What would be a good home and pistol for me to keep in my suv as a woman? Easy to use and light recoil? I can get a good deal on a Beretta px4 Storm if that might be one?
What would be a good home and pistol for me to keep in my suv as a woman? Easy to use and light recoil? I can get a good deal on a Beretta px4 Storm if that might be one?
You already picked one of the better ones
Go for it
Welcome!
That’s not a simple question. There’s a lot to think about when considering a handgun for self-defense.
Do you have any firearm experience?
Body shape and size, hand size and strength, and other factors can affect what pistols are comfortable to use and to carry concealed.
How do you plan to carry a pistol?
Selecting a handgun is a series of compromises. Smaller, lighter guns are usually easier to carry but harder to shoot well. A lighter gun will have more felt recoil than a heavier one using the same ammunition.
Is there a range nearby where you can rent pistols, or take a class?
The usual advice here is to take a shooting class, and then decide. Once you have a good grasp on the fundamentals, you'll have a better idea of what can work for you.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
Your gender doesn't really have much to do with pistol selection. Select a pistol that fits your individual needs, preferences, hand size, grip strength etc. If the PX4 fits you, it's a great choice. If your hands are really small, the trigger reach in double action mode might be a bit much. For reference, I use a size small Mechanix glove and I can run the PX4 without problems, but I do have to shift my grip a bit from what an optimal grip would be to get enough finger on the trigger when the gun is decocked. Since the PX4 in 9mm has hardly any recoil this is not a problem, but if I had much smaller hands this might be an issue. Like I said, it's all about the individual. (My girlfriend doesn't have any problems shooting a PX4 either. Her hands are slightly smaller than mine, but not a whole lot smaller.)
Whatever you get, don't leave it unsecured in your car. Car break-ins are a big source of guns for criminals.Originally Posted by aimcat
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
If you can get to your car, why would you not simply drive away rather than go for your pistol? To be truly useful, the pistol will need to be on your person.
Before picking a pistol, give some thought to how you will carry it. The answer to that question may determine what you get.
You may find that you need at least two pistols: a compact or subcompact 9mm for when you can find a place to conceal it, and a Kel-Tec P-32, P3AT, or Ruger LCP for those times when something smaller is needed. Many men need the same combination. A third, full size pistol can be useful for home defense as well as learning to shoot.
Knowing something about your typical attire, occupation and whether you would be allowed to carry at work, and other factors might help generate more helpful recommendations. The gun you mentioned, for example, is great if you are willing to dress around it or if your lifestyle makes a holster purse workable (off body carry comes with its own safety considerations such as keeping children from accessing the gun).
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Any legal information I may post is general information, and is not legal advice. Such information may or may not apply to your specific situation. I am not your attorney unless an attorney-client relationship is separately and privately established.
If I was starting fresh I'd probably get a P365 XL for those purposes.
It's very dependent on the individual. You may have to try a few different ones to find a model best suited to you. A range near me has a "try before you buy" program that allows you to shoot as many of their rental guns as you want for something like $30 an hour. See if a store near you has something similar.
Simply holding the gun will not tell you how well you shoot it.
From Older Offspring after a discussion of coffee:
"If it doesn't come from the Kaffa province of Ethiopia, it's just hot roasted-bean juice."
1. Read https://www.corneredcat.com/contents/
2. Try to find a good quality class oriented towards women shooters for basics and SD applications. If you can't find a woman specific class, seek recommendations for one that is not blood lust crappola.
Male recommendations are suspect, in general. Vicki Farnam did a great presentation for women at the old NTI. Seek that kind of advice.
Men will talk about this gun or that. Training is more important.
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