[Head416]

Go with a 20 guage pump, possibly a youth model. My wife can barely lift my full size 870. Load it with 00 buck and yes, it will go through walls. But you need something that can go through bad guys so not many options there.

I don't think handguns are a good option if you don't train with them. The short sight radius (think barrel length of handgun vs shotgun) and tendency to flinch and/or jerk the trigger just make it to easy to miss with a handgun if you have limited experience and are under stress.

[And when I say train I don't mean shoot it a couple times a year. I mean train to the point that it's like second nature, and keep that training up on a regular basis. A new shooter just shooting a handgun a couple times won't be prepared for a real self defense scenario. Having said that, anything is better than nothing.]