OT: best firearm for home protection

[SDshirtman]

I keep one of these under my bed.

Its a Ruger.357 security six. For the most part its essentially the same weapon many cops used to carry before 9mm's became popular. They are relatively cheap and extremely reliable and they have awesome stopping power.

[gdwill2u]

Have a good automatic (I prefer an automatic, more rounds available in magazine) or revolver in the 9mm to .357 caliber range (I use a .40 caliber Sig 229) with a light on it. Nothing with a barrel longer than 5".

Use the pistol until you can reach your short as legal barreled rifle (my preference is a S&W M&P AR15 with an Aimpoint red dot scope). I also have a light on mine, I want to be sure I can identify the bad guy.

Shoot to kill. Three shots in the chest. Be sure to have good training and know how to handle jams and FTF situations....own a really good gun (cheapies are dangerous due to malfunction, and know how it works backwards and forwards).

If threat is real DO NOT BE THINKING ABOUT ANY LEGAL CRAP your fear and hesitation will get you killed. I repeat shoot and shoot to kill.

[theAntihero]

If you know nothing about firearms, go to a class and a range that rents guns and try out all you can.

Also a couple of points:

If you get a shotgun, get a 12 gauge. You can get reduced recoil rounds for the 12 that vastly out perform a 20 gauge and recoil about the same. Basically you can get less powerful 12 gauge ammo but you really cant get very powerful 20 gauge ammo and the buckshot selection for 20 gauge blows.

Do NOT get a pistol grip only shotgun, you will hate yourself and others around you when you fire it for the 1st time. While there is a place for pistol gripped only shotguns, it most definetly is not in the hands of an amatuer.

You have to aim shotguns, dont believe the internet myth that says you dont. All the power of a buckshot load comes from getting as many pellets as possible on a target as close as possible together. A single ball of 00 buck is sadly anemic.


I dont recommend a shotgun as a 1st gun, they kick like hell for a newb and if you're a newb you need to shoot a bajillion rounds thru it to get comfortable. This coupled with recoil usually equals flinching.

My recommendation is to get 2 guns, a 22lr pistol with at least a thousand rounds and a 9mm pistol made by a major brand (Glock, Beretta, Ruger etc) that feels the most comfortable in your hands, with at least another thousand rounds. Fire the 22 until you get comfortable, then switch to the 9mm and practice all the time. You can skip the 22lr pistol if you hve to, but its a good start as it doesnt recoil at all and ammo is dirt cheap. Dirt cheap ammo means you can fire many many rounds to get comfortable, and 9mm is pretty much the cheapest centirefire round out there so when you move up you can still afford to put thousands of rounds of practice in.

Also something to think about. I hope you already know this but it bears repeating, Guns are not toys. Guns are not extentions of your penis. Guns are not something you have to show off to your friends. Guns do not make you more manly.Guns are always loaded, treat them as such. Guns are tools, tools that when needed are literal lifesavers. Do not use a gun as a threat, only use a gun if you are prepared to shoot whatever you are aiming at.

[Philfixit]

12 gauge pump, cause EVERYBODY knows the pump sound, everybody.

 

 

As in "You might know Kung Fu, but I know Ching Chang"?

[Philfixit]

Do NOT get a pistol grip only shotgun, you will hate yourself and others around you when you fire it for the 1st time. While there is a place for pistol gripped only shotguns, it most definetly is not in the hands of an amatuer.

 

 

I have to strongly agree! These HURT if you're not expecting the recoil. It might not be too bad when your shoulder's taking the brunt of the force, but the wrist isn't designed for that kind of abuse.

If I found one CHEAP, I'd still put a normal buttstock on it.

[co&cafan808]

Shotgun without question is the best. Also shoot plenty of rounds with whatever you choose so your comfortable with your weapon. God forbid you really need to use it, you don't want it to be your first time shooting it during a home invasion.

["sasquatch"]

I keep one of these under my bed. Its a Ruger.357 security six. For the most part its essentially the same weapon many cops used to carry before 9mm's became popular. They are relatively cheap and extremely reliable and they have awesome stopping power.

fantastic home-defense handgun.

[SOMMS]

STOPPING POWER is what you want. stopping power does not equal killing power. you can shoot someone with a .22lr, and they can return fire (injuring/killing you), run a couple of blocks, and then drop over dead. you may have killed them, but who cares; you got shot and are now wounded/dead. what you want is to end the fight immediately. the ability to shoot someone and make them stop; that's stopping power. about 95% of people, if they know they've been shot, will stop doing what they are doing, but the problem comes from adrenaline,etc.. and people often shot with small calibers don't even know it at first. if you want something strictly for home defense, a 20 gauge shotgun, a 12 gauge shotgun, and an AR-15 .223 carbine offer great solutions. the 12 gauge offers nearly 3,000 lbs of force and a lot of kick, the 20 gauge offers about 75% of the force with about 50% of the kick, and the .223 offers around the same but with less kick. .223 rifles don't overly penetrate (unlike most rifles) making them a good choice. for pistols, .357 in a 4" barrel is as stout as you want to go. anything over that (.44 magnum, .454, .500 magnum) is a poor choice because of over-penetration (going through several walls before stopping) and slow follow-up shot times. the .357 is the king of stopping power out of handguns, coming in around 98% (98% of the time, 1 shot stops the fight). the best loads for .9mm, .40 cal, and .45 (service calibers) all come in around 95-96%. .380 and .38special can get up to around 80% (with the new loads from speer 138 grain made specifically for 2" snubs). .380s are so small and concealable they are an excellent daily carry choice. not all ammo is the same. ball 9mm ammo is inferior to ball .45, but the best +p hollowpoints for the 9mm gets it up to as good as the best hollowpoints for .45. now, all that being said, if this is going to be your ONLY gun, get a damn handgun. i'd get a 9mm because it offers great stopping power and is one of the most widely produced rounds in the world, meaning it is VERY available as well as very affordable. glock makes excellent guns like the 17/29/26 and springfield XD does too (i own a springfield XD9 subcompact). you can have these for ~ $500 new depending on where you go. the $ of 9mm is a nice thing when you start practicing at the range too. if this is strictly to be used at home and not your only gun, i'd get a mossberg 500 series, either 20 gauge or 12 gauge. don't worry about magnum shells as the extra kick/blast only brings nominal more stopping power but in a much louder and harder kicking round, which inside your house, can easily cause permanent hearing damage. now, you could get a mossbeg 500 for roughly $200 if you look closely, and get a ruger LCP for about $300 and you'd have a great home defense gun and a great carry gun. a lot of gun people bash the .380 because they are small but they are probably the same people who have a .45 sitting at home/in their glove-box and not on them 100% of the time. .380s make an EXCELLENT carry weapon. respectable stopping power and with their small size, you could just slip one in your pocket with you so you are protected at all times. you could also get the .380 and a set of crimson trace laser grips on it for about $500. i would seriously look at a handgun if this will be your only gun, and i'd get a concealed license and carry everywhere. just be sure to choose your ammo wisely. it makes a HUGE difference is name brands/loads/etc... read everything you can by massad ayoob. educate yourself.

What this guy said...with a *slight* caveat. Instead of the 357...go 10mm. It's a tad more powerful than the 357. With a Glock 20 you can get 15-17 rounds of it. Or it you want to go compact...the G29 which holds 10 rounds.

-SOMMS

[hecticone]

I shoot approximately 4 to 5 thousand rounds of shotgun shells a year between trap,sporting clays and skeet. What a lot of people don't realize that most distances in a home will not allow the shot train to expand at all. Even with a wide open choke.

So basically you have a 1 to 2 inch diameter of shot going at your intruder which means you need to be a fairly decent shot.

I stand by my original post pepper spray is your best option or a big dog.Shooting a handgun is far from easy also. I shoot rimfire and centerfire bullseye leagues it takes time and practice to be proficient. During a stressful confrontation I think a lot of you weekend warriors would choke and get you or your family harmed.

[Sheik_Yerbouti]

What is that?

It's a portable TOW missile launcher w/tripod.

[Reverse Entropy]

Here's a comparison of the effects of 12 vs 20 gauge shotgun performance using a test setup. It's pretty impartial and uses a reasonable testing method.

 

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot22.htm

[Dr_Kuh]

I shoot approximately 4 to 5 thousand rounds of shotgun shells a year between trap,sporting clays and skeet. What a lot of people don't realize that most distances in a home will not allow the shot train to expand at all. Even with a wide open choke. So basically you have a 1 to 2 inch diameter of shot going at your intruder which means you need to be a fairly decent shot. I stand by my original post pepper spray is your best option or a big dog.Shooting a handgun is far from easy also. I shoot rimfire and centerfire bullseye leagues it takes time and practice to be proficient. During a stressful confrontation I think a lot of you weekend warriors would choke and get you or your family harmed.

 

[theAntihero]

May I ask you which kind of walls you have? :confused:Are they made of...paper? I mean my house is not built in the 30's, infact it is quite new but nothing smaller than a .50 bullet could make it trough most of my wall. Sure if you empty a mag of 7,62mm on one smaller area chances are high that at least one will penetrate the concrete. Seriously, not all weapons shoot trough walls.

 

 

Most people dont live in a house with concrete walls, most have drywall which is about as strong and bullet resistant as angel hair pasta.

 

Of course with concrete you have a whole new exciting problem: ricochet.

[Dr_Kuh]

Most people dont live in a house with concrete walls, most have drywall which is about as strong and bullet resistant as angel hair pasta. Of course with concrete you have a whole new exciting problem: ricochet.

Oh...okay. Are those the things you buy in the DIY market in dozens? Then yeah okay, this is as safe as a curtain

And yeah ricochets would indeed be nasty, but still nonetheless better than a shot wife in the next room. I probably wouldn't use my gun inside, only if somebody was on my yard and I had time and space to aim.