As a follow-up to the post Couple Wants to Choose Handguns, I heard back from the couple in regards to their plan.
First, they came to the conclusion that their actual top self-defense concern was two-legged predators, not bears. A shooting session with renting several different models of 9mm semi-automatic pistols provided the answers they were looking for. It should be noted that the wife quickly applied the shooting experience from her childhood and was a competent gun-handler and accurate shot. The husband was an excellent beginning student with no bad habits. He was soon grouping his shots in a neat, controlled, and repeatable fashion.
Their choice? Read their conclusion below:
We wanted to thank you for spending time to talk through our situation. You are a great teacher and you made the introduction to handling and shooting your guns a low stress experience. We keep talking about how much fun it was. We felt very comfortable with the Glocks and want to get a pair for ourselves. I found a couple of gun shops in the area that I am going to visit when we get up there.
If you find yourself in a similar position of choosing handguns for the first time, I would strongly advise you to get competent instruction from a professional and to rent or borrow several different types and models of handguns before you buy.