Posted on 06/07/2011 4:58:44 AM PDT by marktwain
Let’s get this out of the way: the idea that you, a man, should choose a firearm for a woman who’s never had one is sexist and disrespectful. Women are fully capable of making their own decisions. They don’t need you, a man, telling them what gun is best for their home defense. To even think such a thing reveals you as a Neanderthal. Contact your local community college and sign up for some sensitivity training at your earliest opportunity. Now, let’s have a look at the three questions you need to consider before you choose the right gun for your woman . . .
1. Where will you put the home defense handgun?
Most men looking to arm their Significant Other (SO) start with the question “Do you want a gun?” They spend countless hours trying to convince their SO that a home defense firearm with her name on it is a necessity. This involves a lot of discussion about horrific violence and constant entreaties to go to the range.
That strategy depends on wearing her down. Like all long-term campaigns, the “Annie get your gun” battle is fraught with danger. Simply put, you can REALLY piss her off by harping on about “her” gun. Which leads to nasty high volume “conversations” about her lack of situational awareness. Then it’s maison bow-wow for you Boyo.
Hello? Of course she wants a gun. A gun. Not the gun. You know: the gun that’s real, right there in her hand. That gun that makes all that noise and puts her in league with all those crazy gun guys. Unless, that is, someone is trying to rape her, kill her or f with her children. Oh then she wants a gun. Any gun. That gun is OK.
The best method here: an assumptive close. Simply assume you’re going to buy her a gun. Honey, I’m trying to decide the perfect home defense gun for you. I thought we discussed this. I don’t want a gun. [Ignore.] Where should we keep it? Unless she says something like “in the safe,” pay no attention to any statement after that.
Ah, but should you keep her handgun in a safe? I’ve said it here a dozen times (and counting): the proper place for a home defense handgun is on your person. Unless you’re sleeping. In which case a quick access bedside safe is the way to go. (Review of 9G version next week.) But if she’s awake, the gun belongs on her. Where she can get it, but kids and strangers can’t.
Keep in mind the question about her gun’s eventual 10-40 is strictly rhetorical. You’re just getting her adjusted to the idea of gun ownership. The “where” of the matter is something you have to ponder on your lonesome, based on your knowledge of her psychology and your persuasive abilities.
The chances of you getting her to home carry right from the git-go are small. While it should be your goal, you may have to start with an easy-to-shoot larger gun locked in a safe and work your way towards carry. Yes, size matters . . .
2. What size home defense handgun should she own?
In general, really small handguns of a reasonably-effective self-defense caliber suck. The recoil puts new not-to-say-extremely-reluctant shooters right off the whole idea. In the hands of an average shooter, dinky guns are only good for close-quarters combat. Even then it’s entirely possible they’ll miss their target at point blank range. And most small semi-automatic pistols are fiddly and prone to failure through limp-wristing.
On the positive side, small guns appeal to non-gun-o-centric women. They are not as intimidating as hand cannons (which are easier to shoot, counter-intuitively enough). They’re cute! Small guns even come in girl power pink! (Sexist perhaps, but true.) Most importantly, smaller lighter guns are easier to carry.
The general rule of thumb: choose the heaviest version of the smallest gun with the largest caliber that she can comfortably shoot and carry. Base that decision on any prior firearms experience your SO may have; her size, weight, strength and general demeanor. Also your sense of her style. Which one of your guns does she like, if any?
Basically, stay well away from lightweight guns and don’t buy something cheap and nasty looking. The stainless steel .38 caliber Smith & Wesson 642 and Ruger SP101 are the entry level revolvers to beat. (Plan for Home Carry: go hammerless.) Small semi-auto nines are also a good choice, such as the Ruger LC9 or Baby Glock.
For some reason, a lot of guys try to make this selection a cooperative endeavor. Do you like the way this one feels in your hand? Shall we rent this one at the range? How was the recoil on that? How about we try a .22 and work our way up? Would you carry this one in your pocket? That process is the dictionary definition of a fool’s errand.
Have you ever gone shoe shopping with your wife? Well, exactly. Now imagine that she doesn’t want shoes (alternative universe I know) and you’re pleading with her to try on and critique ten pairs that you chose, whilst explaining mind-numbing detail why you chose them. Just buy her the damn gun. If it doesn’t work out, you have another carry gun.
3. How can you convince her to become proficient?
If you’ve listened to my sage advice and bought her a relatively heavy gun, her home defense handgun will not be painful to shoot. That’s good. But not good enough. It’s one thing for your SO to own a gun, it’s another for her to know how to shoot it. To do that she has to shoot it. Which she may not want to do.
If you failed to win the home carry debate, you’ve got your work cut out for you. A handgun locked in a safe is out of sight, out of mind. Even if your SO does consider the gun as “hers,” she may not have (i.e. make) time for range practice. Ever. The trick here: forget about the range. Get her to wear the gun.
Car salesman call the technique “puppy-dogging.” Give someone a puppy (i.e. a new car) for a while and they won’t want to give it back. Get your SO to Home Carry her gun and she’ll “own” the firearm.
If she wears it often enough she’ll naturally want to shoot it. I swear this works. But you have to be patient, and realistic. At the moment, my wife only home carries when I’m not in the house. And shoots maybe once a month. And that’s the way it is.
So focus on the holster. Buy the perfect holster for her gun. Indeed, you might want to start with the perfect holster and work your way backwards to the type of gun that fits in the perfect holster. Back up. Start with the perfect belt to hold the perfect holster to hold the perfect gun for the perfect holster supported by the perfect belt.
This is as at least as difficult as it sounds; as you know from the large number of holsters gathering dust somewhere in your basement. Your SO may reject a holster out for no good reason. She may need—yes need—several different types of holsters to match her outfits. Her holster budget can dwarf the gun buying investment. And she might only wear a gun once in a blue moon and shoot it with the changing seasons. The longest journey and all that . . .
To finish as I started (as a sexist pig), it’s best to think of your SO’s handgun as a fashion accessory rather than a self-defense weapon. Not because you’re trying to trick her into Home Carry but because— no, wait. You are trying to trick her into Home Carry. If she likes the look and feel of her handgun on her person, she might feel the need to look like she knows what she’s doing.
To those of you who didn’t have to resort to deviousness to git ‘er done, I say congratulations! For the rest of you, the ends (getting the one you love to take at least some responsibility for her self-defense and the defense of any sprogs) justify the means.
I’ll bet her house is full of other lethal implements, especially that harbinger of death, dihydrogen monoxide.
My skinny, pre-teen daughter’s first shots were from a 9mm XD and a P226. She wasn’t scared of the recoil after the first shot,and was surprized that it wasn’t worse.
“... I have quite a few around the house in various places”
Well, at this point I simply see it like one person liking eggplant and the other hating it. Personally, (whether genetic or societal) men tend to think more about safety for the family than women in a lot of cases. It is admirable in my opinion. She may not LIKE the guns but I bet she will be happy you have them (God forbid) if you ever truly needed one to protect her and your family.
My daughters like shooting our XD 40’s.
“I’ll bet her house is full of other lethal implements...”
Sadly, many people (men and women) are just frightened of guns. I can only assume that this fear is based mostly on ignorance. They assume it will just go “off” like it has a mind of its own. When I was a young 21, I was taught to shoot. To be honest, the first time I held a .38, I was a bit frightened. With practice, comes a comfort level. Once that “fear” is gone, it is gone.
Answer: You don’t use a handgun for home defense. You use a shotgun. 20 gauge is good for most women.
Great point. I see that so much with some of my friends and such. I can understand it more with having small kids in the house (of course, thats a matter of discipline and securing your guns. But I do understand that fear of a parent), but I do not understand a couple not having a gun in the house. Like you said, they don't go off by themselves.
Answer: You don’t use a handgun for home defense. You use a shotgun. 20 gauge is good for most women.
Although it coulda been written better here's the nugget of truth in this article. The 642 has a lightweight alloy frame, and the SP101, which is made of stainless steel, is "usually" chambered for .357 magnum. According to the website Ruger still makes some of them in .38 special, as they all were back when they were first introduced, though I don't really know why.
The LCP is pretty small with a big kick for someone just starting to shoot. I’d stick with the 9mm for a while before you try to move her to a small gun. Rent an LCP before you buy it. The LCP won’t improve her aim - too much kick and a long trigger pull.
My daughter has an LCP and doesn’t really like it - it hurts her hand to shoot it much.
BTW, congratulations on your upcoming wedding.
This was always my point with people that don't want to have a gun in the house. If something were to happen and I didn't have the means to protect my family, I would never forgive myself.
I have especially noticed it with people who weren’t brought up with guns. They see them on television or on the police/military and equate it directly with violence. (I equate it with protection but that is me). If a person is educated and pushed past this fear then it is gone. What is sort of funny is after I learned to shoot, I tried other things that seemed a bit frightening to me. For example, I used a small chain saw. To be honest, knowing how to properly use a gun seemed to make me less fearful of other things. I know that sounds crazy but it is true.
A pink one?-—Just kidding, LOL!
Get him to the range, and chances are he will love shooting and will soon want a gun of his own.
If not—well, you’ll just have to be his protector, I guess. I had to work at getting my husband “hooked” on guns, and while he’s still not wildly enthusiastic, he has learned to use it and does take it with him when he’s out on our rural property.
She never quite got the message about keeping it pointed down and away and keeping your fingers clear. Maybe she just likes me to do all the cooking (hey, wait a minute...).
In any case, I have unsuccessfully tried to get her to come to the range with me and find a gun she might be comfortable carrying. I figure if I can get her to memorize, practice and obey the Golden Rules of gun safety, I might just start trusting her with the kitchen cutlery.
Good point about the kick. Also, I did not know the trigger pull for the LCP was long.
Thanks for the congrats as well.
“I would never forgive myself”.
I understand completely. A family has to know how to protect themselves. I’m not talking simply about living in urban areas with bad guys either. I’ve known people who live in the boondocks but know a rabid animal could come their way. How I see it is this: there are people who “assume” that they pay taxes for other people to protect them (i.e. the police) and people who assume they have the ultimate responsibility to protect themselves. My husband travels quite a bit and works midnights so I am responsible for my three babies. It isn’t an “Annie Oakley” thing but a Mom thing. Between my guns, my teen son knowing how to shoot and the 110 pound GSD... I have it covered. To be honest, I sleep rather well at night knowing that.
I would almost say that some of the “I’m scared of guns in my home” types mistake lack of fear (of the gun) as having a cavalier attitude towards guns. It’s important to get comfortable with weapons and still maintain the respect of them as well. The “I’m scared of guns in my home” crowd doesn’t understand this.
Oh, I agree! Believe me, I’ve heard all the nonsense from people that I know who don’t want a picture of a gun in there house besides a “real” one. I’ve heard it is a “phallic” symbol for people lacking, a female macho device... you name it. It is simple ignorance. Guns are like anything else... it takes practice and safety knowledge. Plain and simple. I actually know one man who was dead set against guns. He had anti gun bumper stickers on his car, belonged to some organization to ban guns... the whole 9 yards. Funny thing happened. Someone tried to break into his house while he was at home. He called 911 but they don’t magically appear, do they? Needless to say, he was scared out of his wits. Within a short period of time, he purchased a gun and took a gun safety training session. Funny how life experience can change one?
“my Daddy’s Mosin”
Cool. What model Mosin? 91/30,carbine? Hex receiver?
(I like mosins!)
Smaller guns are more difficult to shoot.
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