Unless you are pretty experienced and practice on a regular basis, go with a revolver. No jamming. No screwups in a sudden, high stress situation.
I have a S&W airlight 38. My daughter can do a hand sized spread at 60 ft with one. More than accurate enough.
Whatever you do, train with it. And get some guidance from an experienced shooter.
Smith&Wesson 357 Magnum. I love mine!!
First, be realistic about your situation and budget. Are there others who live with you? Do you live in an apartment with close-by neighbors or out in the wilderness?
Do you actually hunt? Do you hunt big game, game, or game birds?
What are your local laws (e.g. carry, hunting, firing inside town, castle) and local prosecutors like?
There are lots of different firearms because people live in so many varied places, with so many varied threats (from law enforcement, from criminals, from terrorists, from wild beasts like polar bears, etc.).
As a general rule of thumb, you want a revolver for pure defense...a semi-automatic for potential offense. One is *always* ready and able to fire...the other can fire fast.
If you don't plan on regularly visiting a practice range, then a shotgun makes sense. You can load a shotgun with slug ammo if you need a “rifle” and you can hunt game birds with a shotgun and you can skeet shoot for sport with a shotgun and a shotgun makes for a good home defense weapon.
I prefer the smaller gages like 28 and 410 because on any given day I may fire 500 rounds at skeet. It's painful to the hands, shoulder, and ears...even with hearing protection, to routinely fire 500 rounds at skeet in a day from the larger shotgun guages like 12...so I stick with smaller.
In my opinion, more powerful rifles and semi-autos should be 3rd or 4th weapons...long after you've become intimately comfortable with your small guage shotgun and/or revolver. Clearly I'm not trying to gin up a macho “bigger is better” argument!
I've purchased more than 30 bullet proof ballistc vests over the years. Given a bit of Google.com searching and ebay.com searching, I've acquired Level II vests for as little as $25, and a level IIIa vest once for as little as $110.
If you don't want to wear a vest, you can at least stuff a few into your door panels. 3 to 4 ballistic vests will easily cover a Durango side door. Just pop off the interior panels and tape them so that they cover the door without blocking the automatic locks or windows (there's lots of free empty space inside car doors). Or you can use phone books and duct tape...which can typically stop most street thug pistols ala .22 and .38 (Saturday Night Special is the most confiscated weapon by police from hoodlums). A little redneck armor in your car can change your entire personal defense perspective. Riots and street thugs become less potent against you in a surprise attack.
Another great deterent and alarm against surprise is a dog. The 5 or 6 seconds that a dog lives during a home invasion or car-jacking should be all the time that you need to disable the attacker(s).
Speaking of which, there is no such thing as a fair fight. Do not poke your entire head around a corner. 1 eye at most. Do not engage in a straight shootout. Use cover. At the very least, drop to the ground. This is extremely effective against a carjacker who just sat in your driver seat. Drop to the ground near the door and shoot up at him through the floor/door. He will have very little chance of shooting back accurately.
Follow all laws. Get your CCW. Wear your vest. Redneck armor your car. Lexan is cheap if you want to do your windows, too. Half-inch Lexan will stop an Army Issue Colt .45 slug cold. Get a dog.
Carry a revolver if your threat is mobile...keep your small guage shotgun handy when at home. Some people prefer the intimidating sound that a pump shotgun makes...I like the rapid fire that a semi-auto 28 guage shotgun allows.
Your mileage will vary. Can't be helped. Every person, area, and situation is different.
But...start small and only work up if you find a compelling reason (which you may...or may not). Use fast-opening safes for gun-storage if there is a chance that children may ever be unattended or untrained therein. Store your “safed” weapons with correct ammo grouped together in the safe, or loaded. Label your weapons if left loaded...large magic markers and painter's masking tape works fine.
Be smart. Be prepared. Train at a range, not just in your imagination.
Nothing scares an intruder like hearing a shotgun shell being racked into the chamber.
I’ll start with the advice that your home defense weapon should be one you are most comfortable with. In all likelihood, if you have to use a pistol for home defense, it’ll be in the middle of the night, and you’ll have just been woken up, and you’re going to be pumped full of adrenaline. So, keep it very simple.
For simplicity, I think the revolver trumps the semi-auto. Although I use my semi-autos for target and carry and prefer shooting them, the revolver is in the nightstand. If you’ve got enough time to arm yourself with a shotgun, thats better than a pistol. Keep one nearby.
The Taurus Judge revolver is an excellent choice for home defense because it fires both the .45 and the .410 shotgun shell. With the .410 you don’t have to have perfect aim, which you won’t have in the dark and pumped up on adrenaline. Even police, with all their training, miss more than they hit in a gunfight.
For home defense you also need to carefully consider your ammo. A big caliber full metal jacket round is not going to stop at the first wall it encounters. You need frangible ammo that expends all it’s energy in the first few inches of penetration and stops. I use Extreme Shock www.extremeshockusa.com in all my home defense guns. Yes its expensive but I don’t shoot it. When the gun is loaded and in the night stand, its loaded with Extreme Shock, at the range I shoot something else.
I read through all of the responses to your post: there is some good information there and some I do not agree with.
I keep a loaded 9mm Makarov pistol in the nightstand drawer. I do have other options - other pistols or revolvers, a Winchester 1300 Defender shotgun, or perhaps a Winchester lever action carbine in .357 magnum.
I favor this pistol because it is very reliable, I know it well and shoot it accurately. I keep this pistol with a loaded magazine inserted, but nothing in the chamber. I do this because I have small grandchildren. While I take great pains to keep it out of their reach, I rest easier knowing they lack the strength to rack a round into the chamber. They are capable of slipping off the safety if it had a round chambered.
I agree with some of the other posters that a mid-sized revolver in .38 SPL is simplicity itself. I think it is the best bet for someone with limited experience with a handgun.
I love lightweight snubbies in .38 SPL, but I do not consider this a beginner’s gun. With the short barrel and stout recoil, you have to prectice to be good with it.
I disagree that it is impossible to miss with a shotgun: the pattern is only a couple of inches wide if shooting from across the room.
I also disagree with the use of magnum buckshot. I watch the Outdoor Channel on Wednesday evenings, when all the shooting shows are on. One of the personal defense shows simulated what happens with various loads and calibers when shot through a sheetrock wall.
They were simulating shooting at a bad guy with a hallway and a bedroom as your backstop. For shotgun, the buckshot loads went completely through all the walls. Birdshot was stopped by the second wall.
9mm ball ammo also went completely through all walls. Penetration was less with JHP. Imagine your children sleeping in that bedroom, and you will get their point. It certainly made me rethink some of the concepts I have accepted for years.
Get all you can. While you can. Not really kidding. I used to think one was enough. Up to 6 now. Doubled my number since Nov. Before that it was 7 years since I bought anything. Lots and lots of ammo too. Went from 50 rounds, to 3500 since Nov. Not shooting them off for shits-n-giggles either. Saving for now. Very very expensive. Go to a big store where there are hundreds of guns on display (I like my Gander Mountain)find a nice salesman who is a gun collector, have him show you around. Handle lots of guns. You’ll soon find what is right for you.
Home protection, concealed carry, open carry, car?
Pump shotgun for home, hammerless 38 for concealed, big handgun for open carry or car
hunting
What are you hunting. You should use something different for squirrels than you would for buffalo.
A 12 gauge shotgun inside your home loaded with bird shot will at 15’ will blast a hole in flesh just like a bullet with little over penetration if you miss.
A hand gun can over shoot even if you hit your target at a close range.
A hand gun is easier to move around in the night when you are woke up from a sound sleep.
A 12 gauge shotgun can also be used legilly in most cases for hunting deer and smaller game.
Beginners should start with NRA Certified trainingI would recommend training from an NRA Certified Instructor in
Refuse to be a victim
NRA training for women
Basic pistol
Personal protection in the home
and the newly released
Personal protection outside the home
NRA Gun Safety Rules
Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction
Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot
Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use
That's probably about the number one myth that we see way too much of on these gun threads.
I used to keep a Ruger P90 .45 by my bed in a holster with an extra clip in the holster filled with Hydroshock bullets (super hollowpoint) because the intruder will not just get mad when hit, it WILL stop him. Plus, it won’t go through the intruder....through a wall and into another family member.
I would like a flashlight mount on it and a laser sight but haven’t purchased that.
Right now I just have a S&W .38 airlight with the handle sicking out of the mattress (also with hollow points)
A shot gun is the best defensive weapon. If the barrel is short, a legally blind person could stop an intruder in the dark.
A rifle wouldn’t be needed unless there was some type of Red Dawn situation or some type of lawless civil unrest (riots, uprisings, zombie attacks ;-) so you can keep enemies away before they get to your house.
I live in Texas where the gun laws make sense. I keep a Kel-Tek p32 in my front pocket when out in public. It’s the smallest and lightest .32 and with Hydroshocks, it will stop your attacker.
I bought an SKS this weekend for the same reason you state you need a gun, home protection first, and possibly hunting if needed. It’s got a small scope on it, with a synthetic folding stock, it’s beautiful. :)
