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If a woman goes to a gun store and tells the clerk she's looking for a handgun for self defense, the typical response is to show her something like a .380 auto pistol or a .25 ACP mini pistol. The prevailing logic is that women are meek and can't handle a real gun. At the same time, if you read the gun magazines, you are told that no self respecting man is safe with anything less than a 9mm handgun, and that it's marginal, at best. The obvious question arises, if a full grown man needs a 9mm pistol to repel that attack or mugger or thief -- then how is a woman with a tiny, underpowered gun going to defend herself in the same situation?

The tragic myth here is that women are somehow incapable of shooting a powerful handgun. This myth continues to be told over and over again. It has become ingrained in many women's minds and in the minds of the clerks at the local gun shop. People like to talk about the tremendous recoil of typical defensive handguns. They will throw out energy figures such as 500 foot-pounds and this number seems like something impossible to handle. After all, how can a 120-pound woman handle 500 foot-pounds of energy coming out of her pistol? Lets take the standard .357 magnum revolver round as an example loaded with the traditional and very effective, 125 grain bullet. This round will generate somewhere around 1300 feet/second velocity from a typical, short-barreled defense revolver such as the Smith and Wesson Lady Smith and generate nearly 500 foot-pounds of energy.

However...these numbers are deceiving. The amount of actual recoil force that this load will generate is about 10 foot-pounds. To put this number into perspective: 10 foot-pounds of energy is defined as the amount of energy needed to move 10 pounds a distance of 1 foot, with no friction present. Picture a 10 pound block of ice you would find at the local convenience store. Now imagine that sitting on top of a nice slick surface. Then think about how hard it would be to push that block of ice one foot. All of a sudden, everything is in perspective and we see that it's not as big a deal as it originally seemed. Looking at it from another perspective: take a 120-pound woman and put her on ice skates in a skating rink. Have her take out her 500 foot-pound revolver and fire a round. How far back will she be pushed? The answer is that, since there are 12 inches in a foot and she weighs 120 pounds and is seeing 10 foot-pounds of recoil, that massive 500 foot pounds of bullet energy will move her exactly 1 inch!

These numbers are intended to illustrate that the recoil of a typical defense handgun is nothing to worry about. In real shooting, there are many factors that determine felt recoil. Grip size and shape can make a difference in the felt recoil. Your shooting stance and how rigid your body is at the time of shooting also affects the amount of perceived recoil. However, the thing to remember is that there is nothing to fear from 10 foot pounds of recoil and that learning how to handle it is easy to do.

To further counter this myth we report our observations in watching women shoot some very big guns repeatedly, without flinching. We're talking about very petite 100-110 pound women shooting .357 magnum pocket pistols, full powered 10mm Glock 20's and 4 inch .44 magnums. Not only can they shoot these guns --  they can shoot them darn well! We have seen these same women shooting 458 Lott rifles, loaded to the max. The 458 Lott is a rifle designed for the largest animals on earth, a true elephant gun generating nearly 6000 foot pounds of energy. Women hunt all over the country using high power rifles and are very effective. When asking these women how it was that they were able to shoot such high caliber firearms, they told us that it is simply a mind-over-matter situation. They continued by saying that if you think the gun is in control of you, then you will be afraid. But if you realize that it is you in charge of the gun -- it's a piece of cake.

So what caliber and type of gun is best for a woman? Clearly, the answer is:  "The same one that is best for a man." Any woman can easily learn to shoot any handgun effectively. Of course, practice is the key for both men and women. Perhaps the only concession a woman has to make in choosing a handgun is in the size of the pistol. While a large man might be able to easily carry and conceal a full-sized, 15-round gun, the average woman should probably choose a smaller sized, lower capacity version of that same handgun. The smaller gun will fit her hand better and will be easier to carry.

Handguns are a fairly expensive investment. The good news is that, unlike most things you buy these days, they hold their value. You can get a perfectly serviceable handgun for around $350 new. Higher quality and most semi automatic pistols will cost more. Prices can easily exceed $1000. In the long run, if you’re looking at personal defense, the choice of weapon is not going to be as important as your commitment towards learning how to use it. A $1000 pistol that has never been shot by its owner is going to be a lot less effective in an emergency than a $350 economy revolver that the user is proficient at using.

Revolvers are usually cheaper than similar quality automatic pistols. The choice between a revolver and an automatic is a personal one. There is no reason a beginner cannot learn to use an automatic pistol as easily as a revolver. Many will recommend that you start off with a revolver and then "grow into" an automatic. This really is illogical and a woman should resist the urge to accept this chauvinistic advice simply because it comes from someone behind a counter. Automatics are typically easier to shoot than revolvers. Their main drawback is that they are a bit more complex than a revolver. However, learning how to shoot a revolver first and then an automatic does nothing to make the automatic pistol less complex. If you feel that an automatic pistol is your choice for personal defense -- don’t hesitate! The bottom line is that whether you buy a revolver or an automatic pistol, they are both lethal weapons. You have a responsibility to learn how to safely handle and shoot them. If you’re going to buy a defensive handgun and put in the drawer and never learn how to use it, then just don’t bother to buy one.

Suitable calibers for a serious defense revolver are the .38 special and the .357 magnum (pictured a the top of this article). There are other revolver calibers out there that will also work however, the 38/357 combo is the most versatile. If you buy a .357 revolver, it can also shoot the less powerful .38 special ammo. In addition, both of these calibers are available in many varieties of inexpensive ammunition which makes training with your new gun a lot cheaper. Don't let the gun shop owner sell you some .32 magnum, 44 special or anything else. The lady Smith pictured above is an excellent choice. If you are looking for an economy-priced handgun, the Taurus and Charter Arms line of handguns are very reliable and will perform when needed.

Calibers we would recommend for an automatic pistol would be the 9mm, the .40 S&W and the classic .45 ACP. All of these are available in small sized (compact) pistols suitable for carry or household defense. There are many superb brands of semi automatic pistols available and much of the selection is going to be a matter of going into a gun shop and seeing which one fits your hand the best.

These pistols come in 2 styles. One has what is called a "single-stack" magazine where the bullets are stacked one on top of the other in a single line, which results in a thin grip. The slight negative of this style is that it limits the amount of ammunition to something between 5-8 rounds. The other style uses a "double-stack" magazine which allows for more rounds, in some cases up to 17. However, the tradeoff is a thicker grip that people with small hands sometimes have a problem using. Our opinion is that, for the average self defense situation, 5-8 rounds of ammo in the hands of a trained user is going to resolve most issues. Especially considering that most firearm, self defense encounters end without a shot being fired because just the sight of the weapon often resolves the situation.

Some excellent choices for women are offered by Smith and Wesson, Ruger, Sig Sauer, Taurus, CZ and Beretta, to name a few. In general, we recommend a pistol that requires a long, deliberate pull of the trigger in order to fire. For this reason, we do not recommend the excellent Glock series of pistols for first-time users. The very short trigger pull of the Glock trigger is not what you need in a time of high stress. When the stress is high and you don't realize how much the adrenalin is pumping, you want to be sure you really want to pull the trigger and not do so by mistake. As we said, go to a few gun shops, try out several pistols and see how they feel. Test the trigger pull (first ask the clerk if it's okay) and discover which one feels best to you.

Once you make your selection -- get some training and practice. Learn all the safety rules for the proper handling of a weapon. Learn how to disassemble and clean your weapon. And finally, find a suitable firearms instructor and learn how to use it properly. Once you are proficient at using the weapon and have had some good training, you'll be amazed at how natural the gun feels. After a while, you'll wonder how you ever got along without one! Most importantly, you will be armed with the confidence that you can handle the unthinkable, should it ever come your way.

Women and Firearms     Holsters     Hunting

Before ever carrying or concealing a gun on your person please check and abide by all laws that apply to you where you live.