A friend getting into shooting/self defense reasons

[Black Knight]

As others have stated do not over look a good 38 Special revolver. The S&W K frame (models 10, 15, 64, and 67) are nearly ideal for her purpose. Also the 357 Magnum versions are also good since they will fire 38 Special ammo as well. Depending on how much practice she plans on getting the revolver may be her best choice. It is simple to operate and simple to load. It is always ready when needed. You don't have safeties to flip, decockers or any other doodads that can be forgotten in a high stress situation. Some may not believe it but when cops went to semi auto pistols there were several cop deaths attributed to the lack of familarity with their duty weapons. Remember the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid or if you prefer Keep It Sweet and Simple).

 

[PaisteMage]

I figured a revolver for similar reasons.

We are going to plan on going to the gun store in the next couple days.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

Try as I might I could not get my wife to enjoy my bottom feeders. In her eyes they were too complicated, always trying to bite her, and slinging hot brass in her personal space.

I rescued a beater Taurus 82 just for a project and did a bit of tuning on it... she loved it. Now a finessed 4" Ruger SP101 is her bedside guardian and she's getting to be a decent shot.

Now a higher priority. As mentioned above if she needs to know if she would use a gun on another human. If not it would likely get taken away from her and the scenario goes downhill from there.

Professional training takes the personal touch (and mostly the personal conflict) out of it. I wish I could convince my wife to sign up.

 

[BCRider]

The first step is to have a heart to heart talk with her about if she is absolutely willing to use a gun on another human. This has to come before any decisions regarding type of gun or caliber. If she has any doubts at all she should not consider a firearm.

A day at the range to play with the toys is never a bad way to spend some time.

But before she goes further than that I think Drail's thoughts are spot on. if she can't or won't commit to pulling the trigger in a crunch it would be simply too easy for her to be disarmed and have her own gun turned against her. Or if nothing else her threat against the perp would certainly escalate the violence due to retaliation.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

Since it will be a house pistol and not a conceal carry pistol, I would opt for something that is larger and heavier in order to mitigate recoil. Most begining shooters seem to be a bit more bothered by recoil from my observations.

 

[Cee Zee]

I talked my daughter into buying a .38 spcl.. I talked my wife into a .380. But both are carry guns. For a HD gun you can't beat Big Green and her killing machine, an 870 probably in 20 ga.. That's what I gave my daughter only it was a Mossberg actually. Maybe go ahead and get the 12 ga. depending on the person. That's what I use for HD. You can bet it will do the job.

The thing about handguns is they penetrate a lot. Depending on location that can be a problem. That's a big reason people go with shotguns. There are others. First off a shotgun will knock the crap out of pretty much anyone when loaded with the right shells. Don't use bird shot. Bird shot is for birds. Use buckshot. Yeah I know it's for bucks but it works on people too. Birdshot doesn't. It doesn't work that well on birds even.

If she is dead set on a handgun I'd get a 9mm for the house. It's the gun that keeps on shooting and shooting and shooting (get one with a high capacity mag like a SA XDm or a Glock and get an extra mag or 5). A .40 works too but a 9mm is good enough. I actually have a .40 that I use for home and car duty these days although the shotgun is the primary for the house. I have 2 .45's but the .40 has impressed me enough to switch after many, many years. The penetration of things like car doors has made me think twice not to mention the fact I can carry 16+1 rounds in my XDm. I really like my Taurus PT-145 which holds 10+1 rounds of .45 ACP but that's more of a concealed carry gun. I have a Sig P220 but it only holds 8+1 rounds which is a big disadvantage these days IMO. I just don't want to get shot for the lack of shooting back.

If I shoot the right direction the chances of hitting anyone are very remote (as in about a billion to one) so a handgun isn't so bad for me. But if your friend lives in an apartment complex in town get a shotgun. It will penetrate most walls too but not as much as a handgun. For proof of that check out the Box O' Truth website.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

I suggest you also consider a revolver chambered for .327 Magnum. I keep a S&W 632 loaded with .32 S&W Long 100gr wadcutters for my wife and daughter to use for home defense. (Neither one shoot handguns very much and I wanted an easy to use handgun with low felt recoil. Both enjoy shooting it and have confidence in their proficiency with it.) It has no exposed hammer that can be inadvertantly cocked under stress.

It offers 6 shots (versus 5 shots for a small frame .38 Special).