Always been a fan of a hammerless revolvers such as the Smith Airweight or Ruger LCR for a lady with a purse. They are very uncomplicated, will go “BANG” every time the trigger is pulled, no hammer or slide to snag on anything, so can, in an emergency, be fired through the purse or a pocket for those times when there is no time to pull the weapon prior to firing. .38 +P is as good as a 9mm at the range they are intended for. Love the .45, but for now, nobody makes a really compact one when compared to the R9….I keep my .45 by the bed and the R9S in my pocket.
P.S. Don’t let the ideology of a laser sight diminish your desire for range time. Seen many laser equipped shooters that couldn’t hit a paper plate at 10 yards, let alone 10 feet. Best you can count on with a laser is to scare the assailant before you have to fire the weapon. Laser does not equal accuracy nor does it replace practice. Don’t give in to the false feeling a laser provides, it will not help your accuracy, just try holding one on target and see how much you move, and you move even more just as the trigger breaks, trust The Toad on this one and practice. When your life is at stake, you won’t have time to center that red dot anyway.
