Comfort and fit > Stopping power?

She should carry ( if she wants to carry ) what fits her hands the best - and what she shoots the best. That goes for the type of platform ..and the caliber combined. Ex: if she shoots a 1911 the best in 9mm - then get her a 1911 in 9mm to carry - and make sure its a gun she likes.

If its a 9mm - its fine .../ its way more about shot placement than it is about caliber.

There is nothing wrong with a .45 acp / or a .40S&W or a 9mm - especially if you use some "defensive ammo" in it ...like a 147gr JHP Hydra Shok in a 9mm ....it becomes a very good defensive weapon in a 9mm ....( and so is Hydra Shok ammo in .40 or .45 acp ...or .38 spl ...) ...or whatever...

Making her shoot something she doesn't like ...is going back to the dark ages...( and I'm 61 yrs old ) .../ I know old school / but its foolish.
 
I think that 9mm is fine as well, and it gives you a good selection of pistols to choose from.

Is her dad familiar w/ the capabilities of modern 9mm 'defense' ammo?
 
My experience, short as it may be, states that when shooting a person must be comfortable with the gun they are shooting to be effective. I shoot a 45 because I'm comfortable with it and I'm accurate with it. My wife on the other hand is scared of my 45 because of its size and recoil but she loves my 357 because it fits her hand. She is stupid accurate with it at 10 yards and by some miracle she can hide it in her purse.

So get her to try a bunch of different guns in a bunch of different calibers. Who knows, maybe she'll end up liking a large caliber on a different platform. :D
 
Just a thought, my daughter liked her Glock 17. She limped wristed the pistol occasionally so I let her shoot my S&W model 29 with Federal 200 grn special's. She kept them all in the black at 10 yds. Guess what happened? I lost my old beautiful nickel .44 mag.

I think the low flash, low recoil, reduced noise, and big slug is better for home defense. Good luck with your / her decision.
 
Give some thought to the question, "Could she really shoot some one?" If not, it may be taken away from her! My girlfriend is a very good shot, but I am sure that she could not ever shoot anyone. Therefore, I suggest that she not carry.

A 9mm or .38 is plenty for SD. My ex carries a .38 & it has saved her bacon a couple of times without firing a shot, but I know she could if need be.
 
First and foremost, pick a gun that fits your hand and that the shooter is comfortable with. A .44 that the shooter can't handle or shoot well is going to be less effective than a gun that the shooter is comfortable with and shoots well.

Please also keep in mind that stopping power in hand guns doesn't really exist. A higher powered cartridge will generally do a better job than a lower powered round, but hand guns don't really provide stopping power. It is really about shot placement above all else.
 
Jeremiah/AZ, I'm sure you know your girlfriend better than we do. On the topic of women in general, though... my mother is of Sicilian descent. I have no problem whatsoever visualizing any of the women from her side of the family using a gun if they needed to; or a knife; or a club; or a car, etc.

I can think of many men who don't scare me nearly as much as my late great aunt would have.
 
When talking about handgun effectiveness, the priorities are as follows:

1. Proper shot placement
2. Adequate bullet penetration
3. Pretty much everything else (expansion, bullet diameter, kinetic energy, etc.)

Since ergonomics plays such a big role in our number one priority, then I'd say that for the most part it is more important than the cartridge.

This is, however, within reason. For example, I can shoot my H&R 999 Sportsman .22 LR more accurately than my S&W Model 66 .357 Magnum (or pretty much any other handgun that I own for that matter), but I can still shoot the .357 Magnum well enough that the disparity in cartridge performance outweighs the disparity in ease of shooting. On the other hand, I can shoot my CZ-75 9mm quicker the the same or better accuracy than my S&W 1911 .45 ACP. In that case, the disparity in effectiveness between the cartridges is small enough that I'm more likely to reach for the CZ than the 1911 if I had to use one of the two to defend myself.
 
There are a few sayings TRY BEFORE YOU BYE .,IF IT DOESN'T FIT IT IS A PAPER WEIGHT.OR BYE ONCE CRY ONCE.HAPPY HUNTING .:D
 
BigJ4708:

After I retired from the Marine Corps I sold guns for twenty year. When most men brought their ladies to me for a pistol or revolver they asked for a ladies gun: meaning a small dinky gun that experienced shooters have difficulty shooting. My message to them was that they buy a gun for the job and then learn to shoot it. A 250 pound man's hand is to big for a Smith & Wesson J frame; however, if a smalll gun is require, he must learn to shoot it. If a small man wants a hunting pistol the grips won't fit his hand. He must buy a pistol for the job and learn to shoot it. The same goes for ladies, buy a pistol for the job and then learn to shoot it.


Semper Fi.

Gunnery sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired
 
I have always thought accuracy is the first element in stopping power. As we have discussed here many times, a hit with a 22 hurts a lot worse than a miss with a .45, as Bill Jordan said in No Second Place Winner "Speed's fine but Accuracy is Final."
 
Don P Is absolutely right. Your wife should be shopping for her own gun.

Selecting a gun is like buying a pair of shoes. You need to try it on to make sure it fits. If the shoes aren't comfotable then she will not wear them. A pistol is the same.

I am primarily a 1911 shooter. It is my weapon of choice. My wife however hates the 1911 and cannot shot it comfortably. She can and does shot her TZ 75 in 9mm most efficiently.

Her qualification scores for her CCW were better than mine.
 
When some scumbag is about to have you for breakfast you won't consider comfort to be very important vs. stopping him. I used to be an NRA instructor and we taught a lot of women's self defense classes. Every single woman in our classes were given the option of firing a .45 ACP 1911 but we told them all that they didn't have to shoot it. Every single one of them wanted to shoot it and they all had no trouble getting rounds on target. But as others have said your wife needs to pick her gun. My wife has small hands and she shot USPSA matches for years with a .45 ACP 1911 (with a short trigger) and she beat so many guys I stopped keeping track.:rolleyes: The guns I would stay away from are the semi autos with long DA triggers (like the Beretta 92). A lot of men have trouble just reaching that trigger much less shooting it well since the grip is so fat. Wide body double stack guns with long DA triggers pose serious a unnecessary challenge for a lot of people. Try to get your wife to a range where she can fire a 1911. You might be surprised. In case you're wondering my wife carries either a S&W J frame or a SP 101 daily.
 
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Get what fits

I have to agree with most of the comments posted so far. a 9mm or 38cal J frame would be a good choice for your wife. The main thing is going to be practice, practice , practice under stress, practice reloading under stress. And she will need the willingness to pull the trigger in self defence. There are plenty of good self defence rounds out there. Let her pick a gun that fits her. that she will shoot.
 
ty for all the great info

ty for all the great info and help guys . It is funny that so many of you spoke about the 1911 as i have wanted one for a long time. but as almost all of you have said this weapon is going to be her's. So she will pick the one she wants then it will be off to the range . As for what do i think I think that fit can be over come with a lot of range time . However I also think a person is more to put in the range time with a weapon they are not afraid of and one that feels good in there hands .
 
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If a 1911 is what feels good in her hands, so much the better.

To Clifford L Hughes and drail, I have to respectfully submit the following:

Choose a gun that suits the purpose, yes; however, there are a lot of guns that can suit the purpose. Deliberately choosing a gun that you have to train around is just foolish. It's not hard to find a gun in service caliber that will fit almost any hand (by which I mean, find a gun that fits a particular hand, not one that fits all). My wife has fairly large hands (she's 5'7 or 5'8 and athletic) and likes a K-frame 357, a Beretta PX4, or a CZ75 quite well.

OTOH, I have a friend who is both a martial arts instructor and a police officer, who is also about 5'2 and tiny (though very muscular). Her hands are small; she cannot get the pad, let alone the joint of her trigger finger around a Glock 23 trigger, and has to use both trigger fingers, shooting two-handed, to shoot her department's mandatory (for uniform) weapon. In plain-clothes (she's a detective) she carries a Beretta 84, because it fits her hand and she can shoot it with either hand. (Odd that her department allows detectives a wide latitude, but not when at uniformed functions...)

Realistically, how well will my friend ever shoot a G23? Her hands simply do not fit.

She qualifies without problem with the Beretta.

Under stress, which gun do you suppose is the better choice for her?

My wife can shoot my .44 magnums, but doesn't enjoy them at all. She'll shoot all the .38+P you could ask for out of a S&W 65. Which gun is the better choice for her?

OTOH, an Army AH-64 pilot friend of mine (she has a Bronze Star for combat in Iraq, and just made Major) likes a 1911 in .45 better than any other handgun, and she and her husband have his and hers custom Kimbers. They shoot in friendly competition with Army buddies of theirs all the time. She is probably best off with a 1911.
 
I have gotten myself out of several tight spots with an s&w 22 kitgun. 90% of sd is having a gun, 9% is whether or not you pull it out and pull the trigger, 0.9% is if you hit the shootee, the other 0.1% is all that other stuff. I got 38's because Ilike 38's. Gun, caliber, bullet etc makes very, very, little diference.
 
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