I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times but I'm new to this site.

What's a good hand gun for home defense?

Titan,

The .45 ACP has always been considered a man stopper. A buddy of mine has a Ruger P90 with over 300,000 rounds through it....... daily carry gun. My wife and I both use Colt 1911 style handguns.

If I were recommending a firearm to defend hearth and home, I'd say buy a 12 guage pump shotgun (Rem 870, Mossberg 500, etc) and load it with # 1 shot or buckshot. These are available with 8 round magazines, the shotshells don't over penetrate the walls of a house (its bad form to shoot one's wife through the wall) and during the heat of combat, you still connect with the bad guy if your aim is a little off. Additionally, if purchased on the used market, the shotgun can be had for less than half the cost of a handgun.

Lobo in West Virginia

Have you thought this thru? By putting a weapon in your home you realize that you have made the decision that your life and the lives of your family are more important than someone else's. You have decided that you and perhaps your spouse can and will kill. That is an important decision that should have a bunch of thought behind it.

The decision came fairly easily for me. My life and my families lives are more important than any person whom should decide to come into my home and do harm or rob me.

That said like the fella above said get a 12 gauge pump shotgun like the Mossberg 500 12 gauge shotgun. Absolutly the best home defense gun. Much less money, much more visible to an intruder, much more lethel without the over penitration problems of a pistol.

If you must have a handgun I would recommend a double action revolver for your first defense gun if you have not any expierence with handguns. They do not have a safety and are safe with all chambers loaded. They take a long double action pull to fire which actually lets you think about what your doing. They are safer around children because smaller children can not pull the double action if they should get hold of one.

Your going to get a lot of good advice from this forum, think about it and ask at the gunstores for advice before you purchase. Get a quality weapon if you can afford it. Remember your and perhaps your families lives may depend on it some time in the future.

Good luck with your choice

I have 2 870's a 12g and I just picked up a new/used 20g. My wife has a model 12 16g. I know that if some one breaks into my home and gets past my 3 very large dogs that they are going to harm me and my family. So I want to stop them. I hear what your saying though, and maybe I'll stick with my shotguns for now. I don't live in a bad part of town but I want peace of mind.

I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times but I'm new to this site.

What's a good hand gun for home defense?


Whatever you shoot well, have confidence in and will get the job done if required. My preferences are a 1911A1 in .45 ACP and a Ruger Blackhawk .45 L.C. You need to get some shooting experience and other opinions and then make a decision that suits you. All the best...
Gil

More questions (mostly for others following the thread, as you've thought it through pretty well):

1. How many other people in the house..their ages...and ability to use a handgun.

2. Construction of the house...location of adjoining rooms.

3. Due to #1 (children) the storage/readyness conditon of the fire arm.


With just two people, sleeping in the same room, and a brick walled house...don't have much worry about wall penetration (other than repair after the fact). The old lathe and plaster walls suck up bullets about as well as anything short of a stone wall.

Cell phones in the bed room...better internal door construction with good locks...rewire to be able to activate lkighting in other parts of the house from the bed room..alarm systems... are lots of things I've seen others doo that made good logical sense.

Have come to the conslusion that if there is no need for concealment or constant carry, then a short shotgun seems the better solution. Shouldn't be so long as to compromise movement. Guage can be a compromise for the lighter weight shooters...20ga. will work at home defence ranges just fine.

what ever you decide to get, decide also that you will shoot it regularly. Make it your hobbie.

If you get a 12 guage also take up shooting skeet or hunting pheasants or something similar. Most pistols can be used for other games. Metalic silhouettes, punching paper at 50/50 shoots, it really doesn't matter.

This will do several things, first, if you are doing something fundamentally wrong or unsafe any controlled range will let you know immediately.
Next it will make you a better shot. Hunting will teach you how to use the gun quickly in an unexpected situation.

all of these things will make you more familiar with your choice.

regards,
Gene

I keep one of those Mossberg 500's with the eight shot magazine tube. Where I differ in conventional wisdom is that I keep it loaded with #6 shot shotshells. I think buckshot will penetrate various layers of dry wall. Heck, at short range, and we're talking about the inside of a house here, the wad cup will penetrate dry wall. At up to 50 ft., and if he's further than 50 ft. you probably shouldn't be shooting at him, #6 shot will incapacitate anybody not wearing body armor, and just one of those pellets in an eye REALLY hurts! Now I'm not concerned with over penetration, as I live in a concrete house. But ricochets do worry me, and a bunch of small pellets are better in that regard than 10 or 20 fairly big pellets.

Also, the Mossberg came with a big, squarish pistol grip. It looked really mean, but it was mostly very mean to my hand! I replaced it with a wooden buttstock with a rubber pad painted flat black. Clamp that between your arm and your ribs, with your trigger hand close to your chest and you can pump and fire that thing very fast, very accurately, and with little pain.

As for a handgun, 4" .357 magnum double action revolver. My choice? S&W model 65 in SS.

You didn't say how much handgun experience you have. If you don't have much, you should find out where handgun classes are offered in your area, and have both you and your wife take them. You should also find out what the laws and politics in your area are like. If your local DA is antigun, shotguns usually are more defendible in court than a handgun.
Good luck with your decision, and I sincerely hope and pray that none of us ever have to use deadly force to defend ourselves or the ones we love.

rt

The best gun for home defence is the one you can get to in time to neutralize the threat!!! :eek: ;)
PS: See the threat 'need help selecting a hand gun' :)

I keep a model 64 S&W 3in barrel 38 special loaded with Magsafe ammo for a house gun. The gun is my wifes and she handles it well.
The middle sized 38/357 revolver is the easist to handle for the non-gun person. The shotgun is a good backup but not what I want at night when answering the door. The handgun is also a lot easier to handle indoors with a flashlight in the other hand. The 3 or 4 inch revolver also makes a good carry gun.

I keep a model 64 S&W 3in barrel 38 special loaded with Magsafe ammo for a house gun. The gun is my wifes and she handles it well.
The middle sized 38/357 revolver is the easist to handle for the non-gun person. The shotgun is a good backup but not what I want at night when answering the door. The handgun is also a lot easier to handle indoors with a flashlight in the other hand. The 3 or 4 inch revolver also makes a good carry gun.
I agree! :cool:

Titan,

Home defense is obviously an issue of critical importance. As you may realize, firearms are a measure of last resort when considering home protection. Handguns with which you are competent will suffice, bearing in mind that they must be kept safe and secure from the hands of children.

It would be prudent to establish defenses other than those of last resort. First, keeping the exterior of your home well lighted at night is a good practice. Use of outdoor motion detectors to activate flood lights is also a good idea. Some motion detectors, such as X10 Model PR511, offer the capability of controlling other devices such as interior lights and audible alarms. These units are extremely reliable and relatively inexpensive.

As a primary defense; however, a sophisticated electronic burglar alarm is recommended. With some research and study, such a system can be user installed at reasonable cost levels of a few hundred dollars. Providing protection of windows and doors, these systems can also support interior motion detectors which become important when the home is unoccupied. With piercingly loud alarm sirens located both inside the home and outside, nearly any intruder will be quickly deterred.

For complete follow-up protection, the electronic alarm system may be used in conjunction with a monitoring service (for a monthly fee). Or, using a simple voice dialer, a pre-recorded alarm message may be delivered to 911 or local police (with prior arrangement). This will provide essential protection of your home and valuables, especially at times when you are away from home.

With these important provisions in place, it is extremely unlikely that you would ever have to use a firearm to protect your home. The importance of having a quality electronic alarm system cannot be overstated. Now is the time to plan ahead!

Colt AR-15A3 with Winchester .223 55Gr Fragmentantion rounds. Or a Glock 23C with 40S&W Speer's Gold DOt 185 Gr. Both have Surefire's M3 Tactical Light.

But that is the last line of defense. Make sure that all of your doors and windows are secured. That the house is well lighted. And that you have some sort of sign that you home is protected. A criminal will not break into a house if it is 10% than the house next to it. Also remember that most crimes are commited during the plain of day. When we are all at work (Expect I work a night shift).

What ever you have that you can shoot well. Keep a flash light near the gun because, at night time is when the scum bags wake up looking for Mr and Mrs easy. I would consider laser grips or other night sights if your using a handgun. Never lead the gun around corners in the house, they could grab the muzzle from you. I have hand guns equipped with Crimson Trace laser grips. Can't miss with these. Point and shoot if you have too. Using a short barreled shot gun is a better tool for defense, just they don't hide as well around the house.

Since you asked for handguns, I won't mention shotguns again. My go to, bedroom gun, is a discontinued S&W Hammerless Airweight Model 242 revolver. It is a 7 shot K/L frame .38+P with no bells or whistles, no safties or hammer to confuse in the night. Just a trigger. It's big enough for my hand and small enough for my wife's and shoots where you point it. Good luck.

George

A 12 guage shotgun witha pistol grip !

Whatever you shoot well, have confidence in and will get the job done if required. Gil

This statement is so true! Caliber, capacity, etc. are meaningless if you can't handle whatever gun you choose for home defense proficiently.

I've thought about installing a security system, and in my new house I will. (I've got mine up for sale now.) We are hoping to move out to the country and have some land to play on. I don't think I'll have to worry so much about someone breaking in once I get out of the city.