Please recommend a good handgun

[Charlotte M. Corday]

I need the advice of an expert. Two nights ago, in nearby community, a high school football coach and his teenage son were murdered by a home invader. In the wake of this, I have finally decided to buy a gun and take a class in how to use it.

Here's what I am looking for in a handgun:

1. Easy to use, but not easy to discharge accidentally.

2. Powerful enough to stop an attacker, but not difficult for a small woman to handle.

What would you suggest?

[Double Tap]

First thing I would ask is how strong are your hands? Go to a gun store that will let you handle and dry fire the revolvers. Then see if they have a Ruger SP101. This is a five shot 357 magnum revolver. Don't let that intimidate you. You should start off shooting 38 spl in it.

Your main concern is if you can operate the gun. You need to be able to operate the trigger in double action mode. This will take about 12-14 lb. of pressure. You need to be able to do it at least 5 times in a row without straining. The more you strain, the worse you are going to shoot.

If you can do that properly, then I would suggest that as a first gun. Get some serious training, starting with proper gun safety and handling.

If you can't do that, you will have to try pistols, and that will bring in other problems. I would really try the revolvers first.

[RiflemanSharpe]

No, quiet suburb. If it was rough I would have an AK-47 loaded up too. This is TX after all. ;)

But seriously, you do not have to aim a shotgun at 2 in the morning and the sound of a pump shotgun racking a round in the chamber will make most people wish they stayed home.

[AAABEST]

Should be able to hunt one down at your local shop or gun show.

My mom has one that takes .38 or .38 mags, not .357 though. So make sure if you want the .357 your questions are to the point.

[Dionysius]

Llama .380. Compact, reliable and inexpensive. Breaks down like a 1911 Colt.

[RiflemanSharpe]

Anyone that can take 00 buck, I'll let them have what they want.

[wtc911]

Any long gun for home defense is plain silly. Don't believe me...try this....come down the stairs in the dark with a four foot rake handle held in both hands like you would a shotgun. Have someone stronger than you waiting in the darkness. What happens when you turn the corner? One of two things...you either poke the barrel around first and have the weapon wrestled away from you, or you peek around first which requires the weapon to be pointed away from the danger...which of these options appeals to you?

Oh yeah, now imagine it's not a game, your heart is pumping, there really is someone stronger than you waiting in the dark.

Shotguns are fine for standing on your front step and chasing bad guys away, not for close quarter combat in your own living room.

[verity]

I don't think anyone would hear my Mossberg's action over the sounds emanating from my dog. ;~)

[RISU]

Do not get a "handgun", too easy to shoot yourself or someone important to you by accident when you are "shook up", which you will be if it ever gets to it.

Get a "pump" shotgun and use "00" buck shot. That will kill just about anything, and knocks em back a few feet when hit.

Chambering a round in a pump gun has a very distinct sound that would cause most perps to flee immediately if they hear it, and Two)it is hard to shoot yourself by accident with a long gun, and Three) you can always use it as a club.

[archy]

I need the advice of an expert. Two nights ago, in nearby community, a high school football coach and his teenage son were murdered by a home invader. In the wake of this, I have finally decided to buy a gun and take a class in how to use it. Here's what I am looking for in a handgun: 1. Easy to use, but not easy to discharge accidentally. 2. Powerful enough to stop an attacker, but not difficult for a small woman to handle. What would you suggest

Tell us a bit more about yourself and your personal situation. Are you likely to have to defend just yourself, or yourself and another? Can you carry your weapon in your workplace, or is that prohibited, or not an issue at all? Are you right or left-handed? Do you wear eyeglasses? Do you have small or pre-teen children in your home? Do you have any previous military or other firearms training, and perhaps most importantly: are you ready to use your weapon in a single, reflexive immediate move to kill a potential attacker, without slowing your response with any dire warnings or pronouncements? In point of fact, you'll likely need not a single good class in the home defence circumstances you describe, but occasional refreshers as well, just as cops are required to occawsionally requalify, usually bi-annually.

-archy-/-

[cinFLA]

Should be able to hunt one down at your local shop or gun show. <P<I don't think so.

[cinFLA]

come down the stairs in the dark with a four foot rake handle held in both hands like you would a shotgun.

Instructions to my wife: DO NOT TRY TO FIND THE INTRUDER - Stay armed in a corner facing the door.

[RISU]

The problem here is no defense plan. You need to be able to lock yourself in a secure room with your gun, and with a cell phone to call the police. If you can manage it, a remote switch inside your bedroom that turns on many lights in the home outside your room, and in th yard is also great. Perps flee from light. You are not going to chase the perps in the house. The issue is your life, not chasing the bad guys or keeping aunt betty's vase safe.

[RiflemanSharpe]

A large loud dog is one of the best burglar alarms ever made.

[Eaker]

My post #118 was meant for Space Wrangler not you Xena.

Sorry about that!!!

Eaker = Idiot, once again!!!

[demsux]

Just bought that S&W airlight last month...great carry gun.

[archy]

... carry one myself. But for home defense I keep a 12 ga pump shotgun loaded with 00 buck.

Where in God's name do you live?

The same procedure I follow here in crime-rotted Memphis, though my choice of ammunition varies a bit.

The downside is that every time yoy return home, you have to be prepared to deal with the possibility that a housebreaker may be waiting to face you with your own weapon. That does not at all preclude the practice, but the possibility should remain an important consideration.

-archy-/-

[AAABEST]

I don't think so.

Why not? You live in Florida (as I) and the shows and shops down here have almost anything imaginable.

Have you tried to find one? If you're serious, I can recommend a shop that I KNOW sold them.

[11Bush]

Keltec .32? You have got to be kidding. Unless you plan to use it as a backup and even then I would suggest you get something in a real stopping caliber.

Of course you could pull the .32, unload the magazice at the perp, and hope he laughs himself to death.

Home or personal defense demands stopping the agressor, NOW! One or more shots, center mass. A .32 is not suited to the task.

And please do not tell me of those lucky shots from a mouse gun that felled the 350lb, drug crazed nutcase. Sure it happens, but not enough to bet my life on.

[FreedomPoster]

You live near us, and near Tucker. We noted this event here on FreeRepublic yesterday.

I don't have time now to review this thread. I am sure you will get much good advice here. What I can offer is two things:

First, dansangel recently forwarded to me several emails on NRA basic firearms and personal defense classes that are starting up very soon. If you'd like, FReepmail me your email address, and I will forward that information to you when I get home. If you'd like to discuss it, I'm available, and I'm sure dansangel would be glad to do the same.

Second, a nearby range, at Peachtree Industrial and Medlock Bridge, has many guns available to try, so you can try a few before a purchase. I'd also be willing to meet you there, I may have a few things that they don't, that you could also try.

[wtc911]

Yes, you are right. Sometimes though you can't just lock the door and call the cops, eg, children sleeping in another part of the house. I was addressing the always popular, always wrong shotgun is the best argument.

Items to be kept by bedside (at least close by)...cell phone, flashlight, appropriate weapon, small fire extinguisher.

Any potential confrontation that ends with the perp in flight is a win.