Help Choosing a Home Defense Handgun

My 2 Cents

I would find Smith & Wesson 64 HB in a 4" that functions perfectly. Should be easy to locate on Gun Broker.

Next have a trigger/action job done on it. I just did one in a couple hours. Wilson Spring Kit and a little stoning on the sides of moving parts. A few shims on the trigger and hammer pins would probably not hurt.

Last have the front sight milled off, and then have it dovetail cut for a Novak 1911 front sight. Dawson will have a Tritium 1911 front sight in .170 height for a 65 Deg X .330 Novak dovetail.

You now have a K Frame with enough weight to make shooting it comfortable. You have enough sight radius to shoot it accurately. You should have a very good DA trigger. You also have a front Night Sight for low light conditions. You do not need to do this all at once either. You can do it over time. I would get the trigger done first, and Paint the front sight. Then do the Tritium Front Sight last.
Get some light loads for her to practice with, and make sure she shoots it frequently.

My wifes house gun is a 686 in a 4". She would probably grab my 870 riot gun first however. She shoots trap some with her 870, and is confortable with a shotgun.
 
Women who aren't shooters usually have trouble with semi-automatics. They don't understand how the slide and magazine work.
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You can educate anyone on the workings of an autoloader in less than five minutes.

The military teaches young 18 year old ladies to shoot autoloaders all the time.

Unless the lady in question is a complete idiot she will have no problem understanding how an autoloader works.

And if she is too stupid to understand how an autoloader works, then she shouldn't be trusted with any firearm!
 
Clifford L. Hughes

Dear Naby:

A pistol must be purchased with its intended use in mind. For instance a hunting pistol requires a large and bulky frame. On the other hand, a purse gun must be small and light. In either case the shooter must learn to handle the pistol effectly. Most men want a lady's gun for their ladies: meaning a pistol the an experienced shooter will have difficulty shooting accurately. The J frame Smiths shooting standard .38 caliber ammo is a good start. Buy one that is chambered in .357 mag magnum so that if your wife learns to control the .38 special she can graduate to .357. Make the gun ready for your wife. Take it to a good gunsmith and have the trigger lightened and the action smoothed. Larry Kelly of Mag N Port produced outstanding action jobs on two of my Smiths. Purchase a double action because shooting single action shortens the learning period. Next, put on a set of Hogue extended grips and your wife will be all set.

Semper Fi.

Gunnery Sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired
 
Self Defense..

It's easy to confuse "Self Defense" with "Tissue Damage", two different topics entirely. At home you have other family members and neighbors to consider for collateral damage, bullets can miss and OR go through the intended victim to find another.

I owned a gun shop some years back, men would come in to pick a pistol for their wife on occasion, usually it was something they (husband) liked. The average woman is timid, shy, scares easily and does not want to kill stuff as a general rule, that hesitation could mean life and death.

What I did was first suggest a 4" Mod. 17 S&W, quiet, cheap to shoot, fun and accurate, something the whole family could afford and enjoy shooting. I had a big slab of lumber in the corner, would chamber a CCI Rat Shot and shoot the slab of wood from four feet away, have them see what it does to the wood and ask, "If that was someone breaking in your house OR car and shot him in the face whats he gonna do? Start crying, yelling, screaming and cover his face with both hands, at that moment you can easily pump five hollow points in him OR step on the gas pedal."

It made them think usually, I would then say after shooting the 22 a while you can always come back and trade it in for any larger caliber K-Frame Smith, then show them the CCI RatShot in 38, 357, and 44Mag to think about.

It worked, the average woman felt better with that option and I sold alot of K-Frames after that. Even out of a 2" 38 special a rat shot in the face from a few feet away is going to blind and make the meanest somnabich in the world stop, cover his face and start crying, he can't grab or hit what he can't see. RatShot from a pistol or a shotgun at close range will "Incapacitate" with minimal collateral damages to fear.

What is next in the chamber will dictate the rest of the story.
 
I'm rather unqualified with pistols, but I say that so long as you remember that your finger is the only safety, a 9mm Glock should be adequate for a drawer panic gun. If you're practiced, trained, and got money to dump, then go for something like an M19XX pistol. Definitely don't go Desert Eagle, unless your defense plan is to frighten off your opponent by all the welts on your forehead.
 
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Some years back, I bought a used Police gun, a Beretta 96 Centurian. Boy, I loved that gun for HD! Smmooooth slide, easy to chamber, incredibly accurate. It was the bedstand gun. It came with night sights that were somewhat dim, but still usable. Then I got into XDs and it went down the road. Kinda wish I still had it.
 
wife's home defense gun

Naby's wife is not in the military and will not be trained by the military.
For relatively inexperienced, occasional shooters, I must agree with the respondents who suggested a K-frame DA S&W revolver. Simplicity has many advantages for folks who don't routinely shoot as a pastime or hobby.
 
My wife and I took an NRA basic pistol class together and that was her first experience with any gun. She got to shoot a variety of revolvers and semi-autos and she handled them all pretty well for a first timer. Once we get another handgun she can handle we'll start going to the range frequently (something she's interested in). After visiting a gun shop she found that she really likes the trigger on the LCRs the best. I would prefer a longer barrell than that for the house but we may just start from there as she'll probably end up carrying eventually. We want to take the NRA personal defense inside the home class next.

Thanks again for all the responses.
 
Fort Walton Beach

Naby, enjoy Ft. Walton. I was there several times. Once in Navy primary flight training field survival course on Eglin AFB, and later when the Navy sent me on temp duty to Eglin for some work on a Vietnam War project. I still remember when some USAF guys accidentally dropped a planeload of button bomblets ("toe poppers") on the beach. Very embarassing for them (Navy guys of course had to chuckle). They had to call out a general quarters drill (AF version) and get most of their guys out to rake the beach so no beachgoers stepped on one and got an unpleasant surprise.
 
Right on, taking her to a gun or pawn shop (or better yet a gun show with a big selection) to handle guns for herself.

A K Frame S&W isn't a bad choice at all. Great for beginners and pros alike, my bedside gun is an L Frame 4" 686. If you happen to get one with a round butt frame, you've got a TON of choices on stock sizes and materials, something I've always loved about wheel guns. But like Glocks, 1911s, XDs, etc, they aren't for everyone.

But as this is a home defense gun, I would also at least consider a long gun if I were in your shoes. Something along the lines of a 12 or 20 gauge shotgun (pump, semi auto, double, whatever) or a carbine (AR-15, M1 Carbine, SKS, AK clone, etc). Though my 686 is at my bedside for immediate access, the 686 gets passed to my wife while I retrieve my Mossberg 590A pump 12 gauge.

I love my 686, as all my other revolvers. I conceal carry daily and I bet my life on them with complete confidence.

However...

It's quite comforting knowing I can hurl 9 1/3" diameter lead balls (and a chunk of shot wadding) at an intruder with but a single trigger pull.

I would have no qualms about using my AR-15 in 5.56 either. Compact, extremely easy to make fast accurate shots, very little recoil. They are pricey though.
 
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