Shot placement is more important than caliber but...

[jlangton]

If she insists on carrying in her purse, then a Desert Eagle .50 --or a brick-- would be more effective than a .25 ACP.

Reason being, her purse swung by the straps is a more effective weapon, especially when it contains something big, heavy, and hard.

So I guess you're willing to stand at arms length(purse swinging length),and allow me to empty a .25 ACP into you to prove this claim?
While I agree that it's not the best caliber to carry,it is better than none at all,and IS more effective than you make it sound.
JL

[DoubleJ]

there's a world of difference between saying something will be totally ineffectual at any distance and could never cause any harm, rather than having a proven track record.

I sure would NOT stand there and let anyone shoot me with anything, even a pellet gun, yet I still wouldn't rely solely on that pellet gun as a means of self defense...

[billfromtx]

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...

[HerbM]

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.

[The Annoyed Man]

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.

[HerbM]

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)

[solaritx]

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

[The Annoyed Man]

Herb, have you ever had a chance to compare the grip size and ergonomics of your Glocks against an H&K USP Compact?

The reason I'm asking is that my wife has fired my USPc in .40 S&W a number of times, and she is less tentative with it than with the 1911. The problem for her is the grip size and the reach to the trigger, which is a bit much for her hands. If the Glock is ergonomically smaller than the H&K, then that might work for my wife. If they are about the same, then the Glock won't work for her either, and I'll have to consider some other alternatives. But to be fair, she finds the .40 to be a bit snappy for her too, which may be one reason why she prefers the .45 to the .40. OTH, perhaps what Suarez suggests might be a better idea for her too - a smaller caliber, higher capacity, in a smaller frame.

[DoubleJ]

or you could get a Springfield XDm. interchangeable grips, AND you don't have to pull the trigger for takedown.

[The Annoyed Man]

or you could get a Springfield XDm. interchangeable grips, AND you don't have to pull the trigger for takedown.

What seems to be the going rate for an XDm?

[longhorn_92]

or you could get a Springfield XDm. interchangeable grips, AND you don't have to pull the trigger for takedown.

What seems to be the going rate for an XDm?

I keep seeing them advertised - but have yet to see one in person....Anyone - What are your thoughts of the XDm?......

[The Annoyed Man]

On gunbroker.com, the "Buy Now" prices seem to be in the high $600s, but I've recently learned not to have much faith in the prices I see there. It would be handy if Springfield would just put an MSRP price list on their site for all of their products. If they've got one up there, I haven't been able to find it yet (and if I had designed that site, most of the Flash imagery would be gone. FAR too much of a good thing).

[DoubleJ]

check out Sporting Arms, see if they have any

[Excaliber]

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...!

That just might work if the assailants you're planning on dealing with aren't as tough as this 7 year old girl who will be walking around with one of those ferocious man stoppers in her head for the next week until the docs get around to removing it:

http://www.kcra.com/news/16775464/detail.html

She might not have noticed the shot at all when she was hit except for the ear ache it gave her.

Personally, I don't bet my life on that kind of ballistic performance.

If you choose to do so and end up using a .22 to try to resolve a real world encounter with a deadly assailant, please be sure to let us know how it works out .