Keeping my wife alive

Shotgun? Come on. Unwieldy, she can be easily disarmed, recoil will knock her on her butt. Also not something you carry around the house, you know what I mean? Still, effective in the right hands, of course, but not hers.
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All valid points against the shotgun, except for the last sentence. However, just because they are valid points does not mean that they apply in all situations, to all people. My mother, at 4'11" (and a half!) and wearing a size 3 1/2 ring could manage a 12 ga SxS, and even Dad's S&W M28 (6") .357 Magnum. See actually preferred the shotgun, and she did NOT fire it from the shoulder! She managed the recoil firing from the hip, (as she said "like Victoria Barkley") letting the gun swing back and just holding on. This is plenty good for across the room, and especially if the intruder is in a doorway.

Mom' pistol was a Ruger Super Bearcat, which she was quite good with, and with a shotgun available for her piece of mind, she was content she could handle any situation. OF course, I also saw this woman face down and corner a 900lb Angus bull with a pitchfork, and hold him at bay for an hour until Dad got home! It is all about attitude and determination, the will to use what you have, and never give up.

IF you don't have a shotgun, get one. .410 or 20ga will do fine, 12ga only if it seems possible and practical for her. Keep it somewhere in the house where she can get to it. A short barrel pump or a SxS.

The .22 pistol is not to be overlooked. A .22 she can use is better than a .32 (or anything else) that she can't. A single action revolver in .38 cal is worth considering, or teaching her how to use both methods of shooting a DA revolver. Shooting DA is for the "no time to do anything else" situation, and even though she may have trouble in practice, I'm sure that in the real and scary, she will have the strength to pull that trigger as often as needed, if she has the will.

Home invaders come in 3 general catagories, those who are only looking to steal, those who will steal and are willing hurt/kill to do it, and those who are looking to hurt/kill for their own pleasure. We plan for the worst, and hope for the best. The worst has to be stopped. If they die as a result of being stopped, so be it. Most intruders can be driven off by a shot, even if they are not hit, but you cannot count on it for certain.

Discuss it, and decide on a retreat room, one you can barricade (locking door). Phone (and gun) in that room, at least. And that door doesn't get opened until the police ask her to (and they are proven to be the police!). Seeing the squad car out the window, or getting the officer's name and having it verified by 911. Bad guys have been known to lie. Some even have fake badges.

Get her comfortable with some kind of gun. Get her comfortable with what she might have to do, and how to do it for her safety. Everything in your house can be replaced or repaired, except her. Don't take chances.
Good Luck.
 
Sounds like it is time to go gun shopping. Take her along and let her check them out. There are a lot of nice guns out there to look at in the $400-$600 price range. If money is an issue, you can sometimes find used S&W K frame revolvers with a 4" barrel at reasonable prices. They are known for their light triggers, if it doesn't have one, a new Wolf replacement hammer spring is simple to install. It don't matter if it is a .38 Spec. or .357 Mag. you can always just shoot the .38 Spec. in either. "K" frame recoil is a lot lighter than your Mod 60 (J Frame). IMHO a J Frame is not the gun to start someone out on. Neither is the .380's.
 
Thanks for the info, Pax. I guess I have stronger fingers than a lot of women because this simply hasn't been an issue for me, but you definitely know a lot more about guns than I do. (Do you have the same issues with a Ruger SP101 or similiar DA guns?)

I can vouch for the ease of learning to rack a slide on most semiautomatics. My husband's first carry pistol, a brand-new Springfield XD-M, had a slide so stiff that I couldn't rack it at first, and still can't rack it without something to brace one hand against. However, this is the only semiautomatic that I've tried to rack that gives me any real trouble. His Springfield 1911 is no problem to rack. (And a lot of fun to shoot.) I've racked and shot a Beretta, a Kahr, and several other semiautomatics now, with nary a problem among them.

So people do have different experiences with different guns. IMHO the critical thing with a self defense gun is that it works reliably for you, and you are comfortable handling it and firing it.
 
To the OP, get your wife some training from a place where she can try several different types of firearms. Spend the time and money. A major part of her so called physical inabilities could be lack of technique and proper mindset, not her physique. The operation of guns requires proper technique and an aggressive mindset. These things can be learned, must be learned if you are to be truly capable with a firearm. I have seen 100lb women go from "not able" to operate a slide, to racking the slide like nothing in a matter of minutes with proper instruction and mindset. I have also seen people who just cannot get there due to lack of an appropriately aggressive mindset. Defensive guns are about injuring, maiming and killing people. Get her to the mindset to do that work and racking a slide will not be an issue.
 
Just my 2 cents..and some has been covered already. How about a home alarm system? They're cheaper possibly than another gun. Then together come up with a safety plan given various scenarios. Many things can be used as weapons and even if she has a gun on her person, if BG is too close, she's in trouble. Some basic self defense work? I don't know what your neighborhood is situated like but where is that bullet going to eventually land if she misses the BG? General safety training not including guns is probably good and might help her calm down a bit given a recent traumatic event. www.corneredcat.com is great for this. And she should really really think about what is going to happen if she DOES kill or maim someone. I doubt it would end with "Bam, he's dead, now I can go on with my life."

That being said, the range idea trying many guns was great. I also couldn't rack the slide on anything when I started. Also, any chance you could get her interested in the FUN part of shooting so she can start logging time shooting whatever she decides to use? This might be turned around into something fun you can do together in addition to learning how to defend herself well.

I opted for 12 gauge, with Ruger LCR BUG in an ankle holster just in case the shotgun gets away from me. Who would expect me to have two firearms on me? They have to get past the alarm, the locked doors, my locked bedroom door, heavy furniture, etc. A random burglar I doubt would be interested. They would just move on to an easier target.
 
Might want to visit the gunshops and try several different models & brands of semi-autos.

My Ruger P-85 (yes, it's old) has a really light recoil spring (because the slide is heavy) so it's easier to rack than my 1911 which is easier than my Glock.
Current Rugers might have light recoil springs.

Familiarity with slide racking in general is also part of the formula.

There are also the one-handed racking techniques available (hook the rear sight on a table (or your leather belt or something else that's handy) while gun points down and rack the slide against the immovable object).
 
Shotgun? Come on. Unwieldy, she can be easily disarmed, recoil will knock her on her butt.
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My Grandma killed an intruder with a 12 ga pump. She is 4 ft 10 in and 90 lbs or was she has passed away at age 87. A shotgun is easy to use and will really hurt a man. I wouldnt say no to one for my wife, but she already has a few.

Get a small ankle biter that barks. A dog is the best early warning alarm you can get.
 
My wife uses a stainless Ruger Police Service Six, .357 magnum, 4 inch barrel, loaded with 125gr Gold Dot hollow points. She had to work on her finger strength to fire it in double action. If she misses an intruder, she can at least beat them with the gun!
 
Man; there is a BOATLOAD of great advice in this thread.

I tend to agree that technique is most likely the real issue; not strength. My wife started with a 380; because I had one. (Within two months she had bought a 24/7 ProC 45.)

PAX- as far as I'm concerned, you are the "Queen Bee" when it comes to women and CC4SD. Thanks for ALL that you do for our wives!
 
As soon as I gather the cash, I'm getting the wife a Sig 9mm. I've got my S&W Sigma 40 for everyday carry, but if the situation demands it, I'm grabbing my 12 gauge Mossberg 500 with the 6 position tactical stock/ pistol grip and 18" barrel. sure, a shot gun can be taken away if a bad guy gets close enough, but so can a handgun. My step dad has a Remington model 1 with a 38" barrel, not exactly the fist thing I would expect anyone to grab for a HD option.

Any weapon can be taken away by a bad guy, you just gotta use it against the bad guy before he gets a chance to use it against you. Here in Michigan, law states that if an intruder is in your home, intent to harm is assumed, and you can shoot to kill. In a home defense situation, I'm not waiting around for benefit of the doubt. Warn, identify, fire. Then call 911 for the clean up crew.
 
Instead of pawing through the safe looking for one of YOUR guns that she MIGHT/COULD use, why not let her pick her OWN???
As a suggestion, I would let her look at a .38spl J-Frame revolver that she likes. Order it directly from Smith and have the Performance Center do a factory trigger job on it!! She'll love you for it!!!
The model 60 is nice, but the two fingered trigger hold tells me that she's saying "honey, I really don't like this", if you catch my drift. ;)

Even with guns, women like bling. :D
 
bob.a

I can understand how your wife feels now that reality has set in. My mother is in a similar situation with her 32 long. Mom has 38 spc. for a primary but her second gun is that 32 j-frame.

About the ammo issue- Natchez Shooters Supply, last time I looked, had some 32 full wadcutters that are a far better defense load than the LRN,imo. They will cut their way through flesh as well as a Ranger-T,just not expand but will get better penetration. This is what I plan to put in Mom's 32.

They also have 32 hollow points at Natchez but I would stay away from them as they probably will not expand at the 32's slow speeds.

Hope this helps.
 
If it's for home defense only then the best answer is always a shotgun.

And the best home defense shotgun is always a riot shotgun. It has a very short barrel with a magazine an inch of two shorter than the barrel. The magazine usually holds about seven rounds. Load it with reduced powder load 12 gauge shot shells and the recoil is very mild.

The price on these range from really cheap, about $200, up to seven or eight hundred. For home defense the cheaper guns are just fine.

I have a lot of handguns but handguns are always iffy when it comes to stopping an attack. A 12 gauge shotgun is a whole lot less iffy. Most people who take a 12 gauge shot shell center mass are out of the game. The same can't be said for any handgun cartridge.
 
For the short term, I think we'll stick with the old S&W .32, as she's demonstrated that she can use it.

As to the two-fingered hold, she gave it an honest effort and was unable to fire the pistol with one hand. While she adopted a two-hand grip and a two-index-finger method of pulling the trigger, I doubt she'd be able to use it successfully to defend herself. Better a cylinder full of anemic .32s than one big miss with a .38, IMO.

I have no problem with the concept of getting her to try a bunch of pistols, but that's a course of action that will take some time, due to many factors that there's little point in enumerating. Doubtless we'll be doing something like that down the road a piece.

I don't see a shotgun in the mix. Better something she can carry around the house with her; that way it'll be at hand if and when it is needed. If the neighborhood was considerably edgier, maybe it would be appropriate; but in that case, we'd already have moved.

Thanks for the source of .32 wadcutters. I think it's the best wasy to go, given that she's at this time limited to the little Smith.
 
I know someone has probably mentioned this but take her to a range that rents guns so she can try as many as possible. Let her decide which one she likes best and get it for her. That way she has her own gun, something that is "uniquely" hers. Kind of a self pride sort of thing. Do consider a smaller gauge shotgun for her. Years ago some police and sheriff's departments tried arming the female officers with Remington 870s in 20 gauge with youth stocks. The 12 gauge version was to stout for some and the switch to the 20 gauge seemed the right fix. The shotgun would not be for room clearing or house searching but for "safe" room defense. She could barricade herself in the safe room, call the police and watch the door with the shotgun guarding the door.
 
jrothWA;

the M1 Carbine?

low recoil, polished feed ramp will minimize "stuttering" of soft-nose ammo.
Compact length and with butt pouch two 15 rd mags available.
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LOL - Now there's a idea!

I can't imagine any bad guy wanting sticking around very long with an hysterical woman rapid firng a M1-30 carbine!!!

But on a serious note, that rifle was designed as an easily training firearm to better replace a pistol! Just train her well to let you have time to duck before acting hysterical and begin pulling the trigger!
 
I'd consider a Remington 1100 20 ga with the "youth" stock to be about ideal for her use - reasonable recoil, easily handled, and just about as deadly as a 12 bore at in-house ranges.
 
My wife "confiscated" my Colt Det. Spl. It's simple, reliable,concealable, and effective. I load mouse fart loads for plinking and practice and she carries it loaded with 140gr Speer JHP's.
 
A few points from the old lady on the board....

When I started shooting, as far as caliber was concerned, the bigger the better. I have had rheumatoid arthritis for years but five years ago, it was under control and did not affect my shooting.

Wish that was still true.

I can still use semiautos, and I have a Sig P232 and a Beretta Tomcat in .32acp (that's a tip-up gun). I even have a Bobcat (.22lr). Hey, if nothing else, they are just more fun than ought to be legal. But you know, I had a former sheriff tell me once that either one of those would be just fine in most any situation I'd find myself in, out and around.

Home defense is (1) the alarm system (which is wireless so the non-existent phone lines are not an issue), (2) the dogs (if you don't have one, get one, and it doesn't have to be a Rottweiler unless you want one), (3) the firearms.
If you haven't dealt with #1, especially, do so.

As far as a gun, though...what she will carry and what she can use easily is what she should have. (BTW...let her go do the shopping, let her choose, and you write the check. She'll be more likely to carry what she chose herself).

Jan
 
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