Self defense pistol for a woman

[doger5]

I have a co-worker who lives up in the hills in central California. She's in her 50's and lives with her son. The house is covered from the road. She has been thinking of purchasing a hand gun for safety. Her niece who lives a mile just down the road, her house has been broken into while she was home, with her small children. This is what really got her to thinking about it.

What would you recommend for a first timer, for self defense?
I was thinking a hammerless, snob nose .38 revolver.

 

[David Blinder]

I suggest you advise her to meet with a qualified instructor with access to a variety of pistols and see what fits her properly. You didn't state what her experience level is but a snub nose .38 is probably the most recommended "ladies gun" and it's quite likely the worst of many possible choices, especially for a beginner. The manual of arms is simple but due to the short sight radius, it's fairly difficult to obtain good hits.

 

[foghornl]

If you are thinking a .38Spl, I feel that a used but still serviceable 4", like tha famous S&W Model 10/Military & Police would be a really good choice.

 

[10-Ring]

If she's gotta have a handgun, I'd recommend a medium framed 357 magnum revolver but really, my 1st choice in her situation would be a 12 guage shotgun. Easy to use, easy to aim & VERY effective

 

[sm]

Agree with posts above 110%.
Instruction, safety, let her choose with professional assistance. Model 10/19 in longer bbl lengths have worked for a # of ladies. Know a bunch that chose 1911 style, Sig, Glock, and the 3913 for some a favorite.
12 ga is good, but I still contend the best kept secret is a 20ga. 1100

 

[hillbilly]

Take her shooting and let her find out what the biggest, most powerful handgun she can comfortably handle is.

For my wife, for example, the answer is a Springfield 1911 .45 ACP.

For a female student who took my CCW class recently, the answer was a Ruger P-90 in .45 ACP. Out of the three students, she was the second best shooter, outdoing a male with "Lots" of experience with guns.

But try to put as many different caliber and sized handguns into her hands as possible and find out what she's comfortable with.

Oh yeah, and if it's strictly for home defense, the answer is 12 gauge pump shotgun.

hillbilly

 

[doger5]

She has no experience. But I looked up Reeds target range in San Jose, and highly recommended her taking the tactics and self defense couses they offer.

As for the pistol, yes I was trying to remember if it was S&W who made the hammerless .38. Currently I'm just collecting information. And I reminded her if there is a pistol in the home, there is a chance she may lose it too the criminal. I also recommended the finger tip safe and a speed loader. I really try to follow the rules of fire arm safety.

On a free weekend she wanted to try target shooting. Any novice, I use the firearms handling, sheet I was given in college, for firearms and arrest procedures.

Thank you for all of your input.

Roger (doger5)

 

[El Tejon]

The one she picks.

Each woman is an individual (yeah, I know, real shocker to me too). With likes and dislikes just like the ZIG v. Glock crowd.

As to the .38, why not a big gun?

 

[Waitone]

I echo the advice to go to a professional, take classes, and shoot her way through a rental board. .38spl is a nice gentlemanly platform that works great for my CCH but would be unacceptable to a woman with arthritis (?sp) in her hands. Grip is critical to comfort.

Let her choose. BTW, don't by into the argument the bad guy could take a handgun away from her.

 

[WvaBill]

What abou a 20 gauge pump. More energy, easier control, than a handgun. Less recoil and weight than a 12. IME an auto loader (hg or lg)is not a good 1st gun for SD. Maybe as a second wep or a goal to train toward.

 

[James Bondrock]

I do not care for most of the snubby revolvers as primary weapons, with the exception of the Ruger SP101 and Colt Detective Special. If she does not care to master the intricacies of an autoloader, these or a medium-frame revolver would be much better choices, IMO. In autoloaders, I would recommend the Glock, Kahr or even a single-stack 1911-style pistol. These all have relatively small grips and short trigger reaches, and the recoil of even a .45 (which is still more comfortable than that of any lightweight snubby revolver ) can be handled with proper technique.

 

[CWL]

Agree on letting her choose after testing various guns/calibers.

a .410 shotgun may work for her as well.

 

[Tomac]

Also agreed: Let her choose the action type/caliber that *she* likes. Better for her to have a less effective pistol she likes and is confident with (and is willing to practice with) than the ulitimate manstopper she's scared to touch, much less practice with.
Tomac

 

[Sean Smith]

Brief version of what I always say:

- Let her choose (aside from keeping her away from crummy brands)
- Snubby revolvers SUCK SUCK SUCK as first-time weapons for new shooters. No sight radius, long heavy triggers and heavy recoil are a formula for new shooter disaster, yet they are constantly recommended for that role...
- .38 Special or 9x19 are sensible first-time self defense calibers, regardless of what set of gonads the person has.

 

[sw442642]

Lots of baloney and cliches here.

There are two issues:

The gun for someone who will never receive any professional training
The gun with training

If a women gets good training sensitive to women's issues then the person can probably handle a good 9mm semi. Racking can be dealt with if you train.

Getting training is much more important than the usual gunlist techy babble.

-----

If the person is never going to train:

The snubbies are hard to shoot.
Shotguns are hard to manipulate. You can miss with them. They take two hands and in home self defense you may not want to tie up two hands.
Twelve gauges are hard to shoot.

So cut the let's just rack to scare the BG and you don't have to aim crap. One needs to take a tactical shotgun class to realize that just suggesting a 12 gauge to an untrained women is downright silly.

Now, since most DGUs are deterrent in nature - any gun will work if wave around but I'm talking about actually using it. I don't want an untrained women of perhaps limited body strength having to use a shotgun.

IMHO - the best untrained person gun would be something like an SW Model 66 with a good 38 spl load.

However, the best thing you can do is get the person some real training and then worry about the gun. Internet commandos do like to talk guns more but that is not the place to start, if you are really serious.

 

[Paul Gomez]

Training.

Help her become an educated consumer and let her decide what's right for her.

If she's looking for something to keep around the house, don't rule out long arms.

Heck, there's nothing wrong with a pistol calibered lever action for that matter.

 

[LaurenceM]

doger5

For training, I would recommend Firearms Training Associates in Yorba Linda, CA. They offer a Ladies Pistol Class. Here's a description of the class:

Self Defense Awareness

Specifically designed for women of all ages interested in family or personal safety, the enjoyment of the outdoor shooting sports, or the development of recreational shooting skills. We teach our female students the proper use and safe handling of a handgun, chemical irritants (i.e., pepper spray), as well as learning and applying effective self-defense techniques.

Due to our proactive teaching approach, our cumulative experience, thoroughness, and the emerging desire for a course like this that caters to women, this is one of our more popular classes.

Upon completion of this class the student should be confident and proficient with:

Understanding "Stalker Laws"
Knowing what a stalker is
Laws specifically designed to protect women
Applying "Situational Awareness" to everyday life
Pistol marksmanship
Unarmed self-defense techniques
Edged weapon awareness (i.e., how to use a knife to protect yourself)
Proper utilization and employment of Pepper Spray
Equipment: (Equipment can be provided, upon request in advance)

Eye and ear protection
Handgun
Holster
Ammunition carrying devise for belt
2 magazines or 1 speed loader
Belt
Shirt with sleeves
Hat
Ammunition

400 rounds (minimum)

Here's the link to their website:
Firearms Training Associates

My wife took the class & she found it very helpful. The class is for women only so your co-worker won't feel intimidated by any men in the class. The instructor is Cheryl Murphy who is a police officer in Orange County. Her husband Bill is also an instructor at Gunsite. The price for the class is very reasonable at $225 for 2 days.

Laurence

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Doger5, something to keep in mind is that the basic criteria you are using for consideration is likely to be insufficient or simply wrong for making a good decision for another person. Have you ever tried to buy shoes for a person you did not know well and just tried to guess the right size and type for what the person would need? That is what you are doing here, only this is going to pertain directly to life and death situations. It is real easy to get somebody the wrong shoes and even easier to get them the wrong gun.

I have yet to figure out why folks keep posting this sort of query. What is the fixation with the presence of a vagina for making a gun selection? Are people with vaginas supposed to be relegated to only a select group of guns? Why is it that the folks who post these threads seem so uncertain as to what the vaginal gun needs are? Does the presence of a penis make understanding vaginal gun needs more difficult? If so, then maybe the XY folks simply need to provide the XX folks in question with the name and number of a good dealer who more fully understands the differences.

 

[Art Eatman]

Well, now, DNS, there are more than just a couple of reasons why folks think about the woman's angle in self-defense.

One is physical strength. Another is willingness to become more than minimally competent to hit a man-sized target at ten feet. Another is just the plain old psychology of "Could I really shoot somebody?"

So, you have the compromise of size, weight and cartridge. You then have the compromise for somebody who's willing to learn how to load and unload and clean, but after a few cylinders' or magazines' woth of practice won't shoot again. (And some will get into IDPA or IPSC. Who knows?)

Our culture does not really equip women to think of physical self defense. Not as an everyday matter...From what I've seen, this the biggest hurdle for the average woman. Not all, of course, but certainly for a majority...

Art

 

[MolonLabe416]

Ideally she should shoot a variety of weapons and pick the one that fits her hand best. If it's a revolver, a K-frame 'Smith is far easier to shoot well than a J-frame "snub-nose" (in fact, that's about the hardest revolver for ANYONE to shoot well, thus is a very poor choice for someone who doesn't get a lot of training).

Speaking of training. She needs to get some quality training.

She also needs to ask herself could she kill someone. If the answer is no, or maybe, or I don't know, she doesn't need the weapon as she is very unlikely to use it under stress. This is the first step.

Then firing a variety of weapons to find one that works. Unless she has an injury or infirmary, she can shoot a 1911 as well as any of use with the proper training, so she needs to try several makes and models before purchase.

Then the training. Then regular, at least montly, practice.

 

[Sean Smith]

One is physical strength.

Applying 5 lbs of pressure to a trigger doesn't take much strength. If anything, the fact that women are (on average) physically weaker than men is a great argument for them to get a gun, and a weak argument for giving them less effective "chick guns" in feeble calibers and dainty sizes. Until we are looking at something like .454 Casull, raw physical strength is essentially a non-issue in using a handgun.

Another is willingness to become more than minimally competent to hit a man-sized target at ten feet.

Based on what I see at the range, a set of balls isn't a great marksmanship aid.

Another is just the plain old psychology of "Could I really shoot somebody?"

Again, an issue without gonads. Just because men aren't inclined to admit they are sissies doesn't mean the world is chock full of 'em.

Near as I can tell, the only legit issues that are pseudo-gender related would be:

Grip size and trigger reach, since most women have smaller (sometimes much smaller) hands than men. Of course, small-handed men have the same problem, and 6' women can ignore this issue and go buy a Glock 21 or something.

Recoil spring weight on some semi-auto pistols for a few women with less grip/upper body strength... and this is often simply trainable away with either proper technique or simple exercises.

But I guess I'd better quit teaching inexperienced women how to shoot and hit with .45 and 10mm guns better than most of the XY set at the corner gun range.

 

[Art Eatman]

Sean, I've taught a few ladies to do quite well with a 1911...

But there's a weight difference between a common, garden variety .38 Special "sixshooter", vs. a Redhawk, to make an exztreme example. As noted, hand size makes a difference, and is sometimes tied to strength. Plus, what a young woman can handle isn't necessarily the same for one who is older.

My points are, I think, valid due to "There ain't no one size fits all." as to what a person will actually do in a time of stress. The issue of actually shooting another person is IN GENERAL a bigger factor for women than men.

All I'm trying to do is point out that there are many factors in selection of a self-defense weapon, and some are indeed gender related.

Art

 

[PressCheck]

How about this?!

INTRODUCTION TO THE HANDGUN SEMINAR FOR
WOMEN ONLY

HALO Group
Concord, CA.
November 15, 2003
0900 till approx 1600 hours
Course Cost: FREE
http://www.thehalogroup.com

This Seminar is to familiarize the first time, or non-Gun owner with a variety of typical Handguns. This seminar will address the safe Handling of firearms, as well as immediate defense of life issues..

This seminar will involve classroom, and Live Fire Instruction on the range.

All materials will be furnished.

http://www.thehalogroup.com