Woman and home defense

First of all I do train women strictly for home defence. Most of the women I train never used any firearms at all.
If you use that pistol hold it to the center of your chest if the perpetrator is present in your house. Why? because he might think he can take it away.
Your personal space is your personal space and he will think twice about it.
In firing and if he is not too close push both arms to the point where both elbows lock and the arms are straight and fire. This is one is the most accurate ways of firing for anyone.
Try it on the range. Very effective.
If the Perpetrator is in your house you "make up your mind to protect Yourself and anyone else in that house. Put the fear of god into him. Never give him an edge by pointing the gun fully extended for he will step out of the line of fire and possibly disarm you.
This is why I advocate holding it to your chest and pointind it at the perp.
 
My wife has issues racking the slide on almost all of the semis I own.I want to (and so does my wife) keep an empty chamber,semi-auto in our bedroom for emergency defense and because of the racking problem the only gun I can currently use is my Cobra Patriot .45acp which isn't the ideal choice but is "wife-rackable" and therefore "it".
 
Women and Home Defense

It really depends on how recoil sensative you are but a full size, semi-auto 9mm would make a very good home defense handgun with a lighter recoil. There are lots of them out there as well. The S&W M&P would be a nice, reliable gun that has adjustable backstraps to fit a wide range of hand sizes.

sw-m&p.jpg
 
More Resources

Check out The Cornered Cat for great information for women about guns. Semiautos are less complicated to operate and dis/reassemble than a food processor, and racking the slide is more about understanding how to apply force most efficiently than about strength.

Women And Guns is a forum dedicated to our particular issues. We The Armed also has a women's area.

Choice of a defense weapon is a very personal thing. While recommendations are good, it's often best to rent and/or borrow everything you can and see what works best for you. I hear lots of people suggest revolvers and minor calibers to women. Maybe that's appropriate, and maybe it's not. Only you can determine that. I'm a 55 year old woman, 5'4" with small hands, and I carry an all-steel .45 semiautomatic.

Above all, though, proper training and regular practice is a must. NRA was mentioned, and they're a great place to start. NRA Basic Handgun starts you out with a .22 and gives a good grounding in gun handling and safety control. Beyond that, training focused on developing realistic skills is available even in states that refuse to recognize the right of self-defense.
 
You may also warn off any bad guys before you need to reach for a fire arm.
An alarm system is a good idea AND leave up the signs that says This house protected by ..... Brand of security" Bad guy doesn't know if it's active or not.
Motion lights (I personnally hate them) are another good idea because they not only take away hideing spots, they also alert people (Neighbors or residents) to movement.
Or, my favorite, a dog. Always on, always ready. Not just for a security system, but for companionship as well.

The absolute best example of why to get a dog...
My wife and I were making a trip to VT on Christmas Eve about 15 years ago. half way between hell and nowhere, the altenator siezed and the truck died. The temp outside was hovering at about 18 below zero. Cell phone coverage in VT is still spotty, back then it was worse. All of our cold weather gear was in the back of the truck and was itself, 18 degrees below zero. While I went to go find cell phone service and of course wait for the wrecker, my wifes feet were freezing.

Until she stretched out on the seat and stuck her feet under our German Shepherd.
Kept my wife protected, secure, gave her company, and kept her warm too.
Well worth the price of vacuuming some dog hair in my book (and my wifes)..
 
My girlfriend isn't a big fan of recoil ether, and for home defense she has a heavy revolver. It's a Ruger GP100 with a 4 inch barrel, and she keeps it loaded with .38 hollow points. The weight of the gun soaks up the recoil so it is very comfortable to shoot. Plus it is fail proof, no jamming like semi-autos, and no need to rack a shotgun pump. Just point and shoot like a camera.
 
I was able to fire a different revolver this morning just to try it and let you know how it felt. It fired easily! Y'all Rock!!! I wouldn't have really known.

It is a Smith and Wessen 22 longrifle ctg serial 6k49xxx. Other numbers on it are 10B-17-9. I have no idea what kind it is, but it was available for me to shoot, and taking your advice, I need to shoot several.

It is not the same as the 38 I know, but at least I got to fire a gun that felt decent in my hand.

LL
 
I would choose a 4" to 6" .38 special revolver for your needs. Since it's for home defense and not ccw you don't need or want a light weight short barrel model. The longer barrel and standard weight model will help tons with accuracy and recoil. My 6" s&w .38 special is very comfortable to shoot and when loaded with jacketed hollow points it makes a very simple and easy to use home defense weapon for my wife.
 
Definitely try out a semi-auto before buying it. My daughters (young women and pretty fit) had difficulty pulling the slide of a semi-auto back quickly and reliably. They tried Glocks, XD, and a Hi-power.

Both my daughters opted for a .38 or .357 revolver, like the Ruger GP100 or SW 686 in 3" or 4". With a revolver if you have trouble pulling the trigger you can always use your weak hand thumb to pull back the hammer. Then you have a very light single action trigger pull. Not ideal for quick self defense, but with arthritis this may be the most realistic option.
 
LHLady
Buy some snap caps for your 442 and attempt to build up some finger strength by dry-firing the snap caps in your J frame. Both right and left handed. That 9-12 lbs takes some doing after a bit doesn't it? Especially when you try keeping the sights on a target during the trigger pull.

Somewhere, out there is a tradeoff on trigger pull, accuracy and recoil that'll do you right protecting hearth and home. (koff koff 1911 in 9mm gold dot jhps koff koff)

Devour Kathy's stuff at Cornered Cat. It's all good. And welcome to TFL. Ignore my koffing spell there. ;)
 
Just to update: I tried a Glock semi auto 9mm and a Ruger 357 and I cannot pull the slide on the Glock. I tried several times but that is the weak hand that I had an operation on. So, no go though I liked the actual shooting.

I could shoot the other one just fine. I used 38 ammo so maybe I should now look at a 38 with a longer barrel and heavier gun. I would never use 357 ammo so don't know why I would get one.

Gee, I just mentioned the gun problem, and I have several people offering to lend me their guns. I am in Northern California.... everyone has em up here.

LL
 
My wife likes the M&P 9 Compact. Of course, we're both in our mid twenties and in perfect health.

If you'd like to stick to wheelguns, I'd say the SP101 or GP100 4" with .38 specials would be fairly pleasant to shoot. I had a 6" GP100 that was a tack driver and even stiff loaded magnums didn't feel like much. (trying to remember why I sold it now....) The GP's are heavy though. They're built from angle grinders and church pews.
 
My wife is also recoil sensitive so I started looking around for mild .38 loads. I purchased some Ten-X 105gr .38 loads to try last weekend. They are Cowboy Action loads and REALLY mild. (600fps) We shot them in a Smith And Wesson Airweight revolver and my wife said it was fun. Although they wouldn't be for self defense they would be really good for practising at the range.
 
The ammo really does make a difference I see.

I just handled and dry shot a Bersa 380. I tell you, people are coming out of the woodwork to show me their guns!! You gun people are fun :D

Anyway, the slide was easy for me. Now I will post a new thread about this one.
LL
 
I just responded to your other thread, recommending you keep your 442. Now I see you need a home defense weapon. In this case, I recommend a well-used S&W Model 10 .38sp 4" barreled police trade-in revolver in good shape -- what some people call a "beater". This reliable, weighty fellow will keep most of the recoil for itself, passing on to your hand only enough to announce that it has done its job. Practice with the round I recommended there, and keep it loaded with Remington SWCHP, as recommended there. And you will get an excellent price for that 442 in trade-in.

Godspeed lady,
Jack
 
Thanks, Jack. I am really studying these threads and taking them seriously. Yes, this is for home defense. For my home and property. You just never know these days.
 
Be aware that a 6" bbl may be easier for a bad guy to grab. Some think a woman wouldn't be as apt to pull the trigger.
 
LighthouseLady, I'm a San Diegan with a question: how many lighthouses does Redding have? It's been a while since I passed through Redding the last time, so I reckon things have changed.

And I agree that a stainless steel revolver is less trouble to maintain than a Model 10 (blued). If you can find one, such as an earlier poster showed, jump for it. But if you can't find a stainless steel revolver, get the Model 10. If you take care of it, it will take care of you.

Cordially, Jack
 
Women's defense

LightHouse Lady:
A lot of decent advice has been offered. However, I would agree with the posters who recommended a medium or larger size .38 special revolver (called K-frames and L-frames by Smith and Wesson). The reasons these are suitable for your use are: no slide to operate; simple loading, no possibility of magazine problems; can leave loaded forever - no springs are under tension; no safetys or decocker levers to worry about if you need to use it in a hurry - just point and pull trigger; you can use a wide variety of ammunition from mild target loads to higher powered +P cartridges (all are more effective than a .22 or a .380 caliber); you can have modifications made to the trigger by a reputable gunsmith that will make it quite easy for you to fire rapidly, even with less than average hand/finger strength. If you decide you want to keep the smaller (J-frame) revolver you already have, shoot target-type wadcutter ammo and you should have few problems with recoil.
Agree also with the advice to try different handguns and find the one YOU like and can shoot best.
 
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