Agreed, ormaybe a 4inch barrelled .357 revolver. The .357s can shoot .38s, but not the other way around, the longer barrel will handle the kick better. While a semi-auto is better for certain applications, a revolver is 'point and shoot' and probably better for a less well trained person or a person that doesn't view guns as entertainment. Either way, plan on shooting a couple of hundred rounds before you begin to feel comfortable with either and then try to get to the range once in while to stay in shape.

 

Get a 20ga shotgun. Tons of readily available ammo to practice with (a must) and then keep it stoked with something such as Hornady TAP or low-base reduced recoil defense loads, perhaps in 4 buck, won't go through walls unless point blank, nice spread, and knock-down potential. Handguns are a poor choice IMO unless your going to spend time practicing. You'd be suprised how bad most people who "think" they can shoot do, and then ad no experience, fight or flight response ect and the odds start going down. Now, being armd puts you on parr with anything or anyone, the difference in being the one who opts out of an amulance ride is training. I wouldn't worry about all this clearing corners stuff, unless you have kids to go protect, you here a bump in the night, cover the door and wait to identify a threat, you know your house better than anyone whos gonna be breaking in (hopefully). A fine weapon for this application is a mossberg 500 with a 20in barrel, slip on a recoil pad and use appropriate round and she can shoot it all day long. This shotgun new in box retails almost anywhere for less than 200, maybe 239 tops that I hav seen. If you have a wal-mart, they can order it for you out of their firearms catalog, takes afew days to get to the store then go pick it up (assuming your locl wally world carries firearms, if not, visit your local range or gun shop. The big thing is keep it simple, and get in some trigger time. Buy a case of cheap dove loads and go to the range with a case of clay pigeons, set them up on the berm and have fun smokin em!

 

+1 on knowing your house. I took a forensics class with an Ex detective, and he said the number one mistake people make with an intruder in thier home is turning on the lights. you will subconsciously know how to maneuver around your own house without lights. puts you at an advantage.

 

your g/f wont be scared of it when you take a shotgun to the range and just blast away it is sooo much fun i should plenty of 100-140lbs girls to shoot mine and they all loved it.... you two should take sum classes though. local gun stores can tell you where to take a class at. it would be a little irresponsable to buy one as (no offense) as ignorant, as you are.... haha but than again read my post about my land lord and you can call me ignorant to the fact that people dont c guns how i do.

but back on topic.... its hard to miss with a shotgun... and being shoot at with one if you manage to miss, the intruder will die of a heart attack. pistols are great... but hard to shoot. ive been shooting since i was 7 and well.... im still awful with pistols...


you and your girl are only scared of the larger shotgun becasue it looks huge... but you are just fearing what you dont know. even if she is 100 lbs a 12 gauge is no big deal. first time i shot it, i was 10,80 lbs,the gun was taller than me and it sat me on my *** bcuz i was in a duck blind with **** everywere.... but if you have the correct postioning of your feet and learn to move with the motion of the gun, but most importantly put it tight against your shoulder,soon you can crank out 7 shells on target in about 4 secs lol.... ima pretty small guy... when i was in jr high ( 5'4-5'5 110 soaking wet) i could pump out 7 shells on target in no time...
ive got faith in you!

 

^^^ Fish and Troop make some verygood points. A handgun takes practice. A shotgun would be much more forgiving in a personal protection situation, and it is my favorite weapon in video games (hahaha...like that matters). Imagine adrenaline rushing through your body and trying to keep your aim true with a snubby handgun. Maybe there is an advantage to an auto with multiple shots. Maybe it would give you several opportunities to miss. Maybe, if you wake to an intruder in your house...youonly have time for one shot. A person within several yards will be faster than you and any type of gun. Many things to consider. Ihave a 1911 and a 642 Smithy. I get to the range from time to time, and myDad has had me shooting since I was about six. I feel comfortable with them...not subject to excellence, but comfortable. If you want to put in the time, a handgun is a fine choice. Just be prepared to want more.

P.S. Shooting a handgun sideways does not aid in accuracy. Also, pushing the gun forward while firing,does notmake the bullet travel at any greaterfeet per second than it normally would. Gangsters and movies have it all wrong...unless:



(repost)

 

 

Also, contrary to popular belief, a shotgun indeed does have to be aimed, perhaps not with such precission, but aimed well enough. Most spread patterns at typical house, room across room distance is maybe 8in with a cylinder choke (choke is the constriction of the bore towards the muzzle end responsible for constricting shot pellets into a "pattern" for different uses, cylinder opening up the fasatest and used for defense, then on to improved cylinder, for short game hunting like flushing chukar or quail, then modified, a good all round choke, and improved modified, a little tighter for all around use, hunting ect...and then full, for duck and goose, and extra full for turkey and geese, long range, tight pattern giving you the greatest concentration of pellet density over a longer range, just so you know and have an idea when and if you go looking you;ll know what your looking at. A barrels choke i usually stamped in the barrel along with chamber info, like 12 or 20ga and so on. If the choke isn't listed on there, it might have screw in choke tubes, in which a sleeve is screwed into the end on the barrel, just like fixed choke only you can swap them out to fit the application at hand...just an FYI) anyway, back o point. Yes,,,,you do have to aim a shotgun, I see tons and tons of people miss super easy shots cause they think they just point it in the general direction and the shot is supposed to open up into some death cloud and take out everything in front of them or something. High tight hold, cheek and head down over the comb of the but, eyes slighly above and inline with the bore...........keep your eye on the target, NEVER the sights, thats why shotguns have a bead, it is merely a reference there for looks.

 

First ... go to a range and pay to rent a gun and shoot it. If it is a good range the dudes are usually helpful in showing you all the basics. Find either a pistol or small shotgun that you are comfortable with. Make sure you leave room in your budget for practice time at the range. And I'd make it mandatory for yo ladyfriend to practice also.

I personally like the glock 27 ... .40 cal in hydroshock isn't gonna go far after hitting something solid (apartment walls ain't exactly solid). But practice will keep you from shooting said wall and only perp.

 

Best advice.

 

I agree and the 20ga shotgun will not only be cheaper, and way easier to use. but you gota think. that's the only thing that wont go through an apartment wall because of the spread, *maybe a bit but it wont kill anyone on the other side like a 9mm or bigger would*

Not to mention you can just **** it and scare people into doing whatever you want. I keep mine completely unloaded in my closet and i'v walked down two or three times when my garage opened in the middle of the night and I just **** it as I walk around the corner *unloaded*
luckaly it's been my friend who i forgot spent the night and had to leave early both times. but he said he was pretty scared ;P