RossD wrote: One nice thing about the 1911 is the slim frame and handle.
I love mine.... but my buddy hates the feel in his hand. Gun ownership is more about what someone is comfortable with.
To a "novice" I will always recomend a revolver. Simple to use, hard to make not work and durable. I never recomend a semiauto to a first time gun owner.
Don't get me wrong, S&W air-weights are great guns, they have been kicking ass for a LONG time, they are inherently more reliable and an auto-loader and they make alot of sense in a CC situation, but they will beat the E36 M3 out of your hand with +p 38's and 357's are even more unpleasant. They are NOT fun to practice with and i firmly believe that unless the gun is enjoyable to shoot you will not shoot enough to learn the gun. The center line of the barrel is also a good bit above the hand so they pivot a good bit. An auto loader has a moving slide to take a lot of the "kick" out of a shot. Also the Double action pull is very heavy on every air weight i have every shot. Some women do not have the finger strength for a 8-10lb pull. If the S&W has a trigger spur you can cock the gun and fire single action but that's an extra step. Also 9mm kicks the crap out of 38 special defensively.
If you still want to go with a snub nose, go with a Ruger SP101. 97% as refined, and a superior action that's much stronger and easy to strip and clean. better ergos as well. This gun can shoot 357 and 38s and is all steel so it comes in at about 23 oz and tames the recoil quite well
(mmm hotlink...)
If we are talking about concealed carry then i would go with a Kahr CW9 or a CZ Rami or the Ruger mentioned above.
I went to Bass Pro today to check out the Ruger LCR 38 pistol. Great little gun for conceal carry and the crimson trace laser grip is actually thinner that the grip it comes with, so CT grip for conceal carry all the way. I might have bought it, but they had these trigger blocks on so I couldn't test the pull, and they wouldn't take it off. Oh well I'll just check it out at another store.
Never shot an airweight. I've shot two versions of the Rossi (which is a j-frame knockoff). Mine with the rubber Hogue-style grips and Dad's with his skinny wood grips. Both have very little kick.
My personal preference is my 1991A1 Compact. I love the feel, the reliablility and the slimnes of it for CC. I use one of 2 7-rd clips, always cocked, locked with one in the pipe. Most importantly I love the .45 round and I know that pistol better than my own finger.
Why not just move?
have anyone who has recommended a gun used one in earnest?
EricM wrote: Why not just move? have anyone who has recommended a gun used one in earnest?
Who is Earnest? Some kind of pervert obviously...
You need something black & scary in your closet. Get a Saiga 12 gauge AK-looking thing, you can call it R.Kelly.
TucoRamirez wrote: You need something black & scary in your closet.
I imagine he only comes out after I've gone to work.
TucoRamirez wrote: You need something black & scary in your closet. Get a Saiga 12 gauge AK-looking thing, you can call it R.Kelly.
Wait, wasn't he in the closet with Tom Cruise and John Travolta too?
I mentioned our situation to a good friend of mine with many years of Federal law enforcement experience. He knows my wife and suggests the Glock 26. Anybody here familiar with them? It's a compact 9mm, (full 9mm, not a short or .380) small, light, apparantly very well designed. Yes, we will be moving before the holidays. Too many cop cars in our front yard, way too often.
TucoRamirez wrote: You need something black & scary in your closet. Get a Saiga 12 gauge AK-looking thing, you can call it R.Kelly.
I call mine "Benelli". It's too big to fit in a pocket, but it's very scary...or so I'm told. From my end, it's rather comforting.
I love the sound of a pump gun. That Slide-CLACK will bring second thoughts to just about any bad guy. However,not an option at this time.
/end discussion
The Glock 26 is a very small short gun with a wide handle. It has "scallops" on the front strap for two fingers. For comfort some owners will use a magazine extension that has room for a pinkie. Its up to you if you think this is comfortable.
I have carried one as a backup years ago and I found that it was very sensitive to proper shooting technique. For example I regularly induced malfunctions by gripping the pinkie extension and flexing the magazine in the frame. I am right handed and in real world usage I found that I had an unacceptable number of failures, such as stovepipes and failure to feeds, with the 26. I think that this was because I was shooting single handed with my left hand. As a result of that mess I decided to use a 640 as my backup.
FWIW using the 26 as a primary weapon would probably affect how the gun performs so I would take my thoughts with a grain of salt.
And yes I have used a gun in earnest.
FWIW the last time my buddies and I got together to do some shooting my 7 year old niece asked to go along. My first answer was for her to go talk to her mother, not NANA or PAPA, but her mother. Second was for me to go have a talk with mom, they came out for a bit. When my friends and I get together to shoot, it usually involves everything from .22 pistols up to a .50BMG barret, my niece, all 60lbs of her, shot 3 different .22's, my FAL, and a .44 black powder pistol. She did best with the black powder .44, 5 out of 6 shots, in the center 8 inches of the target, at about 8 yards. Granted she only took 1 shot with the FAL (from a bench) and set it down, complaining it kicked to much. (I warned her) the .22 revolver she loved but she had better results with the .44, and wasn't afraid of it at all. We didn't have a 1911 out with us that day otherwise I would have insisted she try it. I'm a huge fan of them, especially once broke in properly, but I'm afraid my wife won't touch it, and the next gun has been promised to be something she will be willing to play with too. my .02
cwh wrote: I love the sound of a pump gun. That Slide-CLACK will bring second thoughts to just about any bad guy. However,not an option at this time.
Get an old "long tom" turkey gun, you know the ones that are like 5'+ when you stand the but on the ground. cut it down to a short barrel, put a folding stock on it, and pistol grip. The slide-clack + hammer noise, works great to change minds, of coarse I'm biased I learned about hammers following the slide forward with one of those.......
ZOMG!!!!, I totally agree with GPS on the HK USP in .40. Absolutely the best handgun I've ever shot. The only thing I would change for a woman with smaller hands is to seek out a USP compact like so:
My second choice would be a Sig Sauer in .40 also. I've always been really partial to that caliber because it has more stopping power than a 9mm but a negligible more amount of recoil. But of course whatever you get make sure you have a nice large clip full of hollow-points to go in it. 
cwh wrote: With all the police activity in our area, wifey has been talking about getting a pistol she can handle.
I had a S&W Airweight 38 Snubnose. Key word being had. Felt like someone was smacking my hand with a hammer every time I fired it. Of the 4-5 people who fired it, I was the only one who could control the flinch enough to keep all 5 rounds on paper.
If its going to be kept at home, I'd second a S&W model 10 38 special with four inch barrel. Its all steel, so the weight helps absorb recoil, and there are so many aftermarket grips for the K frame it should be easy to find one that feels right. If you want a bit more heft, a S&W 686 357 is a good option since you can load it with 38 special rounds.
Khar makes compact .380, 9mm,40 S&W, and .45. They are slim(single stack) and have little recoil for their size. Plus the conceal easily.
cwh wrote: She will get professional training in the use of any firearm she will have.
If you add to that regularly practicing with the firearm, then any reasonable size gun you choose will work.
I have been a competitive shooter since age 12 and have worked numerous armed security jobs part-time. Any time I am asked "What firearm for home defense?" I always ask how much practice they are going to do.
When I get the usual "Practice?" answer my recomendation is a sawed-off (legal length) side-by-side 12 ga. double. Can't get any simpler than that. Put in 2 rounds of #4 buck, close, point and pull the trigger.
If they insist on a handgun, my answer is an S&W K-frame in 38 or 357. Once again load, close, point and pull.
I would opt for something like a K-frame S&W chambered in .357 mag. There are some good defensive rounds in .38 special +P, and if she's comfortable with the .357 rounds, that's even better. And get a decent barrel length (4-inch min) or the .357s will just make a louder bang with no extra power.
I would not recommend a .380. No, I wouldn't want to get shot by one, but there's no legitimate reason to use such an anemic weapon for home defense when better choices are available.
Personally, I like .45s, (3 1911s, USP and USPc) but a woman might not like the size of them. And don't discount an AR15 for home defense. Some will mention overpenetration, but a proper defensive round like the Hornady 75gr 5.56mm TAP actually passes through less drywall than a .45 because the 556 fragments into little bits.
Will wrote: I would not recommend a .380. No, I wouldn't want to get shot by one, but there's no legitimate reason to use such an anemic weapon for home defense when better choices are available.
See my angle is that if she isn't afraid of it she'll actually use it and use it well.
If she has a .45 and can't take the recoil and is afraid every time she pulls the trigger, how effective will she be in a life or death situation..
.38 is another great round..
If she has never shot before, buy a .22.. Start with that and work up.
Just for reference, here's my home defense AR. The bipod is for this pic only, no need for one otherwise.
Springfield Armory XD 40
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