This is why you keep shooting!

[DaveTN]

5 minutes ago, Ski said:

I saw the shotgun at the beginning.  I wasn't counting shots, so I did not realize her gun was empty by the time the robber reappears and confronts the mother.  Glad it ended fairly well.

It wasn’t empty when he reappeared. She emptied it between that time and the time he got hold of her and got his hand on the gun. He was unarmed at that time and she was clearly justified in continuing to shoot him.

[m16ty]

Not to get into the age old caliber debate, but in that situation you need a bigger gun. 

I've been known to carry a .380 when in deep concealment because it has to be small. Other times I carry a 9mm, again due to size restrictions. On something like a "behind the counter gun", It's going to be a long gun, either a shotgun or rifle, because the only size limitation is for it to fit behind the counter. 

 

For me personally, 9mm is the biggest thing I want in a self defense handgun. It's not that I can't handle the recoil of bigger calibers, I had a Desert Eagle .50AE one time, but I feel that the 9mm is a much more controllable round for me. I can make fast follow-up shots much more accurately with 9mm than I can with .40. Given the choice on any self defense firearm, when concealment isn't a issue, I'm going with a shotgun or rife, with the choice being on what I think the range of the threat may be.      

[Refleks]

Good on them. The ones they had were enough, even if just, and it beats not having them at all.  They're alive to have a lessons-learned thankfully.