good HD options for a small-statured single mother?

My go to gun(s)

I have the Hi-Point 995TS carbine. They are running about $350 right now in California with the California Button installed. You can add the Hi-Point laser for about $60 and get two spare magazines for about $20. All in all, a good 9mm carbine fully equipped for under $500.

The only problem for me is the California Button which requires a tool to remove the magazine; not very good for quick defensive reloads but then again this is the nonsense of gun control in California.

I also have the Hi-Point C9 pistol (no California button required so reloads are quick). This 9mm pistol with three 8 round magazines cost me less than $200. The great thing about the C9 is it can use the 10 round magazines from the carbine. However, the 8 round pistol magazines are too short to use in the carbine.

I added an UpLuLa speed loader to make loading the magazines easier. The last time I was at the range with these two guns I spent less time loading magazines and more time burning up ammo. I was using the range supplied reloaded 9mm loads which seemed a bit soft; perhaps they were loading lighter powder charges to save on cost? Both guns worked fine with this range ammo and any other ammo I have fed them. They are easy to mount and easy to fire. The recoil of the carbine is very light. The pistol is a bit rougher but what do expect from a blowback design? I fire rifles left handed due to a bad shoulder and have no problems with the 995TS shooting left handed or right handed.

The only caveat is that you need to clean and oil these guns at least annually. I am putting my C9 Pistol through a long term 1,200 round torture test to see if the “1,200 rounds before cleaning” advice from the owner’s manual is okay. My findings after 500 rounds and a year and a half sitting in the safe without being touched is that if you keep the guns oiled they work flawlessly. If you let them get dry you will suffer misfeeds.

Go with the 995TS and C9 combination and you should have the bases covered. Get some basic training on their use and on legal self-defense usage of lethal force and put in some range time once a month so you can stay proficient with the arms.

Also, I STRONGLY recommending reading EVERYTHING on Pax’s website “Cornered Cat” at http://www.corneredcat.com/ as it is a GREAT guide for women planning on arming themselves. Guys, you should study every word on her site as well!
 
I recommend a revolver in .38 special or .357 magnum, with a 4" barrel.

Here'a why:

The revolver is more reliable than the autoloader.

Even the most reliable autoloader can have a bullet related failure (failure to feed, failure to eject, hard primer, dud round).

And if she is not going to have the time to practice clearing a failure til it is instinctive and very fast, then the revolver is going to be more reliable.



Question....For all the men who continue to recommend wheelguns for the fairer sex, what is YOUR go to gun for home/self defense?
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The very reason this is my go to gun instead of one my autoloaders is because I know that I don't practice clearing drills near enough.

And I've experienced and seen way too many autoloaders choke when firing to feel comfortable staking my life on one.
 
We've kind of come full circle from pax' post 6:
pax said:
...Revolvers are difficult to master for defensive use. If there's any question at all about her hand strength, that should immediately rule out a revolver because of the long, heavy DA trigger pull. (Lots of reasons not to use revolver in SA mode for self-defense -- safety and speed the most important of those.)...
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Yes, revolvers are simple to use, but my experience teaching beginners confirms pax' observation. Women (and men) depending on hand strength and hand size can have great difficulty with the long, heavy trigger pull of many DA revolvers (and many DA semi-autos). With my short fingers, I can't handle a Smith & Wesson N frame well in DA.

Picking an appropriate handgun really should include: (1) an NRA Basic Handgun class; (2) handling and trying, under qualified supervision, a variety of handguns; and (3) finding which one and which types one can best manage.
 
First line of defense should be a good DOG, especially one that will protect the kids, after that, a good can of pepper spray or MACE, possibly a taser. Once those are utilized, THEN a gun - if she is not going to practice much, a gun would not be a good choice for her in a stress-filled scenario where her minds is on her kids and not on stopping the threat. If she is truly going to get the training and practice time in, then she needs to get whatever she is comfortable with - and that will need to br HER decision, not what any of us say
 
I really would not, I really could not

make a choice for someone else.

What out asking,

would you, could you in the dark,
would you, could you hit your mark.

I could go on but there is a point driven by some here.

Before giving advise, it would be wise to ask some quesitons.

If they are going to put it up and never look at it for 3 years, then any gun is a bad choice. It carries all the risk with little upside-most of us understand that during an emergency, there is little time to practise.

If she is interested enough and have funds enough, then they need to decide what feels most comfortable to her.

I saw a video of a girl trying out all the advise from her family. the pistol was off the mark, the shotgun scared her so badly after 1 shot, she couldn't keep shooting. The AR, was a 8 out of 10 and she loved it. But that was her.

If she really isn't into guns, then I too, would vote for mace and taser, and in that order.
 
I can't be the only one here who does not believe that DA revolvers all have a heavy trigger pull. My wife does not have particularly strong hands (I have the jar-opening jobs) and she has no problem at all with my stock S&W 686+.
 
Doc TH said:
I can't be the only one here who does not believe that DA revolvers all have a heavy trigger pull....
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peacefulgary said:
When the big bad wolf is kicking down her door, I don't think she will have any problem with the "heavy" 12 pound trigger.
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How many beginners/women have you helped train? Based on having helped train 70 to 80 or so over the last three years, many do have trouble with the DA trigger on a revolver or DA semi-auto. They can generally do okay with Glocks.
 
How many beginners/women have you helped train? Based on having helped train 70 to 80 or so over the last three years, many do have trouble with the DA trigger on a revolver or DA semi-auto. They can generally do okay with Glocks.
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If they can't pull a 12 pound trigger on a revolver then I seriously doubt they will be able to quickly perform a failure drill on an autoloader.
And they will most likely have a problem with limpwristing their pistol.

Besides, even though it is certainly not ideal, they can always shoot the revolver single action.

I've trained quite few newbies, but I've never met one who couldn't shoot a revolver DA.
 
peacefulgary said:
If the can't pull a 12 pound trigger on a revolver then I seriously doubt they will be able to quickly perform a failure drill on an autoloader.
And they will most likely have a problem with limpwristing their pistol.

Besides, even though it is certainly not ideal, they can always shoot the revolver single action.

I've trained quite few newbies, but I've never met one who couldn't shoot a revolver DA.
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Thanks for the response. But --

  1. As an NRA certified instructor for the last several years I've worked with a group putting on monthly NRA Basic Handgun classes. In that time, we've trained several hundred people, almost all of whom were complete beginners. Roughly 30% have been women.

  2. As part of our class students, after shooting the qualification with .22s have the opportunity to shoot a couple 9mm auto-loaders, a couple .40 S&W auto-loaders, a couple .45 ACP auto-loaders and revolvers in both .38 Sp/.357 Magnum and .44 Sp/.44 Magnum. We've never had anyone display "limp wristing" problems. We've had a number of students, both men and women, who had difficulty with the DA pulls on the DA revolvers (and also on the DA/SA semi-autos).

  3. As for using a DA revolver in SA mode, here's what pax (Kathy Jackson) wrote in post 6:
    pax said:
    ...(Lots of reasons not to use revolver in SA mode for self-defense -- safety and speed the most important of those.)....
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    Ms. Jackson is certainly a recognized expert in training women in defensive handgun use.

  4. Pressing a long, heavy trigger on a revolver and performing a failure drill on an auto-loader are completely different physical acts, and one's ability or inability to do one can not be considered predictive of one's ability or inability to do the other. There are revolvers whose triggers cause me difficulties, but I can do failure drills on an auto-loader just fine.

  5. The first order of business is to get the student to be able to shoot reliably and accurately. Failure drills come somewhat down on the list.
 
One thing we don't discuss a lot in these types of threads is gun maintenance. Which type of gun will she be able to field-strip, clean, lubricate, and reassemble easiest? While most modern semi-autos are easier to maintain than a 1911 or BHP, they are not as simple to clean & lube as a DA revolver. I'm not saying that she can't learn....but I'm asking if she is willing to learn.

This is a important reason I still recommend DA revolvers to new shooters over semi-autos.
 
She needs to know & understand the use of force laws and, more importantly, be able to use lethal force in a critical incident.

If she can't devote the time, $ and/or resources or won't use lethal force against another human being DO NOT buy her a firearm.
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The first order of business is to get the student to be able to shoot reliably and accurately.
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If they are going to put it up and never look at it for 3 years, then any gun is a bad choice. It carries all the risk with little upside-most of us understand that during an emergency, there is little time to practise.
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if she is not going to practice much, a gun would not be a good choice for her in a stress-filled scenario where her minds is on her kids and not on stopping the threat
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If someone is not willing to devote the time to learn to defend them selves than their priorities are messed up. Especially if they have kids.
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A gun may be the worst choice for anyone scared or not trained to use it
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The best advice is usually the least considered in cases like this.

I am always surprised at the folks here that would take the time to describe their favorite choice of gun as a suggestion for someone else to buy, given that that person is not able or interested in learning how to use it safely or legally.
And very few of you have offered suggestions about the most important facts the OP gave regarding the presence of little kids in the mix.

How in the world would you consider that any gun is the best idea here ?
 
Id go with the ruger p95 personally my favorite gun in my collection..its a 9 so it will has suffici ant stopping power. The recoil is very minimal so it can be handled well and sven though it is a full size gun it seems rather light comparex to most handguns..and it is very relkable never had a problem with mine..best thinv of all thougb is this is a cheap gun it can be had new for under 400.plus its a ruger :)
 
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