[Charlotte M. Corday]

Your suggestions are much appreciated.

[sandydipper]

Taurus model 85 stainless 2" barrel - 5 shot .38 revolver. No maintenance - aim and pull the trigger - about $250.00 new in the box.

[Little Ray]

Springfield XD (Extreme Duty) Compact in .40 or 9mm. .40 is better. This is a compact polymer framed auto with a pretty good rep.
Smith and Wesson Bodyguard (or clone) in .38. Use hollow points. This is a 5 shot revolver with a fairing over the hammer so it doesn't snag when pulling it out. Revolvers are not finicking about ammo like autos, but (obviously) don't hold as many bullets.
Glocks, don't know the number. Get the .45 or .40 compact version.
Taurus snubbie revolvers in .357 or .44 spcl.

[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.

[rebeliam]

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

[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

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Taurus Model 82, not necessarily new.

[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?

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

let me join the throng of .357 revolver advocates.
A shotgun is also good.

Both can be found slightly used for fairly cheap.
My personal choice is a Ruger gp100. I like a six inch barrel and the heavy frame, since weight feels good when you are in danger. Makes a good club empty, too:)

I'd also reccommend a lazer sight, since aiming in the dark can be tricky, and a burglar with a bright red dot on his chest is a burglar with a load in his pants. The ruger is easy to attach the sight cuz it has a squared off whatever you call it along the top if the barrel.

Practice.

Practice.

Practice.

For concealed carry, Colt mustang .380, or if you can find it, the Iver Johnson's version of the .380 pony. It has a better safety mech. Both are very concealable, should you feel the need to carry in a zone that forbids it.

Look into Smartcarry under such circumstances.

[yarddog]

I agree with the person who said that safety is in your own knowledge and attitude.

All guns are dangerous or safe depending on how you use them. It is much better to gun proof your children rather than trying to childproof your guns.

Your decision to take the safety course is obviousely a good idea. Try to be even safer than the experts. Be an absolute fanatic on safety, but still keep the gun where it will be available quickly when needed.

I wouldn't recommend a really powerful gun like a .357 mag or .44 mag in the house as the blast is terrible, deafening and penetration is often too great. Maybe a .38 special with full wadcutter target loads.

A shotgun is great except even short ones are a little hard to handle indoors.

[Hildy]

Very good you should ask this today. We have had this gun, a Ruger P95DC for two years. My husband swears by it, I am going shooting for the first time tomorrow. I kept putting it off but now I figure if it's in the home, it would be dumb for me not to know how to use it. I will report back to you how it was to use for me. I'm a woman and have never shot a gun before:

[Psycho_Runner]

My suggestion has been mentioned several times here. A 357 is powerful, intimidating and flexible in the ammo. My fist handgun was a 44 magmum and I regret not getting a 357. The danger with a 44 is that it could go through walls. Not really a good thing if occupants are in other areas of your house.

Once you get your gun, periodically go to the gun range to keep your aim sharp. Non gun owners think every shot will hit the target, kinda like Hollywod. Not true. Markmenship takes practice.

Keep safe. Take courses.

[joesnuffy]

Smith and Wesson Scandium 38 special revolver or the 357 640 PD with a HI Viz green front sight...no worries about limp wristing possible malfunctions in a revolver vs an auto