Handgun Advice

[slgrieb]

Well, Elder Child and even Younger Child have extensive experience shooting handguns with 9mm load. So I'm going with the Springfield XDS and Winchester PDX-1 rounds.

[slgrieb]

I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you for the good advice I got on the thread. Your input is greatly appreciated.

[Mobile PC]

While that is entirely true, chances that one will have to fire more than 1 shot are small. Assailants usually stop after being shot once regardless of caliber and placement.

Unless the first one misses. Which is very likely to happen. If you have a conceal carry, or open carry, and are confronted, you can keep shooting until the threat is neutralized. You have the same rights as the Police. Cause they will keep shooting until you get lead poisoning.

[slgrieb]

Unless the first one misses. Which is very likely to happen. If you have a conceal carry, or open carry, and are confronted, you can keep shooting until the threat is neutralized. You have the same rights as the Police. Cause they will keep shooting until you get lead poisoning.

True. It's one thing to be good at shooting paper, but its a little different to put a couple of rounds into a human, even if they are a threat.

[Overdrv]

While that is entirely true, chances that one will have to fire more than 1 shot are small. Assailants usually stop after being shot once regardless of caliber and placement.
I would personally go with the smaller caliber for a woman due to the low recoil - no more than 9mm.
.32 happens to have a very high first-shot stopping rate and that combines with a low recoil. Again, it was (is) the preferred police caliber in many countries for a reason...

Thats why I said a .22, shes a good shot i'm sure and a .22 can kill but it's less damaging. And I really can't think of a situation where after shooting someone with a .22 she couldn't get away.

[Semper Fi]

While that is entirely true, chances that one will have to fire more than 1 shot are small. Assailants usually stop after being shot once regardless of caliber and placement.
I would personally go with the smaller caliber for a woman due to the low recoil - no more than 9mm.
.32 happens to have a very high first-shot stopping rate and that combines with a low recoil. Again, it was (is) the preferred police caliber in many countries for a reason...

You will not be as accurate shooting a perp as on the range. Energy is amped up, flight or flight instincts in overload, and target is moving and breathing. I've heard that accuracy in that heightened state can drop to 30% what you are capable at the range, so I can be pretty certain it will take 2 to 3 shots to get on target, and stop the perp. Period, plan for the worst. That said, if you stop him with one, no sense unloading. All my point is, get a gun that is easy to handle, shoot, and holds enough rounds that should you have to take on more then one perp, you can get at least 2 in each of them, and a miss or two...because there is nothing worse then pulling a gun and coming up short...pissed off perps will kill you. Of course practicing changing clips from a pocket carry is also pretty important. I have a lot of trouble with one gun (lefty it's a bit more tricky then it should be), so I know that gun needs more practice, but the others I'm pretty good with...

[Semper Fi]

Thats why I said a .22, shes a good shot i'm sure and a .22 can kill but it's less damaging. And I really can't think of a situation where after shooting someone with a .22 she couldn't get away.

Interesting side note. I talked to an EMT friend a long time ago, we were talking about first response on gunshot wounds...I asked him about caliber, if known, what did ne think of what he saw. He said the .22 caused the most damage on one...what happened, it was a ball round, not HP, and it went in with enough energy to bounce off bones, but not shatter bone. He said it got in and moved around so much it was like the dude swallowed a grenade. Of course that was an isolated incident, and .22 is a weak round by nature...but still food for thought!

[Semper Fi]

Well, Elder Child and even Younger Child have extensive experience shooting handguns with 9mm load. So I'm going with the Springfield XDS and Winchester PDX-1 rounds.

That XDS is a sweet ride...one of the best small carry guns around, she will enjoy the level of protection and target shooting is a blast!

[Larommi]

A buddy of mine swears by small revolvers when he teaches self defense. His thought is that it is more important to have something that is easy to handle when the purp is up close an personal. Agility over down range firing. He is a big fan of the .38.

To paraphrase what he told me when we were discussing this. An attack is up close an personal, it is not the O K Corral. A gun with a longer barrel that will go down range is typically more clumsy than a snub nose.

[Semper Fi]

A buddy of mine swears by small revolvers when he teaches self defense. His thought is that it is more important to have something that is easy to handle when the purp is up close an personal. Agility over down range firing. He is a big fan of the .38.

To paraphrase what he told me when we were discussing this. An attack is up close an personal, it is not the O K Corral. A gun with a longer barrel that will go down range is typically more clumsy than a snub nose.

All valid points, and in the case of a cop who has a second carry, that is most likely what he has in his ankle holster. But for a single carry you gotta think about close and far. It's illegal to shoot at someone running away, but if he's coming at you with a gun drawn, I'd want assurance that I could hit him as far out as 25 yards...snub nose is lucky to hit stuff accurately at 25 feet. The XDS and Glock 26 discussed are shorter barrels then your typical 5" 1911. Both are just under 3.5 inches. That is smaller, but long enough to get decent accuracy. Snub is typically well under 3, as short as 2 inches. Not a good all around defensive gun as it's only really good for that close in stuff.


http://www.bob-owens.com/2012/05/no-...osed-revolver/