What's a realistic self-defense handgun for a teenage girl?

I wrote this wonderful response about gun handling, safety issues and firearm selection and NaNoWriMo ate it, because of slow computer issues. /grrrr

He'll teach her the 4 Rules of Gun Safety.
He'll find a firearm that fits her hands.
He'll explain the differences between revolvers and pistols, and why putting clips into pistols is usually a bad thing.
He'll find out which of her eyes is dominate, so her sights will align properly.
He'll explain what caliber is, and how it's measured, and why self-defense firearms should have a caliber that starts with 4 or better, if you can control it. (.40S&W, .45ACP, .44 Magnum are very good choices.)
He'll explain why picking a gun you can handle is more important than the caliber. (If it hurts to shoot it, you won't practice.)
He'll explain that in stress, your vision decreases, your pulse elevates, and why training helps you hit what you're aiming at.
He'll explain about carrying concealed in their location. (http://handgunlaws.us good place to start)
He'll explain breathing, and trigger control, and sight alignment, and "Front Sight, Press".
He'll tell her than women make better students because they don't automatically think they know how to use a handgun "Just Like Dirty Harry/Bruce Willis/Stephen Segal"
He'll explain handguns that have an adjustable backstrap make it easier for different sized hands to reach the trigger and safeties.
He'll explain that the best safety is the one between the ears.
He'll explain that a small gun she can carry & have on her is better than a big gun that's too bulky and always at home in the safe.

Here are a few specific models to look up on Wikipedia or Google:
Springfield XD in 9mm or .40S&W
Glock 17, 19 in 9mm
Star PD in .45ACP
Browning Buckmark in .22
Ruger 22/45 in .22
Ruger GP100 in .38 Special or .357 Magnum
Bersa Thunder in .380
Beretta Tomcat in .32ACP
Taurus 24/7 Compact in .40S&W
Colt Combat Commander in .45acp

Hope this helps!

That's wonderful, thank you :D

Blood Queen, 08--won!

Poor Devils, 09--pending~

I use a Smith and Wesson .40 calliber, M&P compact. It's small enough to fit into a teen girl's hands and doesn't give a whole lot of kick. Easier to be accurate with than a bigger caliber. I'm 20 and a guy, but I'm super small so my hands come into play when I'm buying a gun. The first poster had some good tips on gun handling, so I won't repeat that.

Good luck!

Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~Anton Chekhov

My dad is a marine and I forget what his job was called but it had a lot to do with guns and ammunition, and he was going to show me how to shoot, but we never got around to it. But he said he wanted to train me on a rifle first and a pistol second. She needs to spend a pretty good amount of time at a shooting range before she gets comfortable with a gun. The first few times she fires she will jump from the sound, and if she's a normal teenage girl maybe squeal in a combo of fear and excitement. I'm almost 23 and I would probably still squeal. lol. She'd probably have to try out various types of guns and talk to people in the know before finding the right one for her. She would need one that would fit nicely in her hand that would not deliver a lot of recoil. She would need a permit and case and a cleaning kit too.

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Derringers? Don't have a lot of knowledgeon guns myself but I know derringers are small and don't have much kickback.

Derringers tend to be small, and thus easily concealable. Unfortunately, they tend to be inaccurate, and usually a small caliber, and have only 2 or 4 rounds.

For a novice shooter, who's not experienced with its flaws, pulling out a derringer means the attacker is already very close, the round has be in the central nervous system to do much good, and the recoil *could* twist the gun out of the hands just when it's needed most.

The first rule of a gunfight - don't be there if you can prevent it.
Second rule - don't bring a knife if the other participant has a gun.
Third rule - bring enough gun to do the job. (Saving your life!)
Fourth rule - use the small gun to fight your way to a big gun.

We know she's going to be in peril. 1st rule, out the door.
We know she's going to be in jeopardy. 250lb man beats up 100lb woman 98 out of 100 times. Firearms are a force equalizer, not a magic wand. "I've got a gun" does no good if you can't hit a mansized target until they have their hands on your throat. :(
This is a "Bring enough gun" situation. If she doesn't bring enough gun, she's going to get hurt before she stops him. But if she practices enough with the derringer, it could be her "ultimate lifesaver."
Just having the derringer will help *maybe* hold off the bad guy until help arrives. But don't count on it.

Would you take a .22 round in the arm, if you could get to the gunwielder faster than they can shoot again?
Would you risk it with a .45 round?
Would you risk it if they had LOTS of .45 rounds?

There are many documented cases of people taking multiple round hits, and still attacking. If she's being hunted, she's got to be smart and bring enough gun to survive.

Walther PPk
Compact and easy to fire. Plus gets the stamp of approval by James Bond.

Larger guns are nice if you have larger hands and training, but a 16-year-old girl has neither.

A 350lb man will go down if he is shot in the face with a .22, .380, .40 or .45

Brain dead is brain dead.

Actually, in most calibers, derringers aren't very accurate and have a pretty good kick. Not a good suggestion for a newbie.

My suggestion is actually either a rifle--maybe an old or new M1 Carbine (Kahr makes new ones) or an AR--or a revolver. The AR's with a folding stock are adjustable, don't kick much, and put the bang pretty far from the face. A revolver mitigates issues with grip-size in autopistols and has less moving parts. A .357 or .38 Special firing .38 Special rounds isn't too much of a kick. They also come in 9mm versions (check Ruger's lines. Also inexpensive).

As far as pistols, the single-column SiG's or Smith and Wessons are probably a reasonable start.

Thank you all so much...

Lots of info...good. I don't want to make it all up and sound like a moron :)

Blood Queen, 08--won!

Poor Devils, 09--pending~

For concealed carry, if she drills until she can handle a jam, a Browning Baby .25 auto, or any of its clones, is another option. With an anti-personnel round like a hollow-point semi-wadcutter, it has plenty of hit. My husband likes mine! It's accurate at 25 feet. In the right hands, it's accurate to 25 yards, but that's unusual.

After that--practice, practice, practice. It used to be my pillow gun when he worked nights and I was home alone.

One thing no-one thinks of: if the grips are checkered, change them out for smooth. Checkering is for horny-calloused frontiersmen with little hand sensitivity wearing winter gloves. They will cut up soft hands, and she won't want to practice much. There's no need for them if you're not out in the snow.

For that matter, she might want thicker grips than factory issue. I have very small hands (the size of my gunsmith's, lol: he's a bit shorter than me, too), and I frequently go to wooden combat grips on revolvers. It's like with little kids just learning to write: they give them pencils the size of a calf's leg. I think it helps someone whose grip isn't vise-like yet. Remember, rubber grips stink and the smell is hard to get off your hands. I class it with skunk for nasty, though it isn't quite as persistent.

In a totally maverick opinion, I don't believe in sights in self-defense. They're fine for learning to hold the gun level, but they're training wheels. If someone is so far away you need the sights, they are not a self-defense situation unless they're shooting at you. I believe in point-shooting for up close, because you don't have to stick the gun way out in front of you at eye level. You can keep it closer at chest level, which makes you harder to disarm. (My bro the retired police sergeant and range-master taught point-shooting.)

Ninety percent of real situations I think are determined by do you look afraid of the gun, afraid of the assailant despite having a gun, or annoyed at all the damned paperwork this could lead to. Of course, psychos in books never suffer fear or uncertainty (my DH has dealt with one of those on PCP--the psycho, that is).

Hope that helps!

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This helps immensely. thank you :D

Blood Queen, 08--won!

Poor Devils, 09--pending~

I'd say it'd be a little irresponsible to hand a .45 or even .40S&W to a complete newbie. Especially a small, young woman.

She'd likely learn nothing, get very sore wrists, probably have an accident an develop a fear of guns.

.22 pistols or even air pistols are excellent for training total beginners.

After that (and you generally won't be allowed to carry a gun in public until at least after that) something like a .38 would be a good choice for self defense.

A .45ACP is going to be difficult or impossible for a small woman to conceal and impossible to shoot accurately if she has no experience.

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I'd go with a .38 Special.. they are small, not a lot of kick :)