How to choose a Hand gun ?

I am going to be buying a hand gun for my wife, and am looking for a little info. Here is a short list of what I am looking for.

1) Type of Gun? Auto, SemiAuto, or revolver? ( Not a 9mm want something with Stopping power)

2) Place that I can take her to do some test shooting, so that she knows which gun feels most comfortable. ( Possibility of renting different types of guns to shoot)

3) Pro vs Cons vs. Auto, Semi Auto, revolver.

Thanks for you help guys.

P.S. She has the license to carry, and has carried a 357. I am thinking that that gun is a little to much pony for the little woman, and I mean little.

If you just want to downsize a little from the 357, go with a 38 special snubby. Revolver all the way…..pull trigger > go bang! No safety, no jammed rounds, no shell casings left at the scene and plenty of punch!

There is a place up here I go to called Armored Fire. They rent all kind of guns and have an indoor range. http://www.armored-fire.com

Curious, how did your wife go about getting a permit to carry in Wisconsin? (You don’t have to answer that, just curious.)

-J.

The permit was in MN a long time ago. Long story made short.
She managed some apartments, and was having some trouble with some of the tennats, so she contacted the police, and after training, she was given a permit by the chief. Kind of scary if you ask me, because she is Very accurate.

What Jon said. I have a DAO snubby and it carrys easy. Very safe too.

You can scratch autos from your list. Unless you have a special permit ( other than a conceal/carry ) they are illegal to own. It is also illegal to modify any gun to full auto.

Are you afraid a 9mm does’nt have stopping power ? If so it does. If you want stopping power check out some of the hollow point bullet designs. Hollow points are an especialy good choice for home security. Point being they expand on contact ( stopping power ) and if you miss the walls of your house will take enough energy out of the bullet so you lessen the odds of putting hole in your neighbors house, car etc or worse hitting sombody else.

There are several pros and cons to semis and revolvers. ( Too many to go into detail ) not to mention the personal preferences each person has. The differences are’nt all that big a deal though. Either one will do the job.
If your looking for a carry weapon like in her purse, size is a consideration. You have MANY choices there in both semi auto and revolver in 17 to 40 cal.

If you go semi auto be sure to use top of the line amunition. Somtimes the cheapo stuff does’nt perform too well = gun jam.

If you go revolver then look at a double action. Double action means you just keep pulling the trigger. A single action revolver means you need to pull the hammer back for each shot.

Your best bet is to go to a gunshop and ask questions. Hopefuly whatever gun you decide to purchaes I hope you never find yourself in the position of having to use it other than at the gun range.

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The permit was in MN a long time ago. Long story made short.
She managed some apartments, and was having some trouble with some of the tennats, so she contacted the police, and after training, she was given a permit by the chief. Kind of scary if you ask me, because she is Very accurate.

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I’m sure you and your wife know this, but permits issued under the old law were only valid for 1 or 3 years depending on where/who issued it. So make sure it’s still valid. She can still apply for a new Minnesota permit even as a Wisconsin resident. But it will probably not get issued until the current lawsuit here is settled. Which I’m certain will get tossed out and permits will again be issued to law abiding citizens. Keep in mind that a Minnesota permit holder cannot carry in Wisconsin…. “Yet.” As soon a Doyle is tossed out of office at the next election, the right to carry in Wisconsin will be a major issue. Whoever is running for Governor better support it or good luck getting elected!

At the very least, know what you are up against if you are caught carrying without a permit in Wisconsin. First offense here is a gross misdemeanor.

-J.

The permit is expired, but I’m not to worried about it at this point. Long way from her needing that. Just starting the process. She doesn’t think so, but she will be getting training, and have many hours of practice before the permit will be necessary. right now it will mostly be for home use. Jon, for some reason I can’t get to the site that you posted. Anyone else know of any ranges that may provide rentals?

I thought I would help out a little here for you. First I just have to say I’m against the conceal carry thing, but if you are gonna do it you may as well do it right.

1. First there is no way she can own an automatic hand gun. She would need to have a class III license. So that narrows it down to semi-auto and revolver. I would have to say semi-auto, usually more rounds and easier loading. You say that you don’t want a 9mm because it lacks stoping power….that is a myth. It does just fine, especially using it for personal protection.

If your wife is looking for a gun I would recommend a GLOCK. If you look at the website it has the specs on the guns. I would personally recommend a Glock 27 (.40 cal w/ 9 round capacity) or a Glock 30 (.45 cal w/ 9 round capacity) These guns are small and fit well in a person’s hand, especially a smaller hand. The two guns I mentioned are great and have excellent stopping power. Infact I have a couple of coworkers that carry the Glock 27. Glock is also very reliable, meaning no jams or malfunctions. They also have no safety other than a trigger one and once you put your finger on the trigger you just pull.

The other gun I really like is the Springfield Armory’s XD9892. Check these out and see what you think.

2. As far as renting or seeing how they work I’d have to say follow Jon’s suggestion. Or is you go to a gun dealer they may have some ideas as where to go.

3. Pro’s and con’s
semi-auto pros: easy trigger pull, higher capacity, rate of fire, ease of loading and unloading, less felt recoil

cons: possibility of malfuncions and jams, more parts and pieces.

Revolver pros: no safety(on most), smooth trigger pulls, better accuracy

cons: limited capacity, more felt recoil, awkward to load and reload

Well good luck and hope my blabing helps.

I would strongly suggest a .38 calibur revolver for a woman. A semi-auto is often too large for a womans hand from grip to trigger not to mention that the action can be hard for them to pull back. It is often difficult for them to load rounds into the magazine(tight spring). I do agree on the hollow point round so that it doesn’t go thru the wall and kill the neighbors dog. I wouldn’t worry about only having six shots with the revolver unless you’re going to shoot it out with a street gang, then I would bring along a pocket full of speed loaders.

If your looking for home defense you’d be crazy to pick a handgun over the good old pump 12 ga….don’t even have to aim…just point the barrel at the scumbag and boom!!! Probably wouldn’t even get to that point after the perp heard the sound of the shell being slammed into the chamber..nothing else sounds more like a hole in the a$$ than that.

i would stay away from the glocks as my dad hand one blow up in his hand i maen it blew up.the the trigger flew out and he almost lost his finger.the gun was completely destroyed and we looked it up and other people have had the same thing happen on the same model but glock refused to do anything or warn people.

I have had a Glock for the past 10yrs. I also know several local law enforcement agencies that use Glocks. Most use 19, 22, or 23’s. I have never heard of any problems with Glock. The Glock is a very easy and safe gun to use. They Federal Government and I know that The Wisconsin State Patrol and Wardens even use them. If they weren’t safe they wouldn’t carry them. If they explode in your hand it is because of poor ammunition or poor maintenence.

Also if you pick our a gun be sure to get quality ammunition, for what ever type of gun she gets. I’d be sure to get hollow points. They allow for more trauma and stopping power.

Jason, While I agree with you about the 12ga, the problem is that getting to the safe, opening it, getting the gun and ammo, and loading it may take a bit more time that she would have, Much easier to hide the hand gun that a 12 ga.
Funny stuff though.

I think most of us know and assume when referring to “auto” we mean semi-auto whether it pertain to shotgun, rifle or pistol. Someone always takes that phrase literally.

I have an e-mail with a (fully auto matic) Glock it may be to big to post here but i’ll try. never mind its on the other computer I’ll try to get it off there and post it.

I hear ya…I don’t have kids so I don’t have to put anything where little hands can find them.

You could just hide the shells.

It is a Glock 18, semi-auto or full auto. you can buy 30 round mags for them or fire the standard mags. I’ve shot one they are cool.

Krisko-does your job allow you to have a machine pistol or do you have to get a special permit? I saw the Searg shoot one of those Glocks on Mail Call. Wicked. I thought it was odd you owned a fully-auto hand gun but did not support c&c until I saw your profile.

krisko,

Its a fully auto. It has been modified to do this. I am not sure of the model # to my knowledge it was taken from a gang member in california where the gangs are modifying them. Its quite a large e-mail so maybe if you pm me with your e-mail I can send it to you. If you are in law inforcment you may have seen it, I have lots of these videos. something like 3 sec. and 30 rounds I cant realy remember but its fast way faster than you could pull the trigger.

I know it is fully auto. Glock makes it. That is factory and not modified. I don’t own one of these. I was able to shoot one that a friend of mine owns at a range. He collects and sells all kind of weapons and has permits for such guns. Lots of cool toys.

Krisco
Thanks for the info. My info was second hand from a friend and local law enforcer and that was the story I got. I will pass that along to him. It sure is amazing though to see that many rounds come out of a hand gun.

You might check out the Springfield XD models.
They have some ammenaties that the Gocks doen’t have..
You can tell if you have a round chambered, the gun is cocked, and has a second safety on the grip. That one is hard to explain but check one out. I love mine. And other Gl;ock owner who have shot mine are impressed.

Another option is to take a 357 or 44 mag and load a snake load for the first shot in home defense. That would certainly get a person’s attention. These, especially in 44 mag, can create quite a mess with animal tissue. I suppose this would hold true with a human also. Even shot out of a 38/357 these could hurt and confuse an intruder and give you more time for your options. I’m sure there are times when a killing first shot is required. Bottom line is that you can’t always predict what is the best option for a particular incident.

Do they still make Glaser safety slugs?