We can pick apart what she may have done wrong, as she already has herself I'm sure, but this was smart. Kept the cart between her and the threat. That was quick thinking.M-Quigley wrote:She's got a panic button on her car keys, but she was so startled by his sudden approach she dropped her keys on the ground. Instead of picking them up though, she put her cart in between her and him, since he moved in quicker..
Okay, I'll be the bad male who doesn't understand how difficult on-body carry is for women, and I'll point this out: Even if she had a gun in her purse, would she have been able to deploy it? Lucky Gunner did some tests including a woman who is very experienced with purse carry, and on average it took them over 4 seconds from draw to 1st shot. It's in their article Purse Carry is the Worst Carry. So she's standing there with 3 aggressive young males just feet away, there's no way they're letting her root around in her purse for 4+ seconds.M-Quigley wrote:Her excuses were she couldn't find a way to comfortably body carry, carrying in her purse weighs her purse down, and if she has her kids with her she doesn't want her kids to get a hold of it. (she didn't have her kids with her at the time)
Now the ladies on the board can tell me what an insensitive caveman I am.
Here's a couple more sacred cows I'll slaughter: capacity and accuracy. They're not bad, but in the vast majority of civilian DGUs they don't really matter much if at all. In many cases the gun won't even need to be fired, and in the times it is distance is likely to be 10' or less and 2-3 rounds. Your friend's situation is great evidence of this: Did she need a gun she can shoot 2" groups at 10 yards with, or did she need something she could (a) carry, (b) deploy quickly and (c) get solid hits within 10' or less?M-Quigley wrote:The gun that her husband bought for her is a slightly compact version of a full size 9mm.(not a G19, but that size) It's an easy gun for her to shoot with, but not as concealable, and certainly not a pocket sized pistol.
Now to really set peoples' teeth on edge: She should consider a small revolver. Not because she's a delicate flower who can't handle a manly gun, but because revolvers shine at contact-distances and she just discovered that if she ever needs to use a gun, it'll be at or very near contact distance. Ruger's 5 shot 38spl LCR weighs about 15.5 ounces loaded. Get it, a DeSantis Nemisis pocket holster and whatever defensive ammo she likes.