What would be a good gun for my mother?

reply to post by FTD Brat



She has only shot at the range once that I am aware of..She is a country girl so she goes out back and fires a few rounds every weekend or so with my father. Beleive it or not she is pretty accurate(she is retired Correctional Officer..lol..can you imagine) the only problem she has had was it locking up once and it jammed an extra bullet in the chamber.Pops says it was the spring in the magazine.Not sure, they live in the middle of nowhere so I dont get to visit as much as I would like.One of my favorite childhood memories is watching her fire a 20 gauge at a coyote..bless her she went heels over head and bruised the hell out of her chest..dad taught us all that day how to hold a shotgun and proper stance.

A 12 gauge pump with 4 shot like they used to clear the trenches in WW2.

Almost impossible to miss and at short range its like being shot by a .22 dozens of times.

Also racking a 12 gauge makes most ppl on the receiving end piss themselves if
they know what it can do.

Despite what many say, a shotgun is not ideal for home defense.

It does not spread as much as most think at close quarters, you can still miss.
Harder to manuever inside than a handgun. (around corners. doors, furniture, etc..)
If it's a pump, you have to cycle the next round manually before firing again.
To hold a light, turn a lightswitch on/off, open a door, etc.. you have to take one hand off the shotgun when you may need both.

Many say shotguns are best for home defense mostly because of the spread and that you can put birdshot in it to keep rounds from going through walls and killing someone else unintentionally.

I would say that if the ammunition your using won't reliably penetrate 2 sheets of drywall then it won't reliably penetrate to a bad guys vital organs and put him down.

So that leaves using buckshot in the shotgun...which only spreads at most 4 inches at 12 feet. (unless maybe your shooting the Judge .410 pistol)

Where do shotguns rule? Outside, at night, with a red dot sight.


Anything used for self-defense should be semi-automatic, so all you have to do under stress is keep pulling the trigger. I include shotguns in this.

For a petite woman, I think a 380 pistol would suite her.

If your are buying for your mom, you need to bring her to the gun shop and have her hold it and work the slide. Many petite women have problems operating the slide on a 9mm. But if your mom can by all means go with a 9mm instead of a 380.

Last, trigger pull for petite women can be a real issue, if a pistol is double action only have her pull the trigger (dry fire) and watch how much the gun moves in her hand when she does. Pick the gun that moves the least when she dry fires it. 90% of the time that will be the gun she will shoot most accurately.

I say a 20ga Mossburg 500 shotgun with a barrel length of 18.5 inches. These can be had with a pistol grip and make a very effective home defence weapon for a smaller person. Add a good German Shepherd and momma should be well protected.

get her an AA 12.. I just had to throw that in there, I really enjoy the youtube vid on it.

I agree that a hammerless S&W 38 special would be a good choice. It has just enough stopping power and there is no hammer to get caught on anything when pulling it from a drawer or purse. The little Kel-Tecs in .32 or .380 are good little guns. I kept a .32 in my glove box for a while until I upgraded to Kel-Tec's P11 9mm. If you want a better name brand, the Ruger LCP .380 is a great gun just a better name and a few bucks more than the Kel-Tecs. Good luck and let's hope she never has to use whatever gun she goes with. All of these do have a comparably long trigger pull that take some getting used to, but a few outings to the shooting range should fix it. Or like my gun-smith says why not just get a Glock it will save you in the long run!? I now have 2.

Originally posted by grumpydaysleeper
my fav is a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver with a 4 inch barrel...buy her a holster, a couple of speed loaders and pouches and stand by and let her have fun.

The above pistol is the best advice in this thread.

A revolver, preferably with a bobbed hammer, is the best choice for
a woman that has no interest in shooting sports.

.38 special is a fine caliber that has relatively low muzzle climb and
decent stopping power.

The speed loaders are worthless unless she learns how to use them
and if she has no mechanical aptitude she would be able to reload
faster from the box.

Virtually all of the advice in this thread is utterly wrong.

Automatics are a poor choice, and the .357 has major muzzle climb
meaning a second shot may be at the ceiling or too late.

A thin, inexperienced, woman (5'8" 110lbs) will have problems with
shotgun recoil unless she practices and knows how to keep the
stock tight into the shoulder.

A weapon that the frightened inexperienced user cannot operate in
time of crisis is useless and will likely be taken away.

reply to post by AP-Chris


While I "personally" disagree w/ your opening statement of the shotgun not being an ideal home defense weapon. I completely agree with your closing statement and feel it pretty much sums everything up, the best home defense weapon is the one you are most comfortable with.

Take your mom to the range, rent a few guns, and go to town!!

hmmm.....

'Best gun for your mother'?

Depends if you prefer a body shot or a head shot?

Don't you like her cooking anymore

reply to post by AP-Chris


A shotgun is ideal for home defense.
I think you are confusing SWAT with the guys Mom.
Ideally in a crisis and no support you will barricade in a secure/hidden area such as in the bedroom behind the bed.
From there you will call the police and wait for backup.
It would be unwise for this guy's Mom to "sweep the perimeter".
That is how folks get shot by the police.
Well, that and if the police break in illegally, and in that case you wanna be in the bedroom behind some cover or concealment to get the drop on your attacker/s.

(Edit)
And to the naysayers that think say a low base 8 would be uneffective against a human target, go grab a ham and put a vest on it, notice the permanent dent it places in the meat.
It is very comparable to being hit bare chested by a baseball bat.
Tip: most bad guys do not wear Kevlar/Spectra Shield as silent and free movement is key in their job.
8's will penetrate a heavy leather jacket.

I have a Walter p22 semi. It fits nicely in my hand and isn't too heavy. They are fairly new, so extra clips are hard to find at some of the chain stores. BTW I am a few years older than your mom and about the same size, so the grip might suit her as well.

reply to post by Version100

Automatics are a poor choice, and the .357 has major muzzle climb

Yeah, thats why all police and military use revlovers...(sarcasim!)

As you said yourself:

The speed loaders are worthless unless she learns how to use them

Revolvers = six shots, slow reloads.

Semi-Autos = minimum 6 to 17 rounds and quick reloads.

A thin, inexperienced, woman (5'8" 110lbs) will have problems with
shotgun recoil unless she practices and knows how to keep the
stock tight into the shoulder.

I agree, especially for a 12 gauge, and she will have to remeber to rack the slide for the next shot under stress.

From 1MrMarc

The little Kel-Tecs in .32 or .380 are good little guns.

I agree, the Kel-Tec 32 is a good gun. I think the 32 instead of the 380 is more shooter friendly for women plus it holds 7 in the magazine as opposed to the 380's 6. They sell 8 and 10 rd magazines also. Like the 8 for the grip, the 10 rd rattles too much.

Kudos for a great thread, lots of well thought out options to consider - please add one more.
The Grendal P30 pistol clone from KelTec the PMR-30 is roughly the size and shape of a traditional P-38, carrying 30 rounds of .22 WMR (.22 mag) within the grip. Overall the weapon is 7.9 inches long,with a 4.3 inch barrel, 5.8 inches high and just 1.3 inches "thick", it is not the most concealable gun on the market, but women carry purses for many reasons! The .22 magnum cartridge may not have much knockdown power, but 30 rounds of it is devastating in well-kept groups. Other pistol-like weapons hold 30 or more rounds, but never completely contained within the grip to my knowledge. Just an option to consider - another choice among many fine ones already voiced.

ganjoa

reply to post by g146541

A shotgun is ideal for home defense.
I think you are confusing SWAT with the guys Mom.

Maybe we just have different ideas about defense.

Where's a shotgun sit?
In the corner of a closet most likely.

Where's a pistol sit.
Top of a night stand, in the night stand drawer, in a gunsafe w/touchpad.

The pistol is nearly always put in a location where it can be brought into action quicker. That is extremely important when someone is getting awoken from a deep sleep in the middle of the night.

Ideally in a crisis and no support you will barricade in a secure/hidden area such as in the bedroom behind the bed. From there you will call the police and wait for backup.

Well, I can bust 15 rds from my Glock 22 with my cell phone in my hand calling 911. Can a shotgun do that?

It would be unwise for this guy's Mom to "sweep the perimeter".
That is how folks get shot by the police.

I would never recommend anyone to clear buildings themselves, but.....
What if the attackers go to a childs room and try to abduct a child? You can't expect a parent to sit on their butt safe and sound calling 911 as the kid gets taken or killed. If they are forced to move through the house, a good semi-auto handgun is better than a shotgun. And I would be more comfortable going into a hostage type situation of a loved one with a good pistol at 20 feet rather than a shotgun.

reply to post by ganjoa


33 rounds, serendipity babeee!!
Glock 26 ultra compact with extended mag.
This mag fits all 9mm Glocks.

reply to post by sabbathcrazy


My mother (87) was given a H+R 32. With the short, you can part somebodies hair or blow their brains out.

Originally posted by ganjoa
Kudos for a great thread, lots of well thought out options to consider - please add one more.
The Grendal P30 pistol clone from KelTec the PMR-30 is roughly the size and shape of a traditional P-38, carrying 30 rounds of .22 WMR (.22 mag) within the grip. Overall the weapon is 7.9 inches long,with a 4.3 inch barrel, 5.8 inches high and just 1.3 inches "thick", it is not the most concealable gun on the market, but women carry purses for many reasons! The .22 magnum cartridge may not have much knockdown power, but 30 rounds of it is devastating in well-kept groups. Other pistol-like weapons hold 30 or more rounds, but never completely contained within the grip to my knowledge. Just an option to consider - another choice among many fine ones already voiced.

ganjoa

I forgot about that gun.

That really is an excellent suggestion. What a .PMR-30 might lack in knockdown power it would make up for in low recoil and shooter comfort for the OP's mom making her more accurate and just the shear number of rounds. 30 rounds, that's awesome!

I really think that would be an absolutely ideal weapon for women for home defense. Something they could quickly get comfortable with, operate easily and still have some firepower. Less likely to overpenetrate walls and kill neighbors etc...

Excellent suggestion ganjoa!

Originally posted by AP-Chris
reply to post by Version100

 

Automatics are a poor choice, and the .357 has major muzzle climb

Yeah, thats why all police and military use revlovers...(sarcasim!)

Police carried nothing but revolvers for most of the 20th century.
Much of the military were issued revolvers as side arms through
the 20th century.

Edit: I carry a 1911 so don't get me wrong about automatics I just
believe that the revolver would be the best choice for this scenario.

The speed loaders are worthless unless she learns how to use them

Revolvers = six shots, slow reloads.

Semi-Autos = minimum 6 to 17 rounds and quick reloads.

If she needs 17 rounds for home defense then something is terribly wrong.

Most home defense scenarios are not gun battles and usually end with
one shot.

The fail safe simplicity of the 6 shot revolver makes it the perfect weapon
for the inexperienced that need home defense.

Revolvers can be loaded quickly, take a look at the reload at the end
of this video.

An extreme example but one helluva fast reload.

My mother in law (50 y/o 5'3" and 100 lbs.) shoots a .38 special. Now for shotgun I'd say 20 ga. 00 buckshot with no choke ( best spread at close range). Most importantly, whatever she decides to shoot, she needs to practice a lot. Not only to get rid of the flinch factor, but to also learn how to flawlessly operate her gun of choice.

reply to post by Version100

Police carried nothing but revolvers for most of the 20th century.
Much of the military were issued revolvers as side arms through
the 20th century.

Exactly, revolvers are soooo 20th century! This is the 21st! Swords were carried exclusively at one time, doesn't make them best either.

If she needs 17 rounds for home defense then something is terribly wrong.

Most home defense scenarios are not gun battles and usually end with
one shot.

If someone has broken into her house, something is terribly wrong! If she were my loved one I would rather she have 17 rounds w/o reloading to deal with it than 6.

The fail safe simplicity of the 6 shot revolver makes it the perfect weapon

A revolver is just as likely to fail under neglect and abuse as my Glock. Again, a sword cuts everytime...doesn't make it the perfect weapon.

The most carried firearm for law enforcement in the current century is the semi-auto, and more specifically the Glock. There is are real world reasons for that. Individual opinions will do little to change that.

Revolvers can be loaded quickly, take a look at the reload at the end

Below is just 2 guys in a youtube video, not some guy that was so good he made the history channel!




Not trying to get down on you, but personal safety and defense could come down to life of death someday. Peoples opinions need to withstand scrutiny.

The revolver has it's place in the gun world, but as an ideal self-defense weapon, it is fading.