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?

[hopespringseternal]

First of all, get firearms training and instruction on what is legal in your location. Spend some time thinking about shooting someone, and realize that you will probably spend a lot of money, maybe everything you have on a lawyer and may still go to prison. But that is better than spending the last few hours of your life as a chew toy for a psychopath.

The whole "accidental discharge" thing is kind of a red herring. You pull the trigger, they go boom. The problem happens when people pull the trigger expecting nothing to happen. Unless you're three years old, there is no real excuse for that.

There are a lot of ways to look at this, and you will likely have to answer the question for yourself. You need to be competent with guns, and that means more than hitting a target. You need to think about possible pitfalls and dangers, which you have started doing.

If you will only be sharing your house with responsible adults, a revolver is great. Once you load it, all you do is point it and pull the trigger. .44 special would be a great round, low recoil, plenty of stopping power. Try it, if it is too much go to a .38 special. Smith&Wesson or Ruger.

If you share a house with small children, a good name brand semi-auto without a round in the chamber is pretty safe and fast to bring into action. With no round in the chamber, the fact that small children can't rack the slide means the gun is effectively unloaded as far as they are concerned. Check the effort required to rack the slide to make sure you can do it and small children can't (they might surprise you.)

For most people, Glock is probably a good bet for a semiauto, but you probably should get hands on experience with several guns before getting one. Don't go smaller than 9mm (other options for semiautos are .40 and .45), and plan to spend at least $400 and you will do ok. Stay away from small caliber cheap guns. They are unreliable and with some accidental discharge is an issue.

[LTCJ]

I would recommend you getting a concealment permit from the County Sheriff....Fairly easy in Georgia...

For more information, see this website.

[TEXASPROUD]

Geeks got the right idea. Go to the range and try out different guns. I also think you'll might like the .357 Mag.
My wife loves her Colt Python.
One other thing, do some serious soul searching. Can you take the life of another human being(even a scumbag)? It is morally justifiable to protect your life, but if deep down you don't think you can do it, don't get the gun.

[stylin_geek]

Thanks, I'm surprised I someone else didn't beat me to it. However, I'd argue with the Mossburg and suggest a very plain Remington 870, with a skeet barrel, (used) loaded with double 00. :)

[rebeliam]

My wife loves, her Springfield Armory subcompact x-9.

[Joe Brower]

Anyone care to help this person out?

[Codeflier]

1. Based on how you describe yourself, I would suggest a Taurus Titanium 85 series .38 for personal protection away from the home.

http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?model=85SHC&category=Revolver

2. For home defense, by far the best choice is a 12 Gauge Shotgun. A pump action model is good because the pump action is one of the most frightening sounds a home invader could hear. Here is a good economical model:

Mossberg 500

http://www.mossberg.com/pcatalog/Specpurp.htm

[antiRepublicrat]

I'd suggest the Sig Sauer P228 in 9mm. They do have a .40 if you want more power. They are brain-dead to use and ultra-reliable. There is no active safety, but it won't go off until you've pulled the trigger all the way back -- the trigger pull releases the safety just before firing. It also has a safe decocker so the safety isn't disabled by trigger pull when decocking. It's double/single action so with a round in the chamber and decocked a simple trigger pull shoots it without cocking or messing with safeties. The sights are excellent, drawing your eye to a perfect lineup. It's small and fits well in a woman's hand.

It's just not as "sexy" as a Glock, but it's a favorite of protection services.

[AAABEST]

Certainly a revolver given your needs. Easy to use, reliable.

.38 sounds about right. Some .38s can take .38 mag or .357 if you should down the line decide you can handle a larger round.

My wife is 4' 11" and 100 lbs and shoots a 12 guage, so a big round or recoil doesn't always mean it's not for a woman. It doesn't bother some.

[Djarum]

I shoot 45 ACP for fun.

For defense I would recommend a shotgun.

[BayouCoyote]

1911A1 SPringfield.

Full size.

Lifetime warranty.

That does it for me.

Oh yeah...shoot often!

[absalom01]

The posts that begin 'go to the range and try several different guns' and 'consider a shotgun' are right on. The part that's missing is getting training -- one is no more armed by virtue of owning a gun than one is a musician because you own a piano. (apologies to Col. Cooper for mangling the quote.)

You can solve this problem easily, however. You can get a list of local instructors from the NRA training division at 703-267-1430 , or by clicking this link: http://www.nrahq.org/education/training/find.asp . Look at the basic pistol, first steps, and basic shotgun courses, and the home defense class. In fact, this last class is so good, I'd urge you to make a particular point of finding an instructor and taking the class. It gives you a ton of good information on making your home, and your family, a 'hard target'.

[The_Eaglet]

Campaign Finance "Reform" Offends the First Amendment-Campaign Finance Reform thread-day 35

[cmak9]

If you will only be sharing your house with responsible adults, a revolver is great. Once you load it, all you do is point it and pull the trigger. .44 special would be a great round, low recoil, plenty of stopping power. Try it, if it is too much go to a .38 special. Smith&Wesson or Ruger. If you share a house with small children, a good name brand semi-auto without a round in the chamber is pretty safe and fast to bring into action.

With no round in the chamber, the fact that small children can't rack the slide means the gun is effectively unloaded as far as they are concerned. Check the effort required to rack the slide to make sure you can do it and small children can't (they might surprise you.)

VERY good points. Ruger SP101 and SW99 .40S&W would be my recommendations.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Taurus Model 82, not necessarily new.

[stainlessbanner]

Hear Hear! The 870 is standard issue (though I've never used a Moss).

Related FR thread: What Is The Best 12 Gauge Shotgun Load for Home Defense?

[RandallFlagg]

Don't mind me. Just peeking in this thread to look at some nice pistol pictures.

None yet...


*hint*

[RandallFlagg]

I spoke too soon...

[Xenalyte]

I'm guessing from your nick that you're a girl . . . unless you're my size, you don't want something huge. How about a Baby Eagle? They're sa-WEET!

My Smith & Wesson .38 revolver is a fabulous gun. You need to be pulling the trigger for it to go off, which is the kind of engineering I like in my products. :)

Hey Bacon, any opinions on a chick gun?