RE: Self Defense handgun help.
Whoooooo, excessive preaching. Give the man a break.
I've had female friends ask me about purchasing them a pistol before....and I went with them to help pick one out, and to teach them how to safely handle and shoot it....but I'd prefer to minimize the number of handguns out there floating around with my name attached to them.
Anyway, assuming you do get the lil lady a handgun, might I advise you purchasesome good quality hearing protection. My own gf had a flinch that wasmore the result of muzzle blast than recoil.....a set of ear muffs and she can shoot my Springfield .45all day long.
A thought though....if she's not the type to want to learn how to do some work ona semi...learning to clear the chamber, clear up jams swiftly, etc, she might want to check into a nice revolver, hammerless like these good fellows suggested. Easy to load, point and pull.