Hey everyone,
I am helping my sister select a good self-defense, home-defense pistol. This will be her first firearm she has ever owened so I was thinking in the realm of a light carry revolver that will give no fuss, reliable shooting , and will not be complicated. Of course I would also like a caliber with enough stopping power but nothing that she will not be able to control. So far I have come up with these ideas for her..........

Taurus Model 617 Total Titanium (.357 Mag, 7rd capacity)
Taurus CIA Model 850 (.38 Sp, 5rd Capacity)
Smith&Wesson Model 340 (.357 Mag, 5rd Capacity)
Smith&Wesson Model 640 (.357 Mag, 5rd Capacity)

So if anyone has any suggestions they would be most appreciated, thank you all very much.
Shoot safe
-Phil

S&W 637 in 38+p
Small yet has enough power. I think the 357 is alot at least for my wife. I would also look at semi-autos in 9mm or higher. Numerous choices, and ammo has gotten alot better

Whatever you do DO NOT GET HER THE TITANUIM GUN!!!! It will be very uncomfortable for her to shoot. It is way too light and it kicks too hard. She'll develop a flinch and won't be able to shoot accurately, because it will leave her hand sore. TAKE IT FROM A FAIRLY SEASONED SHOOTER WHO HAS HAD A TITANIUM .45 Colt REVOLVER. It happened to me. I can shoot my steel .357 as good as, if not better than some of my other pistols. Get the steel 617. Have her shoot with .38 specials when you teach her to shoot, then when she knows the gun well, have her shoot just enough of the magnum loads to make sure she can shoot well enough to defend herself. Then tell her to keep the magnum loads in it when she is off the range and may need it for more serious shooting. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Taurus 617. When I get my concealed handgun license, it will stay on my hip. It only cost my dad $300 when he bought it for me (It cost me nothing, as it was a birthday gift.). It is WELL WORTH THE $300. It is an excellent, accurate gun.

Walter30-06:cool:

If she is a new shooter, DO NOT get her a small lightweight gun. Your on the right track with the revolver and caliber but I would suggest a medium frame DA gun. With its larger grip and heavier frame it will absorb the recoil better as already stated lessen any flitching. As you stated this is for home defense and not carrying so wieght and size isn't a problem as long as she is comfortable with it.

Hey everyone,
I am helping my sister select a good self-defense, home-defense pistol. This will be her first firearm she has ever owened so I was thinking in the realm of a light carry revolver that will give no fuss, reliable shooting , and will not be complicated. Of course I would also like a caliber with enough stopping power but nothing that she will not be able to control. So far I have come up with these ideas for her..........

Taurus Model 617 Total Titanium (.357 Mag, 7rd capacity)
Taurus CIA Model 850 (.38 Sp, 5rd Capacity)
Smith&Wesson Model 340 (.357 Mag, 5rd Capacity)
Smith&Wesson Model 640 (.357 Mag, 5rd Capacity)

So if anyone has any suggestions they would be most appreciated, thank you all very much.
Shoot safe
-Phil
You might want to check into a Ruger GP100 series revolver. You can get them in a variety of barrel legnths and they are great reliable shooters. You can also use either 38 spl or 357 ammo in them. I have a GP100 4in stainless that I really like. It is a great, accurate and fun shooter. Also is 6 rd capacity. What ever you go with make she she knows how to use it, having a gun setting around and having to figure it out under extreme conditions is not a good idea. Take her out and shoot alot, in fact most ranges rent most every kind of gun imaginable. Before buying have her try alot of them out. Then she can pick what feels comfortable for her too. Good luck mack

I'd get her a Remington 870, but if you're dead set on a pistol, I'd get her a Glock .40. I don't see any reason why a woman shouldn't be able to handle it. Female police officers and military types with no prior firearms experience have been shooting well enough to qualify for years.....Lots of women were ably handling larger bore pistols since before they could vote and smoke. I don't think there's any physical reason why women can't shoot a Glock .40. Any mental limitations aren't any more insurmountable in a woman than they would be in a man....In my opinion.

My better half had never shot any firearm until she hooked up with me, now she has shot everything I own, plus a few others. Her favorite? A three-inch Taurus 44 Special 5-shot. Recoil is minimal, the blast doesn't deafen, practice loads are cheap, and the intimidation factor is pretty good when looking down the muzzle, something she really likes. It doesn't torque her girly hands like a magnum, won't blind her in the dark, and delivers a resounding thump when it hits.
It's not as small as a two-inch J-frame, but it's easier to shoot well, and five shots of 44 ought to take the steam out of Bigfoot.

BTW, Gold Dots look really cool from the front, unless you're a bad guy. Then they look very, very bad. :eek:

Papajohn

I would also recommend a good, med.-frame 4"in. bbl. revolver. The WORST thing you could do to a brand-new shooter, and I've seen it MANY times, is to get a lightweight small 'womans gun', and stoke it with .357 hot loads. The blast and recoil will terrify them into a perpetual flinch, to the point that they will either hesitate to shoot if they have to, or not be able to hit the broad side of a barn from the inside. The small-framed guns, especially the Titanium guns, just recoil too much and are very uncomfortable to shoot, especially for a beginner, and even for some very seasoned shooters.
I WOULD get a 4"in. .357, just for the versitility, but ONLY use mild .38 Spl. target loads to start with...slowly working up as their confidence and shooting ability does, to .38 Spl.+P or .357 defense loads. I taught my mother, two sisters and a couple of their girlfriends to shoot handguns defensively, and very proficiently, I might add, by starting with a .22 revolver. Learn the basics well, then progressed to a .357 Med.-frame with .38 wadcutters, then standard .38's, then .38+P's, then to light .357's and full-house .357's IF and WHEN they were ready. This was over the course of a month, shooting 2 or 3 times a week, for a couple of hours each time. Both sisters ended up shooting everything I carried to the range eventually, including a Glock .40, Springfield .45ACP, S+W Mod. 29 .44 Mag. ( with .44 Spl. and full house Mags ). NOTHING was forced on them, if they didn't like something, they weren't forced to shoot it and be 'macho'. A 4"bbl. .357 in a medium frame is big enough to control and absorb recoil, but light enough for a woman to handle without being too unwieldly. A .45 Colt Cal., or a .44 Spl. revolver would be excellent if they get some time and shooting experience. A revolver is as simple as it gets to operate and shoot, without complicated safety's and such. A Glock 9MM, .40 S+W, etc. is as simple as an auto gets for the same reasons. Both revolver and Glock are extremely reliable. Glasers and Mag-Safe's are available for all the above calibers, and have VERY low recoil, and unmatched stopping power. That's my 0.02. Lee.

Frank Derbin is absolutely right, a shotgun is the best choice.

Studies show that most police officers hit the suspect they are shooting at less than 60% of the time, and these are usually within 25'. Unless you have been there, it is hard to understand how one can miss at that distance, but under the stress and often adverse conditions of the situation it happens. When a person is awakened at night and are hardly awake do you really think they are ready for a gunfight?

So, knowing that her shot will likely miss, consider a more appropriate weapon, the shotgun. First, it sends a pattern, and though it will not open up too much at close ranges it will open up some, increasing the odds of hitting the perp. Second, when a suspect hears a pump gun cycle he is likely to retreat, negating the need for any shots to be fired, a good thing.

Finally, if a shot is needed, and misses, the pellets from the shotgun will do less damage beyond the target than a centerfire handgun round. I have seen citizens (innocent) hit by stray bullets and had a partner hit in the neck by a stray 9mm round. Does your sister want to put a neighbor at risk? I doubt it. And remember the risk is not one of just conscience, but of both civil and criminal liability.

Handguns are great weapons in the hands of a well trained person. This training goes beyond just marksmanship. The use of the pump shotgun increases the chance of a hit while reducing the risk to the neighbors. It also increases the chance of causing a retreat. Please consider this point. Not having to shoot is always better.

If the hand gun route/ cnclld carry - Get her to the range and shoot a brick or two of 22 lr. Move up the power scale slowly so she isn't terrified of blast/recoil.
Find a good gun shop that has a good selection of used firearms and let her decide what fits her hands. A mod 36 38spl +p would be my minimum recommendation.
Like the others have said....For home defense its hard to beat a scattergun.


JM@CW

Well thank you everyone very much for all your input. If it is a revolver....I'll be sure not to get her something too light...and I had always favored shotguns for home defense then handguns...but she'd rather a pistol. I'm going to take her to a couple of ranges and let her choose what she thinkgs is best for her but at least now I have a better direction to take her in. THANKS ALOT EVERYONE. -SHOOT SAFE

be able to kid herself about it, like the cops do? If the former, get her a .22, have her fire about a 5000 rd case of ammo thru it, really fast, up close, with either hand, in the dark, on movers, etc. Then get her a good 9mm, and have her fire maybe 2000 rds of 9mm in such a manner. Then have her attend one of Ayoob, or Taylor's traveling training classes, and also get enough hand to hand training to have a good chance of not having that gun taken from her in 1/2 second. Then she will need about $500 worth of concealable body armor, too. All in all, real defensive capability costs many thousands of $, takes many hundreds of hours. That's why only a very few thousand people, and almost no women, have such ability. Everyone else is just trusting to luck, whether or not they know it.

The comments made regarding semi-automatic pistols malfunction on occasions, make me think of getting a revolver for carry. I have several pistols: Kimber CDP, Beretta, Glocks, Springfield XD etc., and I can relate that sometimes I have had some malfunctions/ammo-stuck issues. No problem with my Kimber, Beretta and Glocks but with other I had some issues. I have claimed on reloads in most of the time. Although more expensive, I am target shooting with factory ammo to get the piece going without problems. Next: I will buy a revolver for myself and for my wife (non-carry) since it makes sense of how easier is to use a revolver without the complicated funtions of a pistol. Don't take me wrong, I am a pistol fan, but I will give a revolver a chance at this junction since my wife is a new-comer to the gun's arena. I have been urging him to willing to learn about guns and shooting for defensive purposes at home. Finally, she is taking an introductory class to familiarize herself with the basics and then instead of taking her the the movies I will take her to the range. My point is that a revolver is not a bad choice since you won't have the fear thoughts that your weapon may not be there when you need it most. I am inclined to purchase S&W 686 in 4". Your comments have been very helpful. Victor

Take a look at a SP-101, in 3" .38SPCL. Heavy enough to tame +P+, and enough barrel to hit a target with.

be able to kid herself about it, like the cops do? If the former, get her a .22, have her fire about a 5000 rd case of ammo thru it, really fast, up close, with either hand, in the dark, on movers, etc. Then get her a good 9mm, and have her fire maybe 2000 rds of 9mm in such a manner. Then have her attend one of Ayoob, or Taylor's traveling training classes, and also get enough hand to hand training to have a good chance of not having that gun taken from her in 1/2 second. Then she will need about $500 worth of concealable body armor, too. All in all, real defensive capability costs many thousands of $, takes many hundreds of hours. That's why only a very few thousand people, and almost no women, have such ability. Everyone else is just trusting to luck, whether or not they know it.


Greer, save your sexist comments for your buddies at the deer camp, please.

EXACT same levels of training and ability, if not more so, because they are more likely to be at risk than most women are. Men tend to not just avoid high risk areas, the way more sensible women do.

Revolve'rs DA trigger pull is ALWAYS a problem, especially for women, and men with small hands or short fingers. It's far more likely to cause you grief than is the 1 in 1,000 (or less) malfunction in an autoloader.












Greer, save your sexist comments for your buddies at the deer camp, please.

EXACT same levels of training and ability, if not more so, because they are more likely to be at risk than most women are. Men tend to not just avoid high risk areas, the way more sensible women do.

Revolve'rs DA trigger pull is ALWAYS a problem, especially for women, and men with small hands or short fingers. It's far more likely to cause you grief than is the 1 in 1,000 (or less) malfunction in an autoloader.

I'm sure you think you are being helpful, but frankly you are not. It appears that your postings are going out of their way to insult anyone who would choose different equipment or techniques. It is one thing to have a difference of opinion; it is quite another to be rude and condescending.

I'd expect more help and less lecturing from someone who claims to shoot at a world-class level, to be honest.

We work hard to keep this forum a friendly helpful place where people don't look down their noses at each other. If you can't handle that.... perhaps this isn't be best environment for you.

Hello seven - between -greer.

Up to your old tricks again, eh?

Goodbye seven - between - greer.

Banned.
Jack

I was about to ask if he was the same person. it seems he's the only one that cant be friendly, and is the only that totally bashes revolvers for auto loaders. as for all of his comments, ignore them, most are false or exaggerated. i've NEVER carried a gun other than for bear defence in the woods(not of age) but i also have never had a problem with DA triggers and i would trust in a revolver to save my life, i carry a .44 mountian gun to gaurd against bears and believe me, if i didn't trust in it TOTALLY i wouldn't have it.

Once you been shooting as long as some of us have and with all actions then the weapon is inmaterial and its the stuff between the ears that will make a difference. I've shoot just about everything and carried all types into action. Going back into Iraq shortly and have given up my M4. Looks like I'll be lugging around a NM M14 this time. Remember its the man/woman behind the gun and his/her training (plus a lot of luck) that will get him/her thru.

Thanks Jack for greer was way out there.

I would suggest a pump 20 gauge for a house gun, if you have to have a pistol for a beginner, 4 inch 38 or 357 revolver.

Now, now, now

Tarus 357 in Titanium is just the ticket. Take her out, have her shoot a 45 Long Colt or a 44mag with 300g bullets. Then let her shoot the .357

Dont buy a 9mm for a self defense gun...... :)

Zep - I think that my Ti .357 kicks worse than my .44 Rugers do!

How have ya been - got any new cannons lately? :)