Gun suggestion

Go Panthers

Go Panthers

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I'm purchasing a gun for home protection, I want something that my wife can easily shoot. No shotgun or rifle, I'd like to purchase a biometric safe to keep my kids out of it (2 year old and 1 year old).

I'm starting to lean towards a revolver because of the ease of use.

Anyone have any suggestions?
 
Personally, I like my little .22 Beretta semi-auto. I keep a round in the chamber so all I have to do is **** and pull the trigger.
Plus, a .22 bullet is less likely to go through walls. It has a tendency to enter a body and sort of bounce around doing all kinds of internal damage --- according to my brother the deputy.
It is small enough for a woman's hand to handle comfortably, and the recoil is easy. With a larger caliber revolver, I tend to tense up and as a result, my aim is not as good. With the .22, it's point and shoot.
 
sorry for the no shotgun statement. unless you are really really good shot with a revolver, an open barrel short (legal barrel) shotgun can't be beat. 4.10 or 20 gauge for a woman who isn't a gun expert. She has a better chance of not being afraid of it IMO. If the assailant is armed and she has a shotgun, it is hard to miss.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
Personally, I like my little .22 Beretta semi-auto. I keep a round in the chamber so all I have to do is **** and pull the trigger.
Plus, a .22 bullet is less likely to go through walls. It has a tendency to enter a body and sort of bounce around doing all kinds of internal damage --- according to my brother the deputy.
It is small enough for a woman's hand to handle comfortably, and the recoil is easy. With a larger caliber revolver, I tend to tense up and as a result, my aim is not as good. With the .22, it's point and shoot.
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you got that right, small caliber at short range is more lethal and like you say, much easier to shoot.
 
Johali said:
My wife is going to try this one at the range, she's heard nothing but good things about it.

http://www.berettausa.com/pico/
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Mine looks exactly like that except the caliber. Love it, love it, love it.
My original hand gun was a Llama .380 --- but a thief decided he wanted it more when he broke into our home years ago.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
Mine looks exactly like that except the caliber. Love it, love it, love it.
My original hand gun was a Llama .380 --- but a thief decided he wanted it more when he broke into our home years ago.
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If he comes back pump his ass full of 22 long rifles and his stealing career will probably be over. :D
 
I suggest you get a babysitter and you and your wife go down to the local indoor range and shoot a few different type of weapons and see which one suits you both the best.
Spend a few bucks at the range and have some fun, and lessen your chances of purchasing the wrong handgun.
Also, there are companies that manufacture anti-personnel rounds for maximum expansion and damage. A lot of these rounds are less likely to over penetrate, possibly injuring someone in another room. Hornady offers an anti-personnel round called Critical Defense.
 
Also, there are different trigger types on semi-automatic pistols. Some are dual-action, some are single action, some offer a combination of both. Do some google research on the difference of each.
 
Go Panthers said:
I'm purchasing a gun for home protection, I want something that my wife can easily shoot. No shotgun or rifle, I'd like to purchase a biometric safe to keep my kids out of it (2 year old and 1 year old).

I'm starting to lean towards a revolver because of the ease of use.

Anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...
There is certainly nothing wrong with a revolver if you prefer to go with that. Ease of use (as you mentioned), dependability, and other reasons can make a revolver a fine choice. I personally prefer a semi-auto for several reasons. The extra rounds may come in handy in a life and death situation and they are just a lot of fun to shoot when you are practicing/target shooting. They can absorb a lot of the recoil also. I personally prefer a .40 cal. You get a lot more stopping power with a .40 than a .380 or a 9mm and generally without a lot of difference in recoil like with a .45acp.

No matter what, as Bobby said, the most important thing is that you both get very comfortable with it. Shooting, particularly at a range, can get kind of costly. But, it's a lot of fun and not too expensive as dates go.

I hope this helps
 
The revolver would probably be your best bet for ease of use and safety if you dont have much shooting experience or training. My weapon of choice is a 1911 45 automatic but it requires a little more dedication than a revolver. As for caliber a 38 special would be a nice starting point or a 357 manum which will allow you to use 38 specials for cheap practice. please take precautions to keep that gun away from the little ones as they seem to be able to find a way to make them go bang.
Take a look at a model 10 smith and wesson with a 4 inch barrel--------- a quality reasonably priced pistol
 
Kyle18fan said:
The revolver would probably be your best bet for ease of use and safety if you dont have much shooting experience or training. My weapon of choice is a 1911 45 automatic but it requires a little more dedication than a revolver. As for caliber a 38 special would be a nice starting point or a 357 manum which will allow you to use 38 specials for cheap practice. please take precautions to keep that gun away from the little ones as they seem to be able to find a way to make them go bang.
Take a look at a model 10 smith and wesson with a 4 inch barrel--------- a quality reasonably priced pistol
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Kyle, he really wants one his wife can handle. I used my husband's S&W .357 revolver, but my hands are too small for a comfortable fit, and the recoil was way to much for me.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
Kyle, he really wants one his wife can handle. I used my husband's S&W .357 revolver, but my hands are too small for a comfortable fit, and the recoil was way to much for me.
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The model 10 in 38 special should fit the bill, I agree that the 357 magnum can be a handful for some folks. Bobbys suggestion about trying several out is a good one IMO
 
FWIW, a .22 short will not entirely penetrate your hand from a few inches away. For home defense, you cannot beat an 18" 12 ga. shotgun or a .45 ACP.
If you're a perp and you get winged by either a .45 or a 12 ga., whatever you're intending to do gets put on the back burner.
 
Just a note - and a bit off topic since this was about guns for normally non-shooting females:

It really depends on what kind of "self defense" you are thinking about. If you want a gun to comfort you...a .22 is fine...you can tell folks stuff like "if anybody kicks down my door I'll be ready!"

But in reality - if they DO kick your door down they will likely be armed with better guns than a .22 and you will be outgunned and probably lose the gunfight.

My approach is - if they kick in my door - I have a .357 revolver in arms reach (I like a revolver due to safety). Now that is not a gun to shoot it out with the bad guys with - only a noise maker to slow them down until I can get to the bedroom to my AK-47 with a 30 shot clip.

I have no desire to shoot it out "fair and square" with an intruder or two likely armed with 9mm autos. I want to have superior firepower. Personally, I think a shotgun is the best....20 guage for ladies and 12 guage for men...but since I already have an AK-47 I figure I'll just pull the trigger really fast the first 15 times or so :p...then let the smoke clear and shoot some more if necessary.

Most folks who are at least semi-in-the-know about home defense firearms recommend the shotguns. Of course it all depends on the family situation (I live alone). For a person with young children in a safe neighborhood the best thing is probably no gun at all.

P.S. - longer guns are - by nature - less accident prone. I don't know if you have ever watched "Swamp People" but the alligator hunters always use long guns because it is much harder to accidentally shoot somebody with them.
 
Thanks for the input guys, I like the idea of going to the range and shooting different types of guns to see what we like before we buy.
 
If you decide on a .22 make sure you can find ammo for it. I have not seen .22 ammo for a very long time here.

For what it's worth I have a .40 and the GF has a nice little 9mm...She loves to go out and shoot it.
 
I agree with what has been said by most people. Just emphasize being comfortable with it (not just fit, but using it) and go to a range. I prefer a .40, but fully agree that you can't miss with a shot gun. Although it's usually not as convenient to store/access at the drop of a hat.
 
shark77 said:
I agree with what has been said by most people. Just emphasize being comfortable with it (not just fit, but using it) and go to a range. I prefer a .40, but fully agree that you can't miss with a shot gun. Although it's usually not as convenient to store/access at the drop of a hat.
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But...if you're somewhere you shouldn't be, doing something you shouldn't be doing...and it's dark, the last thing you want to hear is someone else chambering a round into a shotgun. ;)
 
BobbyFord said:
But...if you're somewhere you shouldn't be, doing something you shouldn't be doing...and it's dark, the last thing you want to hear is someone else chambering a round into a shotgun. ;)
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Truer words have seldom been spoken, my experience from many many years ago one night in a farmers watermelon patch is my source.
 
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