Handgun for my girlfriend for home defense

F

FyredUp

Moderator
I have been pondering the idea of purchasing a handgun for my girlfriend to use for home protection. She wants a Mossberg 12 gauge pump and I am cool with that, but lately I have been rethinking the idea of a pistol perhaps being a better choice due to ease of carry and manueverability. She would take a defensive position and fire from cover, not seek the intruder by moving through the house.

Optimistically hoping for a passage of a concealed carry law someday I would like this handgun to to somewhat compart but firing a potent round. For ease of operation and the just pull the trigger again if it doesn't fire security I believe a revolver is a good choice. But which one and what caliber? I am leaning towards a .38 with a short barrel. I guess I am looking for ideas, suggestions on the weapon and caliber and thoughts on my plan.

Could we please keep this civil as I am open to suggestions and seriously looking to buy her a handgun if not before, for Christmas.

Thanks.
 
If it's specifically for home defense, I think the 12 gauge shotgun the best option here. My reasons being that she won't need to carry it with her, and she won't have to worry about shot placement as much since the spread of whatever round you decide to use should take care of that. Also, a shotgun will be much less likely to penetrate through walls, hitting an unintended target.

any responses?
 
For a revolver, something like a Ruger Sp101 with the 3.06" barrel in .357 would be a good choice. It's not overly large, but being all steel, it has the mass to handle hot +p or .357 loads easily (or, as easily as any small frame revolver can). She could use .38spl, +p or .357 rounds, depending on her sensitivity to recoil (although indoors I don't use .357 - too much noise, muzzle blast and flare). It would limit her to 5 rounds, but you could teach her to use speed loaders.

If your more concerned about HD then the possible future carry issue, then a good 4" barrel .357 (Ruger GP100, S&W 686 or 620) make excellent HD guns. Or a good used S&W model 10 if you settle on .38spl as a round.

For an autoloader, 9mm, .40 or .45 would be good SD/HD rounds. Reliability of most good name brand modern semiautos is near to or equal a good revolver. My most recent gun is a CZ P-01, 9mm with 14rnd mags - I think it would make a good HD gun. It has a 3.9" barrel, has enough heft to shoot comforatable and accurately, and 9mm JHPs will do fine for a SD gun. The P-06 is basically the same gun, but in .40S&W.

I have a PT1911 and SIG P226, but those are much larger framed pistols then the CZ.

I've shot, but never owned a Glock as I don't like the trigger, but many people keep them in their homes.

You have lots of choices. You need to take her to a range and rent several revolvers and semiauto's so she can at least narrow the field by that basic distinction.
 
I don't disagree and I guess I looked at the pistol as a supplement to the shotgun. I think I explained myself poorly so let me try again. It would not only be for home defense but she would have the option of carrying it when she went out in the evening to feed the horses. So in this scenario I believe the pistol would be a better choice being lighter and easier to carry, simply put it in her coat pocket.

So with that additional information can we relook at this please?
 
In that case, I think she might be better off with a small frame revolver as gwnorth mentioned earlier. But just make sure she knows how to use it and can hit with it and i think you'll be fine.
 
Thanks for the responses. My girlfriend is a fairly decent shot with her Neos. We were at about 10 yards or so the other day shooting old coffee cups and she was shooting better than 1 hit out of 2 shots. All her shots were within 6 inches or so of the cups when she missed. So yes, we would spend time shooting it before I would ask her to depend on it to save her life.
 
+1 on hopfully getting CCW passed here sometime in WI. But I doubt it will happen. I think Milwaukee outlawed sparklers - it's just that kind of mindset here unfortunately.

I would say definitely a small frame .38 special. Easy for her to carry, reliable, and safer than an auto for her. I bought one the other year for next to the bed, I feel the safest with that type of gun for that purpose.
 
Stick to the Shotgun Plan!

A handgun will require more practice to become proficient and will always lack stopping power as compared to a shotgun. The Mossberg 500 is a robust weapon and would make a fine choice. A short-barrelled revolver would be a poor choice.

Good things, she will baracade herself and fire from a defended position - good! There was a study done in the prison system some years ago soliciting the most feared sound they heard during the comission of a crime. #2 was a growling dog. #1 was the racking of a pump shotgun.

A woman cowering in the corner, holding a snubby .38 vs the same woman racking the slide of a 12 GA, I think the later is more prepared and more likely to survive the altercation.

One comment, and it isn't fingerpointing at a previous poster, the shotgun pattern will not spread like in the movies. Unless you live in a VERY large home, the pattern of a 12 GA across a bedroom is mere centimeters in diameter and will not allow your girlfriend to be a foot off and still make a hit. The pattern is still larger than a single pistol bullet, however and this will promote a higher probability in damaging vital organs on a solid torso impact.

Chrisp0410
 
buy her a 2-3in .357, start her off with .38s though, and if she doesnt like .357 just keep her at the .38. Or if you want to get crafty look into a .327 mag.

just a thought

T
 
I'm not sure how well they do at stopping boogers, but the Ruger SP101 in the new .327 Magnum bumps the capacity from 5 up to 6.
 
OK, now I see the revision. To quote your follow-up response:

I don't disagree and I guess I looked at the pistol as a supplement to the shotgun. I think I explained myself poorly so let me try again. It would not only be for home defense but she would have the option of carrying it when she went out in the evening to feed the horses. So in this scenario I believe the pistol would be a better choice being lighter and easier to carry, simply put it in her coat pocket.

So with that additional information can we relook at this please?
Click to expand...

Alright, so do get that Mossberg 500 (see my post above for info on why the shotgun is better). As for feeding the horses, I would steer her towards a medium framed 4" barrelled .357 Magnum revolver, initially loaded with 38 SPL loads until she is used to the more powerful rounds. You should take her to a gunshop and hande several different firearms until she finds one thats comfortable. She should go to the range and become proficient. She should take a self defense pistol course and posess the mindset to defend herself. Best of luck.

Chrisp0410
 
Smith & Wesson Model 60 w/3" barrel. It's a smaller framed .357 (J - series) that fits a woman's hands very well and allows you more flexibility with ammo. She can practice with .38s and keep a factory load of .357s in the house. Perfect choice.
 
Shotgun will be a Mossberg 590 Persuader/Cruiser. She picked it out because of the adjustable stock. She could fit it to her better. This would be her primary home defense weapon.

After reading this I am thinking a .38/.357 with a 3 or 4 inch barrel would be a good choice. We would practice like crazy with this so her learning to shoot it is a given.

Any more advice or comments?
 
From BarkSlayer:
Smith & Wesson Model 60 w/3" barrel. It's a smaller framed .357 (J - series) that fits a woman's hands very well and allows you more flexibility with ammo. She can practice with .38s and keep a factory load of .357s in the house. Perfect choice.
Click to expand...

Excellent choice if not for concealed carry. Same for chrisp0410's suggestion of a 4 inch.

Personally, I would keep .38 Specials in it for potentially using indoors. I do with mine.
 
Let HER pick the gun. Only she knows what feels best and shoots best for her.

That being said, if she wants a revolver, ask her to look at a Taurus 85UL. Lightweight and shoots 5 .38 spcl. +p. Accurate. A .357 in a snubbie is almost a waste of time and harder to shoot. You won't get the magnum velocity from that 2" barrel.

Walking through a house looking for the BG is a potential trip to the morgue. He can wait in concealment and let you come to him. NOT good. Better to bunker down, call the cops, and wait for him to come to you. He has to expose himself to do that.

A short barrel pump 12 ga. is a good weapon, but takes a lot of room and two hands to bring into play. The handgun is more versatile.
 
I'd say get her something she would like carry. Sound to me, she would like something like a revolver if she's a horsy girl.

First, revolvers always have that western appeal, and a cool little S&W snub Airweight .38spl would be easy to carry because it's so small, light, reliable, even when dirty.

I think she needs a model S&W 637, or a 638 (I don't like the 642 hammerless).

They do require practice to fire well, but very cool guns, and I think she would like it, and you can get one with a pink grip from budsgunshop.com for $410 shipped to an FFL, of course, you need to find an FFL that will do a transfer for a fee.
 
Let HER pick the gun. Only she knows what feels best and shoots best for her.
Click to expand...

+100

When I gave handguns to my daughters the first time I thought they would like a 9mm pistol best. Maybe a Glock or XD. Instead they both had trouble pulling the slide back, even though they are both otherwise strong young women, just not in the grip I suppose.

So they opted for revolvers based on being easy to operate and decent triggers. One was a S&W .38 and the other a Ruger GP100 .357.

Let your girlfriend try some out, even if only dry firing to be sure she is confident in operating it.
 
Okay let me clear up a couple of things from ideas above.

The plan is if she is in the house to retreat to a place of refuge, hopefully the bedroom. If not, anywhere where she can find cover and have a decent vantage point to fire from. She will most certainly NOT be looking around the house for the bad guy.

I would most certainly let her pick out the pistol that fit her hand and that she liked. She wanted a Neos and we went and she had it in her hand, I had her try a couple of others and she went back to the Neos and she is a pretty fair shot with that.

As far as the pink hand grips go...YIKES!! She has made it clear that if I ever bought her a sissy gun like that that she would not be very happy with me. So, I think that's out.:D
 
If we are discussing a sidearm for her that will be used for home defense and while feeding horses on her property, rather than a concealed weapon, any all-steel, 3-4 inch barreled .38 special revolver will do if loaded with modern enough hollow points. When she feeds the horses, she slips a paddle holster over her belt and shoves the revolver in. Or do the same with a bandolier holster.

I agree that she should try out several types of handguns herself. She seems to have a fair handle on shooting.

Cordially, Jack
 
ANY of the weapons/calibers discussed, when fired in a room, especially in the dark, will blind and deafen not only the intruder but your gf as well - even if momentarily.....

a shotgun, at bedroom distances will NOT have a big pattern - it will be easy to miss someone....however, using a shotgun with a shoulder stock IS easier to control and put your shot on target

whatever way you go, start her with mile recoil loads and slowly work your way up - if going the 38/357 route, she won't need more than 38+P
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top