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The Right Gun - Chapter 2

Now that I’ve told you all the things wrong about a 2-inch revolver for a woman let me tell you that just because it makes a terrible first gun doesn’t mean that it can’t be mastered. Oh, and by the way, once mastered it makes a great concealable tool to add to your repertoire.

Here are some of the tricks… Ummmm…. There are no tricks. It’s just a matter of utilizing your skill set. Front sight, trigger squeeze, sight picture, grip, stance, you know the drill. There is, of course, the matter of the 12-pound trigger but with a little help from your dependable gunsmith you can have the trigger smoothed, NOT lightened, by cleaning up any burrs that inevitably are on the edges of metal. Although this doesn’t take any poundage away from the trigger it sure feels like it. The trigger will be cleaner and smoother and will allow the shooter to have a more manageable and consistent trigger squeeze every time.

Now it’s time to become familiar with your equipment. Take the EMPTY gun (making sure there is NO ammunition in the vicinity) and sit in front of your television and work with the trigger, examine your sight picture, re-evaluate your grip (which may need to be slightly altered for a revolver) and dry fire until the cows come home.

Then take it out on the range and put that practice into use and slow fire your revolver. Your recoil will be dramatically greater than most of your semi automatics of similar caliber, but some of that can be decreased by the type of grips you have on the gun. See how many shots you can get into the center of the target at 21 feet. Remember this is NOT your traditional long distance tool, although it’s been known to pick off a target between 40-50 yards with the right shooter and circumstances. You probably won’t want to shoot a lot of rounds this first time but as you get to know your equipment you will find that it is not such a terrible experience as you first thought it was.

When I first started shooting some well meaning friend put me into a 2-inch revolver. I hated it BUT I hated being defeated by something more. So I continued to shoot with a semi auto and eventually went back to that revolver to figure what I was doing wrong because by that time I had seen some incredible shooting done with these little guys. I worked with it and worked with it and finally became quite proficient and as much as I am an avid Glock shooter today I still carry my 2-inch faithfully as a highly concealable and dependable backup gun.

I am still vehemently against putting one of these little revolvers into the hands of a new female shooter because of the importance of a positive experience. BUT on the other hand I am not against teaching a relatively seasoned female shooter the benefits of owning and utilizing one. There is a difference!