Posted on 02/22/2013 9:03:26 PM PST by martin_fierro
POSTED THE OTHER NIGHT ON FB WHILE FR WAS DOWN:
Stopped by my local gun shop tonight for the first time, to see what their inventory/prices were like.
Was surprised by the friendly reception I got. Bunch of good ol' types hanging around.
I'm looking for a handgun + shotgun for home defense. The units would be low maintenance, use comparatively inexpensive ammo and be easy for a man or woman to use.
I looked at a Mossberg 500 (20 gauge) & some Taurus Millenium Series .45 ACPss -- these latter looked to be far too large
http://www.taurususa.com/gun-selector-results.cfm?series=MP1&toggle=tp
What do FReepers recommend?
Unless you intend to get his and hers pieces, your wife will be the main fitment issue. If she is petite, the 20 gauge shotgun is a good choice (get a youth/distaff model, such as the Mossberg Bantam).
Another key consideration is strength, and this mainly applies to handguns. Centerfire semi-auto handguns tend to have rather stiff recoil springs, and there are some people who have a hard time cycling the slides on them. If this is you or your wife, get a double-action revolver. A Ruger SP101 (small) or GP100 (medium) in .357 Magnum is a good choice.
Like everyone else is saying here, if you can beg or borrow any guns to try out first, by all means do it! Just remember that you’re buying them for yourself and your family, not to impress anyone else, so make sure you get what works for YOU.
I don’t know which shop or shops you’ve been into, but a couple that I’ve had good luck with in terms of selection are Kerley’s Hunting & Fishing in Cupertino, and Imbert & Smithers in San Carlos.
As far as places to shoot, there aren’t many choices in the Bay Area. There’s a club in Stevens Canyon, a public shooting park in San Jose and one of my favorites was the Los Altos Rod and Gun Club in Los Gatos (on Skyline Blvd south of Highway 9).
Ammo is slowly becoming available again. Was in my local Fin, Fether and Fur and they had it stacked everywhere!
Was able to get some Remington 12G shot, some Blazer 165 grain FMJ, (they had 9MM, .40 and .45 available and were limiting purchases to 3 boxes per customer, except for the bulk .22LR, which was limited to one brick per customer. I’m going back today for more!
Prices were high though:
.40 S&W FMJ - $23.99 for 50 rounds
.40 S&W Hollow points - $39.00 for 50 rounds
.22 LR Bulk - $29.99 for a brick of 525 rounds
12G shot shells - $5.99 (got these at Wal*Mart, 3 - boxes)
Anyhow, the ammo is out there, you just have to drive around to find it.
Mossberg 500 in 20 gauge is a fine weapon, I gave one to Mother Slim back in the 80’s. Really, there’s no real difference in 12 vs. 20 gauge ballistics, just the weight of the projectile(s). Most 12’s throw 1 1/8 ounce at 1200-1300 feet per second, versus the 7/8 to 1 ounce in a 20. The 20 will be a smaller frame gun and easier to handle.
For a handgun I’d suggest a Smith & Wesson .357 in a K frame or L frame 4” barrel, and shoot it with .38 Special +P rounds. A variety of grips are available so it will fit just about anyone’s hands. The Pachmayr Compact is a good place to start.
PS: Pistol grip without a shoulder stock is a bad idea.
My problem with the Judge is how it was marketed - as a carjacking defense weapon. They showed some guy shooting it out his driver side window. Then they showed the spread (IIRC, like 5 feet at 5 feet), which in a crowded situation is going to send pellets in a 90 degree cone outward from the shot. You’ll get the bad guy, guaranteed, and you’ll get the other cars, pedestrians, etc in the general direction of your shot. If you’re only using it for home though, sure, you’re definitely going to get the intruder’s attention. Anything more complex than 1-on-1 though and that gun/load is useless.
Harder to control, less accurate, and easier for a bad guy to take away.
“I’d hate to fire something that could penetrate surrounding homes.”
If you have something that can penetrate a bad guy you have something that can penetrate the house next door.
If that scares you, then stick to baseball bats and pepper spray.
The biggest hurdle to actually getting these things will be Mrs. Fierro.
You’ve met her. She’s a real chicken.
If you’re ever out here again I’ll take you all to the range.
Best way to start her is to go to a range that gives instruction and let her shoot a .22 first (some have rentals).
What, were you two some of the Old Boys hanging out @ the store (Ralston Rode & Tackle) when I was there?? That's exactly what they recommended!
I was only aware of the outfit down in Watsonville.
Or Obozo!
Probably not me, since I may not be old enough to be an Old Boy. Plus, I don't live near there any more.
I started going to that range when I took my Hunter Safety course back in 1973. (Maybe I am an Old Boy, after all!)
“The last thing you want is being rudely surprised by an intruder when you are fast asleep. You will not have time to grab the gun, load it and fire it. Early warning is a must.”
Thats why you load it and keep it on the nightstand. That and a 10 Lb Chihuahua on guard is a good plan. No you can’t have ours. :-)
IMHO, the best advice I’ve seen here is in post #83. It’s what I was going to post, but Slim beat me to it.
Slim is smarter’n he looks.
< |:)~
OK. When you said, “consider a takedown 270” it sounded like you were recommending it to the OP. If he is asking for shotgun recommendations, it sounds like he doesn’t have the experience to use a high powered rifle for home defense. I wouldn’t use one in any event. A pistol caliber carbine is about as high as I would go for home defense. You can get lever guns in .44 Magnum if you want a powerful home defense gun. I just would not use something that launches a high BC bullet at 3,000 ft/sec in a suburban environment. As opposed to a handgun that launches bullets at 800 ft/sec at the most.
I really need to get me one of those blinding tactical strobe lights for home defense. In the dark of night, I would think this would really blind an approaching assailant for a good long time.
Taurus Judge, it has fire power and you can choose ammo.
That don’t say much!
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