RFI: Purse Guns

My girlfriend (who has been a gun owner longer than me!) is interested in a revolver for purse carry.

She knows off body carry isn’t optimal and has long resisted it... She carries a semi-auto AIWB when wearing jeans, but often finds herself wearing dresses. While thigh holsters and such exist, she’s quite petite and these wouldn’t work well on her. She finds herself not carrying much of the time as a result, and has decided that a less-optimal defensive setup may be better than no defensive setup.

There is a lot of nonsense out there on carry guns for women; I’m hoping to get some good information. I’m thinking it isn’t the best option to aim for the smallest/lightest revolver, but beyond that don’t know what the go-to models are. Going with a 9mm option like the LCR is appealing so she only needs to have one type of ammo, but I don’t know whether there are meaningful downsides to that.

I’m also not sure of best practices for holsters. It seems a lot of folks just go without a holster and depend on the heavy pull, but my Glock-shooting sensibilities makes that idea painful. Is there a go-to tethered trigger guard holster maker?

Anyway, lots of thoughts above. I’d appreciate any input.

Your girlfriend’s most important consideration is not selecting a new gun but selecting a purse that is specifically designed for carrying a gun in a separate gun compartment.

I would encourage something with a locking zipper, with the key on her person. However, she will need to be 100% sure that it is locked when it needs to be locked and unlocked when it needs to be unlocked.

Let her pick the purse. If you try, you WILL get it wrong.

I am a fan of Coronado Leather, and use their fanny packs. My wife has one of their purses.

Keep in mind that the weight of the gun in a purse will be more noticeable and less comfortable than the same weight carried in a belt holster. Also keep in mind that reloads from the purse may be suboptimal. So, I would think in terms of light weight and/or high capacity.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My wife has a Glock 19 which she loves but she doesnt carry on body so its usually just stored in Kydex covering the trigger guard - she does not carry it in her purse for obvious reasons but she was in the same boat.

I bought her a 642 Airweight (no lock) specifically for this purse carry, and I bought her a simple pocket holster in case she has a lot of things in her purse -

Is this ideal? No, compared to on body semi-auto - however, you can't deny the lightweight 5 shot is more effective than not having anything on your person - shes a petite pretty blonde too and has gotten some cat calls and uncomfortable situations with men around.

It takes training to be proficient but she is willing to put in the time to feel comfortable - shes aware a heavy DA only revolver is a 3 yards 3 seconds 3 shots (or 5) to save your life type of weapon) - but it definitely made a difference in her not being disarmed when she is out and about running errands etc and it makes me more comfortable if shes not with me now too. Yes the Airweight is not as fun to shoot as an all steel revolver but its more comfortable to carry being lighter weight.

For her, changing the grip out to a 3 finger (shes not needing the boot grip to conceal it like I do) made a world of difference in shooting comfort and holding it, vs. the factory 2 finger grip. But taking away the potential snag of a hammer in the purse, as well as the heavy 12 lb DA only trigger, make her and I feel completely safe with it in her purse, and she really doesn't notice the weight much because its only about 16.5 oz loaded.

Maybe I missed this detail in the OP, but, why not purse-carry her current AIWB gun?
Just get a proper dedicated-holser-compartment purse, as Bill suggests above.
Add a trigger guard or pocket carry holster if trigger intrusions are a concern.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RoyGBiv

Maybe I missed this detail in the OP, but, why not purse-carry her current AIWB gun?

---

While not the subject here, I do have a Maxpedition manpurse with concealment compartment and matching "holster" that gets regular use on my bike. My AIWB USP compact makes my bag notably heavier than a snub or subcompact auto. Given all the other weight in a purse, keeping the load down is usually a consideration. There is also the point that many good belt carry guns don't draw well from pockets or bags. The HK I mentioned before is snaggier than a bobbed or hammerless snub.

My wife likes the purses from Gun Totin' Mamas. She has a G19 but it is too big and heavy (guns do feel heavier in a purse or bag than on the waist) so she hauls it around in an off body bag that gets left hidden in the car when she gets out. I am trying to find a purse carry gun she will actually carry. Tried a G26 and a G43. Still looking and I may let her try the 642 I have when it comes back from the gunsmith with a new front sight and smoothed trigger.

Dave