voodoosmc

Hi all,
I was wondering what your opinions are as to what is the best self defense pistol would be. Keeping in mind that i need it to be as inexpensive as possible but I realize you get what you pay for. It' s also going to be shot by my wife so I don' t want a lot of recoil. I prefer a semi-auto clip style. I also have a limited knowledge of handguns but have shot a lot of rifle, shotgun and muzzleloaders so I would say I' m experinced in shooting. I have shot a S&W 9mm before and it was nice but had a little much kick for my wife but she said she would be all right with a 9 if thats what we got. I was recommended a glock 19 which runs about 499 which is a little high for what we want to spend. I appericate all the help.
Thanks,
Shawn Campbell

bigcountry

Yea, I would say a glock would be good. Something that is grab and shoot. I know from experience with my ex wife, that my safeties and all on my Berretta 92FS, that in a panic situation, those safeties can get ya killed. On the other hand, I wonder how many husbands lifes have been saved against trigger happy panic stricken wifes due to that safety.

frizzellr

Revolvers are usually the best bet for novice handgun shooters. No bells and whistles to worry about. Go find a range that will let you rent handguns and try several. It is hard to beat a Taurus for value in either a revolver or semi-auto. BTW, modern pistols use magazines, not clips. Another thing, try not to get caught up in the " more power" hype. It is far more important to find a firearm that you can shoot well than it is to be able to stop a Mack truck with one shot. If you can' t hit it then it doesn' t matter what cartridge you use.

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Mykey

I like the double action revolvers and carry a 357 and my wife carries a 38 special. She handles the 38 well and can hit a target very consistently with it without alot of kick. I' ve personally always been afraid of the auto' s accidently discharging.

hntngirl

bigcountry said: LOL! We' ll probably never know!

I have a Taurus .357 mag that I' m real happy with. I shoot .38s out of it when I' m just practicing, but normally keep it loaded with .357s.
I also like the 9mm and will get one later this year. Anyone have suggestions on good brand for a 9mm?

Ballistictip

I' ve got a Taurus PT938 for my carry gun. It' s small, and very accurate. Not alot of recoil on a .380" either. Basically a 9mm " short" . It does have the safety and decock which might get confusing in a panic. I' ve had it for a good while now so I' m not positive but I think it was in the $350 neighborhood. My other carry gun is a Ruger P91 in .40 ACP but because of size I normally carry the Taurus.

James B

I also carry and recommend the Taurus 357 Mag revolver. Load it with +P 38 special 158 grain lead hollow points. I don,t like the 9mm but if I were going to get one it would be the synthetic Ruger I think it is the P 90.

BigEd

CZ makes a dandy .380 model CZ83 that is all steel and the mild recoiling round ought to make it a smooth shooter for her. Go to www.cz-usa.com and check it out. I they run around $408.oo Sug Retail but you can get one cheaper than that from any decent gun-shop. Maybe around $350-$375.

Nomercy

A Double Action revolver would fit your bill well, they make great starters guns, (not to mention great anybody guns), they point easily (not as much so as Single actions, but good enough), and there are no bells or whistles to learn to use, making learning how to shoot well the only priority. The also offer what you want, good home defense, a single action revolver is the easiest to learn on quickly, but you have to cock the hammer for every round, which makes home defense harder. In a DA revolver like a .357, you could load full house rounds for when you' d be able to use it, and have your wife swap down to .38spcl rounds for when you' re not around (.44mag-.44spcl too, and .454cassul->.45colt, but those are both probably rather heavy for her). You don' t get more than 6 shots before a long period of no shooting with a revolver, but there aren' t many robbers that would hang around after you barked out 6 anyway, there are thousands of robbers detained on scene annually that are held up with empty guns, and no shots are fired in 98% of firearm self defense cases.

As far as a pistol goes, I' d recommend a Ruger p-series, they' re cheaper than most, very reliable, and easy to learn to shoot (bulbous grip assures that, it fits the hand well). Glocks are WONDERFULL!! but they are very pricey too, even a used glock would be more than a Ruger p-series. I LOVE 1911' s, own a few now still, owned more previously, the mil-spec versions are usually very sloppy when they hit the general public, and aren' t very reliable without some work. Pistols of any type will present more of a risk of jamming, regardless of make, there' s only one or two ways to jam a revolver shy of malfunction, while a pistol can jam in a goodly number of ways.

Maybe consider a hi-point (can' t recall exactly, always get it backwards, is it hi-point or hi-standard?) .380auto or 9mm para, the hi-points are cheaper than dirt, function well enough to count on when $hit hits the fan, they just aren' t great for serious shooting, they' re just good cheap self defense tools (I' ve had/had experiene with many of them that have NEVER jammed on me or my buddies over thousands of rounds of ammo, most were bought for under $100 new, just couldn' t hit a torso sized target much past 10yrds). In fact, I' m planning on buying another one soon as my paycheck comes in.