2 girls bitten by gun bug, what to suggest?

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gbran

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My son called me. Said his wife and her mother both want a gun for home protection. Mom is single teacher, lives in a condo. My boy works odd hours, his wife is also a teacher, no kids, 3 bedroom single family home. These women aren't anti-gun, but have no experience and right now want home protection.

I will set them down and educate them on everything from situational awareness, preparedness, etc. I'm wrestling with suggested gun choices and would like to keep it simple. I will take them to a local range and let them try various guns.

I'm leaning toward J-Frame 38's or 20ga shotties.

Thoughts?
 
I would say definite no to the J-Frame. As a concealed handgun? Sure. Home defense? Not ideal.

The best thing that you can do is to take them to a range and rent a few guns and let them see what they do and don't like.

I would put several full size semi-automatic pistols in their hands, along with a full size revolver (3"+ barrel). Recently, a woman in Georgia shot an assailant 5 times with a 6 shot revolver, much like that J-frame.... He was hit in the face, neck, and chest and still lived to get out of the house and drive a short distance.

I'm leaning toward J-Frame 38's or 20ga shotties.
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What you are leaning toward is great if you want a new HD gun.... Not great if you are trying to help them out.
 
Not thinking along the same lines here, but what about M&P Shield/Compact? Optional safety. Nice trigger. Easy to hold even for small hands.
 
The only gun my wife refuses to shoot is my J-Frame. She loves the Glock 19, her LCP, even the shotgun, but won't touch the 642. I can't say that I really blame her.

If it's purely for home defense, then it's hard to beat a Glock 19 with a white light.
 
I'd say that a simple pistol like a glock would be good.
Slightly more complex than a revolver, but still easy to learn and reduced felt recoil.
Higher capacity (for now at least!) and easier/faster reloads.
 
Just took a buddy and his wife out to the range yesterday, with a variety of handguns, for this very reason. She chose the Taurus stainless M85. The automatics were too hard for her to rack the slide, and she didn't like the safety on the BHP ... the Glock was worse than the Browning, for racking the slide back.
 
Unless they are mechanically inclined, I'd stay away from the semi-autos and lean toward revolvers. Probably go with a full size and all steel to reduce felt recoil. A .38/.357 is ideal since they can start with .38s and move up to .357 when they are ready. Plus a .38 defense load can be more than adequate.

If they are ready to move up to semi-autos, consider a Sig Sauer P250 9mm in full size or compact. Very simple gun because it is Double Action Only. No external safeties or decockers. Consistent trigger pull very similar to a revolver only smoother. It can also be easily converted to other calibers and even other frame sizes by transferring the modular fire control mechanism to another shell. Sig Sauer sells these Caliber X-Change kits on their website. No FFL needed since the fire control mechanism is the part that is considered to be the gun.
 
Ruger GP-100, 3" 6-shot .357. JMHO, but if we're limiting it to handguns, this is about ideal. Not just for 'the little lady' either... I would gladly have one if it came to that.
 
If they are ready to move up to semi-autos, consider a Sig Sauer P250 9mm in full size or compact. Very simple gun because it is Double Action Only. No external safeties or decockers.
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Good option I hadn't considered. BTW, these are not petit girls. A full sized handgun is not out of the question.
 
Guess we have to think CA legal.

Can either of these teachers leave a weapon in their car on school grounds? If so, a Ruger LCP (380) or the equivalent compact revolver in 38 SPL would be great. My 12 y/o daughter fires the LCP just fine.

For pure home defense, for the ladies, a Mossberg 20 gauge Bantam would be hard to beat. My 9, 11, and 12 y/o can each fire it with comfort.

And of course an at least 3 day class where 500 rounds will be fired.
 
My wife liked the revolver better. " Doesn't have all the buttons to worry about and if i run out of bullets i can hit em with this" She was shooting my GP100:D
 
''That was really decent of you BHP Fan.
I'm sure she appreciated the gesture...''

Her husband and I worked together for about two years as Security in a Casino. The least I could do for these fine folks.
 
I'd hate to buy a gun and find they are uncomfortable with it.

Here's some things I learned recently: modern revolvers may be difficult to shoot in the DA mode for some females. For older females, they may not be able to pull the slide back on a semiautomatic. Glocks are the exception. I suspect that a semi with a flat coil spring is easier for an older woman than a CZ-75 or Browning Hi-Power.

Best thing is to get them firearms safety and handling training first. This should be about four hours of class room and handling with empty firearms. Then take them to the range with a variety of guns. Let them try the guns out and see which works best for them (comfort, ease of handling and operation, accuracy).
 
The P250 compact is fairly large for a compact. Since you're limited in CA to 10 rounds, the only advantages to the full size are slightly better accuracy and reduced muzzle flip. And since you are limited to 10 rounds, it makes the .40 S&W more attractive. The beauty of the P250 is that you can start out with it being a 9mm and convert it to a .40 S&W later. Switching calibers takes no more that 5 minutes once you get the hang of it.
 
Your on a good track with the revolver and or the 20 ga. I would step up to a K frame sized revolver in .38 Special or .357 Mag. I prefer a revolver over a semi-auto for a handgun that will spend most of its life in a drawer. It can lay there 25 years and still function as new. A semi-auto's magazine spring will probably suffer if left fully loaded for 20 + years. Plan on shooting a 125 gr JHP .38+P load for defense. They work well and are not too excessive in recoil. I personally like both a shotgun and a revolver for home defense. The 20 ga in a youth model is excellent. It is shorter an more manuverable in close quarters with the added plus of slightly less recoil. Turkey loads make a good SD load inside the home.
 
Best thing is to get them firearms safety and handling training first. This should be about four hours of class room and handling with empty firearms. Then take them to the range with a variety of guns. Let them try the guns out and see which works best for them (comfort, ease of handling and operation, accuracy).
Click to expand...

Good advice, I have 17 handguns. I'll take them out to shoot most of them. I'll also take them to a range and let them rent some. I will also pay for them to take a safety class.

I'm getting a lot of good input as I expected.
 
If they can pull a slide back then the Kahr CW9 may be the right size gun for there hands and there is no safety to mess with as it's DA .
 
gbran,

Out of the handguns that I have shot, Mid and full size glocks and full size M&Ps have had the easiest slides to manipulate. However, that is not saying that all women can handle it; it is more of just a reference and possibly a starting point.
 
A home protection gun should not be a small gun that doesn't soak up recoil. My first ever gun was dual purpose HS/SD, and it was a J-Frame. It has long since been replaced by others in the HD role. I'd recommend a gun that's simple, kind of heavy, and moderately powerful, like a medium-frame .357 revolver or a double action steel or alloy-framed pistol in 9mm or .45ACP without an external safety. I personally like .40S&W, but it's not the best choice for a new shooter.
 
My daughter is 19 and was going off to college and I wanted her to be able to protect herself. Gave her a stun gun to carry, not old enough for concealed carry license. Took her to the range to have her pick out a gun she liked. Lost my Ruger LCR 38+p. Had her shoot everything from a .22lr to a .45 ACP and she picked my Ruger carry gun ( now my carry gun is the Ruger .357 LCR) she liked the revolvers much more than the semi's, no safety or racking the slide to worry about.
 
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