PN>Serious, her marksmanship was very good and gunhandling safety was
PN>excellent.  But we ran into something I'd not thought to anticipate:
PN>while the .45 was for purposes of orientation, so I don't expect that
PN>she's going to need to be able to field strip it in 30 seconds, I
PN>expected that the .380 would be manageable for her.  The shooting part
PN>was okay but she had difficulty operating the slide.
PN>Since these are maintained in either condition 1 or 2, in the event
PN>she had to snatch one up for immediate use she's not going to have to
PN>rely on strength, but in the event that the first round fails she's
PN>gonna be struggling with the darn thing to cycle it.
PN>So my conclusion is that we go shopping for a wheelgun.  At the same
PN>time, I've decided that this .380 is gonna go.  So it's a shopping
PN>spree.  Unfortunately there's a budget issue, too.
PN>A new compact _and_ a new Chief's Special, or whatever, ain't in the
PN>cards.  Anybody with any thoughts on bargain compact firepower?
My wife has exactly the same problem.  I recommend one of the following:
        Ruger SP 101 in a 3" barrel
        Colt OP
        Taurus M85
These three run from around $300 retail, to around $185 (SGN price, if
you have an FFL or a friend with one).
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