As I have said, I am aware that we must spend some time in training and both will do it. That includes legal instrutions as well. With power comes responsibility.

I know you're not preaching because you've read enough of my stuff to know this isn't a thoughtless whim. You're giving good sound advice. Anybody who doesn't get that is an arrogant fool. They should never hold a lethal weapon.

The CCW training is already chosen. My sheriff deputy friends are coaching our understanding of the legal and protocols. My good friend with the range will help with the technicals. The reason I put it out here is that He would have a singular view of the weapon. My nephew insisted on a 9 MM. You guys represent a wealth of knowledge and I consider you my friends. Your advice is sound and important.

All that aside, I wanted my search public because there are many who will consider this step. Just wanted to give them a taste, an example, a comfort so they don't feel awkward. That and some good info was posted.

And perhaps a useful conversation started.


thanks for all.


franc

 

Boy am I glad I live in Canada.

 

Some random thoughts for you.

Most, if not all, modern single or double action revolvers can be safely carried with the hammer on a loaded chamber. An internal safety feature blocks the firing pin from the hammer so even if the gun is dropped on the hammer the round will not be fired. The only way to deactivate the internal safety is to pull the trigger.

Your wife will not fire off four or five extra rounds due to a nervous finger if she has a double action revolver - the trigger pull is too long and hard to have this happen. And if you go the revolver route, make it a double action one.

There is a ton of debates over the merits of a revolver vs a semi-auto pistol. Choose what you and your wife are comfortable with, competent with, and confident with.

A 357 magnum has excellent stopping power but when fired from a small snub nosed revolver can have a very unpleasant recoil. Good grips and practice helps to control this. The mistake many make though is to shoot low powered 38 Special rounds instead of 357 ones. You will need to occasional fire the same type of rounds at practice that you load with for self defense. A good alternative to a 357 is a 38 Special that can shoot +P loads. A +P load is between the regular Special and 357 so it gives an edge to stopping power without all the recoil of the 357. One more note on the 357 - the muzzle blast can be impressive at night.

Cartridges like the 380 and 38 Special are considered at the low end of the scale for stopping power. You can even throw the 9 mm in there too. The selection of a self defense bullet is more critical with these rounds to ensure adequate stopping power. For example, the 9 mm is marginal to unsafe with a 115 gr round nose bullet but generates much more stopping power when loaded with a 124 grain hollow point bullet. Generally the larger rounds such as the 45, 40 S&W and 357 do better at ending a threat. However, people have been killed from one lowly 22 shot and have survived multiple hits with 45 rounds. The trick is to choose the largest caliber that you can handle. Also, the 357 Magnum is not the same as the 357 Sig. The Magnum is for revolvers, the Sig was developed for semi-autos to give them a round with the same power as the Magnum.

1911 type pistols have the best trigger pull which definitely helps with accuracy. They are a solid, robust design with over a century of use behind them. But they also tend to be a little larger, hold fewer rounds, and can get picky over magazines, feeding, ect. They do come in a variety of sizes so I'm sure you will find one to comfortably carry and a good gunsmith can do wonders to improve their reliability such as polishing the feedramp to eliminate feeding failures (FTF).

With any semi-auto, if you have multiple magazines, it is imperative to run a couple of hundred rounds through each magazine to ensure they will consistently work with the pistol. If you have problems with a magazine then get rid of it. A $30 - $40 magazine is nothing compared to the cost of you or your wife's life.

Many ranges will rent guns so this gives you the opportunity to try out as many as you like. You can also see about borrowing different types from family and friends.

 

I carry concealed. my choice is the tiny .380 kel tec PTA3. reliable, accurate and slips in your pocket with little bulk or weight...

 

Brent, thanks. Nice piece.

Not to pick an argument but we just had a local incident wherea woman and her boyfriend were fighting. He left the house for a smoke and, to be "cute", she took a shot with a 9MM in his direction. "Just to scare him a little."
Instead of one shot, she emptied the clip.

Thank goodness for him she was either a lousy shot or a very good one.

His house is now sans guns. I would have kicked her out.

I think it is probably a good idea for one to get familiar with the weapon. That said, until you are facing that critical moment, it is dangerous to assume, you will be cool. My assumption is, the more purposeful your action must be the more likely it is that you will think it through.


roadster with a stick

BTW, I plink with .38 'cause they are cheaper, but always finish with 25 to 50 rounds of the real deal.The home defense 357 is loaded wih "starfire's"

 

I have one of these, great gun. And very reasonably priced as well. It is very thin and light as well. Appears to be a well made gun. Especially for the price. You might look into the Smith & Wesson Airlite series revolvers as well. They are super light and have a hidden hammer. They are bigger and are kinda pricey. But I like them. The advantage to the Kel-Tek is that it needs no safety. It is a single action with a long pull. It aint gonna accidenally fire, ever! One that isnt very light would be the Taurus judge. They take a 410 shotgun shell and 45 long Colts. This is a 5 shot revolver. Perfect for short range. Suggested loading would be staggered 410 for the first couple of shots, then 45's for the remaing three chambers. This gun is kinda hard to come by though right now. Orders are backlogged pretty bad. What you want is something with a large, slow shell. Something that will knock them down so you can escape. This is why .38's were so popular. If you end up in court it shows you just wanted to protect yourself, not kill anyone. Small shell, ie, 22's and such pierce through and leave the bad guy standing, no good.

 

A timely accident!

http://wcco.com/local/gun.show.accident.2.940514.html


Never forget, These things are dangerous, This happened to an off duty policeman

 

My biggest fear, everytime I handle a weapon, is that I will get too comfortable with it.

This is an example of why.


roadster with a stick

 

Everything in life is balance. To truly feel safe and have the biggest gun, try having someone follow you with a tank, carry a grenade. Rocket launchers are getting cheaper. But in the real world it will be rare to meet an an attacker. I own a Kimber Ultra CDP II. It is a short version of the 1911 . It fires .45 ACP's. I would never try to carry this thing concealed. It is heavy large and bulky. Even the shells are heavy. Given that you need to find a balance of force, concealability and convienience. I find that the Kel Tec 380 with hollow point shells fit the bill just fine. I most likely will never need to use it. So I want something that I can have in my pocket and forget about. Yet still have reasonable force by which to protect myself. You will quickly tire of carrying anything much bigger.

 

I have read this thread with mounting horror - I thank heavens I am in the UK and away from this gun culture.

If you guys really feel frightened or threatened enough to feel the need to carry hand guns, I genuinely sympathise with your predicament.

Come over to visit us Brits, and we'll make you a nice cup of tea!

 

Yes I see by the news you no longer have robbery and murder over there and everyone minds there own business and helps each other.

 

Up here in Canada, land of igloos, polar bears and maple trees, we have a low murder rate compared to your country. Toronto which has a population of about 2,500,000 people has 90 to 100 murders a year. A lot of the guns used in these murders are smuggled in from the US. The vast majority of these victims live in dangerous circumstances, gangs and crime.
You are welcome to come and visit us as well, we have a lot of US citizens coming here and many decide it is worth staying permanently.
One request though, please leave your sidearms at home. We like it the way it is.

 

Guys, I have resisted responding to this anti gun crap since it started on this thread.

We have a political thread in which to discuss the topic.

If you don't like guns or gun rights, I respectfully suggest you throw your arguments away, over there.




roadster with a stick

 

I have the conceal to carry permit. I perfer concealing a quality compact revolver loaded with Federal HydroShocks bullets. Reason being>You take the spent casings with you. Plus the HydroShocks expand and distort so much,who's to say what caliber was even used. And less ricochet. I may not want to hang around. For home defense> 40 caliber Beretta automatic packed with HydroShocks. For bigger jobs>Heckler&Koch Benelli M1 Super 90 3" magnum 8 shot. Thats the ATF's entry gun. Just a tip for conceil to cary range qualifying. Take your longest barrel pistol of any caliber for better accuracy. Our instructor made the qualifying more difficult than the states requirement. He stressed that if you can't hit your target,your a hazard to the public. I was required to hit 38 out of 40 vital shots shooting with left hand then right hand at different distances. Squirrel Crusher

 

My two favorites are the KAHR PM9 (9mm) semi auto, and the Ruger LCP in .380 auto. Both are easily concealed. The former is larger but works well with a inside pants hip holster, the latter is barely noticeable in pants pocket.
As others have said, practice and be confident that everything works reliably.

 

What are hydroshocks? I've never heard of them.

 

Hydrashock is simply the trade name of ammunition in various calibers produced by Federal. They are higher-power hollow-point bullet 'defensive' loads designed to expand nicely upon impact with meat.

 

I have had my CHL for years and carried many firearms and the best I have found for conceal is the 380, easy to conceal and produce if needed. You can find many rounds that have great stopping power but keep one thing in mind, if you are involved in a situation where deadly force could be needed you will probably only have seconds to react and be within a few feet of the aggressor so a small framed, smooth sided pistol gives you a great advantage and a 380 at that range is very accurate and has little recoil so recovery between shots is not an issue and it has good knock down power with the right load. JMHO

 

Thanks, these look like the hornady's I use in my .380, minus the post.

 

Exactly what I use, great round.