Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Handgun for a Woman - in home self defense

KevinGibson- I have had the honor of introducing quite a few women to shooting handguns. I actually have quite a few handguns that serve only as trainers for new shooters. After being familiarized with a variety of autoloaders and revolvers, the split between wheelguns and autos has been right at 50/50 for new women shooters. Fit seems to be the biggest issue. Also, several have said that autos do not feel "real"- which is directly related to the confidence issue you mentioned.

I tend to think the best course is to take a trip to the range and let them figure out what they like!

High scores are not the goal to begin with. I'm aware that women can do very well with an auto and revolver as I was a basic marksmanship instructor in my unit. We often had other units "piggyback" on our ranges. Everyone had a PMI class before taking the range. So I've been there and done that.

My reason for starting on a DA revolver is simplicity, my reason for recommending them for training and basic skills development or home defense is again simplicity. Every shot is trigger and sighting work, it requires special attention to create fail to fire, feed and eject scenarios with automatics.

I see no reason for women to avoid an auto pistol that fits them once past the basics, then this goes for everyone IMO. There are many reasons to recommend an auto, capacity, concealability ergonomics etc. Starting on a DA .22 rimfire revolver makes even more sense.

My adult daughter is looking for a concealed carry and home defense firearm, so I've been giving this very question a lot of thought. I can't say that I have a definitive answer, but here's the list I have so far, in no particular order:

3" 38 Spl or 357 double action, such as the Taurus 85 or the Ruger SP101. You can shoot them any whichway and they don't stovepipe. They are dead reliable. If they fail to fire, pull the trigger again. The 3" barrel does add some weight and length, but it also adds a longer sight radius which is helpful in hitting targets out to 25 yards or so.

2.5" 44 Spl, Charter Arms. Yeah, I know they have put out some pretty junky arms during some periods. But they sure got the size, weight, and shape thing right. 44 Spl is not a popular round, to say the least. But it is actually a lower pressure round than 38 Spl, which should help with the short barrel, loud bark thing. It closely duplicates the ballistics of the .45 ACP.

Springfield subcompact 9mm. The "reach" to the trigger is a little shorter than the Glocks. Hard to go wrong with a Springfield in 9mm. As mentioned by several posters, many women cannot operate the slide. If you can't operate the slide, get a revolver. (Exception: The Beretta tilt-barrel models.)

One thing I do have a strong opinion on is this: Get your holster and your safe home storage on the same day you get your firearm. Too many people think the firearm is the big decision, and they'll worry about the other things later.

For the ladies, Cabela's has a nice concealed carry purse, leather, for $50. Hard to beat.

For safe storage, Harbor Freight has digital safes about the size of a microwave for $50... even $40 on sale.

Get those two things taken care of, then get your firearm.

Yes, a great gun. I have one and love it.



Have to respectfully disagree with both those points. Anyone with even marginal strength can work a slide if instructed properly, especially 9mm's and .45's. The .40's have stiffer springs, usually, but are still manageable.

As for the Beretta tilt-barrels, I don't think anything they're chambered for is really a suitable defense cartridge.

Scott

I have had lady friends who just could not shoot the SP101 with the short barrel, and that is understandable. I would go 3 inch barrel.

One thing about the older .38s like the Model 10 is that the grips are small and the handgun is slim. The 4-inch barrel helps. Some came with a bull barrel - easy to shoot, but heavy to pack.

I like the Colt Trooper MkIII with small grips, loaded with .38s instead of .357 Magnum ammo.

Inside the house, teach them to handle a youth model 870 pump or 1100 LT shotgun in 20-gauge.

The Beretta Storm CX4 carbine in 9mm or .45 ACP is hard to beat inside a house.

For most guys, it isn't an issue. For a lot of women it is. My wife simply does not have the grip to rack a slide. It's not uncommon. In my wife's case, it's from carpal tunnel syndrome.

When I'm out of town, I leave my loaded .45 XD in the safe, and she leaves the safe door open at night. All she has to do is pick it up, point and click... unlikely that she would need to reload. Once it's loaded, she operates it just fine.

Didn't this start out for home defense?
Packing shouldn't be an issue. But one gun can surely serve for both.

Good point. Ideal for home defense is probably not exactly ideal for packing.

A little 20 gauge is ideal for home defense, but I've never figured out how to store one so that it is ready to use but inaccessible to the curious hands of my grandkids.

If I knew how to do that, I'd move my wife's 20 gauge into the bedroom.

If it works well for her, then that's fine. I'm not suggesting that women NOT use a revolver; I'm just suggesting that we don't fall into the common trap of: Woman = Revolver.

In the case of my wife, she could not get comfortable with any auto I introduced her to. Too much to think about under stress conditions; racking slide, flipping safety off, not accidentally hitting the mag release, etc...
Bought her a S&W 642 snubbie. Point and pull! She's fine with that, and with the Federal Personal Defense ammo with a 110 grn. bullet, recoil is quite mild even in that lightweight.

Sometimes simple is better!

A woman choosing a first handgun should look for exactly the same things as a man:

1. A grip she can hold;
2. A trigger she can pull;
3. Sights she can see; and
4. Recoil she can handle.

I disagree with any assumption that a revolver or autoloader is best, and here's why.

I once instructed a pair of women who'd received handguns as gifts. One had received a S&W 3913 9mm auto, and the other a Colt SF-VI .38 revolver. Both nice, serviceable guns.

The woman with the revolver lacked the finger strength to pull the double-action trigger.

The woman with the autoloader lacked the overall upper body strength to operate the slide consistently to load and unload the gun. (And yes, I did have her use the "push, not pull" technique.) She also had very long fingernails that made gripping the slide difficult. (And that wasn't going to change.)

My suggestion was that they just trade guns, but I don't think they ever did.

I totally agree that the gun should be selected by the person who's going to shoot it, and only after shooting as many as possible. Last time I was in the market for something new, I went to a range that had a good selection of rentals for a good price, and shot half a dozen 9mms.

Instructors I greatly respect (and who've seen far more guns in action than I have) consistently name the Glock, SIG, Beretta as top of the heap. The S&W M&P auto is coming on pretty strong, too. My friend Todd has over 50,000 rounds through one, with only two parts breakages (despite a "minimalist" approach to maintenance): see http://pistol-training.com/ for reports and training drills.

For what it's worth, the late Bill Jordan gave the daughter of a dear friend a Chief's Special loaded with wadcutters as her "going to college" present. "Never know when you might need it!" One of Bill's favorite lines was, "With an auto, you are only one bad primer away from trouble."

As an only gun, my wife prefers a Sig 226 in 9mm. She can conceal it in her purse better than I can conceal it on my person. Her reasons for the 226 -- "The handle is easy to hold, the trigger works easy enough, and the sights are easy to see." That was many years ago, but it agrees with Frazer's post.

For all our CCW qualifications she's shot "my" 226 and I've shot "her" Ladysmith. Guess I can't claim the Sig anymore.

Ken