TexasCHLforum.com

solaritx wrote:HerbM

Suggestion: the Glock 21 is a good gun, but as you say, can be a little big for most hands. Can I suggest that you spend about $100 and have someone do a grip reduction on the weapon? Dale Hunnicutt, here in Houston area does great ones. There are others as well. I personally did mine myself, but have had others done by Dale.

These people can help customize the grip to fit the hand. I had one person I taught pick up my daughter's (18yrs old) glock 34 that we had done and put down her other gun, went to the gun show, picked up a glock 34, took it over to Dale's booth, and one week later, had not only a gun she could shoot well, but fit perfectly in her hand.

JMO

Good suggestion if she were using this gun much or having trouble shooting it -- she only uses this for home invasion scenarios. She has her own .380 for most purposes. This is just something that she can get to in an emergency.

I don't want my Glock grips reduced -- I only a bit above average in height but i have really big hand

Thanks for helping and caring -- I always appreciate such even if I am unable to (immediately) use it.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

HerbM wrote: For most/many people, a larger caliber is not as controllable as a smaller, but a smaller firearm is not as controllable as a larger one.

That is certainly true in my own experience with my wife. I bought her a 642 Airweight for a purse gun a while back. She finds it difficult to shoot - even though the .38 Special round isn't really known as a powerhouse - because the pistol is so light and small. She actually prefers to shoot my 1911s, because even though the round is substantially more powerful, the pistols manage the recoil more easily and she consequently finds them easier to shoot. The problem for her is the mechanical complexity (for a novice shooter) of the 1911 platform, so she is still tentative about shooting it. So I'm thinking of compromises for her that will give her the power of the .45 ACP, the capacity of a semi-auto, and and the mechanical simplicity of operation of a revolver. Maybe something like a Glock.

That's how my wife ended up with my Glock 21 (.45) as her home defense gun. I have discussed her small hands and limited hand strength on the Ladies forum and she pretty much has only found the 1911 .380 (her gun) works completely for her, but since we cannot afford to buy every gun we want some much do double duty and her general defense gun ended up being the Glock.

Big as it is, and as much smaller as is my G30 (.45 too) she can shoot these find -- just just cannot operate them reliably like her .380. Revolvers don't work; she cannot pull the triggers nor cock the hammers easily. She even has trouble with, but can release, thumb safeties on the 1911/92F types. So, it's the .45 with no lever safety and I get it ready for her when necessary.

Is this ideal? Of course not. But we all have to work it out best we can. Everything is a compromise; sometimes that worse than other times.

Stay alert. Stay safe.
Molon labe (I like that)

billfromtx wrote:In my opinion your better off with a high capacity (7 or 8 shot) 22 LR revolver, loaded with CCI mini-mags that a 25...a 25 is not BG stopper...!
my wife carries a hammerless 38 snubbie loaded with +p's...

+1 for 22 long rifle

I was thinking about returning to this thread to suggest this but you have said it better than I would have anyway.

pbwalker wrote:A couple of months back we got my wife a small handgun that she can keep in her purse. I had her try revolvers, SA's, and the sort. She didn't like the 9mm Sigma I had but liked the .38 Special she shot. We went to a local gun shop and had her handle a few different weapons. She fell in love with a small Taurus .25 ACP.

Now my question...what can she realistically expect from this weapon? Is it even capable of penetrating the sternum from 5 feet away? Should I have her look for something similar in size but a higher caliber? It's got my concerned as she's 7 months pregnant and will be out around town with the baby very soon.

I realize she'll never get .45 stopping power from a sub-compact, but I figured I would ask the gurus here...

Thanks!

-bw

You are getting a lot of good advice (in this thread). Ultimately this is a STATISTICS game for most people. Only a lucky shot, or someone with the skill to be absolutely certain of shot placement (e.g., highly experienced and successful professional assassin) can be assured that any round will stop a criminal attacker immediately before the attacker causes injury or death.

Statistically, better ballistics and better shot placement will get you a quicker stop of the attack. Any caliber can fail, including a through and through 12 gauge center-of-mass from 1 o'clock front entrance to 8 o'clock exit in the rear. Gabe Suarez post: http://www.whenshtf.com/showthread.php?t=2167 Definitely worth reading multiple times.

For most/many people, a larger caliber is not as controllable as a smaller, but a smaller firearm is not as controllable as a larger one. So the article above by Gabe Suarez what really matters...(and it doesn't necessarily agree with my own preference for a .45 -- FOR ME -- but that is because people and situations are different.)

This must be a weighed against things like the likelihood of having the firearm available (the old 12 gauge at home doesn't beat the .380 you have in your hand) and the numbers of rounds in the firearm (and maybe available for reload. Firing until the threat is STOPPED means that you must not run out of ammunition first. Again, one perfect shot is preferable to 3 misses, but 9 misses or peripheral hits followed by a success stopping shot is better than running out of ammunition at the 9th round.

Try to find her something bigger that she LIKES AS MUCH (or nearly as much). Encourage practice with whatever she has.

My wife and many people have a .380 they like, that is small and concealable, and uses the same WIDTH bullet as a 9mm (less power, less mass though).

One thing that worries me about "purse carry" of a small gun is:

Will she have it in her hand when the threat is closing on her or she is in the grasp of an attacker?


The threat you anticipate may never actually become a real danger...and it is almost always easier to 'react' if you start first.