Firearm for new shooter for home defense
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No, it's not for me
It's for my stepdaughter. She has shot a firearm before but not much and certainly not on a regular basis. I was thinking about a full sized .38 Special Revolver and a small handheld flashlight for target identification. She would probably be more accurate with a striker fired 9mm but if there was some malfunction, she might not be able to clear it quickly.Bartholomew Roberts
Moderator
First, I’d establish a realistic budget of what they can afford to own and train with (i.e. not just the gun, but ammo cost, securing it, slings, holsters, cases, etc.)
Second, are they going to carry it? Because the main point of a handgun is to sacrifice power and accuracy for convenience. If you aren’t going to make use of the convenience then why sacrifice? Likewise, long guns are usually right out the door if you plan to carry them.
Once, you’ve got that sorted out try out as many different firearms as you can within your budget/use parameters and let the new shooter picks what works for them. If we all had the same needs, we wouldn’t have several thousand different firearms.
Second, are they going to carry it? Because the main point of a handgun is to sacrifice power and accuracy for convenience. If you aren’t going to make use of the convenience then why sacrifice? Likewise, long guns are usually right out the door if you plan to carry them.
Once, you’ve got that sorted out try out as many different firearms as you can within your budget/use parameters and let the new shooter picks what works for them. If we all had the same needs, we wouldn’t have several thousand different firearms.
Stepdaughter --- is mom on board with this idea?
(just wondering)
My daughter in law is pretty firm on the idea that her kids (she's got 4 sons & my son has a son and daughter) and guns ain't gonna happen...
My son and I agree with her 100% on this. Her sons are,,to be kind...goofy.
But - I digress and veer off the path here.
Assuming it's a go on everything, I'd take her to the store and have her browse through what's there and handle as much as she can.
You can explain the pros and cons of each.
Heck, she might even show a preference towards a long arm. Nothing wrong at all with a .22 rifle. Every month there's stories in the NRA magazine where someone with a .22 rifle foils a home crime or drives off an intruder.
If push comes to shove....10 to 17 rounds of .22 CCI Mini Mags can put a world of hurt on someone real quick..
(just wondering)
My daughter in law is pretty firm on the idea that her kids (she's got 4 sons & my son has a son and daughter) and guns ain't gonna happen...
My son and I agree with her 100% on this. Her sons are,,to be kind...goofy.
But - I digress and veer off the path here.
Assuming it's a go on everything, I'd take her to the store and have her browse through what's there and handle as much as she can.
You can explain the pros and cons of each.
Heck, she might even show a preference towards a long arm. Nothing wrong at all with a .22 rifle. Every month there's stories in the NRA magazine where someone with a .22 rifle foils a home crime or drives off an intruder.
If push comes to shove....10 to 17 rounds of .22 CCI Mini Mags can put a world of hurt on someone real quick..
No, she won't carry the weapon for the foreseeable future. My impression is she'll stick in the sock drawer or closet and it won't see the light of day unless it hits the fan or I make her practice
My main concern with long guns is there are a few spots in her place where wielding one would be difficult. Another concern is maintenance. Although I will try and practice with her, I don't want a long period of time to lapse with respect to maintaining the weapon which is why a revolver made some sense to me.The women in my family hate DA revolvers. I know they are recommended all the time for women because of their simplicity, but there is nothing about a semi that a woman can't understand as well as a man. I reject the idea of a "woman's gun," because their needs and preferences vary just as much as the other half of the population.
For house defense only, there is no reason to go small. A full sized or near full sized semi in 9 mm would be a good candidate. My ladies are particularly fond of a PX4 Compact in my safe. (It actually belongs to one of my daughters, but she lives in a handgun-hostile locale and keeps it with me.) That is more an example than a recommendation, though. 9 mm, smooth trigger, fairly easy to work the slide, with changeable back straps to adjust to hand size. My daughter also prefers a thumb safety. Those are the features she is going to have to consider, and make her selection.
For house defense only, there is no reason to go small. A full sized or near full sized semi in 9 mm would be a good candidate. My ladies are particularly fond of a PX4 Compact in my safe. (It actually belongs to one of my daughters, but she lives in a handgun-hostile locale and keeps it with me.) That is more an example than a recommendation, though. 9 mm, smooth trigger, fairly easy to work the slide, with changeable back straps to adjust to hand size. My daughter also prefers a thumb safety. Those are the features she is going to have to consider, and make her selection.
Glock 17 or 19
I recommend Glock. Malfunction is not much of a concern. The manual of arms is as simple as can be.
My wife is a great shot, she just does not enjoy the range much. The Glock does nightstand duty.
Remove from holster, point at BG and pull trigger. Repeat as necessary.
I recommend Glock. Malfunction is not much of a concern. The manual of arms is as simple as can be.
My wife is a great shot, she just does not enjoy the range much. The Glock does nightstand duty.
Remove from holster, point at BG and pull trigger. Repeat as necessary.
No, she won't carry the weapon for the foreseeable future. My impression is she'll stick in the sock drawer or closet and it won't see the light of day unless it hits the fan or I make her practice
This is my daughter in law's gun. She wasn't comfortable with a semi-auto yet because she was having trouble racking the slide. I showed her a technique that made it much easier and when she has the confidence I think she will go with a G43 or similar.
She bought this Airweight and installed the ErgoGrip and shoots it very well. If not intending to carry the gun, I would look at a Ruger SP101 size revolver. Whatever you do, don't just let her put it in the sock drawer and think it's secured.
Couldn't agree more, depending on what the price range you are looking for I don't know if a glock 19 with a light on it can be beat for a nightstand gun.
TheGunGeek
New member
If it won't be carried, then I wouldn't buy a pistol. Have her get a pistol caliber carbine with a red dot sight and she'll be good for home defense with minimal practice. Pistols require more training and practice than anything else, and if one will never be carried there's little point in getting one. There are lots of different PCC options in the marketplace now to choose from.
TheGunGeek
New member
Arms extended with a pistol will be the same as a PCC, and one can go shorter with an MP5 sized one, while maintaining strong control of the weapon.
Good point. It depends on the situation but if I heard a noise in the late hours of the night, for example, I might be prone to investigate before calling the police. I don't think she has overnight guests over often but if she did, she might be forced to check on them at night to see if they are all right. If its just her and it sounds bad, I'm all for hunkering down and calling the police
A pistol or revolver both have pros and cons. I would generally recommend a 9mm but the only two issues I have with a pistol for new users are these. One, while 9mm doesn't recoil much, any pistol can be prone to malfunction with limpwristing. Two, if it's got manual safety, are they knowledge enough with the gun to know, when under pressure, to disengage it? Point and squeeze the trigger should be all that's involved here.
A revolver isn't prone to these things, but they're bigger and heavier (usually) and have terribly low capacity. I woudn't recommend a small revolver, as small ones aren't fun or easy to shoot well, especially the really lightweight S&W J-frames. Something like a 4" GP100 would be just about perfect. However, a full on 357 Mag is very loud outside, let alone indoors.
Overall, I'd recommend something like a Glock 19 (or S&W M&P 2.0) for a pistol, no external safeties to worry about and has good capacity and low recoil. For a revolver, something like a 4" GP100 is good, loaded maybe with mid-range 357's, maybe not full magnums.
A revolver isn't prone to these things, but they're bigger and heavier (usually) and have terribly low capacity. I woudn't recommend a small revolver, as small ones aren't fun or easy to shoot well, especially the really lightweight S&W J-frames. Something like a 4" GP100 would be just about perfect. However, a full on 357 Mag is very loud outside, let alone indoors.
Overall, I'd recommend something like a Glock 19 (or S&W M&P 2.0) for a pistol, no external safeties to worry about and has good capacity and low recoil. For a revolver, something like a 4" GP100 is good, loaded maybe with mid-range 357's, maybe not full magnums.
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My daughters both went thru firearms training, when they...
youngsters.
When the eldest headed to college, she & I went to the store and she handled a couple of snub-nose. and decided on a Charter Arms, Undercover revolver.
Youngest moved out she asked for a sidearm, so I handed a M60 and went to indoor range for practice. Now, she has a LCP first generation.
My general reply to this question is a 4" .357 Mag revolver, and start shooting with wadcutters to lessen recoil and understand the fundamentals of SIGHT ALIGNMENT and triggger control. as they get comfortable, then use good quality hollow-point ammo and practice the S.A. and trigger control.
If they really are comfortable to try .357 ammo, just repeat process.
If they decide to forget it, then they can sell it as a .357Mag and get a better return from buyer.
Also, if they have never shot a sidearm, thne get some NEW tennis balls and
start squeezing them, with thumb and next finger opposite to get fingers and wrist muscle id tone.
Good luck.
youngsters.
When the eldest headed to college, she & I went to the store and she handled a couple of snub-nose. and decided on a Charter Arms, Undercover revolver.
Youngest moved out she asked for a sidearm, so I handed a M60 and went to indoor range for practice. Now, she has a LCP first generation.
My general reply to this question is a 4" .357 Mag revolver, and start shooting with wadcutters to lessen recoil and understand the fundamentals of SIGHT ALIGNMENT and triggger control. as they get comfortable, then use good quality hollow-point ammo and practice the S.A. and trigger control.
If they really are comfortable to try .357 ammo, just repeat process.
If they decide to forget it, then they can sell it as a .357Mag and get a better return from buyer.
Also, if they have never shot a sidearm, thne get some NEW tennis balls and
start squeezing them, with thumb and next finger opposite to get fingers and wrist muscle id tone.
Good luck.
Bartholomew Roberts
Moderator
Well, convenience isn’t just for carry. She may want a hand free or she may have limited space to store it or wield it. However, if she isn’t going to carry it, that opens up some options like pistol caliber long guns, bullpups, or pistols with arm braces that are smaller than a traditional long gun. I will say the women I’ve shot with seem to find bullpups easier to use than most long guns (too heavy or bad balance for their upper body sttength). They’ll pick an FN2000 over my lightest AR, even though it is heavier. M1 Carbine is another popular one with the ladies.
One nice thing about military-derived firearms, especially the modern ones with nitride and ceramic finishes, is they will tolerate a lot of minimal or no maintenance.
