I gave my mom a S&W M64 3" round butt .38 loaded with Buffalo Bore 150 gr. hardcast wadcutters at 850 fps. It's a home defense gun, it's simple, she likes it. Beats heck out of a can of pepper spray.
Perfect. About like what I gave my mom, i.e., a Ruger Speed Six snubby, round butt, with .38 Specials. It gave her great comfort for a couple of decades. When she got too frail in her 80s to pull the trigger, I swapped it for a Walther PPQ. She didn't need to know how it works, or be able to rack the slide. All she needed to know was how to point it and pull the trigger.
My dad hates guns, so when mom passed away, he asked me to take the Walther. He prefers to be helpless. Confusing. I talked him into having a can of mace in the house, which I then went out and bought for him. Better than nothing, but I bet he does't even know where he put it.
