handgun for home protection

I have several handguns and have shown my wife how to shoot and operate most of them. As a home defense gun, he favorite by far is a revolver. She does not shoot that often and does not want to be bothered with operating issues when there is a bump in the night. I would suggest a S&W, 38 or 357 loaded with 38 +p. A Model 10 would fit the bill.

We were shooting at the farm and she tried several guns. I thought she'd love the Hi-Power - a fullsized gun shooting 9mm, but no she opt'd for an ultralight 38 snubby. The snubby has since been replaced by a 3" SP101 and I have added a Model19 to my collection. The SP101 with 38's is now her favorite.
 
consider a revolver

Perhaps you will consider a revolver.
My lady likes her Taurus Judge loaded with 000 shot
No rack & it goes bang EVERY trigger pull.
 
Depending on your wife's hand size, the K/L frame S&W may not fit her. Don't rule out the 3" J frame model 60. The extra weight will damped recoil compared to the airweight J frames and the 3' barrel is more "shootable".
 
Depending on your wife's hand size, the K/L frame S&W may not fit her. Don't rule out the 3" J frame model 60. The extra weight will damped recoil compared to the airweight J frames and the 3' barrel is more "shootable".
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This is the situation with my wife and, in fact, she keeps a Smith Model 60 with a 3" barrel on her side of the bed and I, a Model 686 plus on my side.

I like revolvers for hd duties. No compressed springs, safeties to mind or slides to rack. It can lay inert for years but, when needed, a simple pull of the trigger will put it into action. A bad primer situation is resolved by another simple pull of the trigger.
 
I'd say find a Smith Model 65 (3 inch) or a Ruger Stainless Speed Six in 357 (2 & 3/4 inch), but load either with Buffalo Bore 38's (158 +P), not 357's. Put a set of Pachmayr Compacs on either and you won't find a better more reliable easy to use gun for home defense. Unless you're expecting a group of invaders, 6 shots should do the trick. I suggest the shorter rather than a 4 inch so if you ever wanted to take it out of the house, it would be easier to conceal.
 
Back when my wife & I were first married I bought a Colt Enhanced Officer's .45 ACP. in stainless. We would go to the range alot and she was a verry instinctive shooter. We would have a good time but she just is not a gun person. fast foward to june of '93. I'm leaving for my 2nd deployment to the persion gulf. We go to the range have some fun shooting,then go home. I clean & oil up the Colt,wipe it down, dry fire it once,put in a loaded mag & set it on top of the refridgerator. 95% of the time The Colt is in condition 1. As we are getting ready to leave she says to me "before we go could you load the gun for me like you do at the range ?" I got the gun, unloaded the mag,cleared it,then handed it to her and asked her to rack the slide. She could not. My wife is only 5'4" & 115 lbs. I felt like a total idot. I just assumed that she could. So I loaded it in condition 1 & put it in the nightstand. I said to her " now ur all set." She smiled at me and we left. I prayed every night untill I got home that she would not have to use that gun. If any thing would have happened to her it would have been all my fault. I told this storie @ THR. a few yrs. ago and Pax directed me to her corneredcat site. It realy is a grate place for all kinds of info. for women on self defence. My wife now has a nickel plated S&W Model 10 .38 spl. with a 2in. bbl. She is alot more confident with this gun because 1) she tried different guns and chose the revolver. 2) she shoots it better. 3) she likes the way it looks. 4) it's her's. :)
 
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So, she can't rack the slide?

I have a Ruger SP101, My wife can shoot it but she won't touch it with magnum loads. Our HD pistol is a Glock model 22, .40. with a Ca. legal mag it's got 11 rounds in it. That's twice plus one more than the Ruger, plus a more powerful round. I know that in case of a misfire she would need to rack the slide. The thing is, with about 3k rounds through the Glock it has NEVER misfired. It's "Stupid simple" to operate, just point it and pull the trigger till threat is gone.
My wife does not like to shoot. She shoots to feel comfortable enough with the gun and just barely at that. She shoots about once a year, maybe 30 rounds through the Glock and 12 through the Ruger. I'd really like for her to shoot more but I know better than to push her into doing something she doesn't want to do.
 
Ignore her at your peril

:D
Have had several experiences over the years buying guns with the idea that they would work for my wife.

Bottom line: if she's not motivated to become a shooter for the fun of it, then you're going to have to keep it simple--she won't practice all the safeties, magazine releases, etc. Therefore, revolver becomes the choice because it's simple & much safer to use with minimal training. (Both are very safe with practice.)

You also MUST get something that fits her hand. My wife has small hands & can't reliably handle a S&W K-frame, but does great with the J-frame. Also the older Colt D-frames (by the bed she has a Police Positive .38SPL 4" bbl, and in the car a 2" Detective Special--same ammo, same action, just different barrels). Accuracy not a problem at 5-7 yards for her; even though she only shoots about once a year at best, it's typically a hand-sized group in rapid fire.

Plus-P ammo is great if your wife can handle it, but it may create more blast/flash than she wants. That's almost a certainty with airweight models, but less likely with steel. The airweights fit my wife & teenage daughters great, but the muzzle flip & recoil almost spoiled shooting for them. I recommend wadcutter target ammo first, and move up from there if your wife likes it OK. Settle on what you both like & can find available in stores.

By the way, the Ruger SP-101s fit all of my gals great, and they like them fine. I do, too. We have two.

If car and/or purse or concealed carry are likely, look at 2-3" barrels. If home only, 3"-4" probably would be best.

Now, after you & your wife get some practice, you may decide to open up other options. Yes, some women shoot autos, .44 Mags & 12 gauge shotguns, IF they become aficionados. Few go for those options unless they become avid shooters, as best I can tell. My wife found even the recoil/muzzle flip of a .380 Beretta unpleasant to shoot, and it's not as powerful as most .38SPL loads. My very petite 19-year-old daughter prefers a S&W .32 snubbie due to small size and LOW recoil; my 13-year-old prefers a .38 and does fine with all of ours.

Get what you can handle & get ammo for, choose a reputable brand of gun & ammo, and practice as much as possible. And remember that something is better than nothing, as long as you & she have the will to use it.
 
Just buy handguns that you like and bring them home for her to try. If she doesn't like it as well then you have a new handgun. :)

You should also consider a 12 or 20 gage shotgun for her to use in HD situations. You're not expecting her to move around trying to "clear" the house, right? IMHO, she should barricade herself in a designated safe room and cover the door with a shotgun while waiting for law enforcement to arrive. That's my plan anyway, for me and my wife. I have no intention of moving out into a known threat zone. What I'm armed with makes no difference in this regard.
 
Model 60

I vote with the Smith Model 60 crowd. Preferably 3" and 357 caliber, so you have the option of the full range of 38/357 ammo.

I own several semi autos and prefer them, but you have voted yourself out of that crowd.
If your wife couldn't rack the slide comfortably the first time she is definitely a revolver candidate.
 
You've already received some very good advice.

Yes - It is a very big deal that your wife cannot rack the slide. How would she clear a malfunction? Some have mentioned technique and there is definitely truth to it. However, being that it is for home protection, you will want something very simple. A quality 38 special (new or used) with a 4" barrel would be suitable. Stay away from the snubbies, especially the very light ones. The recoil is a heck of a lot worst, especially for a newbie.

Here's a link...

http://www.jgsales.com/product_info...d-condition/cPath/16_211_431/products_id/3103

For less than the price of a single Glock 19, you can get two used 38 specials and the two of you can practice together. I believe the 38's in the link are police or security company trade-ins. If that is the case, they have been carried more than they were shot.

stmwnc
handgun for home protection
We (my wife and I) want to get a good, easy to use, handgun for home protection and possibly target shooting. We looked at a Glock 19, which I really liked, but my wife had trouble pulling the slide back, in case it jammed. The dealer made a big deal about this and suggested we look to a revolver. We looked at an S&W 442, airweight. To me the small revolver seemed too small.

Question: Is it that big a deal that my wife can't pull back the slide very easily for the Glock 19? I want a reliable handgun that isn't complicated for her to operate.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
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Great Post Louisiana Man

Great post - you said it all!!
Including the last paragraph.:D

Get what you can handle & get ammo for, choose a reputable brand of gun & ammo, and practice as much as possible. And remember that something is better than nothing, as long as you & she have the will to use it.
 
:confused:I have never understood why so many women can't rack the slide on a semi-automatic pistol...sometimes, I fear that it's because they truly don't want to do so.... But, sometimes it's just a matter of technique; that and comfort that they're not going to break something. However, if there are no physical or psychological limitations which preclude racking the slide...the revolver idea is a good one; I have a Ladysmith that resides in the bedroom, and is small enough to ride in a purse. There is another option, which I don't think has yet been mentioned. Beretta makes a .380acp & a 9mm with a pop-up barrel; I've operated both. The pop-up barrel into which a round can be loaded directly obviates the need to ever manually rack the slide. Now, if you just wanted to buy what you wanted, and share the gun...you could do the gentlemanly thing of your racking the darn slide & just leaving th gun at the ready, should the need arise...I mean if it's a house gun...most people I know always keep a round in the chamber (course, a lot of people don't...for a variety of reasons).:rolleyes: --Patrice,
 
Taurus Judge; revolver, can be either short barreled or long barreled, and it shoots shotgun rounds, so aiming isn't all that important, and if its buckshot it's less likely to go through a wall than a handgun cartridge. No problems with racking the slide on it either. I don't own one, but it makes sense to me that it would be the best home defense piece around.
 
Glock 19. There's nothing better out there. (just IMHO)

Let your wife grab the slide like a stick. Palm on one side, 4 fingers on the other. No Problem for anybody:
Just like this:

Cock%20a%20Clock%20Detail.JPG




also works with a broken/lost thumb and in wet conditions etc.
 
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Taurus Judge; revolver, can be either short barreled or long barreled, and it shoots shotgun rounds, so aiming isn't all that important, and if its buckshot it's less likely to go through a wall than a handgun cartridge. No problems with racking the slide on it either.
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You still have to aim it accurately - shotguns throw out a very small pattern at HD ranges.

The Judge actually creates a spiral 'holey' pattern due to the fact it has a rifled barrel, making the shot pattern inconsistent

Any .410 round you can find (including slugs) will not penetrate sufficiently to reliably stop a human being when fired from the short Judge barrel. They're good for small game though.

The Judge is really a snake gun that is capable of using a .45 LC for self defense against larger animals.

It actually isn't a very accurate .45 either, since the chamber is 2" too long and the bullet bounces off the cylinder walls before engaging rifling.

I would not recommend this gun as a home defense gun, more than likely a smaller statued woman would object to the large size and awkward feel of the gun anyhow
 
S&W Model 10 4" .38 spl; mine, handed down to me from my father, has over 60,000 rounds through it and it operates with buttery precision. My wife uses it to protect herself and the kids when I travel. Zillions of used ones on the market for $200-$250.
 
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