SELF DEFENSE HANDGUNS

THREE .380 TEST FIRES AND .357 PRACTICE

target 1

target 2 - RugerLCP, Glock42

Showme Shooters Indoor range in Claycomo (Kansas City, Mo).
Test fired three semi-auto .380's
Practiced shooting the Ruger SP101 .357 revolver for my body stance and accuracy, double and single action.

Target 1: Glock G42
Target 2, Ruger LCP 380 on the body. Glock G42 head & neck shot.
Target 3, SmithandWesson Bodyguard all outside #8 line. Ruger SP101 .357 revolver inside #8 and the center.

Of the 380's, my husband prefered the Ruger LCP, his target not shown. These were all my shots with my least favorite, the Ruger LCP. It's super lightweight with narrow grip had too much recoil, over my head and made my hand sore. I could barely get my fingers to yank open the slide of that narrow LCP.
The Smith and Wesson trigger was too long (didn't go bang till it was fully depressed). Meant as a safety feature but I know where my finger is, when I press that trigger it better go bang. "The 380 is a hammer-fired, DAO pistol with second strike capability. With so much work to do, the 380 go-pedal is long and heavy. But effective. And . . . that’s about it. Compared to a gun with a great trigger, the 380’s was mediocre at best."
For me aiming for accuracy was difficult, the barely visible laser was too far out of finger reach, too much recoil to be accurate.....so much for ultra lightweight guns.
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com

The Glock G42 was really fun to shoot! Fit perfect in my small hands, easy to wrap my hands around and its trigger was not soft but not so hard -- no surprise for my finger when it went off. The slide was easy and smooth compared to the others. With HiVis sights, I shot the target within a fraction of an inch where I aimed. As we checked out of the range, I asked the counter man what a Glock G42 cost, I was pleasantly surprised when he said under $459. My husband concluded it would be easy to reload as well and seemed to fit me better all around. I've finally narrowed my conceal carry gun choices down that the Glock G42 scored the best.
It's so tempting to go for the popular trendy gun, but even a moderately priced pistol is a major expense. My husband and I read about several models online and we handled them at the new Frontier Justice indoor range across town. But what looked good, turned out the gun was just cheaply made and a feature that looked convenient on a gun was just a pain in the butt in actual handling (Bodyguard's laser). A gun fits good in my husband's hand but it's a monster in mine and makes my hand sore to shoot. That ain't no fun.

#3 Bodyguard 380

-- Before buying a gun it'd be wise to test fire many sizes and models to get a realistic feel of its mechanics and your eye-hand coordination.

Then there's the Ruger 357 Revolver. OoooooooAaaaahhhhhh.....I use to have fun with a Ruger 22 Semi-auto with a laser.. Not no mo'! The revolver is just heavy enough when shooting, it does not throw the hand over the head. I shot the revolver inside #8 and the center. It hits the target very well for an intermediate shooter like me. It's not big like a .45 but it's too big for conceal carry and kinda sags a bit heavy in the holster. Otherwise, the SP makes your heart pump to shoot!
Note: photo purpose only, I had one hand on the phone,