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You will not have time to worry about noise:>)
I checked with my folks. It sounds like you have issues with recoil, noise and grip and you are limp wristing. Look at the Ruger SP 101 and remember that grips are no problem to swap out.
What do you mean, swap out? I didn't know they were changeable. I feel like if I was limp wristing the instructor would have said, because she corrects my grip telling me too much gap, or that my thumbs are in the wrong place, etc.
I think the noise is not so much that it's loud, but that I have spent my life thinking guns are scary, so it's weird to hear gunshots going off. I'm hoping as I get more used to it and more comfortable that will lessen.
Yes I can’t imagine how I would do in that situation. That’s why the instructor emphasizes that I must be able to use the gun using muscle memory versus having to think about the steps. I don’t really even enjoy shooting the guns much but if I’m going to have one I will practice every week regardless.
I can also imagine the sound of the gun in real life (not wearing ear protection) would be quite jarring. Even in the range when other people were shooting and I had the ear protection on, it was hard not to jump. I felt like the guys in Boogie Nights who were coked up getting ready to rip off a drug dealer, and there was a guy in the background setting off firecrackers. They jumped 3 feet in the air with every “pop”. That was me.
As said above... in a real situation, you may not remember hearing it at all.
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I’m hoping my comfort level increases the more I do it. This Friday will be the first time shooting without the instructor and I’m already nervous.
Hoping so too. I really enjoy shooting, and talking about it. Haven't gone in awhile... it's gotten so expensive! I used to have a friend who reloaded ammo, and we could shoot all day for almost nothing. Now it's a real cost to go.
No matter what someone else says you need, do what works for you. Because in the end, what you're looking for is very personal, has to work for you, and none of us will be there. Good luck. Report back!
I wasn’t able to operate it as double action, because I couldn’t get my finger in far enough to garner enough strength while also maintaining a safe grip on the gun.
Are you talking about reaching your trigger finger far enough to squeeze the trigger? Shooting at the deepest end with my first finger pad, just before the first knuckle, is how I train, but some double action revolvers have looong trigger pulls at higher weights (usually measured in lbs or pounds). Mention that specifically to your trainer, your need for a lighter, perhaps shorter double action trigger pull, in a smaller frame size.
If you end up with something in .357 mag (also .38) a short barreled revolver in a small or even medium frame is going to kick quite a bit with .357.
I have an old Ruger GP100 with a 4" barrel in .357 that my small, short armed, small handed shooting enthusiast wife wont shoot with the full .357 mag loads I prefer. She is ok using milder load .38 rounds. If you are only interested in home defense, and dont plan to take it out with you, I dont think a snubby revolver is needed anyway.
Revolvers are simple and just tend to work when you need them.
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Originally Posted by ocnjgirl
I am going to a gun shop with a range near work, and they do rent guns. There are so many though I don’t even know what they all are. I took a class and have had one private lesson with the same instructor that taught the class (Ladies firearms class). I’m going to print out the thread and write down the names of the guns recommended to see if they have them for rent. During my lesson, the instructor picked the guns we used (Glock 19 and revolver). I asked about auto loaders and she said that was fine later but she wanted me to be able to do it manually for now.
Learning basics with a revolver is not a bad idea. Safety is always the first rule. Always.
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Originally Posted by ocnjgirl
I didn’t know we had a gun and hunting forum lol.
Yes, but it can sometimes go down hair splitting rabbit holes as everybody has preferences and some think theirs is simply the only choice. Firearms are funny that way to enthusiasts.
The instructor said a 22 wasn’t powerful enough for home defense. Those were easy to load!
If you don't intend to carry the gun, just have it in your house, a Ruger .22 automatic for example can be OK. I'd make sure it works well with Stingers, the hot CCI .22 LR round. There is an aftermarket plastic magazine available that is very easy to load. Or treat yourself to the new Colt .22 DA/SA revolver. A .22 you can hit with is better than a bigger round that you will mostly miss with.
A larger .380 like the Beretta Cheetah is easy to shoot and very little recoil. Some of the more advanced loads offered now for the .380 make it more effective than it was when FMJ was about all you could get.
Beretta has several models of automatic pistol with a tip-up barrel such that you don't have to rack the slide to chamber the first round.
Hello. I have been in the process of getting a gun for home defense. I took a Ladies handgun class a couple of weeks ago and had a private lesson from the same instructor last week. I am trialing different guns to see what I feel comfortable with. I've used a Glock with 22s first, then 9mm, and a revolver. The issue is I have arthritis in both thumbs, which made loading the 9mm bullets in the magazine very hard to do. The revolver was much easier to load, but I couldn't use it as "double action" because the gun was too big for my finger to get in far enough for that.
To those with weak hands or issues with their hands, and to those women who use a gun for self-defense, what kind of gun do you use? The instructor told me if I went smaller, my accuracy would suffer because it would recoil more.
I hope this isn't inappropriate for this forum, I just wanted to get perspective from other women with old hands, lol.
Long story short, use the gun that works for you, that you would be comfortable using and practicing with. Because if you are using it for self defence and you are not practicing with it, then it is not going to be as good because it is unfamiliar in your hands.
As to what do I use, well, two things. Me, I use .45 caliber but right now, I am grounded from shooting as my finger heals. My Doctor doesn't want my body to suffer that recoil. Secondly, ........ I am not the one to use as an example for different worlds.
Although.......you might want to take a look at this: https://www.zastava-arms.rs/en/pistol-m70a-m70aa/ I came across it when I was buying guns one year. It fits nicely to me (trigger guard is small by modern standards) and I like in that it is nice and slim and makes a nice concealment gun. So far, it has practiced nicely on the range.
A few things, however. It is a nice concealment gun, but it is not the gun I would want to take into a gun fight. My world for that calls for carrying 4 magazines, one in the gun, 3 spares. It is Serbian and I bought it because Serbians arms are good by their reputation.....but as such, it might be a little hard to get. Just a little, it is a popular gun.
One of my research projects in the past few years was for a .22 survival pistol. In the training scenario, it called for a pistol that could be used one handed because in a crash, it is not unreasonable to find one arm in a sling. So a pistol that can be racked, loaded, fired one hand. Magazines that are already preloaded.
On magazines, since you are not going to get into a long gunfight, you can have others load the magazines for you and have them around, as the scenario above could demonstrate. Rotate them seasonly or so inorder for their springs to expand. On magazines, avoid buying cheap. One of the pistols I use is a Kimber Ultra Carry, a 1911 design and hence, uses 1911 magazines (think Terminator II).
I could buy 1911 magazines at $15 a pop (in the past, don't know what the cheap ones are now) but don't for the Kimber. I buy the more expensive ones with a full stepped follower,
That tends to jack the price up by 3X but it is necessary. The Ultra Carry tends to jam because with cheaper magazines with its shorter slide action, round #4 or so tends to tumble at the top of the stack, leading to a jam.
Okay, I can get by that, train to handle it, equip to prevent it.........but for a novice, you want, you need that gun to perform perfectly at all times......so don't buy cheap.
Last edited by TamaraSavannah; 03-12-2024 at 04:21 PM..
TLDR; Nobody mentioned using a "Maglua ( https://www.maglula.com/ ) for loading a magazine. (Yes, I did a search on this thread). I believe they are available off Amazon. squeeze the loader, push down, insert cartridge, unsqueeze loader, lather, rinse & repeat.
Last edited by Driver 47; 03-12-2024 at 03:33 PM..
As said above... in a real situation, you may not remember hearing it at all.
Hoping so too. I really enjoy shooting, and talking about it. Haven't gone in awhile... it's gotten so expensive! I used to have a friend who reloaded ammo, and we could shoot all day for almost nothing. Now it's a real cost to go.
No matter what someone else says you need, do what works for you. Because in the end, what you're looking for is very personal, has to work for you, and none of us will be there. Good luck. Report back!
I didn’t even ask how much ammo costs lol. It was included in my lessons. Guess I’m in for a rude awakening lol. Plus renting the gun.
TLDR; Nobody mentioned using a "Maglua ( https://www.maglula.com/ ) for loading a magazine. (Yes, I did a search on this thread). I believe they are available off Amazon. squeeze the loader, push down, insert cartridge, unsqueeze loader, lather, rinse & repeat.
I am pretty sure Maglula speed loaders are no longer available from Amazon. Something about a lawsuit against Amazon for selling knockoffs that didn't work well. Amazon was sued and lost the case.
Regardless, Maglula speed loaders manufactured in Israel I believe work really well.
TLDR; Nobody mentioned using a "Maglua ( https://www.maglula.com/ ) for loading a magazine. (Yes, I did a search on this thread). I believe they are available off Amazon. squeeze the loader, push down, insert cartridge, unsqueeze loader, lather, rinse & repeat.
I’ll look into that, never heard of it. And never would have known it was something you can get on Amazon!
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Haven't gone in awhile... it's gotten so expensive! I used to have a friend who reloaded ammo, and we could shoot all day for almost nothing. Now it's a real cost to go. 
