Best handgun for woman for self defense?

Question to those who are familiar in the world of handguns..What is the best type for a woman for self defense - I am going to take a course but in the meantime I was curious. Oh and if you%26#039;re against guns, that%26#039;s alright with me, just don%26#039;t bother to answer. I live in AK and want to be able to protect myself and my kids if needed so I am not a psycho either :)


Thanks!|||I would suggest the Kahr PM40. Its compact, concealable and will fit smaller hands. In .40 caliber it has enough stopping power.





http://www.kahr.com/PA-1_40sw_pm.html|||You will need to find what you are comfortable with! Each woman is comfortable with different handguns. For instance, your hands may fit perfectly around one model of gun, while another model of gun you can%26#039;t even get your whole hand around. You need to go to your local gun shop and handle many different models of guns before you make your choice. I personally have found that Sig Sauers and Beretta Cougars fit my hand perfectly. I have a small hand, but long slender fingers.


Another thing you will need to find out on your own is what caliber you are comfortable shooting. I am perfectly comfortable with a .45 ACP, however that is usually more kick than you will want. I would suggest a 9 mil or a .40 cal. The .40 will have more stopping power, but again, it will have more kick, so you need to find what you are not only comfortable with, but accurate with.


Try out many different guns before you make your final decision, as you want it for self defense, it could mean the difference of life or death for you one day. This is a huge decision, go about it very carefully!


Good luck.|||Most handgun %26quot;experts%26quot; will say that a small revolver is best for women. Smith and Wesson has a line of revolvers specifically for women (they even have pink handles). My wife prefers a small double action handgun. So it is up to you. Go to a gun shop, and they should let you hold and even dry fire a few models to see what you are most comfortable with.|||One that you can shoot well.





Revolvers will not jam, but have lower capacity for rounds.





Semi-automatics carry more rounds, but can jam.





Go to a range, rent or borrow pistols and try them out. Find what fits your hands, budget and you can hit the target with.





Personally, I would not bet my life on anything smaller than 38 special or 9MM. Currently my duty weapon is a H%26amp;K P2000 in .40 S%26amp;W.|||My suggestion to you is try something concealable, not too small though. 380 cal. is a good cal. but it lacks a lot of knockdown power. Look into the subcompacts in say a 9mm. or if you like a little more look at the 40 cal. although this may be a much. It%26#039;s really up to you but PLEASE stay away 22%26#039;s and 32%26#039;s. They won%26#039;t stop some robber high on crack that%26#039;s for sure.|||I prefer a 38 snub nose revolver.|||50 cal. Desert Eagle|||This is answered well by posters above me, but I do want to add a little bit more and expound on some thoughts for you.





First, as noted, the weapon has to %26quot;fit%26quot; you. This is entirely a matter of your physical size, your hands and body weight. ( The person above who recommends a .50 cal Desert Eagle is either a giant or someone who thinks it looks cool, but that is a very large and heavy weapon).





Using Smith %26amp; Wesson as an example only, they make revolvers in J, K, L and N frames. The smallest frame is the J and the largest is the N. This is in reference to the size of the grips and the size of the frame,cylinder ( NOT the ammo since you can get a .38 in all 4 sized frames.)





If you have friends who own firearms, talk to them. Go to the range with a variety of weapons to see what fits your hand, what feels comfortable to you plus what you feel is controllable in firing. The average woman with little or no experience in firearms would not feel %26quot;comfortable%26quot; with a .45 ACP or .44 magnum round. If you don%26#039;t have friends who own weapons, visit a couple of gun stores, holding empty weapons in your hand.





Second is whether you feel comfortable with a revolver or an automatic. Revolvers can be left loaded for extended periods of time and will still function fine. If you leave an auto loaded, the magazine spring will develop a %26quot;memory%26quot;, or compression, so the first round or two will fire and then the spring will not push the remaining rounds up. Bad when your life may be on the line. Also, if you are not familiar with autos, you can get slide bite. This happens when you hold the weapon incorrectly and usually a part of your thumb is sitting a little too high. The slide of the auto comes back in recoil and it will literally slice off the top of the body part that is in the way. Revolvers hold fewer rounds than the newer double stack autos, but I am a firm believer of one correctly placed shot than 15 randomly sprayed. Regardless of what you feel is best for you, it means going to the range and practicing until it is a second nature to draw, aim and fire safely.





Last feature is kinetic shock. Picture a pond of water. Drop a rock in the pond and watch the ripples spreading outward from the point of impact. That is kinetic shock. Matter is displaced and will move. The human body does the exact same thing, A fat, slow traveling bullet ( like the 230 grain .45 ACP at 875 FPS) will cause a lot of kinetic shock where the 147 grain FMJ 9MM at 1150 FPS will cause almost NO kinetic shock. It is traveling far too fast and the shape is not conducive for traumatic shock.





Keeping this in mind, I personally would not consider anything smaller than a .38. The .380 ( or 9MM Kurz) is small and easy to carry/shoot, but with an 88 grain bullet weight, it just doesn%26#039;t have the knockdown power to stop someone unless you hit a vital organ.





The most important feature for you is that you can handle the weapon, both in your hand and in firing it. Select what you like the best. Whether it is an auto or a revolver. Enough bullet types are made ( FMJ, Hollow points, Hydrashocks, Glaser Safety Slugs, Jacketed hollow points, hollow based wad cutters, semi wad cutters, etc) that regardless of the weapon you select, you can get the proper ammunition for self defense.





Best of luck and I hope this is useful to you


Source(s):


Firearms Instructor, Arsenal Officer, Armorer, Use of Force Instructor, Chemical Munitions Instructor.