Handgun for a household

[txhoghunter]

Ok, so with me being at college my mother and little brother are home alone. My little brother knows how to shoot, but is FAR to young to be able to defend himself and my mother should something happen.

Recently, something did happen (but I'm not going to get into what), and it scared my mother so much that she texted me saying that I need to get home to teach her how to shoot. My mother has never been anti-gun, but she has always questioned the reasons for having one within easy access in a house. I have been trying to convince her that she needed to learn *before* something like this happened, but she is a little stubborn and wouldn't consider it. Now that something has, it seems as if she is willing to listen to me.

On to my question: What would be a good semi-automatic pistol that she can handle. I have a few ideas, but would like to hear from y'all. My mother is very small (just over 5' and less than 120lbs), but I am hesitant to go for a caliber smaller than 9mm.

And price is somewhat of a concern, a $500 pistol is probably the absolute max. So any recommendations for a reliable and accurate gun are appreciated.

Any thoughts THR?

 

[mbopp]

I'm hesitant to recommend a handgun for an inexperienced person but since you asked.....

How about a revolver in 38 SPL? You won't have to worry about her ability to clear a jam and a J-frame would fit her hand.

 

[txhoghunter]

That was one on my thoughts.

The reason I am asking for a handgun is because she is adamantly against a shotgun or rifle (there is an AR in case she changes her mind), and I would rather her have something as opposed to nothing.

 

[Harley Quinn]

The 38 Spl in a nice handling revolver is good IMHO I have a tendency to mention double action, only, now

 

[txhoghunter]

Do y'all think that the new S&W bodyguard .38 would be a good idea? Would the laser grip be a plus?

 

[Claude Clay]

laser may confuse ( light dancing everywhere but on the target)

train her to just put the gun between herself and the BG.
if he don't leave and she has to shoot, hit him she will

 

[Rsuchy86]

Consider a ruger Lcr as well .... My girlfriends mother was given one for Christmas and loves it

 

[txhoghunter]

I like the LCR, can anyone vouch for its reliability?

 

[rellascout]

Not to be rude but why on earth are people suggestion a LCR, light weight snub gun for a new shooter for a home defense weapon? Seriously IMHO that might be the worst choice the OP could make.

Suggestion #1 is a dog. Does not have to be big simply has to be loud. A dog and the noise it makes and the attention it draws is the #1 way to deter people from entering your home when you are not there and alerting you to someone when you are.

Suggestion #2 is a shotgun. A 12 guage loaded with reduced recoil buck or a 20 gauge is going to be a effective easy to use home defense gun. An AR is a poor choice IMHO unless it is in the hands of a skilled shooter. The chances for a failure to feed or a over penetration is way too high IMHO.

The 3rd choice is a revolver. Something in the 3" to 4" barrel range. Something heavy and reliable. Loaded with .38 spl should be enough.

4th choice is a full sized semi-auto. Unless she wants to shoot a lot the possible if not propable missfeed or stoppage could cost her her life if she is not trained in how to clear is quickly.

In the end she needs to choose not out of fear but out of strength. She needs to choose the weapon she is comfortable with, that she can shoot and hopefully enjoy shooting.

I suggest taking her to a range or shop. Let her handle some guns. Guide her a bit but do not pick it out for her. Once she has a few choices singled out rent them and let her shoot them. One will pick her more than she will pick it. If after all of that she is not comfortable and cannot find a gun to fit her see suggestion #1.

 

[txhoghunter]

1) we have a dog, 2 actually
2) she does not want a shotgun (that was in the OP)
(and an AR overpenetrates less than 00 buck)
3) any suggestions on models to avoid?
4) again, any models to avoid? (and some compact semi's will be considered because this gun will eventually be carried either in her purse or somewhere on her)

She has been to the range, which is why she is against shotguns and rifles. And before I go anywhere to look for guns with her, I am asking what y'all see as potentially good guns, and guns to avoid.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Sorry but you need to do two thing

TAKE HER TO A GUN CLASS
I know she want's you to teach her, but let a professional start it, a class runs you about 100
Great place to start http://www.nrainstructors.org/searchcourse.aspx

Then take her shopping somewhere she can TRY the guns before you BUY a gun, She might want a .38, or a glock where there is no safety to hang her up, or she might want a 1911, but her Ergos and Likes are not yours, think of it this way, it's like buying her jewelry or shoes, she will 'like' what ever you get her cause she is your mom

BUT, what you help her pick out, her choice is what she will wear every day.
MINDSET, TRAINING, THEN EQUIPMENT
please in that order, better her have a layered security (dog, hardened house, security system, personal weapons) than a Magical talisman of perceived safety aka gun that she freezes with instead of using.

 

[rellascout]

I disagree 100% that an AR is going to underpenetrate low recoil tactical buck shot. Even if it was a push the shotgun is easier to handle and easier to operate. I bet she has never shot tactical buckshot. Unless she is going to get some real training putting a carbine in her hands is not a good idea. IMHO.

As for good revolvers look at the Ruger GP100s. They are .357 mags but you can shoot 38spl. They are reliable cheap and build like tanks. Semi-auto you could name 50 great guns which will get the job done.

Consider this recommending this one or that one is not really productive. Everyone is different. Everyones hands are different, Everyone's recoil impulse and hand strength are different. Eye sight comes into play. It is impossible to for us who know nothing about these critical factors and how they apply to your mother to pick a gun for her.

Your approach is flawed. The reality is that 100 different people can ask the same question and there are 100 different "right" answers. I know that is not what you want to hear but it is the truth.

Take her to a shop. Let heR shoot at the range let her choose her own gun. Read this thread....

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=564531

 

[Shadow 7D]

Any quality firearm will do, from a .22 to a DEagle .50, it's what she can shoot and what she is willing to shoot that makes all the difference.

A light gun is painful to shoot, easy to carry
A heave gun is easier to shoot, but heavy, and can be taxing to carry/shoot
A larger caliber is more difficult to shoot, and recoils more,
a smaller caliber is easier to shoot and recoils less
A little gun is hard to hold on to, a larger gun is hard to hide

And I don't know your mom, maybe she like a FN 5-7, maybe a SW .38, or a S&W 59, or M&P or Glock, Lots of guns out there, let her pick, and keep her away from junk (like a jennings etc.)

Hell for a HD, a HiPoint works fine, but then so does a 1911

Damnit scout,you beat me to it, READ THE LINK ABOVE, then maybe you will quit whining about the real answers and help you are getting here.

 

[hirundo82]

If she's not going to carry, I'd try to steer her toward a K-frame .38; you should be able to easily find a used S&W in her price range. Let her make the decision however.

 

[Wishoot]

I love my LCR, but it's just about the last gun I would recommend for a new, inexperienced shooter.

I would wholeheartedly agree with a couple of points that have already been made...

* Take a class from a professional. Hopefully she'll have an opportunity to try out both a revolver and a semi.

* Strongly consider a 4" .357 revolver. For the recoil sensitive, a .38+p load is great. Operation is as simple as pulling the trigger. Options such as a laser are readily available.

* Consider a Glock 19 too. Very easy to operate and maintain.

* Get a bigger dog.

 

[Adair]

In a semi auto I would look no farther than the Ruget SR9 or SR9c, and maybe the XD9 compact. As others have said, a revolver in 38 Special is probably the best choice unless she is going to become proficient with the semi auto, which no matter what she chooses, proficiency is the most important objective. All that being said, stick with a name brand and let her choose what feels good in her hand and she should be OK. After all, she is buying something to defend her life.

"The American Rifleman" put 10,000 +P round through an LCR. Here is what they had to say "More than 10,000 rounds of .38 Spl. + P had been fired through the gun. It didn’t look or handle like a gun that had been torture tested or worn out. Everything worked, it shot straight, and it still locked up tight." That's pretty impressive!

 

[oneounceload]

Second the class and range rentals for her AND your brother.

A snub is too small and the recoil can be bothersome.

 

[jbr]

My wife and kids shoot two guns well. My daughter's Browning Buck Mark .22 and my CZ 75. Why? Single action triggers, heavy weight, low recoil. Many guns fit this description but the one thing I think makes the most difference is the single action trigger. Unless she is willing to practice a lot - and i doubt she is - double action triggers can make accuracy hard to master, especially in a panic! I agree with many here - larger is better for a beginner. Good luck!

 

[USAF_Vet]

My mom is living alone while my step dad is on business. She has a Ruger something or other, .22 single action. I showed her how to load it and how to use it. she isn't overly concerned with anyone breaking in, but I can foresee some rowdiness in the area. She lives at the end of a lake access road in a rural town. She has two yellow labs, both are dumb as rocks, and bark nearly constantly at just about anything. I consider them unreliable as watch dogs, but any BG may not. Anyway, she also has access to a half dozen or so shotguns, which I recommended to her to be the better HD option. The SxS Charles Daley 12ga or the Remington semi-auto 12ga were my choices, but she is familiar with the pump, which she also has. As it stands, I'll be going with her to the range as often as I can to get her comfortable with her weapon of choice in the home. Regardless of which gun she grabs in a HD situation, as long as she is comfortable with it's function and operation, she should be fine. YMMMV (Your mom's mileage may vary)

 

[NMGonzo]

A number of .38 specials will be had for half that much.

Shooting a gun is not rocket science, is shooting when you need to shoot and hitting what needs to be hit is the tricky part.

 

[WVleo]

Get Yourselves a Police Trade in .357 revolver ( gives Her more ammo options ) and load it with .38's for Home defense . Buy a few boxes of wadcutters for Her to learn and practice, then chose a self defense round and have Her practice with that round to build confidence in Her ability with the firearm. Keep ammo choice easy a la wal-mart ( so she can get Her own anytime easily and practice ) . If She lives in a area where 6 shots won't maintain Home defense, time to move Her somewhere else.....WVleo

 

[Joker19]

Here is the deal

You will NEVER hear it, you will NEVER feel the recoil, You WILL remember it! That is shooting someone. It has happened to me.

 

[glassman]

I'm with rellascout on this one. A nice 20ga shotgun would be my first choice. Also second the idea of letting her decide for herslf and taking some classes.

 

[357 Terms]

I agree with WVleo to the letter. 38's outa a 357 revolver will be sompin she can shoot well and become confident and proficient with.

 

[Manco]

Take your mother to a range that rents handguns, let her shoot a few different ones in order to find out what she can handle and prefers to shoot, and then help her make a selection with her word as the final say (unless it's totally for the wrong reasons). Here are some good ones to try:

1) S&W 617 4" 10-shot .22 LR revolver. My own mother ended up choosing this one for home defense because she could shoot it faster with accuracy than anything else--while she can handle virtually any caliber in slow-fire, she'll need more practice in order to shoot the heavier ones equally well, and unfortunately she's just not that willing. The smaller, lighter Model 63 or even lighter 317 (both 3" 8-shot) may fit your mother's hands better and should be fine for this caliber. I know you want something more powerful per round, but you've got to find out how well she can shoot different calibers, especially if she's not willing to train hard.

2) S&W 686 Plus 4" 7-shot .357 Magnum/.38 Special revolver. I prefer this one because of the extra round, but if it's too costly, then the Ruger GP100 (KGP-141) is also a fine gun, and the S&W 64 (.38 Special only) should be less expensive and a bit lighter (but still heavy enough to buffer recoil pretty well).

3) S&W M&P9 17-shot 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Just about as simple to use as a revolver, just about as reliable in my experience, and has more firepower. The M&P has a grip that works better with smaller hands and should be within your budget these days, but you could always opt for a Glock 17 if your mother likes it better. The main drawback to these polymer pistols, in terms of shooting, is their relatively light weight, but it's not a big problem in my experience of introducing beginners to shooting (especially in 9mm). I recommend them for their simplicity, while others may recommend heavier pistols for better recoil control, which makes sense, too.