Kirra wrote:
I've been to a gun range before..the kick from the gun almost knocked me on my butt. I don't have alot of upper body strength so I worry that he would take it away from me and use it on me. I can't really pack up and go..I used all my vacation time when I miscarried.
I saw a real estate agent to sell my house in the spring. The police are still doing
drive -bys, and I am being very cautious.
I can't tell you how much it touches me that you are all concerned and have me in your thoughts. Thank You so much. I'm not going to let him win and scare me, I'm going to sign up for a self defense class they are running at the Y. I will not let him run me out, it will be my decision when I leave!
A lot of it "almost knocking you on your butt" was just you not being used to it. It's noyt actually physically possible for a round from any kind of small arm to knock the firer down, except in very unusual circumstances (off balance on a sheet of ice maybe).
As for upper body strength, there are weapon retention techniques that work well for small female police officers. Really though, if you should have to pull a gun out on this guy, by the time he gets close enough to take it you should have pulled the trigger. If you don't think you can.. don't pull the trigger. If he confronts you, don't let him do the movie thing of walking towards you with his hands up and open talking calmly so you don't shoot him. Just because he's holding his hands in an ostensibly benign fashion doesn't mean he's not threatening you if he approaches you. He's assaulted you once already, so if he does you can definitely interpret that as a threat.
Bear in mind though that despite the fact that people often survive handgun wounds, if you do shoot him you'll have to live with that, and moreso if you kill him. That's ok; lots of people live with that. Just bear in mind you won't forget it and you may need some counselling. Also, make sure that you don't shoot him if he's
not doing something threatening like trying to get within reach of you.
Just don't be Kim Bauer and you'll be fine.
Also, don't worry too much about caliber or ammunition type. A .22 is probably inadequate but anything else should be fine. Get a gun that is comfortable to carry and fire (not just small enough to be comfortable, but a comfortable shape too. I can't fire a Walther PPK; the gun James Bond carries, despite it being small. It's shape and the bone shape in my hands make it bite something fierce.) Accuracy is much more important than the qualities of the weapon itself, and accuracy comes from you.