[quote]OuchThatHurt wrote:
http://www.drtammo.com/technology.html
sorry, forgot to include the ammo link.
i feel this type of ammo makes up for any shortcomings spoken about of the 9mm.
[/quote]
those DRT rounds are sick!
If it’s one gun for the range and home protection, I agree with the .357 recommendations. Easy to operate, reliable, and can shoot .357, .38, and 38+P ammo. A good .38 hollow point and six rounds are plenty against an intruder.
Benneli Black Eagle 5 shot semi-auto shotgun is the balls…although not cheap.
You bloody Americans and your guns.
If u are buying one for protection why dont u just go down to the dog pound and get a vicious dog for protection.
I have no problem if u needed a gun if u go hunting or live on a farm but why do all u guys need one in your house?
in the FBI crime report for 2007, 466.9 occurrences of violent crime per 100,000 inhabitants.
better to have one and never use it, then need one and not have it.
+1.
As mentioned earlier, in a home invasion you are likely to be pissing adrenaline and still in a sleep stupor. The dog on the other hand would have heard the prick entering and subsequently ripped its bollocks off, such that the first sound you hear is a scream of pain from said eunuch.
I totally agree with the fun side of things - shooting crap with a rifle is brilliant.
“to secure peace is to prepare for war.”
-George Washington?
357 magnum is a killer round, plus you can shoot 38 out of it. AK47 is the shit though. Highly inaccurate at long range but 7.62 will do wonders for a thief’s complexion. and wolf ammo is cheap as shit!
[quote]King of Kings wrote:
You bloody Americans and your guns.
If u are buying one for protection why dont u just go down to the dog pound and get a vicious dog for protection.
I have no problem if u needed a gun if u go hunting or live on a farm but why do all u guys need one in your house?[/quote]
sigh Oakland California police regularly shoot dogs when making dynamic entries into drug houses, sometimes 3-4 dogs a week are put down there, dogs are mortal, just like humans…You think criminal home-invaders won’t execute a dog on the way to rob/rape/pillage your domicile?. You have no room to talk, criminals do this on a regular basis in Oz, since ya’ll banned firearms for the good guys, so I have to ask: Why are you intruding on this thread to spread negativity when the OP was asking for help with his survival?.
Some people choose to fight rather than die dumb at the hands of cowardly scum armed with illegal weapons. You have no business judging other peoples survival options unless you are going to volunteer to protect them yourself, and that’s not practical, innt’?. We still have constitutional rights here (for the time being at least, maybe not after the next 4 years)…
OP: Get a 5 shot S&W revolver for the wife, load it with “nyclad” standard velocity .38 Special ammo for defense, use lower cost ammo for practice. You go with the standard Walther PPK in .32 Caliber (NOT .380!), make sure you have 4 spare magazines. Both weapons are controllable which makes shot placement, always the most important factor, a better deal. Avoid anything over .38/9mm at this point until you have refined your shooting skills. Get the book “In the Gravest Extreme” by Massad Ayoob as soon as possible. Trust me, I say without arrogance, I know what I’m talking about here…
No they don’t and no they haven’t. You can still licence a rifle with relative ease and handguns with a little more effort if you can prove its necissity on sporting grounds or for your profession. We are restricted on magazine sizes and no semi/full automatic firearms IIRC.
If you exclude organised crime, the rates of gun crime are low in Australia. The vast majority of home invasions are thefts with no violent outcomes, but of course you get the occasional piece of shit who beats the elderly. I think our serious assault rate is something like 100-120 per 100k, with most of it being drunken brawls.
Either way I agree that this doesn’t belong in this thread. I will not pretend to know what it is like to live in the USA and will not pass comment, just as you should not pass comment of what life is like in Australia.
Maybe a dog + gun is the answer :P?
I’ll second buying a .357 as it is always a meatier gun than the .38, plus there is always the option of loading with either .357 or .38 rounds. And I think Taurus produces a pink .357 for the wifey. 
If you are looking at a larger caliber the new Springfild XD 45s are very nice. They now include both grip and trigger safeties, and I thought I had seen a model with a thumb leaver safety as well (but don’t hold me to that). The XD provides a 13+1 capacity with a grip very similar to that of a 1911. As opposed to the monstrously large tree trunk of a grip the comprable Glock 21 (?) model. The XD tames the .45 round making for easy target aquisition and smooth firing. I put a full 250 round brick thru my XD 45 in one afternoon with only a little wrist soreness experienced in the last 50 rounds or so. Single hand shooting felt weak compared to 1911s, but with a standard two grip the gun felt great. And at 1/2 the price of a decent 1911, not a bad option.
9mm Carbines are another fun to shoot easy on the wallet option.
[quote]drenelin wrote:
If u are buying one for protection why dont u just go down to the dog pound and get a vicious dog for protection.
+1.
As mentioned earlier, in a home invasion you are likely to be pissing adrenaline and still in a sleep stupor. The dog on the other hand would have heard the prick entering and subsequently ripped its bollocks off, such that the first sound you hear is a scream of pain from said eunuch.
[/quote]
Yeah, because everyone has the type of living arrangement where they can buy any dog, let alone one with that kind of temperment.
/sarcasm
[quote]King of Kings wrote:
You bloody Americans and your guns.
If u are buying one for protection why dont u just go down to the dog pound and get a vicious dog for protection.
I have no problem if u needed a gun if u go hunting or live on a farm but why do all u guys need one in your house?[/quote]
I’m allergic to dogs. I don’t have the time to walk it during work. Are you suggesting I get a dog, struggle to breathe, tear my skin off, let it piss and shit itself in my tiny apartment, because guns are somehow inherently evil?
The amount of home invasions in oz where the intruder is armed with a gun is tiny, like the other poster said the majority of assaults are drunken brawls.
Personally I prefer it that way, although if guns were legal I’d undoubtedly be armed to the teeth.
In australia guns are technically only machine guns (m60 for example), but the actual name is beside the point…
I posted an irreverent suggestion Doug, not a directive. No shit some people don’t have the appropriate living arrangement. Maybe I should ask for full medical histories and detailed floor plans before I make my next off-hand remark.
[quote]PRCalDude wrote:
Shotgun. Remington 870[/quote]
the short one with a pistol grip.
[quote]celibrate2047 wrote:
My wife and I have decided to purchase a gun. I have shot a few guns, but I have never owned one before. Mindy suggested a shot gun as a first gun. For those of you that own guns, what is your suggestion for a first gun?[/quote]
A decent 22 semi auto pistol. the cost of ammo is very cheap and it gives you a great opportunity to practice and develop the basic skills. If you stick with it, check out Glocks, SA XDs,and similar pistols.
Easy to use, disassemble and clean, and relatively inexpensive.
Everyone get s a boner about 9mms, 40s, and 45s, but using a pistol properly is something that takes practice and 10-25 dollars for a box of fifty is something people don’t account for at first. They see it’s expensive to shoot, don’t practice, and then don’t develop the rights kills.
Shotguns can be great for home defense, but aren’t a cure all. they can be difficult to manuever with and hard to use if you need to call for help while a bad situation is occurring.
For me, my current favorite is a compact SA XD in 45 caliber. I picked it up for 400 $ used in great condition. It came with 4 total mags. It shoots great, is reliable, and easy for me to handle.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
357 or a shotgun.
If she wants to shoot at the range go for the 357 and shoot 38 loads.
Fun, accurate, hard hitting and easy to maintain. [/quote]
Good choice also.
[quote]King of Kings wrote:
You bloody Americans and your guns.
If u are buying one for protection why dont u just go down to the dog pound and get a vicious dog for protection.
I have no problem if u needed a gun if u go hunting or live on a farm but why do all u guys need one in your house?[/quote]
Not this again.
I really appreciate all the responses.
She said the recoil on the shot gun wouldn’t be a problem for her. She also mentioned wanting something light weight and small to keep in her purse in addition to having one around the house.
I think we’re going to head down to the gun range in a few weeks and try out a few.
We do have a dog in the house that’s very verbal about anyone in our yard and noises in the house. But I like the idea of having a bit more protection if needed.
When you say your wife missing “shooting at the range” what type of shooting does she like to do? Trap/Skeet/clays? Pistol? Rifle? If it is anything other than pistol range, you are looking at buying two guns, as a rifle is a sorry choice for home defense and a short-barreled shotgun sucks balls at the trap/skeet/clays range.
For home defense, I think there is no better choice than a short-barreled pump gun with a full stock, magazine extension, saddle mag for extra shells and a flashlight. Add a good sling, a box of high-brass 4s and you are good to go. Make sure it is a full stock, as she may have problems controlling a pistol grip shotgun.
As far as handguns go, I prefer a .40 Glock or a .45 ACP. That said, it is all personal preference and you should take the wife to a range that rents guns and let her shoot a few of them. No point in getting her a gun that she is not comfortable shooting. I would also suggest that you look for an IPSC group and spend some time practicing.