J.B.

iTrader: (2)

You are getting all around good advice, but the ultimate answer should depend on your wife's ability to shoot, recoil sensitivity, and comfort with guns. I shoot failry frequently, am comfortable with larger calibers, but usually rely on my S&W J-frame .38spl for the glove box. It will ALWAYS shoot, and when she may need it you don't want to worry about how she is holding the gun, limp wrist, etc. The autos mentioned WILL jam as a result of user error, maybe at the wrong time, maybe not. She may forget the safety on an autp in a high stress situation. Take these out of the equation.

The Judge is also a great rec. All she would need is the 2.5" shell .410. Load it with 00 (which is actually 3 x .37 cal. ***** in a line) or No. 6 shot. The gun weighs enough that recoil would not be a problem for your wife. But...the gun weighs a lot, so it wont get much purse duty.

If you must go semi-auto...go with the small frame 9mm GLOCK (in my experience the most dependable, but many will point you to Sigs and others). I have had a kel tech (9mm) and a kahr (.40)...great little pistols, but the damn things jammed frequently until you get 500-1000+ rounds through them, and that is more than most people will ever shoot them. I sold both of those since I decided I could not depend on them in a life and death situation.

Good luck with it.