Home Defense Handgun...

Go to a gun show

I picked up this pre-lock 38 Special +P rated snub for $270 out the door at a local gun show. It even came with rubber Pac-Mar grips as a bonus, but I liked the installed wooden grips.

The only issues I had to deal with:

The hammer was not adjusted tight enough, got light strikes, a very easy adjustment.

The barrel was leaded up very bad, it took some extra cleaning time.

I think the price was so low as the leading (marked $250) was bad enough to look like a bad barrel. It was actually one of the best bores I have seen on an old gun.
 

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I'd advise your girlfriend's dad to skip the .32. I've never shot a .32, never owned one . . . but, with all of that said, and bearing in mind that I've never gone on the hunt for .32 ammo, I cannot recall having ever seen much available, either. By comparison, there are lots and lots of used .38 revolvers out there, and ammo is both plentiful. Surely there's a used .38 out there that will fit both the hands of the wife and girlfriend and his budget.
 
Daft,

If a handgun is for self-defense, buy the best she can afford. After all, its intent will be to save your girlfriend's life.

A few months ago I took a woman shooting. She had never fired any gun. I used my P-229 with factory 180 grain .40 S&W rounds. She is a normal-sized woman. She is athletic. At first she was slightly intimidated. By her third magazine, she was comfortable loading and shooting it.

She wanted to buy a handgun. I told her that gun store salesmen would try to steer her to a .380. I told her to not go that route. I told her that she was comfortable with a .40 S&W, that that should be her minimum. I told her that there was no doubt in my mind that she could shoot a .45 ACP.

A week later she told me that she had gone to a gun shop where a salesman tried to steer to a .380 because she's a woman. She told him that she was good with a .40 S&W.

My advice is to save a few hundred bucks to add to the 300 bucks she now has to spend and buy a good quality handgun of sufficient power.

IMO, I'd rather buy a good-quality used gun than a new gun of lesser quality.
 
Lost Sheep,

There is no doubt that a 12 gauge is superior to any handgun. However, unless you can stay put in one's bedroom and allow the bad guy to come you, it is a poor choice for home defense. If she has to maneuver within a home, a long gun has too many detriments to be practical, especially for a woman. If she has to leave her room for any reason, she'd be at very real risk of having her long gun taken from her by a bad guy.
 
SansSouci said:
There is no doubt that a 12 gauge is superior to any handgun. However, unless you can stay put in one's bedroom
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You are correct. As I replied to KyJim
Lost Sheep said:
The usual best tactic is to call for backup and shelter in place. Stationary defense behind closed doors does not usually involve grappling with the intruder.
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If the family can get together in a "safe room" and contact the police (yes, I still have expectations they will come when called) was my premise for the shotgun recommendation.


SansSouci said:
If a handgun is for self-defense, buy the best she can afford.
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Absolutely right. It is false economy to scrimp on your life-saving gear. By all means, sacrifice what you(they) have to to get a decent firearm. It will hold up to practice use and hold its value as well. It is an investment in safety as well as financial investment. And a can be a lot of fun at the range, too.


Thanks for reading.

Lost Sheep
 
The Iron Rule for Self Defense is no matter what you get, you must practice, practice, PRACTICE ! Get completely familiar with your SD piece until you can handle it blindfolded, in the dark, without your glasses, just woke from a sound sleep, etc. Comfortable grips on a revolver are a must, all my S&Ws wear either Herrett's or Pachmayrs, neither the S&W service or target grips are comfortable for me. Know where it shoots, if a fixed sight gun, have it shooting as close to point of aim as possible, an SD crisis is not the time for Kentucky windage.
The 32 ? On June 28, 1914 Gavrilo Princip did pretty well with one.
 
You know, I'm no fan of doing things half-assed, but the tone of this thread is that if you can't buy a $600 gun in a major caliber and dedicate yourself to enough practice to handle a lot of recoil and stiff springs, then you just shouldn't bother defending yourself.

Not everyone who wants to buy some insurance by having a gun available wants to make a lifestyle out of it. And it shouldn't be necessary.
 
Find a lightly used Ruger SP-101 in .357 mag but load it with .38 +P. To lighten the trigger pull buy a Wolff reduce spring kit and snap caps then just keep squeezing the trigger until the action smooths out. This is referred to as a poorman's action job. IMO stay away from a semi-auto as most novices will not practice enough to know what to do if they have a jam, failure to fire, magazine not properly seated, etc... issues. With a revolver just point and pull the trigger until it goes BANG!

The Ruger SP-101 is probably one of the best values on the market. Well made, dependable, and reasonably priced. A lightly used SP-101 will generally go for between $400 to $450. The advantage of the revolver is that it shoots both a recognized powerhouse in the .357 magnum and the low recoil but adequate personal defense round, the .38 Special (in semi jacketed flat nose IMO). Loading the .38 +P provides the best of both worlds, a intermediate cartridge between the two which if either women can handle a 9mm they should be able to handle the +P.

Stick with the Hogue rubber grips as shown as they provide a longer grip thus better control. If this is going to be a conceal carry, find a set of wood or nylon grips preferably of similar design as the rubber will grab clothing making it difficult to draw.

For what it's worth, my $.02 cents... :cool:

pix921245830.jpg


Current auction on GunBroker.com http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=434583300
 
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A couple of years ago I got an S&W 632 Pro .327 Magnum revolver for my wife for home defense. I travel a lot and I wanted her to have a gun she felt confident using, didn't recoil much, and would give her the best success in getting good hits on a bad guy. It's loaded with Sellier & Bellot .32 S&W Long 100gr wadcutter, which will crush a nice clean hole in flesh.

She isn't a shooter like me. She loves this set up. She also didn't have to learn to quickly clear jams like I would have insisted she do if her HD gun was an auto loader.

S&W discontinued the 632 and the Federal .327 Magnum cartridge seems to be on its way out. However there are plenty of revolvers chambered for .32 H&R Magnum that will chamber the same .32 S&W Long wadcutter.
 
There are so many different good makes and models of 38/357's out there I fail to see a reason for going to a 32 anything. In the semi-auto platform 9mm ammo is pretty available and cheap (relative to most other calibers).

Just my 2 cents.
 
Plan on him spending to his upper $300 limit. A decent used revolver can be had at that price.

Trigger pull is heavy on the $150 Nagant revolvers, so scratch that.

S&W Model 10s are out there, he needs to start looking.

For a semi-auto, there is the CZ82, Makarov, and Hungarian FEG, these run around $200-300.

I would stick with either the 9mm in 9x18 or 9mm Luger, or the .38 Special. The .32 ammo is a bit weak.

One important thing, is to not delay unnecessarily. Work on getting gunned up by end of August.

You will also need to make the time to run 250-500 rounds through your new piece by Christmas, to train yourselves and get some familiarity and skills.

Also, budget for a CCW permit, they are worth having. And an NRA membership.
 
I don't recall anybody asking this question, but do your g/f and her family plan to train with the gun they purchase, or simply stick it in a drawer until they hear the door being kicked in?

I'd just guess they won't train much, won't take classes in SD ... if that's the case, recommending a revolver in any caliber, IMHO, is a recipe for trouble. Any revolver is more difficult to shoot than most 9mm semi-autos. Get a used Smith or Ruger semi, something without a safety to worry about. The lighter trigger pull will make it easier to stay on target, and a medium weight non +p JHP will do a lot of damage.

A personal example ... my wife is not a shooter, tho she does visit the range with me from time to time. She shoots my Springfield XDm-9 well, but she prefers my Smith 22a (.22LR semi) or my Ruger LCR in .22mag. She won't shoot a .38Spcl revolver because she hates the recoil. The Ruger's recoil is so light that it's easy for her to shoot tight groups at 7 yards.

Another issue with revolvers is reloading. Even with speedloaders, if you don't practice regularly, replacing a mag (again in my opinion) is a much easier skill to acquire than dumping used brass and getting a revolver back in action.

And don't underestimate the value of night sights, which are readily available, at least as replacements, for the cheap sights on most semis. If you're not planning on a laser, the comfort of those glowing dots helping you aim in the dark is amazing. Aiming in dim light with the black sights on most revolvers is an exercise in frustration.

Whatever you get, suggest they train with it as often as they can (are there even places to shoot in Chicago, or do you have to travel to a suburb -- or another state)? Shooting well is a skill that degrades without practice.

Good luck.
 
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J&G still has advertised Model 64s (stainless Model 10s) for $259.95 in "good" condition or VG cond. for $299.95
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Thats similar to the ad they had when I got mine, and for the same gun. Its good to see they are coming back down, although having just gone there, the $259 specials are no longer listed.

They had some other trade in S&W's a few months back, Model 10's I think, that werent in all that great shape "looking" wise, and the price was nearly duoble what this offer is.

My 64 has been a great shooter, and when I got it, was the cleanest gun Ive ever bought, new or used. There wasnt a speck of anything, anywhere. When I patched the barrel, it actually came out as white as it when it. I dont know how they cleaned them, but it was impressive.

Shooting wise, they are soft shooting, even with hotter loads, have smooth and light DAO triggers, and are the usual, S&W accurate.

Not everyone who wants to buy some insurance by having a gun available wants to make a lifestyle out of it. And it shouldn't be necessary.
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No one is saying you need to make a lifestyle out of it, but you do have to put in the time and effort to at least be reasonably proficient with whatever it is you choose. That normally requires basic firearms training and regular practice.

If you cant do that, then a firearm is probably not the best choice for you.


I don't recall anybody asking this question, but do your g/f and her family plan to train with the gun they purchase, or simply stick it in a drawer until they hear the door being kicked in?

I'd just guess they won't train much, won't take classes in SD ... if that's the case, recommending a revolver in any caliber, IMHO, is a recipe for trouble.
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I agree, and for anything they choose.

The thought that you have a gun might be comforting, but your deluding yourself if you dont learn how to properly use it, and at least train with it regularly.

Another issue with revolvers is reloading. Even with speedloaders, if you don't practice regularly, replacing a mag (again in my opinion) is a much easier skill to acquire than dumping used brass and getting a revolver back in action.
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Speed loaders do require regular practice, and are often a challenge to those unfamiliar with them, and thats just at the range with no stress involved.

Then there is the issue of having to repeatedly do the revolver reload (assuming youre even prepared for it), and in some cases, 3-1 compared to some of the autos. This is one of those cases that emphasizes the advantages of the hicap autos.

But again, even going with one of the simpler auto's, you still have the basic training and practice issues that need to be done, if youre not familiar.
 
You could probably find a used .9mm Ruger LC9 for around that price, which would also work well.
It's not that hard to work the slide, and has a loaded chamber flag that would let them know a round is in the chamber, and also has a thumb safety.
I think for newbe's to gun ownership that would fill their needs, and be safe.
 
Im going to offer a suggestion based on price, and performance. Look for a used Ruger P97, or P345. I bought both of these for less than $350 each, in excellent condition. Recoil is very reasonable, and you wont find much that beats a .45
 
Revolver or automatic? Your girlfriend's dad will need to do a little soul searching to determine how much time and effort he (and his wife and daughter) wants to invest in developing and maintaining proficiency.

A revolver is simple. Aim and press the trigger. It doesn't jam. He can spend his training time developing and maintaining his marksmanship proficiency.

An automatic requires learning how to clear jams and training frequently to clear jams quickly. He's going to have to devote training time to develop and maintain BOTH marksmanship and manipulations skills. He'll also need to purchase spare magazines because he won't want to use his training magazines (the ones he'll repeatedly drop on the ground, some empty - some loaded, during training at the shooting range) for defense.
 
$200-$300 range.
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Tough to fine a good revolver for $300 nowdays.

Maybe a beat up S&W 10 or Ruger Security Six but that's about it.

Like some have mentioned.. used Ruger P85/89/94/95 9mm.

But if she wants to carry it, then hmm. $400 used Glock 26.

Deaf
 
For a home defense gun, it's hard to beat a .357 revolver; and for a .357 revolver, it's awfully hard to beat a good, used Ruger Security-Six or Speed-Six. Not only can they used to defend the old homestead with .38 spc +P, they are great camping, hiking and cross country guns with full power .357 mag ammo.

A few years ago I read a story about a newlywed couple who were hiking in the woods alone and unarmed. A black bear began trailing them and they separated hoping the bear would follow the guy. To make a long story short, the bear followed her and they later found her partially eaten body along the trail. A Ruger .357 would most likely have radically changed the end of that story.



The .32acp pistol would be one of the last calibers I would buy. But the tiny .22lr round, on the other hand, is a surprisingly good choice for home defense. Especially with a reliable, fast semiautomatic pistol like a Ruger. The lowly .22lr, granted, doesn't look like much; it's dwarfed by the .32, but it's a very accurate, very lethal round, and easy to put in the head, under the chin, or in the eye. It can kill when fired from a mile away, from a pistol (I know a person it almost happened to. He said it felt like a very bad wasp sting, only he passed out by the time he was down the ladder. When he woke up in the hospital, the doctor told him he had come "this close" to dying. The .22lr bullet was fired by a couple of kids test firing a pistol a good mile from this guy's house).

Of course I recommend the Ruger .22lr auto, in whatever configuration you prefer. These guns are built to last forever and are ultrareliable.






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