Your point was taken to start with.
I was speaking to those women I have trained, with what they chose which was semi auto.
I dont charge , so money is no hinderence and I dont just " familiarize " the lady with her pistol. I take her from basic to knowing how and being able to proficently load , rack, unload, and shoot , at speed, with movement .
In fact i just finished the third session with the pastors daughter and son i mentioned before in another thread. Can i teach her everything in one 3 hr session , no. But when we ARE finished she will be proficent with all aspects of her semi auto and very much capable of defending herself .
I trained my late wife the same way and she regularly out performed LE friends of ours when shooting togerher.
Im not sure id hold LE out as better trained than " most citizens" . Better trained than some sure. But id question most. Not with their hit to miss ratio and frequency of shooting them selfs or others negligently.
Revolvers are simpler to operate possibly but harder to be accurate with unless you only go back 3 to 7 yards . And if one locks up, it does happen more frequently that many realize 99 times out of 100 it takes a teardown to get it functional again
Plus if grandma is faced with say 4 determined home invaders she is probably better off with a loaded chambered 17 shot 9mm pistol than a 5 rd 38 snub. Even if she cant rack it herself.
Again I love revolvers . But if a female chooses a semi auto thats her choice .
Again JMO based on my experiences. Just like your point is your opinion based on yours.
Wolf, I usually remind myself,m interacting with Jim, that he holds onto the old ways, more often than not. (No Jim, I ain't bashing of badmouthing you, so relax.) something that shows up all the time when asked what weapon for a new shooter, is best, for SD.
Almost always a S&W 36 or 636, which was the standard answer for most in LE fir decades. Which I'm not saying is wrong, but it depends oi the shooter, the law, and how the law affects options. That and what they are comfortable with.
Sane answer comes out, if I bring up my 24 YO daughter, or her 19 YO cousin, daughter in Ohio, cousin in NY, still going to be a J frame (Which yes, she has one of my old ones.) However, if both were the same age, that J frame is off the table. Have to be 21 in both states, and have a license in one of them.
Daughter has a few of my grandfather's handguns, semi and revolver, her grandfather's, mostly revolver, and a few of mine and her mom's (Currently eyeing up, and dropping hints about my Delta Elite in fact. One I'm still adjusting to owning,m given it's history, and I know there's blood on it.) She likes revovlers more, but is confortable with either one, because that's what dad and I trained her with. Both.
Cousin, is using a Henry in .357 Mag, because, for the next two years, minimum, she can not get a handgun legally, where she lives. Yes, she has come down here, and we did talk her mom into letting her learn how to shoot, when she was 13, but she in not comfortable with a handgun yet. Not a lack of skill, just working up to the confodence SHE needs in herself, before considering one.
In the ine case, yes, I'd have no issues handing her the DE357, the SRH in .454, and the .500 the wife traded the Honda Rebel I fixed up, for, with light loads (Still working my own way up with that one.)
Her cousin, I kind of agree with Jim, but here's the rub.
She doesn't like how it feels in her hands. Light weight, and stiff recoil. Which is why many women do go for further training, as they listened to their instructor, and bought the wrong gun, because he told her to get an Airweight Smith, and use +Ps in it. (Again Jim, not a bash. Fact in my experience.)
But, if I hand her the SP101 in .327, the GP100, even with magnums, she's perfectly fine with them. Even the P95 and the 92FS, work well for her. Goldilocks fr her in the G19, when it comes to autos.
And yes, she intends to stay in NY for at least another 8 years. Working on a law degree, so she will be taking the class, instructor is a close friend of ours, and applying for the permit, then deciding where to go, after she has her degree, and takes the Bar. Makes sense to keep it all in one state, and a law degree from UB is worth sticking around for. Only reason she's staying in the state and area.
Given the choice, which she'll have in another couple years, she's more likely to go auto.
That's why I don't give a one size fits all answer, like many instructors do. The only reason my wife even has 4 revolvers, is mainly hunting related, with the SP101, being the odd one out (Can't use an auto for big game here.) In NY, hell, she used to go after deer with the 10 inch barrel on the DE Mark VII, more often than not, but now has a DW 15 VH, running an 8 inch barrel, and an LER optic on it, for that purpose.
Again, nothing against Jim, I respect him, but the weapons suggestions do kinf of need to advance some, even though I get why he would brubg up the J frame as a good option. Enough power to get the job done, small and light enough to conceal, and overall, a bit less likely to bite the owner, if they don't look to continue training, and make a mistake, as that trigger pull takes commitment for it to go bang. Compared to a Glock, it's a safer option, with fewer external, moving parts, and simpler work past for the FTF cases, and less complex to clear.
In many cases, it is the right answer, when it comes to the mechanics, but Winds also points out something worth taking into account.
How much we she have been out shooting, to get comfortable, and safer, as well as better, had she passed in the GP100, and gone or a 6 or 66? The GP100 was easier to shoot, because it's a heavy chunk of steel.
To anyone that wants to argue that, I ask this.
Whrn was the last time you ran a full box of 50, through an LC9, in a single trip? Or a S&W airweight?
Most run a mag, maybe 2, to make sure it works, but decide to spare their wrists, and shoot something full sized, me included, for a reason. I run a box through the PF9 or LC9, my wrists are hurting for a few days after doing so, and I enjoy stiff recoil. Snappy recoil, not so much.And I know it's not just me, as I remember Winds bringing up pain from shooting the small .380 she has.
Pick what you will carry, and pick another one up, that works the same, that you will train with. That's why we own 3 Glocks, a 19, 26, and 43. 2 get carried due to size and weight, the other gets used for practice, for the same reason.
