Originally Posted By: bobbob
I thought the 32 ACP and the .380 were just to cease hostilities and were not really Manstoppers. That being said, my wife has very
small hands and a hand condition that renders her to not be able to absorb recoil. Would a .32 keep a perp away and if not, how about
the .380? Thanks for your opinions
Would a perp attack your wife?
Who's to say? maybe/maybe not.
can they stop/kill? yes. They can. Are they optimal? No. they are not. Do I think that they can hit harder than your wife's fist, considering her medical conditions? I'd say likely so. Training will be completely key, here. I would get her involved in some courses which teach weapon retention, hand-to-hand with a firearm, and have her become proficient with it. Not just plinking at still targets on a range in some slow boring manner, but moving, shooting, retaining a weapon, simunition courses, etc.
I strongly recommend Shivworks AMIS, and Shivworks ECQC, as well as their MUC course.
Now, before the "She's a woman" "She can't do that" "We don't want to spend money on training" and all that jibberish hits the fan, I'll head it off now. You go and give the average female with tiny hands and a condition that keeps her from shooting a 9mm a pistol, offer her no training but standing in a stall at the local range popping off a round every few seconds at a target that doesn't yell scream and move, and then thrust her into a life and death situation with a guy who;s bent on raping her or stealing her ATM card, and see how her odds of butterfingering it up stand. Then take the same women who has been through good training, knows her limitations and how she can or can't count on herself to move and effect her environment, and imagine how much higher the odds will go up that she will know when/if drawing the weapon at all is best due to time/proximity, etc.
More and more I see people buying firearms and treating them like talismans. They buy a 0.5 MOA capable rifle, put a cheap scope on it with poor tracking and light transmission, and shoot 20 rounds through it, and then proclaim it "good to 800 yards!" Well...the base rifle, maybe... Same thing with handguns. You asked "Will a .32 stop an attacker?" no. it won't. It will just sit there in a magazine while the attacker does whatever. guns and bullets and good intentions don't stop anybody. Good, well-trained or lucky people using tools (whether a knife, or pistol, or whatever) are what stop bad people. Now you have to decide...is your wife going to rely on luck, or training and knowledge? Your call.
*If you get the training and learn, you will figure out her actual limits, and can make the best decision based on that. Train before buying the weapon, if that's your path, as it will save you the money and hassle of buying another weapon, or selling the one you initially bought and replacing it.
