I don't have kids, just me, my husband and a cat. We live on an acre surrounded by mature trees. One visible neighbor by a fence to the side. The lots are 3-5 acres around us. We are off the main road on a small access road. I do feel uneasy when I am at home alone, hence why I chose to get a gun. I don't think it is an unsafe area and odds are high I will never have to defend myself but...the world is changing and I prefer to be prepared. Believe me, it has not been a light or impulsive decision to buy a gun and I am trying to do it the right way. I took safety classes over several years and have shot a lot of guns at the range in the classes and with friends to pick a gun that works well for me as a starting point. I know I have a lot of work ahead of me and I am committed to put time, money and effort in being a proficient and responsible gun owner. The house split story, is very open, lots of windows, deck goes to second floor. I actually do not have a room without a window, except a small closet downstairs...and the cell phone doesn't work well in the house, for sure not in the closet. I can't think how to barricade myself in a room, unless it's a room with a window...
You have taken the first and most important step, that being, exercising your 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. You seem to have a well thought out plan covering safety and proficiency and the knowledge you'll gain is invaluable. When it comes to equipment its pretty basic and you seem to have that covered with the exception of a range bag. When it comes to accessories now your in a brand new ballpark. That is a path you will have to forge on your own because everyone is different. If I may use an analogy, it is kinda like buying a car. Some will settle for nothing but the beast with all the bells and whistles when others just want the stripped down basic version but most want something in between. It's not a one size fits all. The best part of this forum is that once you decide that you want X you can ask about X and the users here can help you narrow down the choices by related their experiences with X (X being the accessory you are interested in). Welcome...
A room on the second floor would work. By barricade I just mean put yourself somewhere you won't immediately be seen when the door gets kicked open. On the floor with your bed between you and the bedroom door, etc. I don't think too many home invasions involve ladders through second story windows. You can position yourself so that the direction you would be shooting at a home invader ( assumably the door to the bedroom you are calling your safe room) is not a direction where if you miss the threat, the bullet might travel through walls and into a neighbors house. Have a landline phone in the room. First order of business, dial 911, tell the operator you have a problem, give the address and don't hang up. The main idea is that searching through your house for a home invader takes away your advantage and puts you in more danger than just hiding in a room where there is only one feasible way in, while you cover that door with your weapon.
what we mean by "what ammo your gun will like", is that some guns just do not shoot some ammo brands very well. it can be a "trial and error" ordeal, to find the ammo that YOUR gun loves and loves to shoot.
Hollow points also expand, creating a larger wound channel and increasing the odds of stopping the threat more quickly.
yes, i was just going for lesser chance's of over penetration, to possibly hurt someone nearby.
Let me add a piece of info that may shed light on my choice of gun. I had a very bad experience with a gun as a teenager - I am from Romania, when I went to college it was mandatory enrolment in the army for one year, which included mostly monthly classes and taking apart a rifle and putting it together etc. We had to shoot it in a field range once, 3 bullets, while laying down and leaning the gun on sand bags. No training in how to hold it or proper positioning, no ear protection or eye protection. People in Romania do not own guns like here and we don't have public shooting ranges. It was in summer, we were wearing thin Army uniforms, no padding on shoulder. That day most students they brought in were from colleges with high proportion of women. There was a lot of noise, smell of gun powder, military guys with stars on their shoulder, way too much testosterone and little regard for women (it's a cultural thing) annoyed they had to be there, yelling at us to shoot and do it fast because they had to get the day done. Safety was loose by comparison with what we do here. I shot the first bullet and the recoil of the gun hit me really hard (clearly I did not know how to hold it). I shot the other two through tears, not seeing the target while I was being screamed at to finish the rounds. At the end of the day I had a cracked clavicle and the arm in a sling for several weeks and a severe fear of guns. I was 19.
As others have said, certain weapons like certain brands of ammo, but most "quality" ammo is usually proficient. The grain will determine how much punch it has and conversely the recoil associated with it. They also have +p which has even more power and usually a bit more recoil. Different ammo's need to be fired to find what you are comfortable with. There is also the issue of FMJ (full metal jacket) versus hollow point and other projectile configurations. FMJ will most likely travel completely through your target. Where this could come into play is if god forbid you have to fire at a bad guy it could completely go through and strike innocents behind them or if fired in a home through many walls but it is also the most economical for range use. Hollow points expand, make it less likely to go completely through and the expansion causes more damage resulting more stopping power. I use FMJ for practice only, some like to intermix some FMJ with their personal defense loads in case the bad guy is wearing heavy clothing or whatever. Only thing to remember there is once you find what you are comfortable with then buy quality ammo and if you use different configuration for your defense loads and your range ammo match the grain of your practice ammo to that of your defense loads so that you are experiencing the same recoil and such if you need to fire for protection.
Looks like an angel, acts like a tiger...at least mine does...the safe room and the gun are the back-up...
I am sorry you had such a terrible first experience with guns. It sounds like you made great progress working with the right people.
Welcome aboard!
I was nervous when I first started carrying too. Wear it around the house in baby steps.
I got the 4.25in one. Thank you for the links, very useful.
It was not my intention to scare you off 1911s or make them suspect to you. They are the oldest continually manufactured handgun for a reason. The design is amazing and they are among my favorite handguns. They are however not all created equally and most of them are not custom grade right out of the box. Almost all of them, even the cheap ones ( which yours is not) can be made to run reliably. They do have their idiosyncrasies though and along with breaking them in with ammo and insuring they run reliably with that ammo, there are other considerations when using them for self defense that are not considerations on some of the more modern, striker fired handguns.
