Gun Recomendation

Sig P239 9mm. Solid enough to absorb recoil, small enough to conceal, and chambered in a good defensive round.

 

Besides the S&W 3913LS I mentioned, Ruger has that delightful SR9C 9mm that is real nice to shoot. I love the regular SR9. Very soft shooting.

 

1. Compacts or snubs are often suggested because smaller framed people often require smaller firearms to conceal. For women, that means a smaller waist means it's harder to hide a larger frame firearm. Enter: The use of a purse, bag, whatever.....I have never -- NEVER -- NEV-V-V-V-ER-R-R-R promoted any female keeping their defensive weapon in a purse or bag. Think of this reason alone: What does a robber take? A purse or bag....So that means I personally emphasize ANYONE who carries a defensive firearm carry it ON THEIR BODY or not at all. Not in the glove box, not under your seat.

2. the primary focus should be SELF defense....to include the home......but yes, you are correct. A longer barrel/slide has a longer sight radius and thus, lends itself to being more accurate. The barrel length is not necessarily indicative to recoil management, rather, the barrel length, overall weight of the firearm and in conjunction with grip and stance is.

3. "Manly"-type grip strength is only intensely meaningful if the shooter is firing a large caliber handgun like a .357, .41 or .44 mag [and similar]. I have 3 daughters of varied sizes, ages and grip strengths. Each one, using proper stance and shooting techniques, shoot many of my handguns very well. They can all shoot my 9mm and .38 Spl. but only the oldest [26] shoots the .357 mags with relative ease. None of them shoot the .44 S&W very well at all. The 26 yr old stands 5'10" and is about 160 lbs. and has that "manly" grip I spoke of earlier.


I would stress to her my #1 and 2 answers.
Her knowing how she most often dresses, will help choose the weapon...and if it's meant for defense, then it's meant for ALL defense....and she should seriously consider carrying it on her person.

EDIT: I wasn't going to do this but others did so what the hay.....lol....

I'm going to suggest Glock and that's not because I'm on some "fan-boy" wagon either. There are several reasons why most American LE Agencies are issued Glocks. The first being it's so freaking reliable. Another is, proliferation. There are spare parts available everywhere.

My department uses the Glock 23 as the issued firearm. There are 19 female officers in our department of varied sizes and statures. None of them have any issue firing that weapon.

 

Best advice I have seen so far is to let her go out and shoot a couple different types to see what she likes. My wife just bought a walther pps and likes it a lot. She also has a commander size 1911 but doesn't carry it due to the size.

She (like me) isn't a flock fan (though I do carry one everyday) and has tried guns of all shapes and sizes and landed on the PPS. As far as racking the slide and basic firearm manipulation, I have never met a female that couldn't adjust their technique to make it work. Once they got it, practice made it easier and easier.

Some helpful advise can go a long way, but in the end it should be her decision and her decision alone. She knows her body, outfits, comfort level and will gain experience over time.

 

I think Katelyn Francis was around 12 years old when this was shot. She does not appear freakishly strong, so I would think it is safe to assume that if the average sized 12 year old girl can handle a shotgun, a semi-auto pistol, and an AR-15 -that strength would not be much of an issue for any healthy adult. I think she was using a Smith & Wesson M&P in 9mm. Not too complicated for any average person as long as they learn what they have and how to use it. Practice makes perfect.

[video=youtube;xTM3Z1pdl5M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTM3Z1pdl5M[/video]

 

Nearly impossible to recommend a gun without seeing the persons hands and how that person's hands grip a particular handgun and the finger reaches the trigger. A proper grip is essential, and handguns are not one size fits all.

Test --- have the person, with eyes closed, properly grip the handgun for firing with just the strong-side (side of eye dominance) hand. The bore should align with the forearm with the bore's axis not veering off to one side or the other. If the bore does veer, check for proper grip. If the grip is proper, look for another handgun as that one just doesn't fit the hand.

I'd recommend a revolver, but which one depends partly (firstly) on the above.

 

I agree that it should depend on what she wants or thinks she prefers. I like revolvers, but tend to think in terms of two handguns for defensive use; larger one for the home and smaller one for carry. Many can carry the middle sized Glocks (for example), but I personally find them less convenient to conceal than a snub nosed revolver. The negative about Glocks is their thickness. But they are extremely reliable. I have both pistols and revolvers, so I have a choice if I feel like making a choice. But I tend to choose a small 38spl revolver for concealed carry. I just don't like to shoot snubbies much except for my little Ruger LCR-22 (22LR). The little Ruger SR22P (also 22LR) is a fun little pistol too and easy to slip inside a coat pocket. It is mostly for plinking at closer range for me. Still fun. Neither are the best for personal protection, but I still carry one of them from time to time. I just won't recommend a 22 for personal protection unless you understand the short comings of the caliber.

 

My daughter (LEO) carrys a Glock 23 .40 on duty and shoots it quite well.. John

 

Eye Dominance,the main thing people overlook .if she is right handed left eye dominate or vise versa get a gun with a laser that has been sighted in and turns on with grip pressure.Then just point and shoot .Alot of women have longer fingers than men and never have good trigger control.practice practice practice.22mag would be a good choice.Or 44 cowboy loads in a bulldog

 

Women's trigger control more often then not is far superior to a male counterpart with the same experience. I disagree about the laser as well, as we all know electronics fail and laser grips can lead to dependance if relied upon from the beginning. I believe its better to train with acquiring a sight picture long before any point or instinct shooting is incorporated.

 

I must respectfully disagree. Eye dominance only really matters on long arms and weapons designed for acute accuracy using one eye. Long arms with scopes or peep sights are the examples....shotguns should use dominant eyes..

Handguns, as well as shotguns [using bead sights and spread shot], are supposed to be fired with both eyes open and ESPECIALLY if using it in a defensive posture.

 

If you can, range trip - whatever she shoots best.

If not, I'd recommend a Ruger GP100 or SP101 (3" barrel version), or Sig P239 or Springfield EMP.

Stay away from double stack semi autos. 9mm is prob better choice than 40 s&w. In fact, 45 is prob a better choice than 40 s&w (from my experience with / teaching women shooters).

 

Just learn to shoot with dominant eye. That's the best. I'm cross dominant. Left handed but right eyed. Because of that I shoot right handed. We should train ourselves and others to shoot with both eyes open. Can only do that by sighting with the dominant eye. It truly is the best way of going about it. We really shouldn't train people otherwise.

 

It hasn't been said yet, I don't think [even by me].....

If it's solely for home defense, a 16 or 20 gauge shotgun with an 18" barrel is best. Pump actions by Mossberg or Remington are most reliable. Full or modified choke for inside the home....



This site lists suggested rounds per caliber:

http://www.internetarmory.com/shotgun_ammo.htm

20 Gauge:

Federal "Classic" 3-inch #2 buckshot 18 pellets
Winchester "Double XX" 3-inch #3 buckshot 24 pellets
Remington 2-3/4-inch #3 buckshot 20 pellets

16 Gauge:

Federal "Classic" #1 buckshot
Winchester "Super X" #1 buckshot

 

I'm not sure Druid's shotgun advice is grounded in reality.
Shotguns are slow/hard to reload, low capacity, have more recoil than necessary, poor sights, harder to mount a light, harder to mount an optic, harder to shoot one handed, etc. Ever been to or shot at a multi gun match? Shotguns are fumbled the most, by far.
Their only benefit is being dirt cheap. 870 chinese clones can be had for $200. This is an instance in life where price is indicative of usefulness.


Revolvers are horrible choices for females.
Short barrel means more flash and and recoil. Noise is perceived louder as well.
Often 1/3 or 1/2 the capacity of a compact 9mm.
Slow to reload.
Hard to carry reloads.
DA triggers are heavy as hell and women have less hand strength than men.
Terrible sights.

Plenty of quality compact and subcompact 9s available. She needs to handle, and preferably shoot, something before she buys.

 

Semi autos are being marketed heavily to women, and they are a good choice if the owner has a high level of training. Any person that feels comfortable handing anyone a non DAO semi auto for carry or home defense after ten hours of training is not being realistic.

 

For home defense in a handgun I have always felt that a revolver [if no children in home] as if awakened in the middle of the night it is aim and shoot without having to think if the safety is on, etc. If children in house I've always recommended a semi auto as the pistol could be kept in the night stand with the loaded mag between mattress and springs so that if a child finds the pistol he/she could not mistakenly fire it, yet the adult could quickly recover and load the pistol.

 

That's a training problem.
Plenty of semi autos w/o safety. Glock, M&P, FN, HK, XD, Sig

 

Agreed

 

There's much wrong with the above. Just how long and you been a firearms instructor? And how many women have you actually taught?

Revolvers are fine choices for women depending on the revolver and the woman's hand. Capacity and reloads are over rated. Just look historically at self-defense use of guns. It is over very quickly. Five or six cartridges are adequate. And regarding triggers and sights, you apparently haven't handled many good revolvers.