My first question is this...does she have what it takes to pull the trigger in an extremely stressful situation? When someone is advancing toward you with the intent of doing bodily harm is not the time to vacillate. It’s for this reason I have never encouraged my wife to take up arms. She just doesn’t have what it takes to pull the trigger and possibly take a human life. Getting a firearm is the easy part. Coming to terms with using it is the hard part.
Good point. I used to teach the youngsters that worked for me “If you can’t look down the barrel of a gun and know in your hear you can pull the trigger, you’re in the wrong business!” If she don’t know that, she’s probably better off with a can of wasp or bear spray.
The way I see it, I hope I NEVER have to shoot someone but it can be a great equalizer if someone is intent on hurting you.
Spot on.
Two excellent books by Ayoob that cover that.
In the Gravest Extreme: The Role of the Firearm in Personal Protection
Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self Defense
Both should be required reading for anyone owning firearms for self-defense.
BINGO!!!
TigerHawk’s Three Rules of Armed Self Defense (Firearms)
1) You MUST be willing to KILL.
2) You MUST have authorative command of the weapon.
3) The weapon MUST be readily at hand.
Without the first, the other two are useless!
What AE said in post 7. It is very bad to have a gun and not be able to use it when needed. It is even worse to have taken away still full and shot with it.
Find a gun store with a simulator and run through several scenarios and see how your friend feels them. Being a killer isn’t in the DNA of some people.
And possibly putting it in the hands of a criminal is where it goes from there....