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Practice, practice, practice ... and when time and money permit, practice some nore. Practice with the gun empty, bringing it to the ready position from whatever holds it, espceially if you intend to wear it around. The more you practice with a tool, the more you have the ability to deal with unforeseen events. i'll give you an example of practicing with the weapon you intend to depend upon.

For years I carried a .22 semi auto for personal defense. I put probably more than two thousand rounds through that tool practicing with it. I got good enough with it that I could draw and fire the wepon at eight inch targets out at 25 yards and keep all rounds, even rapid fire rounds, in an eight inch circle.
The I decided to upgrade to a heavier bullet class, so I bought a Glock 23 gen 3, which is a .40 caliber round. I practiced with 180 grain bullets all the way down to 124 grain bullets, but no matter what I loaded it with, the snappy recoil prevented me from making rapid second and third shots on target at ten yards!
I ordered a replacement barrel from Wolf that turned the 40 cal into a Glock 19. By dropping down to 9mm rounds int he 115 grain weight I find I can make those accurate follow up shots I want. The 'mouse gun' I carried for years had 40 grain bullets in it. I went to 180 grain bullets with the Glock23, I increased the recoil too much. When I stepped it down to a 9mm 115 grain bullet I had found an acceptable recoil reduction but with nearly three times the weight in bullet, which translates into impact and penetration energy on target.

One of the nice things about the Bersa 380 single stack, besides the reasonable price, is an interesting recoil reduction possibly due tot he way the grip fits in the hand and the slide absorbing recoil over a fix barrel which does not rotate/snap up and down when the slide moves along the line of the fired round. I am planning on purchasing one of the Bersa all black thunder 380 pistols for an alternate carry, with an extra mag along for the ride. I have compared the recoil from the CZ82 (which is just a shade more cartridge than the .380) and the Bersa Thunder 380 and the reduction in recoil is greater than just the difference in rounds (CZ82 is a 9x18 and the .380 is approximately a 9x16 or seventeen depending upon the ammo).

There is something about that Bersa balance that I really like. Both pistols are fixed barrel weapons, with the CZ having a 12 round magazine and double action firing system (Bersa is double action also, meaning you can carry a full mag and one up the spout and start your shooting by just pulling the trigger, without having to cock the hammer then pull the trigger to fire the first round (as with a classic 1911 which is single action only). The Bersa Thunder 380 also looks a lot like the original James Bond gun.

Pistols are close quarters weapons/tools. As such the best one for you will be a personal thing which requires you to test different versions and settle on what you can handle competently and efficiently for quick results. At home, a pistol is merely the tool you use to get to your shotgun or battle rifle.

BTW, if there are other questions you have concerning these tools, feel free to ask. Freeper shooters are a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Goodness, do I have a lot to learn! Wow!

Thank you so much for the help! I’m going to write these things down for when I go to the gun show.

I think I’ll have more questions once I get a one and practice with it. ( That Bersa and DB380 are a nice looking and something I could carry around all day. )

To be honest, I’m a bit nervous about all this. I never, ever thought I’d need to get a gun but the way this country is going, and I hear about homes being broke into more and more, my husband and I decided to do something. Since we don’t live near family, it’s just the two of us so we have to be prepared to protect ourselves for our children’s sake.