Hand Gun Questions

This totally feels like a trap.

"Sig 40" likely means a Sig Sauer pistol in .40 S&W caliber.

Sig Sauer is a major manufacturer that offers a variety of automatic pistols models in .40 S&W (Smith & Wesson) caliber.

.40 S&W is a popular law enforcement pistol round and has successfully found a niche between the universal 9mm (fast and light) and the popular American .45 ACP (slow and heavy).

It is likely that your husband will be given something like a Sig Sauer P226 in .40 S&W. It is a full size service pistol popular with many police departments. It does not feature a manual safety device.

As far as a safe, if you're only interested in a single handgun for self defense, a steel lunchbox-sized safe chained to your bed frame or other heavy furniture and secured with a quick combination and key lockout is a good choice to prevent little hands from gaining access. A handgun for self defense is useless if you can't get to it quickly under stress. Another must-have item in the mini safe would be a flashlight of some sort--handheld or weapon-mounted--as the handgun is also useless if you cannot identify potential intruders as a threat. Proper ammunition selection is important but not something of primary concern in this case. Priorities: Get the handgun and flashlight from the safe, barricade yourself and hit up that Dial-a-Prayer of 911.

Gun safety with kids requires two things: security and education. The handgun and related items must be properly secured so as to prevent children and dumbass adults from handling them without authorization. Education removes the magic from the handgun and instructs the child to follow the Eddie Eagle mantra of: "Stop, don't touch, leave the area, find an adult." You've likely got a decade before you need to worry about getting little Betsy her own .22 and the related safety training classes.

The primary handling difference between rifles and handguns is that rifles are generally more forgiving of user errors due to the additional points of contact with your body: three points of contact are more stable than one. You frame up a rifle by placing your firing hand on the grip, your non-firing hand on the forearm and the buttstock of the rifle into your shoulder pocket. A typical handgun does not have a shoulder stock and requires that both hands be touching as a part of a firing grip due to its small size. As such, you'll notice that jerking the trigger, sporting a loose grip or general poor posture will send your rounds all over the target. A rifle also has a much longer sight radius (distance between the front blade and rear aperture) with finer sight components and thus is easier to aim, whereas most handguns feature a short sight radius and large front blades and rear notches and thus more difficult to aim. That said, nearly anyone can become adept at 50 feet with a pistol if they put in the time.

As far as beginning handling tips: hold the handgun firmly with both hands as high as possible on the grip with both of your thumbs both pointing forward along the top of the non-palm side ("like two dogs humping"), rotate up and lock out your elbows so that you pinch the highest portion of the grip with the inside of your palm below the index fingers (the "knife edge" of your hand; this creatures a rigid frame for the gun to operate on). Place your finger pad on the trigger and squeeze slowly and deliberately until the weapon fires (do not force the gun to fire), holding your finger down on the trigger as the action cycles so as to avoid disrupting your shot (this is called "follow through" and is basically the same idea behind doing a 3 point shot with a basketball). Release the trigger slowly and stop when you feel the click of the trigger reset and then begin the assessing-aiming-firing process once again. Recoil may seem stout at first but you will grow accustomed to it quickly when practicing.

Example of Proper Grip - Left Side
Example of Proper Grip - Right Side

I would highly recommend you both receive formal self-defense scenario training from a credible instructor or institution. For as little as $200 a person you'll receive a huge boost to your handgun proficiency and thus confidence.

Hope that helps.

 

Where's the pics????

Is it a sweet Made in Germany model?

 

Handguns are basically purchased for self defense. They're generally small, easily employed in tight quarters and have manageable recoil. There are exceptions, large, high powered pieces that are intended for hunting or long range shooting.

The Sig is a quality handgun and the .40 S&W is a very popular self defense round. It doesn't have a lot of recoil and only a moderate muzzle blast. The full size p226 will hold up to 12 rounds of ammunition in the magazine and one in the chamber. It's easy to learn to shoot and has extreme reliability.

While I understand your concern about safe storage, you must keep in mind that this is a defensive weapon and that it's usefulness is considerably lessened by storing it in a locked safe or container. Under stress you may not be able to access the weapon in time to use it for your defense. I would consider securing a holster behind the headboard of your bed, keep it in a nightstand drawer that's equipped with a child resistant latch. Many weapons have been kept between the mattress and box springs quite successfully.

If your state allows I'd suggest you acquire a Concealed Carry Permit. All threats are not at home. You should be able to keep your gun with you if you choose or feel threatened. Without a permit you may encounter legal issues if you have it with you. Consider taking a basic pistol course from a local instructor he can teach you the necessary skills for safe and effective use of the weapon. This advise applies to your husband as well if he's not been trained.

I admire your father-in-law for his decision to provide you and your family with a means of self defense. He's a very wise and thoughtful individual.

 

Pretty much as above.
Storage and deployment have multiple variables , both as relates to the humans present , and the overall security posture of your residence ( location, doors & windows , alarms , dogs , etc - all relating to how much advance warning of a critical situation you would have).

Since you mentioned not having handgun experience, and you didn't mention spouses experience with shooting And instructing handguns , you first step is instruction from an NRA certified instructor. At the basic level this will get you to load, unload, and go bang when you wish w/o shooting self accidently. To become reasonably competent will require instruction from someone conversent in defensive shooting for several hundred additional rounds, and practicing a cpl times a year to maintain familarity.