"Mom gun" recommendations needed

[honkeoki]

Long story short: my mom's neighborhood has gone downhill and she can't or won't move (not sure which...). Encounters are mainly break-ins with the occasional overly aggressive panhandler/drug dealer type. She wants a home defense gun.

My mom's in her mid-fifties, about 5'5", maybe 140 lb. She grew up in the Ozarks and is not afraid of guns.

I think the best HD combo would be a 12-gauge pump and a S&W 38 snubby in case she decides to get her CCW. At the same time, she's not a big woman and a little fragile. Perhaps a 20-gauge pump would be a better choice?

I plan on training her myself in basic usage and sending her to other training so she won't be stuck with the "in-the-box" training... Any other suggestions for properly arming my mom?

[pax]

First, read this old thread: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=172170 Title is "Buying a gun for your wife?" but it applies equally well to Moms, sisters, and girlfriends... :)

Second, when you've narrowed the choices down a little, take her with you to pick out the gun. If at all possible, get yourselves to a range with rental guns, and have her actually shoot the ones you're thinking of getting for her. Don't narrow the choices down too far. Make sure the guns she tries are not all one caliber, nor all one brand, and that there's a reasonable variety. Let her make the final decision.

As far as a shotgun for home defense, there are pluses and minuses for that one. Shotguns aren't magical; despite popular lore, they still require some skill on the part of the user and some understanding of what they are capable of. They're usually slower to access, harder to use in tight quarters, and can be hard on old shoulder bones making practice with them painful and annoying. OTOH, most people shot with a shotgun at close range go down and stay down, and they're certainly convincing weapons for deterrent effect. Pluses and minuses...

Finally, since she's your mom you may not be able to answer this or even want to ask it of her, but at some point she needs to answer the question: is she really and truly able to kill another human being to save her own life? If the answer is "no," then she needs to work on that before you can consider putting a gun into the picture.

HTH.

pax

[gunsmith]

probably wouldn't damage neighbors houses if she missed and if she did miss the bad guy probably gonna run away anyhow.

being from the ozarks she is probably used to lever guns maybe a lever 357 with a revolver in .357 as well? they can both hold .38 as well

[Euclidean]

I had to tackle this one some time ago. Basically, I had a person who had some experience with guns but wasn't a gun lover, who suffers from arthritis.

A long gun was out. The only long guns she's fired were .22s and once upon a time small bore shotguns.

We tried a semiautomatic, but she couldn't rack the slide or manipulate the controls due to her medical condition. Not enough strength in her hands to do it consistently.

We considered that I could simply load the gun for her and leave it ready to go, but that's no good. She needs a gun she can use all by herself.

I wound up packing up every single revolver I own and bringing them all to her, and taking her to see a couple more. She understands that more weight = less felt recoil, but to her my M1 Carbine is a chore to carry from one side of the house to the other. I just let her examine and sort them by herself for about an hour, and she decided in the end that she liked my Colt Agent, so it's now her Colt Agent.

I'll mention again my mother has special health needs, I'd much rather she had a different type of gun, but if she can't use another type of gun, this is as good as we're going to do. Plus, she picked it out of plenty of options, so she's likely to use it at least. Some people decry it on the basis of a six round capacity, but she can only fire 3-5 shots at a time anyway before her fingers burn so bad they seize up on her.

And keep in mind she has no interest in CCW, this is the last ditch the-security-system-has-failed-and-the-police-are- coming-but-not-here-yet-and-it's-just-me-and-Mr. Goblin tool.

My friend's mom on the other hand took an XD9 service and never looked back.

[Furncliff]

http://www.rottweiler-bordercollie.at/rottweiler-bordercollie-images/rottweiler-rotti-home.jpg


Mom's best friend.

[honkeoki]

Great post, pax. Excellent advice. I won't try to pick for her but I'll make myself available to advise when necessary.

[benEzra]

Hi Point 9mm carbine might be another good option to consider.

[GoBrush]

Use Pax advise on the handgun but I think it would be wise to get a shotgun as well. If she is petite then I think your 20 ga thought is right on.

Nice job just what the world needs more armed Mom's

Good luck

[BozemanMT]

Revolver
Simple to use, simple to remember, mighty scary looking (let's face it no one really wants to shoot someone, they just have to)
can keep it loaded all the time, nothing to remember but pull the trigger.
big one (4" or 6") for weight and recoil control, I'd get a .357 and let her practice lots with wimpy .38 spl. You could even load it up with +P .38 spl loads instead of the .357. but the .357 revolver will be better built. I'd get a stainless so you worry less about rust and just put it whereever it needs to be.
I have the same problem with my mom, but worse, she's an anti. I haven't convinced her yet, I just hope nothing bad happens before I get her convinced.
Good luck

[Larry Ashcraft]

Went through just about the same thing with my wife. She likes to shoot, so getting her to try out different guns was no problem. She likes wheelguns so I bought her a J-frame Ladysmith for her birthday (she had been wanting one).

She loves the Ladysmith and enjoys shooting it, but ruled out carrying it because the fat grip requires her to re-position her hand after drawing, which was unacceptable to her. MY Model 36 works fine for her, so I suggested I get some regular Chief's Special grips for her gun.

No dice. Her gun is going to stay pretty.

KelTec P3AT? Nope, she can't rack the slide. PPKS .380? Nope, why carry a gun three times the weight of the KelTec if it has the same capacity.

Solution is I will have to find another 36 for her, or give up mine when I get a good holster for my 1911.

[Rampant_Colt]

a Makarov with 95gr. Hornady XTP cartridges. . .or a Glock 19