OhOh, a firearm thread. I'll post before this hits 100 replies. By firearm you seem to be implying a handgun for urban defense. You have no experience. I am going to suggest a rather bread and butter OLDER Smith and Wesson, RUGER or Colt double action in .357 magnum or .38 spl( thoroughly checked by a gunsmith for timing and trigger pull.) You have several frame sizes that can be matched to your grip and reach of finger along with countless aftermarket improved grips. You can learn, practise and USE The .38 special in both pieces.The 38 is a relatively easy cartridge to shoot, accurate and available in a wide variety of load configurations including snake shot, Glaser safety slugs ( for those thin apt walls) and '+P' loads approaching .357 magnum power. This is also an excellent trailgun if you worry about lions, dogs or our fellow bipedals. A DA revolver is a SAFE firearm. You can readilly see if it is loaded and bringing one into action requires merely picking up and pulling the trigger. The safety is in that heavier DA pull, not foolproof but a deterrent to little hands. This thread is going to very quickly get buried in ballistics, anecdotes, myth and legend. I think OLD BALD GUY and our other law enforcement members will concur.