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?

[cinFLA]

From Combat Handguns:

Item: In Kansas, a lone officer pulled over a suspect who had shortly before robbed a bank using heavy Rambo gear including smoke bombs and concussion grenades. The felon came out of the car shooting, and caught the patrolman off guard. The cop was a southpaw, and the first bullet smashed into his gun hand. As he clawed for his 9mm Smith & Wesson third generation service automatic, the would-be cop killer hammered four .44 Special bullets into the cops chest. Horribly wounded but determined to live and fulfill his duty, the officer retreated for cover, firing as he went. Fired weak hand only, most of his fusillade went wide, doing no more than causing peripheral wounds on the gunman but at least keeping the latter from reloading his revolver. The cop took cover behind a car. He stabilized his hand on the vehicle and fired one more shot. Witnesses saw a hole appear in the center of the felon's chest, and saw him shudder. He turned, stumbled a distance to his car, got in, and put it in gear. The walk to the car had been perhaps fifty feet according to reliable reports; the car went another fifty feet before it crashed with the attempted murderer dead at the wheel. The officer's 147-grain subsonic hollowpoint had destroyed his heart. The officer remains in intensive care.

[archy]

I like a Colt Walker Dragoon - .44 caliber. Not exactly the best gun for a little lady though.

Not exactly the best gun for a little man, either. Right near to five pounds loaded, pretty near the weight of an M1 carbine.

[yarddog]

Actually a .22 revolver will usually have a heavier pull than a centerfire.

I have no idea how the Israeli's assassinate people but my bet would be "back of the head".

[JoeGar]

My recommendation is the Sig Sauer P239 .357 Sig. It is a compact, but powerful, piece. It "packs a lot of firepower in compact package and is very popular as a concealed carry and police backup or off-duty gun."

[wtc911]

Even going out (urban not woods) I carry S&W .38 snub with federal pre-frag HP. I'm not going to be out of solid impact range, if I am then the danger isn't clear and present and separation is more important than firepower.

Out where the bear does his business I go heavier, but always a revolver...Autos leave calling cards.

btw....Happy New Year...

[ironman]

"Get a Taurus 627 Tracker. .357 revolver with a 4" barrel, lightweight titanium frame and ribber grip...7 rounds"

That was my first selection. Then I got the Tauras CIA undercover concealed hammer .38 Ti 5-shot for carry. Very sweet. Practice w/ .38, carry w/ .38+P. Then got a Mossberg 500. I feel I got my bases covered pretty well.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I like a Colt Walker Dragoon - .44 caliber. Not exactly the best gun for a little lady though.

Bite your tongue!

[TopHat1948]

A "Lady-Smith" by Smith and Wesson in .357. Made specifically for ladies who presumably have smaller hands than men. Use the old cowboy trick--leave the hammer on an empty chamber in the cylinder so that if you drop it it won't discharge.

[Jack Black]

What do you think about the 10mm? I've hankered after ones for years. Lately a few companies are making special runs of them. Dan Wesson made the "Razorback" for a while, they are scarce as drop-dead gorgeous 30 year old virgins in these parts, put looked interesting. Kimber is doing a Custom Target model. Supposedly you can get the Tanfoglio/EAA Witness in 10mm but I had a store try to order one and after six months got my deposit back. Glock makes 'em but I don't like Glocks (yeah, I know they are great, etc).

Anyway seems like a pretty ideal round that combines the penetration of a magnum with the frontal area of .40 in an auto pistol round.

[dhs12345]

A while back, I heard that some states were trying to make them illegal.

Same old goofy logic (paraphrasing):

"You must be some kind of nut to want to put a laser on your gun. They make the gun look really scary so laser sites must be banned." Ironically, a laser makes the gun safer since accuracy is greatly improved. They are especially nice at night since aiming down iron sights can be a challenge.

[ZULU]

Heck, you run out of ammo, you can always beat 'em to death with it!!

Good enough for six buffalo, says Colt.

[Oberon]

Any Smith & Wesson K-frame .38; that would be a Model 10, Model 14, Model 19, and about a dozen others. Medium-sized, easy recoil, enough oomph to stop a fight.

[stylin_geek]

I own that one. I bought it used, and can put all 5 in the head at 15 ft.

[wardaddy]

With 60 grains of FFFg, you need that 5 pounder Arch!

[stylin_geek]

Glasers for indoor home defense.

[wardaddy]

Thanks...same to you!

[archy]

What do you think about the 10mm? I've hankered after ones for years. Lately a few companies are making special runs of them. Dan Wesson made the "Razorback" for a while, they are scarce as drop-dead gorgeous 30 year old virgins in these parts, put looked interesting. Kimber is doing a Custom Target model. Supposedly you can get the Tanfoglio/EAA Witness in 10mm but I had a store try to order one and after six months got my deposit back. Glock makes 'em but I don't like Glocks (yeah, I know they are great, etc). Anyway seems like a pretty ideal round that combines the penetration of a magnum with the frontal area of .40 in an auto pistol round.

Pretty impressive. I had a custom 10mm barrel for a Thompson Center Contender back in the Bren Ten/Colt Delta Elite days, but never went beyond that. Essentially, they offer the ballistics of a .41 magnum load in a 5-inch barrel autopistol. I've never worked with one extensively [the large frame glocks don't fit my hand real well either, or I'd still have my old Glock 21- the 9mm/.40 frame versions work better for me, but a lady friend has kind of attached herself to the last of my ugly Glock sisters, a 9mm model 17.

I was in Beirut, Lebanon in the mid 1990s and observed and handled but didn't shoot an AK 47 that had been converted to a 10mm SMG. It had apparently been a status piece for a local gang leader who'd had a Colt Delta Ten. They got him with an RPG-7 in his limo. I don't expect he had deer hunting in mind for it, and they weren't legal for that in Indiana at that time, either.

[yarddog]

I had a Delta Elite and an Auto Ordnance in 10mm. Sort of wish I still had them. I honestly could never tell they kicked any harder than the regular .45.

The Auto Ordinance was considerably better than their .45 of the same time period. Probably because they needed to be more careful with the construction. I think they had both cast slides and frames but still seemed fine.

[Vinnie]

I like a Colt Walker Dragoon - .44 caliber.

I remember reading a Guns & Ammo yrs. ago where they pitted an old .44 against a .44 mag.
The old black powder had more penetration in pine boards than the .44 mag.
Don't remember if was a Colt or Walker. But it was impressive.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I'll remember that the next time I anticipate attack by a lumberyard. :)