Quoted:
Personally, I recommend new/inexperienced female shooters to carry a .38 snub nose w/ +p ammo in it.   You want something that will go bang 100% of the time with as little risk of jamming as possible.  JMHO.

Quoted:
My mom just turned 60.  

I’m trying to help her select a handgun to carry concealed when she is out with my daughter.
Money is no object.  From my point of view, it is life insurance for my daughter.

Mom went through the class, has a permit, and now wants a gun.

I thought the selection process would be easy,
but then my dad fell in love with my brother’s Bersa Thunder 380 Plus.
(Lightweight aluminum frame, 15+1 rounds, decocking safety)

My dad likes it because, as he puts it, he can tell by looking at it if it is loaded and ready to fire.
My brother’s praise was that it is very accurate, and a 380 round won’t overpenetrate.

My first reaction was that a 380 was completely unacceptable, simply because of the lack of power.
I'm pretty sure it fails to meet the FBI standard penetration tests.  
But maybe I’m not giving the 380 enough credit.
I’d much rather my mom use a 9mm, 45, or a .38 revolver.
Hell, I’d rather she use a S&W 500 magnum, but it is too heavy.  

And I prefer my guns to be point and shoot.  I don’t want to fumble with a safety.
My revolver doesn’t have a safety, nor does my Glock.
My brother pointed out that some people aren’t pro-freshinal enough to handle a gun without safeties.
*sigh*  that may be true.

I’m trying to get my parents to go to a gun show with me this weekend.
There are a few vendors with hundreds of types of handguns on tables.

Old Painless posted something I had just mentioned to my parents.
In the heat of the moment, you don’t notice muzzle blast.
Airbags went off in my car when I pulverized a Dodge Neon in front of me a few years ago.
I never heard the airbags go off.  
In the same respect, I suspect you wouldn’t even notice recoil.
So should those be considerations when buying a gun that might never be fired?
I don’t know.  
I guess it depends on if she ever wants to take it to the range for practice.
I suspect she’ll go to a range exactly one time.
I almost rather she wouldn’t.  
I’d rather just tell her to expect to feel like someone hit her in the back of the head with a Sears fall catalog when she pulls the trigger.  
Adding that she needs stay focused to make sure she stops whatever threat she is facing, whether it be dog or man.

It is my mom’s choice.  
Is it worth nudging her towards something I think is better than a 380?

Heck, if looking at a 380, why not go for the Kel-Tec 30-round .22 magnum pistol?  

Quoted:

Get a Kahr P9.
I have one and I love it. I had a Bersa and side by side it was huge compared with Kahr.
I got rid of it since the .380 was bigger than the 9mm so I didnt see a use for it.

Quoted:


Kahr P9 has a capacity of 7+1

I'll keep in mind if she considers 9mm acceptable, but thinks a double-stack magazine is too big.

Quoted:
Personally, I recommend new/inexperienced female shooters to carry a .38 snub nose w/ +p ammo in it.   You want something that will go bang 100% of the time with as little risk of jamming as possible.  JMHO.