What to suggest to my stepson

[Notalentbum]

I have a number of hand guns that have been my primary home defense weapon of choice over the years. Currently I have a Ruger P95 next to the bed sitting beside my mini-safe. The mini safe is there for when the grandchildren are around. I also EDC my XDs even at home.
Recently my stepson has been asking about getting a handgun for at home. He has 6 year old and 13 year old daughters and an anti- gun wife that is slowly recognizing that relying on the .gov to protect her family is a lost cause. I honestly am not sure what to tell him. There are many features of my P95 that I like but others may not feel that my ideas are as sound as their own. In some ways I have considered suggesting a basic revolver but there are features of revolvers that I don't care for either. As soon as he has time we are going to stop over at MCF&G and I'll give him a bit of a lesson and let him run several mags through most of my pistols and see if he has a preference.
What are some that you would suggest and why?
He will be getting a mini-safe for quick access but it should be sufficient to keep the granddaughters away from it.

Thanks, Matt

 

[OakRiver]

Honestly I think you have it covered; get him to the range and get him to try a variety of guns in a variety of calibers and see what suits him best. Let him take point, but be there to help answer any questions he may have.

Before I settled on my handgun I fired a lot of different ones to find which one best suited my needs. Before I settled on my M&PC I shot;
XDM9
XDS45
FNP9
H&K VP9
Sig P938
Sig Nightmare 1911
Glock 19
S&W Shield
S&W M&P9 (full size)

 

[85Cosmo]

There are a million things to consider, but the safety of children in the house is the most important. Not just his, but friends and relatives that might stop by. Once a gun is in the house it begins a thought process that considers safety, assess if you need it, making sure it "is" an intruder and not a family member or friend, etc. I have a gun close by at home, but always thing of the what if's and pay very close attention to any guests that might come to the house. I know this is all known stuff, but worth thinking and planning about.

 

[Lees]

He and his wife can take a basic gun safety course and go from there.

 

[PistolBob]

Since it is the first firearm for home defense...why not treat him and his wife to a shooter safety course and a few hours with a 20g pump shotgun. I like pump shotguns for home defense. I'm also a fan of women carrying revolvers.

 

[bubbazap]

I think you are doing the best for him in letting him shoot your pistols to see what he likes/dislikes for each. However with kids in the house the first thing he should buy is a small safe to lock the gun up in . That was the one thing that sold my wife on me keeping a gun around the house (with kids in the home) But that was a long time and many guns ago

 

[Notalentbum]

I already told him the safe is the first purchase! They're my grandkids after all!

Matt

 

[PaulKersey]

If it is definitely going to be secured in the safe, a good Ruger/S&W revolver might be a good choice, due to simplicity and reliability. As an aside, I love the Ruger P95, but I had an issue with a guide rod on my P95 and when I contacted Ruger to get parts, I was told that since that model is no longer in production, parts are not available. Your only option for parts is the secondary market, and I found that guide rods/recoil springs are pretty difficult to locate.

 

[churchmouse]

1st.......use. Just HD duty or will he train with it like he should.
2nd.....Budget. All important.
3rd......caliber. This ties in with #2.
4th......Will he be including the spouse in this. No better way to bring them over than a good range trip.

 

[Vigilant]

Since it is the first firearm for home defense...why not treat him and his wife to a shooter safety course and a few hours with a 20g pump shotgun. I like pump shotguns for home defense. I'm also a fan of women carrying revolvers.

Why?(everything after the training). I'm a fan of letting women choose what they handle the best, revolver, pistol, shotgun, RIFLE, WHATEVER?

 

[Vigilant]

I already told him the safe is the first purchase! They're my grandkids after all!

Matt

Its amazing that with over 100 firearms in my house growing up, my brother and I lived through it all? We never had a safe, a box, or a paper bag, covering or hiding our firearms? What we had was training, and thoughtful speech on the handling of firearms. We were told we were NOT allowed to touch ANY of them while alone. We were also told, ANYTIME we wanted to touch them, ask mom or dad, and they would stop what they were doing, and make sure we could, and answer all questions we had. I guess my parents were bad, but they got me this far!

 

[Notalentbum]

Its amazing that with over 100 firearms in my house growing up, my brother and I lived through it all? We never had a safe, a box, or a paper bag, covering or hiding our firearms? What we had was training, and thoughtful speech on the handling of firearms. We were told we were NOT allowed to touch ANY of them while alone. We were also told, ANYTIME we wanted to touch them, ask mom or dad, and they would stop what they were doing, and make sure we could, and answer all questions we had. I guess my parents were bad, but they got me this far!

I completely agree on this. My siblings and I knew our limits! I did not grow up with guns so there were never any in our house until I bought my first Ruger 22 pistol. Kids are raised differently these days and while the older granddaughter could easily be trusted even at a much younger age, I think her little sister is just not ready for that level. On my stepdaughter's side, all three of her kids have been raised with guns laying out in the open and no issues there. Both of her sons wanted $$ for Christmas so they could get their lifetime LTCH.

Matt

 

[Lees]

I personally know another mom who had a visiting teenager accidentally shoot and kill her younger child. It turns out that kids, like adults, are prone to getting a bad case of the stupids. I grew up with guns, we never had a safe (well, we did, but I knew how to open it and use the gun to defend myself by age 10). I lived, but he didn't. Her child isn't here to post, since he's dead, but if he were I don't think he'd be lax on gun safety.

I sat with her, after, in the hospital. Seeing her grief...it's much more real than a news story. I will never forget her weeping.

OP your stepson has a gun-muggle wife, a safe and a safety class are going to go a long way towards helping the whole situation, and I would do that before doing anything else, and especially before handing her a shotgun. At the safety class they let you try out a few different guns (at least at the course I took), and it's a gentle way to start. She can take an all-female class and talk to the other women there.

 

[POB]

HK USP .45 V1. Large gun but good for home defense. Has a decocker with a safety. You can decock the hammer for a long double action pull and also flip the safety on top of that. Pretty safe.

 

[Notalentbum]

HK USP .45 V1. Large gun but good for home defense. Has a decocker with a safety. You can decock the hammer for a long double action pull and also flip the safety on top of that. Pretty safe.

Sounds exactly like my Ruger P-95 and those features are why it's been my preferred HD gun for 8-10 years.

Matt

 

[seedubs1]

Sounds like he's not educated enough to make HIS decision yet. Get him into some training and take him to a range where he can rent a bunch of guns (not just the ones that work for you). Nudge him towards quality and education and let him figure out if the best thing for him is a shotgun, ar, revolver, striker fire pistol, da/sa pistol, sao pistol, dao pistol, etc..... There's pros and cons to each type.

You mentioned revolvers. Keep in mind that it's pretty tough to put a weapon mounted light on a revolver. That to me is a non starter for a home defense firearm. Like I said, pros and cons to each platform, and he needs to figure out what works for him.

Last thing.....best thing I did when I moved in with my anti gun wife was to demonstrate responsibility by taking educational courses on firearm safety. After she's been exposed to safe firearm handling, she no longer cares one way or the other about guns. If his wife is anti gun in her house, it's probably because she's scared he'll not be responsible and safe.

 

[Route 45]

If you like the P95, I think of the Ruger 9E as an updated version. Striker fired instead of hammer fired, but they still have the thumb safety. Very reasonable cost to purchase, extra magazines are readily available, and very ergonomic. The 9E is a very soft shooter and has a consistent, decent trigger. Those attributes make it ideal for a home defense gun, and with the slim profile and light weight, it could double as a concealed carry weapon, although just a tad large. I don't think anyone makes night sights for them, but it has a rail for a light or laser. It also has a magazine disconnect safety which prevents it from being fired if there is no magazine in the gun. The magazine disconnect is easily removable, I removed mine because I don't care for that feature.

Here is mine. The OD green slide is not stock, I had it Cerakoted. The stock finish is a black oxide.