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I want to buy a gun for my wife for home protection only. She is willing as well as I am to get training for use but have no desire at this time to get a CC permit.
Some have suggested a shotgun but I would rather have something that we can keep in a drawer.
I have heard the young people (not us ) prefer automatic pistols but I'm thinking maybe a revolver.
Like to keep the price around $500.
Any suggestions
I just bought a Ruger .380 and I am very happy with it. The choice was between this or a 9mm and even though the ammo for a 9mm is cheaper, the .380 is plenty loud enough for me. I wouldn't want anything bigger. It's small too, which is nice.
Everybody is different. She needs to go to a range that offers gun rentals and try out several different ones and she which she likes the best.
Consider a Taser or all metal baseball bat before you put a gun an your wife's hands. With little or no practice using a weapon you might just be arming a home invader instead of your wife.
The Taser ranks high on my list of crime stoppers for average people any time of day/night.
If you just have to buy a gun for her buy a short 20gage pump shotgun loaded with 00 buckshot for stopping power. Bullets can , and do, go through walls harming innocents on the other side.
For surprise defence mount a strong 6" blade hunting knife on the headboard end of the bed , down low outta sight, as a "grab and stab weapon" should you or your wife be attacked in bed.
20 gauge is not good for 00 because it doesnt spread right.
We can make all the recommendations in the world but, as a previous poster mentioned, buying a gun is like buying a car. I suggest you take her to a shooting range and give her an assortment of handguns, pistols, and even shotguns to try out and ask her what she feels comfortable with. See what she says about the grip, recoil, and other factors and then use her input to narrow down the multitude of options that are available.
Personally, I am a BIG fan of Glock handguns. They are well-made, easy to use IMO, and get the job done which is why law enforcement and military personnel use them.
The problem with handguns is that too many people can barely hit a 3/4 scale man target at 5 yards at the range...let alone stressed!
The OP said they don't know about firearms and don't really want to train...that pretty much leaves a shotgun...they're simple and good for amateurs at close range...a few fam-firings and they should have it. Plus, when they miss they won't be hitting their neighbors.
Semi auto pistols are probably the most dangerous weapon a novice can buy. The next most dangerous is a double action hand gun. The short barrel is simply to easy to wave all over the place and end up being pointed at loved ones.
I agree with MO Gal that a double barrel shot gun is the best SD weapon mentioned here. If the OP will not use it, then at least on a real bad day s/he can fire both sides and render it useless, and then beat the intruder about the head.
And it is a lot of fun to shoot clays with a side by side. if you get the right side by side they are not kicking mules the El Cheapos are.
And if you get to be good, a side by side can be loaded and fired faster than any other kind of shot gun.
Long guns are a a lot harder to wave around and point at people too.
IMO ALL people should be familar with long guns before they buy a hand gun/pistol.
Hand gun to me is a revolver, and a pistol is either a single shot or semi auto, and it is that way to BATFE to.
Again IMO the first hand gun should be a target model .22 and in single action so the hammer is drawn back each time to fullcock (sp on purpose since the NANNY will make it ****)
And this .22 is cheap and fun to shoot, and may not end up collecting dust burried in a drawer.
With ammo prices as they are not many people will shoot 500 rnds a month in anything over .22 sized fodder in the first place.
I shoot a lot more .22 than anything else and when not I burn black powder which is still less expensive, but not much anymore.
I also agree with Cyborgt800 that it takes a lot of practice to be any good with a hand gun/pistol. I have shot at 5 yards with cops and seen to many holeless targets
It's bad when you can't get on a 2 ft by 2 ft paper with no stress what so ever, at 5 yards and even less!
I'll say again as long as the OP refuses to train the only option is the shotgun... Or putting 911 on speed dial and praying/waiting/dying.
I would agree with that too.. Waiting for motivation is not a very good choice.
It's not like the latest and greatest new led closet light with no place to put batteries and then discover you need a screw driver and 20 minutes to find the batterys and install new ones...
Bad guys ain't that polite to set about having tea while they wait.
But getting the wrong gun is worse than no gun... This is why long guns from the late 1880's thru the 1920's intended for large dangerous game had double safeties and double set triggers, so the gun bearer could not get the sequence right, and shoot Bwana
I want to buy a gun for my wife for home protection only. She is willing as well as I am to get training for use but have no desire at this time to get a CC permit.
Some have suggested a shotgun but I would rather have something that we can keep in a drawer.
I have heard the young people (not us ) prefer automatic pistols but I'm thinking maybe a revolver.
Like to keep the price around $500.
Any suggestions
After shooting a number of guns we decided on a Ruger SP101 revolver for the GF. She can operate an auto but if something does go wrong and it jams she doesn't have the hand strength to QUICKLY clear it. With a revolver, if it odesn't go bang just pull the trigger again.. It'll go bang.
We bought the SP101 in .38 for her and I found that I liked it so much that I went back an bought a second one in .357 for myself. Both are the 2-1/4 barrel.
We also have a GP100 which she likes to shoot but it's a bit large to carry. Would make a great drawer gun though.
I also agree. When confronted with danger she should lock herself in the bedroom, point the gun at the door and get the cops on the phone.... Word of advise... Keep them on the phone and make sure they can hear the entire event... Will go a long way in defending herself in court IF it goes that that way..
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