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I have a friend who is looking to get her first gun for home protection. She lives in a not so great area of Houston and is going through a divorce, so will be alone with her young son at night.

She is VERY recoil averse. I took her to the range with my Glock 19, and an SP 101 (firing regular 38 special ammo). The recoil on both of these guns was way too much for her.

The good news is that she doesn't really need to worry about concealability as she would only be using the gun at home. Her hands are pretty small, so grip size can't be too large, but other than that she could get a decent size / weight of gun.

I'm thinking that she may need to go with something less than the recommended "minimum" of 9MM / 38 Special. My initial thought is a full size 380, or even a 22lr. The only 380 I own is a Kel Tec P3AT, so not a good test since the small size = alot of recoil.

This is a good friend of mine, so I will probably just buy her the gun as a gift. Budget is anything less than $600 or so.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I would check out the Bersa Thunder if you're going with the .380. The size and frame lend itself to much less recoil. It was what I used to introduce my wife to shooting and from there, when she got comfortable, she moved to the 9mm.

Full size PX4 with rotating barrel is said to reduce felt recoil. Do not use +p rd and recoil should be manageable. Best is to try a gun at the rang. How about a 5.56 rifle with cheap HP rds?

How about a Kel-Tech PMR-30?
http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/pistols/pmr-30/

30 rounds of .22 magnum in a largish pistol.

The Annoyed Man wrote:How about a Kel-Tech PMR-30?
http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/pistols/pmr-30/

30 rounds of .22 magnum in a largish pistol.

OK, thats one ugly gun (and that means alot coming from a Glock fanboy). She is a girl after all, so she probably wants something with a little style.

Definitely something to consider though.

Beiruty wrote:Full size PX4 with rotating barrel is said to reduce felt recoil. Do not use +p rd and recoil should be manageable. Best is to try a gun at the rang. How about a 5.56 rifle with cheap HP rds?

I had heard the same thing about the PX4.

She wants a handgun instead of a rifle. I have a Ruger 10/22 that would fit the bill for a recoil free rifle, but she is anti-rifle for whatever reason.

Have her try a large full size 9mm. I was amazed how much less perceived recoil there was in my 5" M&P Pro than my Glock 19. It made the Glock seem quite snappy.

Brian

BrianSW99 wrote:Have her try a large full size 9mm. I was amazed how much less perceived recoil there was in my 5" M&P Pro than my Glock 19. It made the Glock seem quite snappy.

Brian

Good idea. Maybe a Glock 17L?

I wonder if some added weight would help reduce the recoil. Maybe the heaviest tac light I could find, or something else heavy that could go on the accessory rail.

Katygunnut wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:How about a Kel-Tech PMR-30?
http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/pistols/pmr-30/

30 rounds of .22 magnum in a largish pistol.

OK, thats one ugly gun (and that means alot coming from a Glock fanboy). She is a girl after all, so she probably wants something with a little style.

Definitely something to consider though.

Yes it is ugly, but if you read the specs on it, it only weighs 14.2 oz fully loaded, and it has a capacity of 30 rounds. Here is a Gunblast review: http://www.gunblast.com/KelTec-PMR30.htm

How about a 20 gauge shotgun? This one with a Knoxx stock should reduce quite a bit of the recoil.


https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/pro ... s_id/42057" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If someone is considering PMR-30 How about FN 5.7?

Katygunnut wrote:

BrianSW99 wrote:Have her try a large full size 9mm. I was amazed how much less perceived recoil there was in my 5" M&P Pro than my Glock 19. It made the Glock seem quite snappy.

Brian

Good idea. Maybe a Glock 17L?

I wonder if some added weight would help reduce the recoil. Maybe the heaviest tac light I could find, or something else heavy that could go on the accessory rail.

Or a G34 and she'd be ready for IDPA matches :). Glock also has the compensated models which would reduce recoil.

Brian

Mossberg 500 in .410? Shotgun that is cheap and the recoil is minimal. The learning time on it is very fast and ammo is cheap so that she can practice with it w/o breaking the bank.

XtremeDuty.45 wrote:Mossberg 500 in .410? Shotgun that is cheap and the recoil is minimal. The learning time on it is very fast and ammo is cheap so that she can practice with it w/o breaking the bank.

She is worried about a shotgun hitting her son by mistake. I think she needs to see that a shotgun does not literally spray pellets everywhere.

This is definitely a good potential idea.

Her house situation is not ideal. one hallway runs toward the bedrooms, her son's room is at the end of that hallway, then it turns 90 degrees and her room is another 10-15 feet down the hallway. In order to get to her son's room, she has to go down the hallway and leave herself completely exposed to line of sight from the front room as she enters his door.

I'm concerned about her clearing a tight 90 degree turn in the hallway with a shotgun. A handgun would be much easier, IMHO.

Her basic plan is to get to her son's room, lock the door and call 911 with a gun ready to shoot anything that comes through the door. My concern is with her ability to get to his room safely. Once she is in there with the door locked, she is pretty well set as there is only the one door to cover.

The Annoyed Man wrote:How about a Kel-Tech PMR-30?
http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/pistols/pmr-30/

30 rounds of .22 magnum in a largish pistol.

Po mans fn 5-7 I laid hands on one this week at amss on jones