Hey Dayman, a good holster will keep the trigger covered on a Glock, so as long as you don't pull a Plaxico Burris, and stuff it in your pants without proper leather, you're fine there. Just keep the old booger hook off the bang switch 'till you want it to go bang. That said, I would never dissuade anyone from a 1911. I would say try your best to shoot (or at least dry fire) any weapon you are considering purchasing. Nothing sucks more than to plop down a lot of money on a weapon that you just can't shoot well. Even if it looks great on paper.

Jason

 

This is a toughie, because the only thing she will be comfortable with is the pistol that fits her hand. That is definitely something that only she can decide for herself and only by handling the firearms. As far as a smaller frame firearm that is still enjoyable to shoot I have really enjoyed the Walther PPS in 9mm and the Kahr PM9. You have to find out from her why she is liking the 380's so much. If it is a matter of the 9's (or larger) not fitting her hand then you know that your mission is to find one that does, if it's because of recoil then you either have to instill proper mechanics, find a gun that fits properly, or drop in size.

If sizing is her issue then you might want to look at some smaller framed firearms. Now I am not talking about things like the Springfield XD Sub-Compact or the "Baby" Glocks, instead I mean thinner frames. Look at the single stack firearms because that is what is going to really change how the firearm fits in her hand. Width takes up more of the grip then the length of the actual magazine well. The so called sub compacts simply chop off the bottom portion of the grip without changing the actual area that your hand needs to be able to wrap around for a comfortable and proper fit.

Felt recoil can be such a strange thing because I can shoot Firearm A that has more recoil but fits me better and I won't perceive it the way that I do when shooting Firearm B that has less recoil but doesn't fit my hand nearly as well. Perceived recoil is always the enemy when deciding on a handgun. Now that being said, the energy difference between the 380 and the 9mm is quite significant so it really is advantageous to go with a 9mm when you can. Then again the firearm in your hand is better then the one at home. If she is dead set on the 380 you might want her to check out the Sig Sauer P238 or the CZ-83, with the CZ being a larger framed pistol. If you can get her to fit a CZ 75 there are a ton of options out there for that one as well, and you can even get a 22 LR trainer for it so that you can save on ammunition at the range. The CZ 75's are actually a pretty thin double stack firearm, so is the Ruger SR9.

380 Auto 95gr PDX-1
5yds: 991 fps, 207 ft-lbs
10yds:983 fps, 204 ft-lbs
15yds: 975 fps, 200 ft-lbs

9mm Luger 147gr PDX-1
5yds: 995 fps, 323 ft-lbs
10yds: 990 fps, 320 ft-lbs
15yds: 985, 317 ft-lbs

As for the hunting pistol ... Well I really like the 40 and 9mm for this because they have the ability to penetrate deeply. In our area we have to tend to a lot of hogs (can easily trap 30 in one afternoon) so being able to penetrate deeply through the skull is something I need/want. Three years ago we had a monster (bottomed out our scale at 650 pounds), with the 357 Magnum pressed to his skull it took 5 rounds before one penetrated into his brain. The 45 that another person put into his skull stopped quickly, because of its mass vs its speed.


Yes and no, I understand what you are saying and I can see why you put stock in it. Hopefully I can actually put my thoughts into words here.

The problem with people who only look at energy is that they also don't consider where that energy is coming from. If I am hit by a large object that moves slowly (such as your baseball) it will not do any real damage because it delivers all of its energy immediately and can not enter into the body creating a shock wave through the internal organs, thus creating internal bleeding and causing the target to go into shock. You must examine how much energy a bullet carries to determine its ability to be a viable round for self defense/hunting. If you look at where the energy comes from Speed vs Mass then you can get an understanding of its potential for damage. The shock wave is an often overlooked part of the bullet that is absolutely integral to its job as a self defense/hunting round. Show you what I mean ...

http://youtu.be/HMFQ2dLTEX0
Hogwash! I love my 1911's (even shoot them competitively) but I am so tired of hearing about these so called "safety concerns" with the Glock. There are only two safeties that matter with firearms, and if you don't use either one correctly you will have an unintentional discharge, your trigger finger and your brain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTalnzcO0xk This video is completely correct, if your firearm is stored correctly (this would be the brain safety) nothing can get to the trigger (this would be the finger safety) to cause an unintentional discharge. No firearm is safe if those first two safeties aren't used religiously. You might be wondering about running through the woods after your wounded game with your pistol out ... well why in Sam Hill would you want to do that? Keep your firearm in an appropriate holster, do not draw your firearm until you have a target, do not place your finger on the trigger until you are ready to kill, do not pull the trigger until you are sure of your target and what is behind it. All very simple rules that will keep you (and others) safe, and all of it starts with you, not your firearm.

Edit: The Glock Internal Safety

The Glock also has an internal safety to keep it from firing if it is struck too hard, such as against a tree or if you drop it. You can also find Glock's with external safeties installed or have one installed (or of course learn more about firearms by ripping it apart and installing it yourself if you are mechanically inclined).

Edit: I was going to invite you to come and try a few of my personal guns out, but I saw that you are no where near me. Just my personal collection is sitting at 92the firearms, so I am confident we could have found a couple you would be comfortable with lol.

Oh, and I can't wait to hear from the safety sallies. Im sure that I am going to get a dozen replies about how someone is swat, ex special forces, or their daddy was a sniper in vietnam and I just don't know what I am talking about when it comes to firearm safety.

 

I agree. If safety is your concern training and a good holster and lots of practice. And make sure your traing and practice is good habits. practice is only good if its good practice

 

I'd have to respectfully disagree. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that most SD pistol calibers do not have enough velocity to produce a significant enough magnitude of a "shock wave" for it to be considered a reliable wounding factor. Temporary cavities have been shown by Fackler et al to be a very insignificant wounding factor for handgun rounds. Your video above (correct me if I'm wrong) is a promotional video for Barnes' X bullet, and I believe the caliber is a .308. High power rifle projectiles have far more velocity and produce a much more intense shockwave, which can cause a substantial amount of damage, to which any hunter here can attest. Pistol calibers traditionally used in the role of self defense are much slower, and the temporary cavity produced by them is very small. The only damage you can count on with a handgun round is damage directly caused as the bullet cuts through tissue, in other words, the permanent cavity. To quote the FBI report "Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness":

"In the case of low-velocity missiles, e.g., pistol bullets, the bullet produces a direct path of destruction with very little lateral extension within the surrounding tissues. Only a small temporary cavity is produced. To cause significant injuries to a structure, a pistol bullet must strike that structure directly. The amount of kinetic energy lost in the tissue by a pistol bullet is insignificant to cause the remote injuries produced by a high-velocity rifle bullet."

With rifles and some extremely powerful revolver cartridges, the temporary cavity does become a significant wounding factor, but I just don't believe it is for most pistol calibers.

JMHO.


Jason

 

I'll take my sling shot and Vulcan death touch any day!

 

FMJ might be piercing armor, but they are definitely not armor piercing, I can shoot a 45 ACP FMJ all day and it isn't going to go through any serious armor without multiple hits to the same spot, armor piercing rounds usually have a hardened steel core or spike in the center of the round

 

Let's put something to rest. It is illegal for any civilian to own, but or sell anything armor piercing! Enough said.

 

Sorry I was speaking only of the 5.7x28mm FMJ's.

Yes, you are right about the video I just grabbed it as a quick video to show the shock wave produced by a bullet.

.380 ACP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKLX4VqZjMI&NR=1 9x19:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKC832xZ6RA&feature=channel_video_title&noredirect=1 40 S&W:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h23T1XS7tUo&feature=related 45 ACP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwAbIdamK2A&feature=related&noredirect=1 Ballistic Pressure Wave/Hydrostatic Shock
There is a significant body of evidence that Hydrostatic shock (more precisely known as the ballistic pressure wave) can contribute to handgun bullet effectiveness.
Recent work published by scientists M Courtney and A Courtney provides compelling support for the role of a ballistic pressure wave in incapacitation and injury.This work builds upon the earlier works of Suneson et al. where the researchers implanted high-speed pressure transducers into the brain of pigs and demonstrated that a significant pressure wave reaches the brain of pigs shot in the thigh. These scientists observed neural damage in the brain caused by the distant effects of the ballistic pressure wave originating in the thigh.
The results of Suneson et al. were confirmed and expanded upon by a later experiment in dogs which "confirmed that distant effect exists in the central nervous system after a high-energy missile impact to an extremity. A high-frequency oscillating pressure wave with large amplitude and short duration was found in the brain after the extremity impact of a high-energy missile . . ." Wang et al. observed significant damage in both the hypothalamus and hippocampus regions of the brain due to remote effects of the ballistic pressure wave.

 

Just started carring S&W 40
I like it so far

 

Hey! Dont shoot each other .