Son in law wants my daughter to have a handgun

[Delmar]

Dockem, I'm the fng here, but you're topic brings to mind one of my biggest concerns with beginning shooters. "Son in law wants my daughter to have a handgun". My question is: what makes your son in law think that your daughter wants, needs, or will use a firearm in a deadly force encounter? If not, she may be better off learning to swing a 30 oz Louisville Slugger.

The rest of your post indicates that your daughter may be interested in self defense, and it sounds like you are taking the right course of action by allowing her to fire different kinds of guns, and determining what is right for her.

Having been a firearms instructor for 25 years, and having conducted several "beginner" type self defense classes, I am somewhat amazed by the number of ladies I have seen show up at class with firearms that have been chosen for them by their husbands, dads, gun shop commandos, or gun shop salespeople that have no experience of knowledge of what is best for that particular person. These well intentioned people usually recommend a "little" gun for a female. On at least 3 occassions I seen ladies struggle with these "little" guns that were totally unreliable, manual of arms were difficult, sights sucked, and triggers were difficult to manage. In all three cases, I have given these ladies a G-22 and they have sailed through the rest of the day, all saying that they were going to replace their current guns (Taurus 22, Ruger 22, Keltec 32) with a Glock of some model.

Since we are men we rightfully feel that we should protect our children, and we know that all men are experts in firearms. I think if you provide your daughter with the ability to shoot different guns, and let her muddle through this whole gun/self defense topic (like we all did when we were beginners) I believe you will find out that she can make a pretty darned good decision on her own.

Sounds like you are on the right track.

That is a good post right there.

 

[theweakerbrother]

1. Gather as many different firearms as you can.
2. Go to the range.
3. Let her shoot all of them, smallest calibers first, then to the larger ones.
4. Find a balance of style, form and caliber.
5. Go to the gunstore. Ask questions! Find one that fits her hand (not YOURS!) and your price point.
5A: Buy it, if it fits your budget
5B: Save for it, if it fits your budget. DO NOT CHARGE IT.
6: Tell your daugher how much you love her and encourage her right to bear arms, inform her that she is responsible for her own protection. Better yet... make this Step 1.
7: Buy your step-son a beer and steak dinner for respecting your daughter enough to desire her to carry.

 

[HandK]

At the end of the day only the hits on target are going to count!! get her the biggest caliber she can confidently shoot!! if that is a 380 then so be it if it's a nine then good, but it's hits that count if the recoil is too much for her then it wont matter what she has, go with what she can shoot the best with!!

 

[jbombelli]

I would let her pick the gun. There is nothing wrong with a 9mm, whatsoever. Make sure she gets her LTCH as well, so she can actually take it out to practice with it. She may ultimately decide, once she's used to it, to CARRY it, and then she'll have the LTCH for that as well.

I had a girlfriend many years ago that ended up with a 9mm Firestar. It was a good choice for her, and turned out to be a good little pistol. Since SHE picked it out, she actually carried it and practiced with it. And eventually bought a couple more guns for herself. So who knows? Your daughter might eventually end up with a safe full of good guns.

If YOU pick the gun, and she doesn't like it, she'll never shoot it. Plus, it helps to have her be part of the decision-making process; she'll be much more open to EVERYTHING involved if she gets a say.

I would specifically have her look at Glock 19s, Browning HiPowers, Beretta 92s, simply because those are MY favorite 9mms, and as many others as the 2-3 stores we would visit have in stock. Try to explain to her that when it comes to guns, you get what you pay for, so stay away from cheap junk. After all, this is a tool to use to protect your life. How much is your life worth?


Now, take them both out to dinner and discuss this with them over a nice steak.

 

[sertboy354]

I say 9mm