Need Help Buying A Gun

[Recall]

Can somebody recommend a gun for me. We recently got a notice of a incident where a man posing as a maintenance worker gained entrance into a woman's apartment in my neighborhood. I want something as my husband is out of town a lot and I just think I would feel safer if I had one.

[cowboyway]

A medium weight .357 with a 4-6 inch barrel...

What up Dog.

A .357 with a 4" barrel is still gonna have a nice little kick. A 71/2" barrel would be much better.

Of course, if she can handle a .357, she can easily handle a 45 Long Colt. About the same or less recoil and spits out a bigger chunk of lead.

[tacticalogic]

a long gun such as a shotgun for the bedroom.

Agreed. 12 gauge pump. Ammo is cheap, and there's no mistaking that sound in the dark.

[SampleMan]

There are many factors, but first:
1. Are you willing to kill someone?
2. Are you willing to learn to shoot?

If yes, I think it is more than just a technical choice of a good gun. You must be able to hold it, point it and operate it. It is better to hit with an inferior gun than miss with a superior one. Many guns are simply to big for a woman's hand (and some men's). Although two handed operation is great, the situation (cracking a door open, etc.) may necessitate one handed operation. If the gun is a semi-auto, you will also need to make sure that pulling back the slide isn't too difficult for you (no insult intended). My wife has a problem pulling back the action on some of my guns.

Go with a major company, some people will have issues with some types, but they won't be junk and they will fire when you pull the trigger. Shoot the gun at the shop if they have a range. Fire from the most likely distance at which you would use the gun (probably 10 feet).

Also think ammo. If you live in an apartment complex or have other people in the house, you might want to look at frangible bullets. They have good stopping power on their initial impact, but then come apart quickly. This prevents going through walls and hitting the unintended. However a word of caution. These are expensive and semi-automatic handguns can be sensitive to the type of ammunition used. Whatever ammunition you buy (if you have a semi-auto) shoot 20 rounds at the practice range to see if the gun jams. If a new clean gun is jamming with the ammo, don't use that ammunition.

If a man attempts to force his way into your home or is already there, he intends to kill you. Don't tell the police that you thought he was going to rape you or rob you. Tell them, "I was in fear for you life." Finally, be safe. Do you have children? Do you have children that visit you? There are some good quick lock boxes, but good practice is a must. If it isn't quickly accessable to you, it is of no good to you. Both of my girls (4 & 6) know that a gun will hurt them very badly (stress the pain part) and then they will die, never to be with their family again. However, they have friends that come and play at our house and I assume that they will try to kill themselves and I act accordingly with my weapons.

[Ignatius J Reilly]

This may seem redundant but it can't be stressed enough. Call your local NRA and take a basic gun safety and skills class FIRST & FOREMOST. In this course you will have the opportunity to try different styles and calibers and find what is right for you.

[Enterprise]

THIS - is what you need!

[HairOfTheDog]

Do you have friends who shoot? Go out with them and try several and then go shopping with someone knowledgeable. My suggestion, buy a nice heavy S&W .357 with a 4-6 inch barrel... Don't go for the light snub nose or compact revolvers some are recommending as a first gun, and I don't recommend semi-autos as a first gun. Get a target gun that will be comfortable enough for you to go out and shoot a few BOXES of bullets through in a shooting session, and then get into it for awhile and do that frequently. Make it a hobby, it's fun! If you get one of those little snubby guns, it'll hurt too much to shoot the quantity of bullets it takes to get completely familiar and skilled with it. If at first you really can't shoot .357 magnums well, you can still load it with .38 to practice and work up to bigger loads.

Here's my Smith and Wesson Model 19 .357.

[HairOfTheDog]

Hi! See my post and pic above...

My trouble with the Colt .45 is the size of the grip. My hands aren't big enough to wrap around the big semiautos to hold them 'correctly'.

[Yo-Yo]

Before you even THINK about buying a firearm for protection, you should take a firearms saftey course. Then you will have the education necessary to make a purchasing decision with confidence, and the skills to posess and use a firearm safely and accurately.

[HairOfTheDog]

OK - How much do you shoot it? When I go shooting, I shoot a few hundred rounds minimum, most out of my bigger target gun, and only enough out of my airweight to be skilled with it. I'm no little fragile thing, but my airweight hurts after awhile. It's a great gun, it just ain't a shoot as a hobby gun.

[kenth]

If there's one sound that would make an intruder think twice about continuing, that has to be it.

Lots of shooting ranges have safety classes and rent guns to shoot. They could provide the necessary safety instruction while allowing you to try out a few different models to find one you are comfortable with. A revolver would be the easiest and most likely not to fail you, or you fail it, when confronted with a dangerous situation.

[NautiNurse]

lol--agree it is no fun to shoot 50 rounds with the Airlite. However, it IS fun to get an adrenaline rush (enough to tame the kickback), then empty the chamber a few times into a silhouette.

[Recall]

To Everybody who responded.

I grew up with 3 brothers and a Dad who all hunt and there were guns all over the place. I mean everywhere and now if you have dinner at my Dad's house he has three deer heads hanging on the wall watching you eat. I would have asked them about it but I don't want them to know I don't have a gun, it would hit them the same as not owning a Bible. So I have a great respect for weapons. I also did 4 years in the Army and got my badge on the M-16 A1 back in 1977. I still have tiny scars on my wrist from that.
I'm left handed and didn't have a guard for the shells.

I also pointed one of my Dad's hand guns at a man.
I was visiting their new home during my Army days and they had gone out. I heard someone on the porch and the screen door open. I got a gun and had it aimed at the door while watching the door knob turn. In comes this guy and immediately he puts both hands in the air. Come to find out it was a friend and neighbor. I don't think I would have had a problem shooting him if he had kept coming towards me.

Will I get a better deal at a gun shop or a retail store? I don't want to look stupid when I go to get one which is why I am trying to find out what I need.

Is there such a thing as a left handed gun or do you need a
guard on a pistol?

cowboyway- I was teasing you. I don't think I could both aim and shoot that thing. I'm not a wimp but I am small boned. My ring size is around a 5.

[HairOfTheDog]

I'm left handed, and holding the gun in my pic above left handed. It doesn't matter.

[cowboyway]

Hi! See my post and pic above..

Nice shooting stance.

The .45 comes in two flavors. The 45 ACP (automatic Colt pistol), which started out life as the Browning 1911. There are some wheel guns that chamber this round, but the 45 ACP is primarily used in auto loaders.

The 45 Long Colt, or 45 LC, is of older vintage developed in the late 1800's as the caliber of the Colt Peacemaker. It was/is also used in lever action rifles, such as the Winchester.

The 45 LC is used only in wheel guns or lever action rifles. Most wheel guns have a grip that is female friendly.

[HairOfTheDog]

AHA! - Good to know, I haven't had the opportunity to shoot one of those.

I love to shoot, but don't consider myself a collector that ~has to have~ one of everything.... and yet, I have a few. My S&W .357, a S&W airweight .38 snubby, and a Browning .22 semiauto for shooting all day for pennies. Oh - and the bird gun.... A .20 gauge pump shotgun... which also makes an excellent home defense gun, I would add.

[tacticalogic]

If you're left handed, and on the market for a pump shotgun, check out the Browning and Ithaca's. Bottom-eject, works well in either hand.

[PoorMuttly]

Hey! This is great! It was such a basic question, that I thought you were inexperienced. Mistake!

I think that left-handed shooting may be best with a revolver, because ejected rounds may come back at you somewhat. So....how about an L-Frame (686 type) Smith "enhanced" with 7 shots? The N-Frame holds 8 shots...even better. Speedloaders work well, and are easy to carry for 6-shot guns, so I refer to my first suggestion...but for you, get at least a 3 inch, or 4, even better. I am against the current S&W key-locking "safety", so would look for a tight used one. How about a .44 Special? That way, you could even get a .44 Mag. like a 629, loading it with slower, lighter stuff most of the time, but being able to chamber magnums should you wish. They are great to shoot with longer barrels, and amazingly accurate at long range.

Well, have a really nice day. I am, because you have relieved me of worrying about you!

[cowboyway]

cowboyway- I was teasing you. I don't think I could both aim and shoot that thing. I'm not a wimp but I am small boned. My ring size is around a 5.

So was I. About the M4, I mean. However, the M4 is quite small and has virtually no recoil. Every female that I've taken to shoot my M4 or AR15 (virtually the same gun) have loved it.

[Sixgun Symphony]

Small hands?

Check the local gunshops and pawnshops for a Colt Police Positive revolver. They come in .32 and .38 calibers.

You should also look into getting a shotgun, 20 gauge will do.

[Spirited]

Recent re-instruction for CC from a Police Instructor who is also NRA instructor turned up several things that interested us.

The young man is walking in his Father's footsteps (Police Instructor for NYC and NRA/CC instructor so he knows more in depth than most.
Says you should learn and practice using both hands. He uses the small SigSauer for his own CC for the sake of accuracy and concealment issue. His police gun is another choice.
There is a specific procedure that you should know and follow if you have a gun and are at risk--what it is has been determined by your State and the judicial--learn it from a CC instructor in your State whether or not you get a CC permit. We make certain that a CC/NRA instructor knows us and has a current idea of what and how we shoot. That is for OUR protection in case we have to defend ourselves with a weapon(he is the best witness we could produce on our behalf). Criminals and murderers have more "rights" than the attacked citizen so you must use preventive wisdom to protect yourself in advance.