Posted on 11/28/2012 5:44:32 PM PST by fatima
Thinking about getting a gun.It has to be easy to handle for a lady.Any suggestions welcomed.
Get a Glock 23 in .40S&W. Quantity has its own quality.
Better than a 9mm, could be a bit wide for dainty hands.
Its simple to use plus the latest generations have a rail to mount a compact light. And some even come with a laser and light.
My ladyfriend actually like the feel of a Smith and Wesson Sigma in 9mm. Sigma is cheap, triggers can be dodgy with a long hard pull until you wear them in. And they do have compact Glocks but you lose shots available, and unless you can get the first two shots on target the very first time having 13 rounds or so gives you an edge. And Glocks are super easy to tear down to clean plus have a lot of aftermarket options for the barrels, the grips, plugs, mag release and so on.
A .410 would be better than a bullet, but I’d be concerned about its stopping power because it will have a wide pattern very soon and not much shot concentrated in that pattern.
It’s still a handgun and subject to the twitch effect that a long gun helps to minimize.
I wouldn’t trust a .38 with snake shot for the same reasons.
“Seriously? “Every other week”? Do you have dementia and forget that soon?”
No...but, I’ve taken a very bright woman to the range at monthly intervals, and watch how little she retained.
In all seriousness, if you are buying a gun for self defense, it is best to go for a two-fer, and get a knife as well.
A problem with guns is that they can have a “minimum range” as well as a maximum range. This is called the “Tueller Drill”, and is regularly taught to police officers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tueller_Drill
In brief, if a *trained* and *prepared* person with a holstered gun is standing opposite an attacker with a knife, the person with the knife will be able to close and cut them from a minimum distance of 21 feet, *before* the person can unholster and fire their gun twice at the knife wielder’s center of mass.
This also applies to an unarmed attacker. A lot of the drunks police meet up with want to wrestle.
This means that the “minimum effective range” of a trained and prepared person is 21 feet. Now imagine how far that distance is, if you are *not* prepared or expecting a problem. 25 feet? 30 feet? This is why you should think of a gun as a “medium range weapon”.
Now women in particular have long faced the “bear hug problem” in self defense, namely that a large man will run up to them and give them a bear hug, and there is very little they can do to defend themselves at this point.
This was so problematic that Buddhist nuns in China actually invented a “zero distance” martial arts style just for that purpose.
But the time it takes to unsheath a knife and put it between you and an attacker is just a fraction of the time it takes for a gun. And, stab or slash, you *will* convey the message of “back off, Jack!”
Knives do not have safeties, nor do they need reloading, and the injuries inflicted by a knife slash are often worse than a bullet hole. Mortality from knife cuts is high.
Thus, while guns are good, it does not hurt at all to have a complementary knife back up.
Thanks everyone,my husband returns from his trip later today.He doesn’t know about my little adventure yet.He’ll get me a gun and I can practice or learn the shotgun-something I can handle.
“A .410 would be better than a bullet, but I’d be concerned about its stopping power because it will have a wide pattern very soon and not much shot concentrated in that pattern.”
Tests of the Taurus Judge show (with Federal .410 handgun ammo) a 2.5 inch spread at 10 feet and penetration of 15 inches which is about the same as a 9 mm and is a very good number.The handgun ammo uses .36 ball, three or four of them depending on the length of the shell, 2.5 or 3 inch.
They are quite lethal in a defensive situation. As are the .410/.45 derringers, same patterns and penetration.
First—a REVOLVER; needs little care, easy to load, will fire all the time ,every time
Next— .32 or .38 LIGHWEIGHT
try out each caliber to determine “comfortability in handling”
Seems like the Taurus Judge and the higher end Smith & Wesson 6-shot Governor are Derringer Revolvers...
S&W 6-shot with laser sight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FikoFGBjra8
Said they cleared out like pups with their tails on fire. She however had to sit in the car for an hour to calm down before she could drive.
Oh, and a good piece of advice from him also. Don't holster your gun after an incident till you calm down. Just set it on the dash. You can't think straight with adrenalin for blood.
She lit up one with the laser and his partner pissed his pants when he saw the dot.
***I never thought of that, the deterrent effect of the laser. Maybe better & cheaper than the sound of a shotgun getting ready.
Don’t holster your gun after an incident till you calm down. Just set it on the dash. You can’t think straight with adrenalin for blood.
***I do not understand this advice. What is the point? As long as the gun is drawn, the incident is still taking place.
Try a Gym membership first!
Scott7278 made an excellent point regarding semi-automatics & small/weak hands. I found that I struggled to rack the slide on my 9mm the “normal” way, so I follow the same advice he gave his father. It’s a very subtle thing, but it makes a huge difference. Instead of pulling the slide back with my weak hand (the “normal” way), I push the frame forward with my strong hand (my weak hand is still on the slide, just like it is in the “normal” way, but only to hold the gun steady).
Accomplishes the same thing, but it’s SO much easier.
Thanks. Will try at local range.
Thanks, Marcella. Will try
Bookmarking for further research
I bookmarked it too.Looking for a range to practice on.My husband has 2 shotguns that might fill the bill.
I love my .40 caliber Glocks and mostly carry the G23 but the recoil is definitely more than a 9 mm. I don’t mind it but I know a lot of women do.
Rereading that it might sound like I’m a woman. I’m not and at 6’ and 300 lbs no one would mistake me for one in person.
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