What is the best type of handgun to buy for protection?

I see a lot of poor answers here.

I always recommend a .38 Special or .357 Magnum revolver for beginners. VERY few people will put in the time it takes to attain and maintain competence with an auto pistol. Autos are also "high maintenance" compared to revolvers. Revolvers are much more reliable than autos.

Because of your small size I would get a small or medium framed Smith & Wesson or Ruger revolver with a 2 or 3 inch barrel. I like the S&W better, but only the older ones without that stupid key lock built into it (just something else to break, serves no useful purpose). The 3 inch barrel will be easier to shoot accurately because of the longer sight radius and the extra weight on the front of the gun but it will also be a bit harder to carry in some situations. Everything is a compromise!

Go to a range where you can try out several different guns and buy what fits you best. Another advantage of revolvers over autos is that many different grips are available for revolvers and they can greatly improve how the gun handles for you. If there are no ranges that rent guns in your area try a gun club. Most of us are very happy to help out a new shooter and let them try out what we have.

A .357 revolver can fire the lower powered .38 ammo. The .38 pecial comes in a wide variety of loadings, from very light target loads to powerful defensive loads. It is one of the least expensive cartridges and is available almost anywhere.

Do some research, buy your gun, then get some professional training with it. Then practice, practice, practice. Then practice some more. Then look for some more training that's a little more advanced than what you got the first time. Then go back to practicing.

Try to practice at least once every month for the first year and, for liability reasons, try to get some type af additional training every couple of years and document it.

Good luck!

This is what concerns me, when you say: "One more thing...I just need enough "power" to get away from a thug if I were ever approached. I don't particularly want to kill anyone..."

I certainly can understand your concern about not being #19, but when you resort to deadly force it has to be only because it is your life or someone else's. You can't shoot to wound, or shoot to scare 'em off, or fire warning shots. For this reason you should instead consider a Taser or Pepper Spray even though this are not my first recommendations. Consider instead taking a gun safety course and applying for your concealed carry permit. The class pretty well explains the does and don'ts and potential liability to gun-carrying.

Now what I do recommend for petite females who find a need to carry a handgun is to decide if they want to carry a revolver or a semi-auto. The revolver is more user friendly and so a .38 Special Smith & Wesson Lady Smith or Taurus revolver is good. Otherwise consider the new Ruger LCP .380 acp or the Beretta 3032 Tomcat (.32 Auto) which are both small handguns. Especially with the .32 Auto load quality defensive ammo from any of the major makers and practice with FMJ ammo which is cheaper.

Good luck.

EDIT: As far as revolvers go the Ruger SP-101 may fit your bill perfectly as it is small and available in diverse calibers. Again, the .38 Special is good.

H

For someone with little or no experience handling firearms I'd suggest a medium framed revolver unless you are going to spend the time to make sure you can operate an auto safely as they tend to take a bit more to learn fully.

Revolvers: Smith & Wesson K-frame .38special or .357 mag(start and do most practice with .38) other good names have been Ruger, Colt and Taurus.

I think you might want to look at the Ruger SP-101 in either .357 or possibly the new .327 magnum as they are one of the larger/heavier small frames and possibly the easiest one to learn to shoot well due to that. Yet they are smaller and lighter then any of the medium frames.

For the most part a very small revolver such as the S&W J-frame is not a good starting gun because they are unforgiving of any deficiency in your technique.

If you want a semi-auto these are all very well made:

SIG/Sauer P239 or P229, Springfield XD subcompact or compact, Glock 19 or 26 , S&W M&P compact, Walther PPS, Heckler & Koch P30. All of those are simple, most to the point of being draw-aim-fire weapons. Pick what fits/handles best in your hands and you should be making a good choice. If there is a range nearby that rents guns go there and try any of these you like the feel of out.

Pick one in 9mm and recoil/control-ability should not be a problem with any good name defense load.

A pistol in .380 ACP is not a bad choice either Walther, Ruger, SIG/Sauer, Kel-tec and others all make them and they can be decent choices some of those get pretty small though.

Again there are smaller pistols out there but they get progressively more difficult to learn on.

I'd suggest if you can (and your husband doesn't have one already) get a good .22lr revolver or pistol to do a lot of learning and practice.

Also take one of the NRA certified handgun courses.

btw I recommend if it's possible that you use a on the body carry method over in the purse or anything of that sort.

With little experience, you are better off with a revolver that has little recoil. Semi-automatics are more difficult to learn how to use. My brother was a cop for a while, and he never figured out how to use a semi-auto, even after carrying guns daily for a few years. He was issued an old Smith & Wesson "model 10" .38 Special. I tested it for him, and the bore was worn out, so it was quite inaccurate. I loaned him one of my .357's. I like S&W revolvers, but Rugers are a good buy for the money you pay, so consider these 2 brands. My lover Miyuki is a 97 lbs. Japanese gal about 5/8" over five feet tall. She does well with my S&W "Bodyguard" .38 Special revolver that has hammer shroud to prevent snagging, but the hammer can be pulled back for accurate shooting. She can hit a human silhouette target in the kill zone every time at 50 yards. The small grips fit her small hands well. Some people on here recommend handguns that are too big, too complex and have too much recoil for you, I am certain.

My bud MRS asked me to chime in on this one, so here I am.

My advice: STOP LOOKING FOR A FIREARM

If I am reading your well-written question correctly, you presently do not possess the will to take another human's life. That's cool....some of us do and some do not.

A firearm is a lethal weapon. It is made to kill. Period. If you even remotely have the notion in your head that you will use it to scare away an attacker or use it to wound but not kill, then you should not be carrying a firearm.

Owning and carrying a firearm bears some heavy responsibilities. You must have the will to take another life in defense of your own or a loved one. This must be resolute and without any doubts.

You must invest the time and the money for the proper training to own and carry a gun responsibly. You must regularly invest your time and money to practice shooting. It is not nearly as simple as some people think.

No, a firearm for you right now I think would be a bad choice. What I will recommend is that you take a class on self-defense. I have a friend, retired cop, that teaches a course every semester for our university in self-defense. He covers being aware of your surroundings and people, when and how to react, some basic moves to thwart an attacker, and he covers the use of weapons and firearms and will help students make that decision. Look around at your school, or a community college, YWCA, etc. to see who offers such instruction. From there, you can decide if a gun is right for you.

the best gun for you is the one that a) you will take the time to learn b) fits you and your physique. there are literally hundreds of little options and doo-dads that can change a gun for the better or worse. if you can, go shopping. don't just take other people's suggestions.

revolvers tend to be easier to learn and have fewer moving parts. semi-auto's may hold more and can be smaller. the shorter the barrel, the less accurate and the more concealable. my brother's girlfriend is 5'4", 130 and carries a glock 26.

one other thing: please read "in the gravest extreme" by ayoob. he is beyond an expert in this regard. it's very short and you could read it in an afternoon. the technological aspects are somewhat outdated but the moral and legal areas are not. if you are not willing and prepared to protect your life at the expense of anothers, then please, just get mace.

Look into the beretta 92 (9mm) or 96 (.40). Both of them are easy to use, hold a large capacity of ammo and have about 5 or 6 different safety features to help you from.. ya know.. shooting yourself in the foot or something. Alot of people will probably tell you to get a glock, and a glock is a nice gun, but it has no safety on it so once you chamber a round.. its gonna shoot if you pull the trigger. Nothing against glocks, I just dont like them for that reason. Also, some people will tell you that 9mm isn't enough to stop a person. I just cant believe that. I will admit that I dont have the personal experience of taking a 9mm to the chest but the military and law enforcement carry them so Im guessing that they are good for something. anyway, hope this helped

Im also quite small (110 lbs) and I handle a beretta just fine and out of all of my handguns, If I was going to carry one for protection, I would, without a doubt, choose one of the berettas

Maggie just having a handgun for protection is only false security. You must make a conscience decision to take firearms safety and self defense training classes. The use of deadly force with a firearm to defend yourself is a hugh responsibility and is an extremely stressful situation and should not be taken lightly. Get the training before you purchase a weapon.

I must agree with H and DJ. When approached with a life or death situation and your life or the life of someone with you is at stake, shooting to kill is the only response to have. There is no shooting to injure or knock down to get away...It is a responsibility not for everyone. I can speak for myself but I personally do not want to kill anyone in defense or even have to pull my gun out in self defense; but I will, and I will be the one left standing.

My sister is a cop and she talked me into getting one of those KelTec P11 9mm pistols; they are quite small and compact and easy to drop in a pocket; you don't even realize they are there. It is a ten round double action only semi-auto that gets the job done. It is not a target shooting weapon but it is good for getting the job done. When I bought mine it was $ 229.00; which wasn't bad. Probably a little more now. Give it a look-see.