I've got to disagree with you on the shorter barrel. Anything over 6" I would go along with your way of thinking and a 4" is probably the best compromise but the difference in a 4 or 6" isn't that great if a person can handle and shoot a particular gun well.
***Again, I'm going to point out I know nothing about guns or self defense.
I'm just a bonehead that likes to read and get involved in stupid discussions.
Now that I've made that clear.
The perfect scenario would be having a gun shoot an intruder all by itself.
Yeah, that's not gonna happen.
Next, a well trained person could handle all situations properly when confronted with or with out a gun.
Real world scenario....
Your wife is home alone, she hears a sound that wakes her from a deep sleep.
It's pitch dark in the house.
Was that a noise that woke me she thinks ?
If it was a noise, was it inside or outside ?
A) Hmmm, I better just grab my gun and sit here until I find out what it was.
B) Curious to find out, she grabs the gun and walks out into the hall to see if she can figure it out.
I would be willing to guess, she chose "B". It's just human nature.
Now that she's in the hall, there's more choices.
A) She walks quietly hoping to sneak up on someone & catch an intruder in the act.
B) Because she has no idea what woke her, She calls out "Hello" is anyone there ? Honey ?
Again, I'm gonna have to go with "B" on this one.
Now that she's alerted an intruder that she's awake and on her way through the house she...
A) Holds her gun close to her side as she's supposed to (because of her training) and leads the way with her open hand and is expecting the unexpected at every corner.
B) Holds the gun out kind of loosely with both hands just knowing she's safe by having a gun.
Let's look at both of these A & B
Now the intruder jumps from around the dark corner and lunges at her if she chose "A" and was doing all the things she was trained to do correctly it's OK, as the intruder grabs for her all he can get a hold of is her foward leading hand and she can still shoot him with her dominant hand which is close to her side in which she holds her easy to control mid sized handgun.
Or....
Now the intruder jumps from around the dark corner and lunges at her if she chose "B" he now reaches out to attack her and while reaching for her realizes he's reaching out at a long barrel of a gun. Natural reflex is going to make the intruder grab to turn the gun away from himself. In doing this, he's not only turning the gun away, but twisting it out of your wifes loose gripped hands. Now who's in control ?
Who's gonna end up getting shot ?
Again, this is NOT the way it's going to go down. But it COULD go down this way.
My wife shoots a 2.5 inch model 66 with total control. Both Single action and double action. The gun's not too heavy and she could easilly shoot it with one hand.
If I gave her a 5 or 6 inch full lug .357, she would ask me what the hell's she supposed to do with that hammer nails ?
Anyway, I know I disclosed that I don't know what I'm talking about, but at least I know my wife's not draggin a 6 pound 2 handed hammer around the house when I'm not home.
****Please keep in mind, the gun your wife chooses, should be exactly that. The one SHE chooses. She needs to be able to shoot it and be confident with it.
We should only help guide them, not actually tell them what gun they need.
My wife will try different grips and different guns.
She's not afraid to say this guns to heavy or too light. These grips are too big or don't feel comfortable.
She has chosen a short barrel all stainless wheelgun with Hogue round butt grips because she's the most comfortable with it.
Hers is the one up top with the smaller set of Hogues.
Jeff (GUNKWAZY)
