I agree with the .38/.357 recommendations. A couple more benefits are with adrenalin and a moveing target working against you, and you happen to miss, the very loud, intimidating bang it makes might be just enouph to turn the tide your way. Haveing said that, I tnink there is less of a tendacy to miss and keep your front sight on target with a revolver. All the weight is towards the top and front, helping control some kick. Carrying one in a stainless frame is also easier to maintain. People don't think about the gun getting sweaty and rusting when being carried.

 

That is a well reasoned post! It sort of ties in to a few things.

Spray and Pray don't get it. Well placed shots are the key. Research the Miami FBI debacle that made the FBIs go to .40

They brought pistols to a rifle fight, and couldn't hit the bad guy from 20 feet or less.

A couple .38 or up rounds right through the boiler room (or the head if body armor is worn) and bad guy will desist from doing harm!

Being in Texas I don't think the hollow point rounds are coming out of my guns...

 

John Faughn is very accurate in his post.

Technology has come along way too, so the old style thinking of a "big caliber being too hard to control" has been long thrown out the window.

I was completely surprised after shooting my XD 45 5" on how little recoil it had.. due to the size i thought it would really kick.. Not nearly as much as some older 9mm and a 38 cal's ive shot before.

 

This could be a long post on the history of the firearm. Man there are a lot of opinions. And when I say that, it doesn't infer any of them are wrong. Jack Thorpe has some very reasoned posts. As I said on a similar thread here, an old saying of there are a lot more folks dead from a .22 in the head than a miss from a .44 mag.
A lot of what it come down to is preference. The formula for success is basically choosing the largest round you can shoot comfortably and accurately in a well made weapon that you can operate well, INSTINCTIVELY under INTENSE PRESSURE and or panic. For many people that ends up being a revolver. Point and pull the trigger. You can do that with a Glock too... provided a round is in the chamber already... will you or your wife remember or have the ability to rack the slide when said assailant is 10 ft away?? There are many things to consider. Practice with your chosen weapon often and in a meaningful way.
Having said all that, I am a 1911 guy shooting 10mm.
Here's the history lesson. An earlier post mentioned the Miami shootout. The FBI was outgunned, not so much they missed, but the 9mm round was ineffective. That is when they adopted the 10mm. The FBI set a whole bunch of criteria for the acceptance of the new round, the 10mm was the winner. Two problems occured: 1, women agents and the weaker men for the most part could not handle the recoil-- therefore did not shoot well. 2, S&W had difficulty making a weapon to handle the 10mm. Breakage and failures were common. Kinda like point 1 above applied to a gun. So the FBI created the "attenuated 10" or just took the power down to about 9mm level. HUH? Yeah... then S&W shortened the case to 9mm length and voila!! .40 S&W.

In the Spanish American war, standard issue was .38 spl. It was found that time and again the .38 round was ineffective in stopping a determined assailant. Now keep in mind these were Phillipino guerillas averaging about 115lbs in weight. The .45ACP was developed as the solution.

In the Vietnam war the round was changed from .308 to .223. Without going into the politics, the round was effective enough for undertrained soldiers spraying at a largely unseen enemy in a jungle canopy. This is not to offend any of you vietnam vets in anyway-- thank you for you service. Just making a point here on the ammo. Fast forward to today where in Afghanistan and Iraq the .223 has been found to be ineffective in stopping the bad guys in CQB situations. And range is an issue. So our Special Forces have been experimenting with 2 different rounds to replace the .223. Think about it. It is not always enough to simply hit someone, you need to stop someone. Adrenaline alone is enough to allow an assailant to cover a significant distance while hit multiple times from inferior rounds only to plunge a knife in the gun wielders chest. It has happened many times, do not think it cannot happen to you.

That all said, we are blessed with a great many weapons choices that are all so well made and reliable. How often do you hear the argument against an auto anymore that they are not reliable. Choosing one is a personal choice, choose wisely, practice often.

I use a 10mm 180gr hollowpoint @ 1350fps... I don't think I need more than that.

 

I would go for a 9mm with a single stack magazine. Alot of the female officers I train tend to feel more comfortable with single stack mag guns. The springfield EMP is an ecellent choice but pricey and single action which requires training on the safeties (not a big deal). Kahr arms also makes a great line of single stack guns that have one of the best double action triggers I've used. Short light guns in .40 or .45 are going to recoil. 9mm will be much more manageable and fun to shoot for her, which is the key to gaining proficency. Shot placement is more important than caliber. She should handle several and choose the one that is the most comfortable for her. Then TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN.

 

I agree 100%