Re: Non Lethal Self Protection Advice
A handgun would be my choice but possibly not a good choice for your MIL. Most women have trouble racking the slide on a semi-auto and a Glock 36 (45 ACP) might be a bit much in the recoil department for her due to it's light weight. A revolver is simpler for newcomer's to start with but the trigger pull on some D.A. revolver's is pretty heavy. My wife can shoot my little Kahr CW9 (9mm double action, very concealable semi-auto) but has trouble with the double action trigger on my Ruger SP101 (.357/.38 Special). She can't come close to racking the slide on the Kahr, though. If your MIL gets interested in a handgun, I'd recommend a 9mm. The S&W M&P semi-auto 9mm is a pretty soft shooter and has adjustable grip inserts to accommodate different hands of different sizes. 9mm defensive loads have come a long way and pretty much close the gap between handgun calibers, IMO. A miss with a 45 isn't as good as a few hits with a 9mm (Speer 124 gr Gold Dots, for instance.)
Shooting any handgun well requires a commitment to learn the manual of arms and to practice on a regular basis. As has been pointed out, even police officer's with training have trouble hitting accurately when the pressure is on. It would be great if you could get her interested in shooting but, even if this happens, she still has a lot to overcome if she's worried about shooting someone.
I like the idea of a well trained dog. For in the house, a 20 gauge shotgun would probably be better if she will not commit to handgun training but she would still need to train with the shotgun. Having a shotgun outside while gardening would be a problem, IMO. She might want to give up outside activities until things settle down.
I sure hope everything works out. No one should have these kinds of worries in their own home.
WyoBob
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