Hunting Forum

Probably a little more than $400 but a double action revolver in .327 Fed Mag. Smaller, less recoil and plenty of punch.

Not an expert, however I do know that if whatever you get is not enjoyable enough to shoot often, it will not be used for practice and with no practice, no OMG!SHTF! skills. Trained my sister in law and niece the way I wish I was taught. Start with what feels good in your hand and has a good trigger for you, then caliber. Start small and work your way up. Now both of them can outshoot almost all of the guys at the range, even most of the city cops.
And now IMHO something people tend to forget about selfdefense weapons.
Stopping the adversary has 2 parts, mental and physical. To mentally stop the enemy, many times a small nonlethal hit is all that is required. Many attackers stop after having part of their hand or ear, etc shot off. To physically stop the enemy, you punch holes through him until either the central nervous system stops working or blood pressure drops below operating levels. Some will say you can physically stop your opponent by shooting his kneecaps. Try that precise aim in an OMGSHTF! situation. Even if you manage to shatter both his knees, he can still shoot back so that is NOT a physical stop! Now others will say shoot his knees and elbows, yeah like the guy will stand still so you can hit those rather small targets!
Weapon you are skilled with and can handle the recoil? Head shot if possible, center mass otherwise. Weapon you are less than skilled or has too much recoil? Body shot!
To sum it all up in 3 words ... practice practice practice!

All I'm going to say is I started an anti out with the 40. I loaded the auto with ONE shell to begin with, to stop the double fire. She had NEVER shot a pistol before. Within 15 mins she was shooting full loaded clips and tearing up my popup targets at 15yds. I use solids for target practice and hp for self defending. I have found after yrs of training ladies to shoot, they are MORE instinctive than most men. For defense one needs enough gun to stop the threat but, you have to hit the target. FIT is first, then work on the cal. Get a double action auto if you decide on an auto , pull and shoot. Same goes with a revolver. Remember center of mass, no trick shooting.

If your worried about hitting your target in an emergency situation, then you want to use a Judge with 00 buckshot.

Posted By niemz on 29 May 2012 11:20 AM
If your worried about hitting your target in an emergency situation, then you want to use a Judge with 00 buckshot.

At 5 yards that gives you 2 inches of spread instead of 1/2 inch.  Check out the video by hickok45 featuring the judge.

-MD

While a Judge may be a good close range defense weapon, it isn't exactly concealed carry friendly?

Best home defense is a 12 gauge being racked!  If the perp still wants to enter, well, they know what's coming next now don't they?
357 mag would good enough.  That way the gals could could with low recoil .38 rounds while at play, and mag hollows for business.