a day or more.

Most male threats are simply not expecting to see a gun pointed at them by the woman they are about to attack. This in itself will stop most of them. Or they'll make an attempt to get away. (A VERY good thing) Shooting should always be the very last resort.

You will teach them (like our female RO) to YELL LOUDLY, "STOP or I'll shoot!" with the gun at the ready position.
You will teach them that if the assailant turns around at this point, DO NOT FIRE, otherwise, pull the trigger if they move towards her several times. Seriously, our female RO would teach this practice to any new women learning to shoot for defensive reasons. There was a lot of irritating yelling going on at one stage whenever she was there.

The majority aren't built like us. They will have to mentally commit themselves to taking on this life or death mindset, and practice a LOT so if that moment arrives, her mind will AUTOMATICALLY do the right thing. It's muscle memory, not conscious thought, which takes too long under stressful conditions.

If you're willing, have a friend with you at 20 ft away, make sure the gun is unloaded, and recheck again.
Have him say something to her in a menacing tone that will imply he intends to harm her, then charge her and see what happens. And he has to be convincing. Put a knife in his hands. (plastic) Impress upon her how important getting to the Ready position is in 1.0 seconds. OK, 1.5, but that's too long really.

She has to see the results of all this training herself facing a menacing threat or she won't buy into it.

Also, training aside, find a light 9mm auto with a grip she can hold onto. Most women don't have the strong grip to shoot a 9mm defence round several times, or even once, before losing their grip and possibly dropping the gun. Try quite a few until she finds one you can't take out of her hands easily. The gun is not supposed to be "cute", or "Pink", it's supposed to fit her hands. (Yes I've seen husbands allow their wives to buy a gun that looked "cute" and another bought one because it was "Pink", and both could not handle that very small grip size when the gun went off. It scared the crap out of them.

I would definetly not advise a .380. It will not stop a drugged up assailant, or a medium to large male that's going wacko. It will just **** them off.

OK, last words.
Start by making sure she will honestly commit to this for her protection, because it's a lot of training.

Go to a large gunshop with experienced pro's, and find the right gun. Looks are not a factor here. Size and grip fit are. She might have to have an extended mag to increase her grip.

Research online for other women who carry, practice and are experienced and committed to not becoming a victim. Very worthwhile point here.

If the large gunshop does not have a good variety of gun purses for her, go online. There are quite a few very slick and fancy looking purses with that necessary side pocket for their gun on the outside. Once again, find out what other women online are using and where they got them.

And buy her a Lock Box so the kids don't have access at home.

If the hubby is a reloader, load up a 1000 rds of light rounds (called "downloading") They have to be powerful enough to eject the cartridge and force the slide all the way back. It will give her a chance to learn the essentials, then as she gets better and more comfortable, increase the load until you can use standard target rounds.

Pay for an initial instruction course that includes the mental part, the legal side of firing a weapon to defend yourself, instruction on how to handle yourself if you are in danger, and lastly includes actualrange work with her new gun.
Clean the gun with her there to see if she wants to do that herself (many women will want to actually), otherwise, take on that part of this responsibility. Keep the kids away while doing this please.

You cannot over stress safety. Both for herself and others.

I speak from many years of experience shooting next to women, but still, this is all my opinions, and to each there own.
I hope this did not offend anyone, if so, my apologies, it wasn't intended.

Robert

Lastly, get her a squeeze ball to carry and work with to increase the strength of her strong hand.
Click to expand...
Pass
 
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