When you go gun shopping, take your wife with you. Ask other gun owners about their favorite gun shop where customer service is great. When my wife first started shooting, the people where we shop were very helpful without 'steering' her toward a particular pistol. She made a very good choice in a Ruger Mark III 22 target pistol. And, as for what several have stated: Get lessons (they may offer them at the shop you choose). AND Practice, practice......
9MM Glock or Shield perfect for the lady, and with extra magazines the reload time is really fast compared to a revolver, not that it would ever come to that. As mentioned, a lot of training! Bob H.
If you live in the sticks, your main threats are wild/rabid/pissed off animals. For those you need a 45 or a shotgun loaded with 00 buck. Just last week a woman here in NH was badly mauled by a black bear that wandered into her house looking for food. It got in through an unlatched door, and when she came downstairs to see what the commotion was, the bear must have felt threatened and attacked her. Even with a 12 gauge, its gonna take a few pumps to put down an attacking animal. If you are worried about human intruders, a 9mm is a practical choice. Cheap to shoot, decent ballistics and a ton of choices in the 3-500 dollar mark. A short barrel shotgun with a pistol grip is easier on small hands than almost any revolver. I personally think that a 38 is inadequate for home defense. Those are truck/carry guns so you can sting the enemy and make a quick getaway. 911 is a joke in a situation. The incident will go down in the time it takes to dial the phone.
I use a 22 semi auto pistol. Something most people don't think about is... discharge a .38 or .357 in the house and you will have no hearing for the rest of your life. No thanks. 22 would be bad enough!
I agree 911 was is a joke sometimes. Personaly I've been on hold, transferred to different police stations talking a lot of time and even hung up on.. and even spoken to like I'm the damm perpetrator. The questions they ask you in the heat of the moment when you just need them their is beyond me too. Plus living in the sticks makes for longer response times. Have you ever heard this saying " I call 911 to pick up the bodies" Putting one in the air or one in their ass is good way to get the point across not to ever come back around here. Some dogs are jokes and if not properly trained to attack might not. Dogs can be poisoned and shot, then what. Training classes on guns, shooting different guns and your other tips did open my eyes more. Thanks guys. I'm still liking the. 38 and the 357 now seems nice but I'm going to have take the wife to a shop and put them in her hands (she has small hands too). I just think that a shotgun will intimate her. Those jackrabbits do need some fear in their life they have eaten one of my favorite plants I brought up here that I've been growing for 3 years.
I own multiple Glocks. No gun is ever guaranteed not to malfunction. EVER. PERIOD. That said, from personal experience they tend to be on the high end of the reliability scale. Take your wife and go to a range/club where you can rent many different firearms to try out. The key is to find something you are both comfortable with. If one of you is not, it will be an automatic detriment in an emergency situation. Don't buy into the "nothing under a 45" crowd, nor the "a 22 is plenty". The fact of the matter is there are tooany variables in situations like these for blanket statements. Shotguns have positives and negatives in situations like these. At typical in home defenseive distances, even birdshot will only spread a few inches in a cylinder bore barrel, so there is no crutch for poor accuracy. Pistol grip shotguns are slightly more easily wielded, but are tougher to shoot quickly, you have less to mitigate recoil, and are often the result of many a busted lip in novice shooters. Also, the "sound of a racking shotgun" stigmata is only partially true. If the intruder in your home is armed now you've just told them where you are and your armed. A tactical disadvantage. As far as revolver vs semi auto, there are merits to both. But again, personal comfort with your choice may supercede all that. Semi's usually have higher capacity, which in a stress situation the more rounds on tap, the better, you're not rattling off head or even likely center mass shots at 2am in the dark with your heart rate elevated and adrenaline flowing. The more opportunities to hit your target the better. They also often time have more manageable triggers compared to a double action revolver. Revolvers are simpler machines, and usually less susceptible to malfunctions. Anyone says they never malfunction is dead wrong and hasn't spent enough time at a range to give said advice. I've seen them fail. Multiple times. Catastrophically. Are they less prone to failures? Absolutely. But never say never. The catch is normally in a revolver a failure is due to a broken part, not something your fixing on the fly. A semi is usually a jam, often cleared with a "tap rack bang" drill. But not always. That's where practice comes in. And that's the most important part. Practice, practice PRACTICE!! And when you've shot to the point you're proficient, shoot some more. And practice is not all about hitting the bullseye. It's safe handling, manipulation of controls via muscle memory, and being able to make concious decisions in shoot/don't shoot instances. Got kids/pets/other people at home? Better know what's behind certain walls depending on your potential point of impacts. Point is, safety safety safety!! Professional training would be recommended, but even someone who's been a shooter for a long time and clearly knows safe gun handling would beat nothing. Ask them if they can recite colonel Jeff Cooper's 4 rules. If they can, they're likely knowledgeable in safety. How to move through the house properly (look up "slicing the pie"), shooting in low light/no light situations with flashlights, ammo selection, all things that require consideration. And that's not even getting into caliber selection and bullet types. I'll save that for another lengthy post.
Great post brother, I learned from it. Appreciate you and others for you time your taking out to give me the real deal.
every round sent down range better have a really good lawyers name attached to it..in the right or in the wrong..its gonna be a bad day, and a good lawyer is a must..you fire..you never say a word wouldnt say anything without proper representation..more than one good citizen has gone to the klink for killing a bad guy...i wouldnt make any statement with out a lawyer present..in the right or not..
Well ,The fact that you’re asking opinions on a classic car forum about Firearms is already a concern In the comments you made ( and a lot of the reply’s ) tells me you know nothing about firearms. It takes a LOT of training to become proficient and then to keep that up. Add in the stress of becoming awake and in the Middle of the night in the dark trying to make a split second decision . You’re going to end up pulling an Oscar Pistorius, at best . I won’t even get into the psychology of choosing to shoot a human being vs a jack rabbit . IF you’re serious . Get yourself and wife to classes And rent several weapons before making a purchase . Then make the dedication of thousands upon thousands of Repetitions. PS : arguments over caliber or jamming is the LAST conversation you should be having . Leave that up to the self proclaimed Internet trolls . Good luck ,
I was in the same boat as you many years ago, had many gun nut friends, me not so much on gun knowledge. I needed something for simple protection, all my so called gun expert friends led me to a new .357 Taurus 6 shot 4" barrel revolver, best money I spent, still have it and learned a lot from firing it. Shooting .38 rounds was nice and easy, so were +P's, you want something hotter later, full house .357 round will give you a thrill.
The question should be what are you trying to achieve: home defense vs.stopping power.The average hi- caliber weapons 357+creates a bunch of muzzle velocity, which equates to recoil.Could be uncomfortable in a woman's hands.I like Magnum revolvers, however can you imagine a load like that ripping thru your house/ neighbors house...whatever You decide, arm yourselves with good cameras, monitors,strategic zones where firearms could be concealed/ back-up with knives,a hammer or two...and a couple of tazers.By all means, have escape routes planned.Out, is sometimes safer than cornered, even with a gun. Have your spouse go with you to purchase, and learn how to shoot a weapon. Talk about the serious nature of home protection. Finally,a gun should NEVER BE POINTED AT ANYTHING YOU DON'T INTEND TO SHOOT.(Something I learned in Boy Scouts, and the military.) We live in different times, than the 1960-70's. Thanks for reading.Mr.Jay B.Britt,Jr.
I gave my Ex a S&W 60 Pro for a self defense gun. Would shoot .38 or .357 First round was a scatter shot followed by a hollow point. The 60 pro has adjustable sights, able to shoot .357 and .38+P and was simple for her to operate.
Did you skip a meal today or a pill. Chill on your assumptions about me because they are wrong. I've been around guns my whole life. Shot my first gun at 7 years old and hunted with riffles. Just asking a simple question on a forum that i frequent. I love when people got me figured out and never met me.
