Handgun for a household

damn car laptop hahaha

This thread is an odoriferous example of why so many woman HATE shooting - too many men that think they know better, and hell bent on making them shoot THEIR way, rather than letting the woman make her own informed decision.

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But, without knowing our way they can't learn what their way is.

J-frame or any .38 snub is not a good idea, UNLESS you load it with 148 grain full wadcutter target ammo. Even then, she may have trouble pulling the trigger and not be accurate.

My first thought was a Ruger 22/45 and get her confident and competent with that.

A fast 10 rds of .22 LR to the face should change the mind of just about anybody.

Is a .22 ideal? Well, for her, it well might be. Going with a gun and/or caliber she cannot control does no one any good. Remember SHE is the key, not you, not the online experts, only HER.

Find what suits HER. Then practice practice practice.

Revolver in 38 spl. No muss, no fuss, just point and shoot.

I know that a shotgun has been ruled out, but I want to experess an opinion on home security...there is nothing better than a shotgun with #2 or #4 BIRD shot. You are in a house remember???

In the case of a small woman (my mom was about the OP's mother size, 5' and 95 lbs) and there is no way she could ever shoulder and fire dad's 12 ga shotgun.... but...

So: How come everyone forgets, a 45 LC and 410 shotgun shoot about the same? (Ah la "The Judge"?) Actually my mom's home defence weapon was a youth stocked 26" 28 ga. shotgun. Very small, very light and easy to handle for a small woman. (she also had a very old 32 cal revolver that belonged to her brother...but I don't think she ever shot it)

So now back to pistol/revolvers. 38 special, or 380 have good home defence ammo available and do not kick much. Revolvers are simple, autos, are also simple with a bit of practice...let her try then first..she is a small woman, not a man.

Okay thank you everyone for the posts, however the problem with the full-size revolvers (and semis) is that this gun WILL also be a carry gun, not merely for HD as the thread title suggests.

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That changes my Model 10 recommendation, then. The k-frame S&Ws are too big and heavy for carrying in a purse. You really need a pistol belt/holster for convenient carry and I doubt that's an option.

I'll say a S&W Model 36 in 38spl, maybe with a 3" barrel. Very nice shooter, foolproof action, compact size. Kinda like a Model 10 junior.

This is one I had long ago, sold it to a guy for a lot of money back then

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_&_Wesson_Model_60

Picture at link shows this one...
Smith & Wesson Model 60-10 with 3" barrel

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Like a lot of guys here I always thought that a 6 shot 3 or 4 inch Stainless 38/357 was the ideal hand gun for the "non-gun" person for home defense. It still is a good choice.

However not to long ago a incident altered that opinion.

My neighbor became a widow. She approached me to help her find a handgun and help her learn it. So my wife and I let her shoot our 3 and 4 inch GP 100's with 38 loads. The hardiest decision would be which one she liked the best, right? WRONG!!! Even at 7 yards I could get her on the paper!

She is not power puff either. Though in her middle 60's she/we live in the country. She has houses and other critters to care for, and is always carrying 50# sacks of feed.

So one day I let her shoot a Glock 19. She immediately began cutting the X out. I let her try my G26, after a few rounds she went back to the 19. Yes she had a little trouble with locking the slide back, but after I showed her how to use both hands to do that she hasn't had a problem since.

Within a month she had her own G19 (bought here on THR).

My point is LET THEM SHOT AND DECIDE ON THEIR OWN GUN. I've known women that wouldn't shoot anything bigger than a 22. Though I would recommend a 22 for SD, 10 hits with a 22 beats 6 misses with a 44.

Well that's a horse of a different color, for carry I use a Ruger LC9.

I'm very hesitant to recommend a semi-auto for anyone who is an
inexperienced shooter; but rather a 4" .38 Special caliber revolver
of Smith & Wesson, Colt, or Ruger make~!

Wolfgang2000
<SNIP>
So one day I let her shoot a Glock 19. She immediately began cutting the X out. I let her try my G26, after a few rounds she went back to the 19. Yes she had a little trouble with locking the slide back, but after I showed her how to use both hands to do that she hasn't had a problem since.
<SNIP>

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Off topic but still applicable.

The challenge of gripping the slide while slingshotting it back can be attributed to the poor ergonomics of the hand's motion. Think about it, grip something that is 1" to 1.5" wide while pulling it back with a force of 15 to 20-something pounds is not a natural motion. I workout 3x a week with weights and I even have a hard time doing this with a couple of my guns. My solution was to adhere 3M Traction tape to specific areas of the slide.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-7635NA-Saf...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1298771062&sr=8-1

It has worked wonders. The P-11 that I used to have a hard time grabbing onto due to the small size can now be racked with great ease. I even tried it with oil on my fingers/hands and it still racked with ease.

I went through this with my wife. I wanted to give her a revolver, she didn't like any revolver. We went through several semis before she found the one that felt best to her. Bottom line is I agree with the folks that say let her choose. Caliber? as strong as she can handle. Size? as big as she can handle to reduce recoil. Reliability?, get the best you can afford with her criteria.

I've went through this with my wife and mother in the last 12 months.

Wife ended up with a S&W 60 Pro. It has met her needs. She likes the front night sight. And the ability to shoot .357's as she matures with her shooting skills. She did not want a auto of any kind.

Mother ended up with a GP-100 Royal Phoenix. She got it into her head that since she lived in Mesa and the factory was close for any needed service or repair that was the gun for her. And she liked the look of a quality built revolver. It is a beautiful weapon.

Teaching girls/women to shoot is a whole diff thing than working with boys/men in my experience. With my wife and mother both wanted to know what was in there pistols and what made them work. So with that having to be done I went ahead and did trigger jobs on them. Even put a stone in there hands. It worked out great! They seem to have a real kinship with the pistols. At the same time the pistols got there first cleaning and they did it all.

Safety almost seems to be a natural element of a smart women. Women have always impressed me with the attitude twords safety and there right out of the box basic safety knowledge. It's like they have studied it quietly in case they every need the skill.

Getting the shooting part down can be a challenge. My mother went pretty easy into a good stance at the range and did pretty good. The wife on the other hand has real range shooting issues. She just can't get into a workable stance. BUT,,, the wife is doing very good at defensive shooting from none standard positions. Like shooting from the a bed with pistol coming out of a night stand. Too pulling pistol out of a hiding spot in the home and shooting from around a corner, sofa or hitting the floor. She has also excelled in covering her self when say,, she is out working her flower beds around the house. She has a pretty good draw form her guarding tool bag and target acquisition.

The practical shooting around the house really worry's my mom. I assured her in her 70's she is doing great! And she is not going to be able to move like the wife and I in our 50's. The basic range practice will make a diff. if she ever has to shoot a BG.

Mom enjoys going to the range. Being semi retired, it's something to do. The wife on the other hand as all sorts of things to do,,, or so she thinks.

I found it really cool that both women choose high value pistols. One being full size and the other a compact. And willing to explore and shoot the wide range of ammo those pistols offer.

Buy her a Ruger SP101 revolver with a 3" barrel she can run 38sp in it with better control from the longer barrel. It is in your price range and that gun will flat out last through thousands of rounds. Not too many moving parts just point and shoot. Keep it simple for her.

Get her a g19- wont ever have to worry about cleaning and such. Simple. You can clean it when your home.

And sign her up for a class for spend several range sessions with her. But id recommend a class.

I realize some women, and men for that matter, do have considerable trouble racking a slide on an automatic. But, I think they should be allowed to try it, using proper technique, before settling on a revolver. With proper technique I was able to get my petite asian wife to rack the slide of her pm9 reliably, and that little gun is stiff! She dares me to ever sell that gun.

Here is what my wife uses for home defense when I am away, all steel Taurus M85 .38spl. guaranteed to go bang evertime the trigger is pulled.

txhoghunter,

You asked about the compact XD. I had one of those and it was just great. A little harder to shoot at distance with the short sight radius, but more than adequate for self defense. It's a good value as well. I only sold mine to make room for a new toy.

Let me also say that if you're concerned about pulling back the slide, the easiest I've found (so far) is a Bersa .380. Terrifically comfortable little pistol, small enough to carry. I sold it to a friend who tried it out and liked it.

I'll also echo the importance of letting a new shooter handle as many as possible (Gunshow) and see what's comfortable/attractive to her. The reason that I sold that Bersa is that my wife no longer cared for it after shooting a 1911.

txhoghunter said:

Maybe this looks better.....

Clicking on the thumbnail will give you a good view of it. I'm pretty surprised at how quickly she was able to learn and then shoot like this

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Looks like one dead BG and like she found herself a winner in P238. Congrats!