Hunting Forum

Since this is for personal protection, and I will guess in the home... things you need to consider. Ease of shooting, accuracy, knockdown ability, and capacity. Revolvers are more simple I agree so they score high in ease of shooting. But after six shots, most are out of the fight. Revolvers are simple.. point and pull the trigger. Again true. But if you practice with a pistol as you should if you intend to be proficient with it.. you'd be surprised how you automatically handle them. Even under stress. Also the double action pistols are easy to use, and handle well.

Accuracy is also an issue. Your no threat if you can not hit what you aim at. Now maybe its me, but I can point and shoot a pistol much more accurately then a revolver. Especially with a revolver in double action mode. I know people that when they had to shoot revolvers double action.. their accuracy really failed. While with a pistol, after the first shot.. its single action. And it is deadly then. Accuracy I believe in a stress situation the pistol has the advantage only because of speed of second shot, and following shots. As I told a female friend of mine that I helped teach a simple .22 caliber pistol.. should the time come to use that on someone.. keep shooting until they go down, go away, or your out of bullets. Never let them take a loaded weapon away from you. Just keep shooting at them.

Knockdown power.. while a .40 or .357 are hard to argue with. A 9mm is no slouch at putting people down. Also because of their light recoil people, especially women, tend to shoot them very accurate. If the intruder is under the influence or built like a mountain..spme people can soak up an unusual amount of fire power. But normally one or two rounds in them make them either fall down, or go away. Which is what you want.

The last important point is capacity. Here the pistol has it all over the revolver. They make a nice smaller size pistols for women. Also it is much easier to load a pistol quickly. This is the in the case of the person having the weapon UNLOADED in the home and suddenly needing it. And this happens all the time. Because of children in the home the pistol is stored without a magazine. Or the revolver with the chambers loaded. A pistol, you slam in the magazine and rack the chamber. Its ready. A revolver, even with a speed loader.. is not as fast as a pistol.

So I would recommend a high capacity (more then 9 shots) 9mm pistol. Do not become cheap. Do your homework and get a high end pistol. A Glock, or Smith and Wesson. Ruger is another good one. You want a pistol that will load, point, and fire over and over and over. Also a 9 mm is cheaper to practice with when you purchase ammo.

Interesting..for one i thought any handgun was known as a "pistol" be it a revolver or a semi-automatic (i could be wrong).Hmmm the ladies..yeah okay maybe a .380 or maybe a .40...but dont tell that to my mother..she shoots a.45 1911..she dont miss much..The 9mm is okay though i remember after the army switched from the .45 to the 9mm..in desert storm.. i remember a couple of infantry guys who told me that after emptying their magazines into a would be attacker the guy was still moving forward...accuracy,was great...no knock down power....im guessing that you have the manufactures magazine.I always go with after market magazines that are extended.In my house there is no second guessing on defense...cause as it has been said before .."the best defense is a good offense"Im not one to shoot warning shots above your head, my warning shot is to the chest and then i walk it up to the head..after all dead people cant sue you later.By the way..if your "proficient" it shouldnt take more than 2 shots anyway... a human target is huge..aim center mass and work your way up

Technically, a "pistol" is ahandgun with a fixed chamber such as the single-shooters and semi-automatic pistols while revolvers are classified as revolvers or handgun-revolver. That item was drilled into our heads at gunsmithing school and heaven-help the shlub who mis-identified one to the instructor with a burr under his sadle that day.

Especially if you handload, the .40 is more versitle.

 

I just bought a NIB Springfield Armory model XDS in .45acp and the only saftety's it has are the one on the grip backstrap and the trigger with both having to be engaged for the handgun to fire which I really like as I always carry with one on the chamber. With these type safety's it makes for the perfect carry as all I have to do is pull and start firing. With it being a sub compact the clips only hold 5 rounds ( with one on the chamber makes 6 ) which is more than enough for me to stop any threat. It comes with 2 of these 5 round mags. I along with many of my Army friends both retired and active duty do not like the 9MM at all and some even provide their own .45acp's and ammo. When confronted by the insurgents of whom a great number are doped up they can and have soaked up good htis from the 9MM and kept coming whereas the .45acp with a couple of good hits will take them out of the fight.

Between the 9mm and the 40, I would lean towards the 40 for a heavier slug option. As far as realiability? the reason most law enforcment use the autos are the close quarter engagments where a subject can get their hands on your weapon, to lock up a revolver it just needs to be held tightly on the cylinder. An auto slide can conversely held as well, but not without one shot going off first. I have even had a small twig get under the cylinder on my sp101 and lock it. Good housekeeping can prevent that stuff though. Another reason for the 40 over 9 is the tendency to not over penetrate, walls, innocent neighbors ect. My 2cts.

papa58 the reason I use and suggest #4 shot is no over penetration fears ! My family knows that IF someone has broken into our house ( unlikely with my dogs ) that they are to get out of bed and on the floor so when I start shooting there is no chance of them being hit. At in home distances the #4 shot will do the job and as noted over penetration is not a concern as I know that I can hit a man at these distances with the whole load of shot. I always advise to get and use the largest caliber that the person can shoot accuartely. I am a frim believer in the bigger is better thought when it comes to caliber and bullets.

Take her to the range rent one gun in 40 and one in 9 and let her decide.

"Learn to shoot" equals a 22. She can consider a larger caliber after 5000 rounds. By which time she will probably outshoot everyone you know.
mwalton7 - The generic term in the US is "handgun," encompassing revolvers, autos and single shots(which are lumped together, a Shiloh mentioned). In Britain, the generic term is "pistol," a corruption of Pistoia, an Italian city known for early firearms production.