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fso301...SHAME on you for being so sexist.

I don't think sexism had anything to do with it. The lady in the article and countless others use .25 and .32 caliber pistols for close defence. It just happens to be my opinion that a compact .22mag revolver would pack more of a punch.

Men, married or single, tend to think of handguns in different terms than women.

I think women tend to consider a personal defense handgun from a different perspective. I don't think they give as much consideration to the prospect of defending themselves against a crazed assailant high on PCP as men do. I also don't think they give as much consideration to the prospect of being involved in a gunfight where even if your first hit isn't immediately fatal, your opponent wouldn't immediately try to stop fighting and flee the scene.

From my observations over the years, a single woman will tend to consider a personal weapon as a deterrent and defense against being abducted, raped and or hacked to pieces by some serial killer.

A mother will tend to want a similar degree of protection extended to her family.

Notice how I said the woman fears being hacked to pieces. In such case, a .25 or .32 is adequate deterrence against a sicko out to get his jollies. From the predators standpoint, the prey has to be defensless and the predator has to be able to torture her to get his sick pleasure. Her small pocket pistol is a major deterrent in this case. He can't get his sick jollies by just shooting her, and running away. If she's able to land just a single non-fatal shot, he has a very major problem as the anonymous secrecy required by serial killers will be blown. The risk to the sicko at this point is too high. Having a pea shooter brandished at him by a person willing to use it will be sufficient deterrent to have him flee and search elswhere for a little lamb.

In the case of this story, the burglar didn't think the lady would use the gun, he advanced and got the surprise of his life.

The little .32 did it's job of protecting the homeowner. The assailant either went off and bled to death or is probably under arrest in a hospital.

A study came out a few years ago in which a citizen merely brandishing a gun regardless of caliber was significant crime deterrent.

All that having been said, the .22mag has a higher velocity and more than twice the energy of a .32. I still think a compact revolver in .22mag would be a better choice than a .25, or .32. I don't see any sexism in that belief.

A long time ago...in a galaxy far far away I actually worked as a salesman in a gunstore...this was long before the advent of the "gun show" as a popular retail venue. I noticed a couple of things in selling to women for the home (the FL CCW was about ten years from reality too). The first was that women invariably wanted that "cute one." The 2nd was that most salesmen also wanted them to have the "cute one" and not always was it the $550 Walther PPK/S! Many times it was a Beretta Jetfire in .25ACP.

I agree that the .22WMR is a better round than the 25 (rock would be better) but not necessarily the 32. The 22WMR develops about the same velocity as the 38sp, but has far less cross sectional density and thus less "stopping power."Women need educating on self defense. The 9mm or 38sp is far better than any 22WMR. Can be just as small and (ugh) "cute." The MOSSAD uses a .22LR for assassination because they take the mark right thru the EYE everytime. A 6mm rifle can and HAS dropped a Bull Elephant...if you get him in the eye...like the famous "Karamojo" Bell, the Great White Hunter of turn of the century Africa. When you're talking a "mouse gun" SHOT PLACEMENT is all.

Most men and women are not going to be able to maintain their cool in a hostile encounter of the potentially lethal kind to stay calm enough to go for the eyeball and be assured of hitting the target! Therefore, you need a caliber with enough cross sectional density and ability to expand to a larger caliber in the flesh penetration to produce the needed hydrostatic shock and drop the bad guy; even if the bullet strike isn't an instantly lethal area....like the eye. Or if the round hits soft tissue that may eventually prove fatal due to hydraulic failure ie bleedout, it still must be big enough to incapacitate instead of infuriate.

I used to say to folks....: "Look, if you shoot somebody with this little 22....and IF HE FINDS OUT ABOUT IT....He's gonna be very M-A-D."

I'm a little amused and confused by your post, here.

Are you aware that most women spend their entire LIVES understanding that we are prey? That we don't get into our cars in a parking lot if there is a van parked next to it? That we get very nervous when a man gets too close to us in a fairly secluded place, and we don't know who he is? That we know that 7 out of 10 of us are raped by the time we hit our 30s? Do you really think that there is no possibility that our assailants are hopped up on something or on a mean drunk? Of course we give consideration to the prospect!

Do I fear being *hacked* to pieces? Hm. I spent an undetermined amount of time in a small, dark room with two men who had grabbed me from behind and dragged me in there, then proceeded to rape me repeatedly and then insert a knife into me, lacerating my cervix as their reminder for me to not "tell." I know that you don't intend to be condescending, but for a man to post, telling me what women fear, is just that.

No, a .25 or .32 is not really adequate. Why? Because you never know, do you, whether your assailant is just a nasty little freak or a real unpleasant character. A .22, .25, .32, or .380 is backup, but it is not adequate at all as a primary firearm. Btw, this mother kept a .357 and a 12 gauge for the amount of protection she wanted for her family. Her daughter, though, keeps a .45 and a 16 gauge. Her mother keeps a .22 and a 20 gauge, but that's because her arthritis is so bad.

By the way ... I DID tell. And, some years later, I had a firearm and was a rape ATTEMPT survivor.