I think bear mace is her best bet for hiking. You're only going to piss a large predator off with most handguns, and the ones that are powerful enough to stop them are big and bulky, for the most part.
For home defense, maybe a shotgun or carbine. Both are easy to use and don't really have a lot of recoil, if you know how to shoot them properly.
fastmiata wrote: Remington 870 12 gauge for home defense. Every Bubba understands the sound of a shell being racked.
We've used this for years for home defense.
I would recommend going down to the range and renting to test which would be appropriate for her. .380 and 9mm are good carry weapons . . . make sure you get her a holster.
We were told in cub scouts the beat thing for a bear is a large pistol. Put it in your mouth, pull the trigger and you will never feel the bear tear you to pieces.
Wally wrote: We were told in cub scouts the beat thing for a bear is a large pistol. Put it in your mouth, pull the trigger and you will never feel the bear tear you to pieces.
I thought the last round was for yourself.
peter wrote: I'd be interested to hear the wisdom here. As an exclusively North East hiker (plus international trips), I've never seen anyone but real whackjobs carrying on the trail. And I can't even think of many of those. Does she hike/backpack a lot now, or is this a "what-if" scenario?
Here in Oregon, hunters shoot each other and non hunters with regularity so when hiking or fishing in deer or elk season and terrain, being able to return fire is wise. A side arm will do, bullets really do get people attention.
And sometimes one does stupid things and a gun could help. Like this summer , I was trying to bush whack down to a river in pursuit of Steelhead on a fairly remote river and I found what I thought was a deer/elk trail. I worked my way 40 yards on it into this increasing dense blackberry bramble and it became tunnel like. I though "this is too short and round.....uuuuuuu, um, uh oh". So I started looking more closely and there was bear scat and big round prints. It was Black Bear feeding zone, with one way in and out.
Black Bears will generally avoid combat with humans but if there was a high percentage method to get a Black Bear to attack you I had discovered it. Which would have been a fine time to have a side arm. Although in the scenario I put my self into, the odds would still not be what one would generally consider good, shooting a bear with a too small a caliber firearm is far superior to trying to gouge its eyes out as it chews on your head.
You can also find reissued police Colt .45 revolvers that shoot like a dream without a huge amount of recoil.
It's my favorite in the family collection. Plus if you run out of ammo you can use it as a bludgeon.
Osterkraut wrote:Osterkraut wrote:Never mind that, you're in stupid-ass California. Why even carry a gun there, the state, thanks to it's restrictive gun laws, is pretty much a utopia full of Disney animals, right?mrhappy wrote: 10mm can do home defence, put down a bear, or anything in between.10mm DOES come to mind... it would be very difficult to find full-strength factory loads, though. Even still, no way a 10mm, unless it's placed golden bb lucky, can take down a bear. I'd want to go up against a bear with a high-powered rifle, not a handgun (even a S&W .500). So with that out of the picture, why don't we look for something a little smaller, a little cheaper to shoot? This immediately comes to mind, though I've had no direct experience with it. Alternately, Chuck Hawks recommends a .357 or .44 Mag wheel gun, depending on recoil sensitivity.
People shoot each other in California all the time! Having lived in Californicate for 30 years you learn a few things.
The people in South Central L.A., Fresno, Oakland, Richmond? They are not fun, are deeply unhappy, and they WILL shoot you.
The characters cooking up the latest recipe of meth out in the desert? They are not people, they are not fun, and they DEFINITELY WILL shoot you.
Dope growers have changed. They are not hippies. Whole big chunks of forested California become a paranoia fueled trigger happy shooting range in the fall. The people doing the shooting have many many weapons to choose from, herds of pit bulls to feed you to, mountains of motivation, and live in "communities" that "tightly knit" does not even begin to describe.
I could go on... California is big place, filled with dangerous people.
Salanis wrote:Tifosi2k2 wrote:Yeah, that looked like the issue. I had no problems with it ejecting. I kept telling her it was because she wasn't gripping it tightly enough to control muzzle flip. It was an almost brand new gun. She also had no problems controlling a 1911. Probably a bit of both things going on that if either one was fixed, she'd have been fine.Salanis wrote: She did not like the 9mm Glock that I own (had issues with it not ejecting, which could be that it hasn't had enough rounds put through it to soften the spring).Just a thought: how long has she been shooting? Ejection problems on semi-autos can also be attributed to "limp wristing"....... If that is the problem, you might want to look a revolvers.
I just think now is a good time to mention I am a Glock hater and will be carrying 1911's till the day I die... and for some reason I am totally confident I won't be dieing because my POS plastic junk exploded in my hand or failed to eject a round...
Dunno why.. it just came to me... 
geez I hate glocks...
My vote for all of the above scenarios(at close range) would be a short barreled Smith .44mag. Good for the house, good for the street, good in the woods, fits in a pocket. That said, I'd think your GF will HATE the kick. So, .357mag revolver(Smith 686, Ruger SP101/GP100), or an all steel 1911 in .45acp.
Skip the Judge(gimmick in silly calibers), skip the 9mm(too small to depend on), skip all the plastic crap(too prone to jamming). Your life may depend upon getting two shots off quickly; get something reliable and make them count. Practice often.
I was thinking 9mm over .45 primarily for cost of going out to the range and practicing. Cheaper ammo means more time spent training. More time spent training means better accuracy, more comfortable, and better hit placement. Hit placement and familiarity > bullet caliber.
Looks like we'll be taking a trip out to the range in the next couple weeks to see what she likes.
If you have your heart set on something cheap lke 9mm, I'd still recommend .40S&W. Nearly as cheap, compact and easy to shoot, and a much more effective round.
ValuePack wrote: If you have your heart set on something cheap lke 9mm, I'd still recommend .40S&W. Nearly as cheap, compact and easy to shoot, and a much more effective round.
Nah, heart not set on anything. That's just where I was leaning. It's really going to come down to the specific gun that she likes best.
Hmmmm.....45
Shoot someone in the chest? They fall down. Shoot someone in the shoulder? They fall down. Shoot someone in the leg? They fall down. Shoot someone in the foot? They fall down.
It's kind of hard to shoot someone in a vital area with a 9mm in a home defense situation.
Osterkraut wrote:mrhappy wrote: So with that out of the picture, why don't we look for something a little smaller, a little cheaper to shoot? This immediately comes to mind, though I've had no direct experience with it.
I'm not a huge Kel-Tec fan, but that little thing is pretty interesting. I'd never heard of it before. I prefer big and light for hiking, but if I were going to carry two handguns on the trail...
Damn.
http://gunnuts.net/2011/05/16/kel-tec-pmr-30-suspended/
"Speaking of Kel-Tec, they have currently suspended production of the Kel-Tec PMR-30 (of which they weren’t really producing a lot of guns anyway) due to keyholing issues with the gun. For those not familiar with the term, keyholing is what happens with the rate of twist in the barrel doesn’t stabilize the bullet in flight."
rotard wrote: Hmmmm.....45 Shoot someone in the chest? They fall down. Shoot someone in the shoulder? They fall down. Shoot someone in the leg? They fall down. Shoot someone in the foot? They fall down. It's kind of hard to shoot someone in a vital area with a 9mm in a home defense situation.
care to let me shoot you in the leg and see if you fall down? also doesn't hurt to be able to put twice as many rounds in the general direction of the threat with a 9mm.
Woody wrote: Damn. http://gunnuts.net/2011/05/16/kel-tec-pmr-30-suspended/ "Speaking of Kel-Tec, they have currently suspended production of the Kel-Tec PMR-30 (of which they weren’t really producing a lot of guns anyway) due to keyholing issues with the gun. For those not familiar with the term, keyholing is what happens with the rate of twist in the barrel doesn’t stabilize the bullet in flight."
They were referring to them as the poor mans fn5.7.
Joey
Strizzo wrote:rotard wrote: Hmmmm.....45 Shoot someone in the chest? They fall down. Shoot someone in the shoulder? They fall down. Shoot someone in the leg? They fall down. Shoot someone in the foot? They fall down. It's kind of hard to shoot someone in a vital area with a 9mm in a home defense situation.care to let me shoot you in the leg and see if you fall down? also doesn't hurt to be able to put twice as many rounds in the general direction of the threat with a 9mm.
I don't intend what I am to say to be some "u r stoopid and I am not becuz thiz is the internet and I'm smartur than u" pissing match, however:
Pulling a gun on a person/animal/turnip in a defense situation should only be done in a last ditch effort to stay alive, no? Get as few shots off to stay alive as possible, you won't look like a murderer in court after the fact. If attacked by a meth head, you may need 15rds of 9mm to get the guy down. 9mm is like stabbing someone. Do you want to stab someone, or diffuse the situation quickly? Small caliber wounds unless placed carefully. Pulling a firearm should be done with intend to put a threat down, not "intent to wound".
15rds from a pistol may get the job done, but if you had to empty a double stack mag on one or two human targets, regardless of the defense scenario, you brought the wrong weapon, or can't shoot worth a damn. I'd buy a 9mm to plink with, but I'd never trust my life to it.
nothing super useful to add beyond this...
zombieland rule #4 DOUBLE TAP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PapZO7NXB3Q&feature=player_embedded
In reply to ValuePack:
unfortunately that runs counter to the majority of training for such a situation, which is to shoot until the threat is eliminated/runs away, the gun is empty, or both. also, is it better to need/be able to put 3 or 4 9mm rounds center mass or have a hard time putting one .45 anywhere on the body. like you said, a meth head will have to be incapacitated, and hits in the shoulder and leg aren't going to do that, regardless of caliber. theres no point in having a .45 if you can't hit the broad side of a barn.
that is talking about people, but if theres an animal that could do harm to me coming around, i'm not going to wait until its coming for me to draw/ready a weapon, as it's not going to escalate the situation if a bear sees my gun out.
Range weapons suck at close range. I suggest the H&K above for mountain lions and general camping use as well as a decent sword for bad-ass looks and serious carnage at close range. A man screaming a high pitched squeal like a rabbit when his vital organs are impaled is also a deterrent to other attackers who might be in cahoots.
If the one pictured is a little too much for your woman - maybe a pair of katana or just a USMC Ka-bar would suffice.
In reply to Strizzo:
Agreed 100%. Every caliber is useless without training. One who carries a revolver or larger caliber single stack automatic(smaller capacities) needs to make shots count. Anyone who carries for personal defense, regardless of what they carry, would do well to practice in stressful scenarios.
I won't claim that 9mil isn't deadly, even .22LR can kill if utilized properly. 9mm is still plenty effective when placed well at close range. My personal preference against humans would still be .44mag or .45ACP. I'd rather hit someone with a dinner plate twice than stab with a pencil multiple times. Obviously this doesn't matter much toward animals. 9mm might get thru the skull of a rabid dog close up, but wouldn't be of much use on anything bigger. Right tool for the right job, etc etc. Just about every pistol caliber will be nearly useless against bear and the like, that's a discussion for another thread.
There is no singular do-all, be-all firearm, but if I had to pick ONE GUN in keeping with this thread, to carry, for home defense, backpacking in the woods, and more, it's just not going to be a nine. If I had to draw to defend my wife, my kids, or myself, it would be to kill. I wouldn't take chances on it perhaps going in my favor.
Who brings kira to a gun fight?
9mm is like stabbing someone.
Really?
Navy SEAL's use these:
And HK MP5's which are also 9mm.
So is it really not big enough to kill someone or is it just not enough compensation for something else?
(Of course I'm talking about bad aim! 
)
imirk wrote: Who brings kira to a gun fight?
Actually, it was a hiking trip until the game of whisper-down-the-line changed it to give the same advice as every other home protection thread on the internet that naively assumes anyone can wake from a dead sleep, naked, in the dark, possibly half in the bag and locate, load and be effective with any firearm because they went to the range.
So berkeley it... why not throw some bad-ass "Kill Bill" E36 M3 in with all the other half-assed advice?
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