by Janis Cortese
The women's firearms market is growing by leaps and bounds, and
given that on the whole, women tend to be more easily intimidated
by firearms and related information, this translates to a large
number of interested people who need not only hardware but education
as well.
One of the first questions a woman who is considering a firearms
purchase for self-defense will ask is, "How strong a gun
should I buy?" The advice I give here will hinge on two assumptions:
If you find yourself intrigued by the mechanical aspects of firearms
and have the money to indulge, by all means purchase what interests
you. But if you are looking for one handgun for home defense,
you'll want to be a bit more selective.
When you start shopping around for your first handgun, it seems
that everyonehas advice to give: revolver vs. autoloader, Magnum
or no, what size grips you need, and especially what caliber.
I was lucky enough to receive my first in-depth instruction from
a friend, Ron Moore, who also happens to be a law enforcement
officer and firearms expert. He is also utterly without the preconceptions
revolving around which firearm is best for a "girl,"
and thinks instead in terms of what is suitable for an adult gunowner.
(It's probably also helped by the fact that he is married to Cindy,
a brown belt in aikido who shoots a .357 Magnum!)
As a result of this, I was never told that such-and-such was too
big a gun for a girl, too strong for a girl, or kicked too hard
for a girl, and it surprised me when I would hear people solemnly
advising women to purchase the weakest and smallest handguns on
the market, the .22 or the .25 caliber. While these guns can be
fun to practice with since their ammo is very cheap, for a market
concerned primarily with self-defense, it seems preposterous to
advise us to get the weakest handguns ever made!
Much of this advice stems from the misconception that a stronger
caliber will kick too hard for a "girl" to control.
There seems to be an image in the minds of some advice-givers
that even a .45 will fly out of the hands of a woman who shoots
it while remaining rock-solid in the hands of a man. This just
isn't the case. Remember Cindy, who I mentioned above as a brown
belt and .357 Magnum enthusiast? She's 5'2"! A friend of
mine with whom I test fired a S&W .357 Magnum loved the gun
and shot quite well with it at a diminutive 4'10". While
Magnum caliber handguns might not be ideal for the noise they
make (staggeringly loud, especially indoors in a quiet bedroom
at 2am), the recoil is simply not a problem, even for smaller
women.
What determines how well you can handle a large caliber handgun
is not so much brawn, but proper stance. There are a number of
accepted stances for shooting a handgun (see my page at http://www.io.com/~cortese/resources/guns2.html
for a more thorough treatment), several of which go a long way
toward rendering the kick from a .38 or even .45 quite manageable
even by small-statured women. The primary reason why a smaller
woman might not want to purchase a large-caliber handgun comes
more from the fact that the guns are physicaly bigger and hence
reaching the trigger might be difficult for someone with small
hands. Often, however, even this can be cured with the proper
choice of grip.
So far from the popular image believed by many women of a handgun
kicking itself out of your grip when fired, it is quite easy,
with good training, for even a physically small woman to keep
control of large caliber handguns.
There are many considerations that you should review before purchasing
a handgun for defense, but they can often be boiled down to only
a few issues. You want to get something large enough to stop an
attacker (meaning the .22 and .25 are right out), manageable enough
that it will not intimidate you, and sized properly for your hand.
Magnum caliber ammunition is also a poor choice for the reason
stated above; in a darkened, quiet bedroom, the muzzle flash and
noise will temporarily blind you and possibly permanently damage
your hearing. When you may need to listen up for a second home
invader or call the police and an ambulance for the first, it's
not the time for a dull ear!
However, most all Magnum caliber handguns are also capable of
shooting less powerful ammunition as well, and it's not unsafe.
A .357 Magnum revolver is designed to shoot .38's as well although
the reverse is definitely not true. A good choice can be a .357
Magnum revolver since you can shoot any of the various flavors
of .38/.357 during practice, and load it with .38's for defensive
purposes. (It's like getting two-for-one.) If you aren't interested
in shooting a .357 Magnum at all, a .38 is the perfect choice.
But don't let anyone tell you that a .357 Magnum or a .45 is "too
much gun for a girl." It may indeed be too much for a girl,
but for a properly trained woman gunowner, it could be
just right!
In summary, you'll want to avoid anything overly small or overly
loud. The .22 and .25 is a poor choice, and the .357 Magnum and
.44 Magnum are overly loud (the .44M may indeed be too difficult
to control as well. It was designed for big game hunters and while
it's terrific fun at a range, it kicks far too hard for most men
to handle it in a home defense situation. It's a great second
purchase, but not a first.). This leaves you with a .38 or .357M
loaded with .38's, and possibly a .45 if you like something a
bit chunkier. If you prefer autoloaders, a 9mm is another good
choice.
And if the handgun seems a bit too big for you to reach the trigger
comfortably, try asking about different sized grips before putting
it back on the shelf. Size is an
important consideration in how well you can handle a handgun since
it affects how well it fits in your hand. However, strength
is another matter entirely, and you certainly don't need to be
Xena: Warrior Princess, Arnold Schwarzenegger in heels, or a man
to shoot a large caliber handgun with accuracy and confidence!
Copyright 1996 by Janis Cortese
mailto:cortese@netcom.com
http://www.io.com/~cortese/