Question About Firearm Selection for Home Defense (VANITY)

vanity | April 13, 2003 | Jim Noble

[Jim Noble]

I have been trying to select a home defense firearm. I have handled and fired .38 special, .357 Magnum, and .45 ACP handguns, and 12-gauge and 20-gauge shotguns, but I'm not (yet) an experienced shooter.

I also have small kids at home.

I like the shotgun option, but have 2 concerns. 1) Do I like it because blowing away bad guys with a shotgun looks cool in the movies? (i.e., is this as viable an option as a handgun). 2) Can a bad guy with a handgun kill me before he is in lethal range of my shotgun?

Thanks in advance to all the experienced shooters here.

[Travis McGee]

My vote is keep it simple, keep it reliable, keep it effective, keep it safe, keep it inexpensive.

Get a revolver in .38/.357 or .44 Special.

[Colonel Jim]

45 APC is the standard of care!

[sharktrager]

The most effective thing for home defense is the sound of the homeowner racking a 12-guage.

[Walkingfeather]

Note this.

[Kadric]

FFL = Federal Firearms License
Type 3 = Collector Curio & Relics
Requirements are must be 21 and not restricted from owning firearms. You can either download the forms or order them from the BATF (this is what I did). Fill out the forms then send one copy to your Chief Law Enforcement Officer either Chief of Police or county Sheriff, they do not have to do anything and you do not need anything from them. Send the other copy to the BATF. It took about 4 weeks for me to get mine back, normal is 6-8 weeks. Once you have your license you can order the firearms your self, get a copy of Shotgun News, Gun List, or check sites out on the net.

In order to qualify as a C&R firearm it either A: verified 50 years old, B: On the approved list (you will receive this with your license). In CA if it is a Handgun you must have it shipped to a CA licensed dealer and still have the waiting period, rifles you can have shipped straight to you.

Most pawn shops that deal with firearms will have a few, along with most mid to large size gun shops.

If you want to Private reply with your city I'll see if I can find some shops in your area.

[Blue Jays]

Good Evening All-

A shotgun is a simple, fairly-inexpensive, court-defensible tool for home protection. There have been a bunch of myths on this thread that need to be straightened-out:

* Learn basic firearm safety before doing ANYTHING else. This is absolutely critical.

* Racking the slide of a shotgun (or a semi-automatic pistol) to frighten a criminal is PURE HOLLYWOOD BULLSH!T. An intruder in your home is not there to borrow a cup of sugar or to discuss the weather. You do not "owe" them a warning, even a verbal one such as "Freeze."

* All firearms need to be aimed properly. A shotgun can't be pointed in the general direction of a goblin with assurance that he/she will be hit by pellets.

* Children and firearms CAN mix. Spent my whole life around firearms and I never even dreamed of handling my father's firearms without him present. We knew where they were, we knew they were loaded...we simply did not touch them for any reason.

* Visit http://www.thehighroad.org for more details.

~ Blue Jays ~

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Right on, thanks for the shotgun insight. I'll check out that Mossberg, that is a heck of a price.

[PRND21]

Bump. Great thread.

[spodefly]

Be aware that you are only going to get ONE shot with the light working- the recoil will break the bulb filament, or the bulb itself.

I have had the same light on mine for almost 10 years now, and have never had to replace the bulb. Turns out it is not an actual "Mag-Lite" but a "Brinkman" instead. It is one of the 6" or so length doodads that takes 2 AA batteries. It is bright enough to light up an otherwise dark room and highlight the aim point, but not as bright as some of the newer LED flashlights.

Also, part of the reason it may have lasted this long is that I have only put maybe 50 rounds through that gun since I have had it. The pistol grip, while being all rambo and everything, is not ergonomically effective ... imagine a hammer smacking you in the soft spot between your thumb and index finger ... the pistol grip forces this area to take the entire brunt of the shock, which can be substantial when you put some 3" 00 Magnum loads thru it, so I am not fond of shooting it other than the annual aim test and cycle.

[RyeWhiskeyJoe]

Hi Jim
I see you have gotten a lot of good advice already. And it looks like most of it is right on. Don't worry about your motives--that it even occurred to you is a pretty good indicator that your motives are AOK. The 12 ga. shotgun is tops for home defense. Birdshot is hard to beat, 7 1/2's hit like a slug out to about 5 yds. but dissipate energy quickly in wallboard (don't want to blast family members in the next room). Short barrels and open (or no) choke are just fine, but make sure the barrel is legal (over 18 inches). Don't worry about the intruder being out of range, if your house is that big your full time body guards will get him long before he becomes a real threat. 'Home Defense' shotguns (pistol grips, larger capacity, etc.) have some good features--the most useful being a mounting rail for a good light. 'Pump' guns DO have that unmistakable re-assurring sound (to you at least) when they come to battery and that sound and the spot from a good gun light hitting center mass will bring religion to the most hardened criminal's soul. Most important--practice--then practice some more. 'Lite' 12 ga. loads are available if you're new to shotgunning and then you can move up if you feel the need. Magnum loads are not necessary in the home defense arena. Did I mention practice??? Seriously, it is important. After the new wears off, still try to shoot at least 50 rounds a month and if you can find a place to practice in reduced light conditions, that's great (most HD situations will be under these conditions--or at least the scariest). And always be a good parent and homeowner--make sure EVERYONE in the home gets top notch firearms handling instruction in line with their age, maturity and strength. The Remington model 870 is top drawer but the economy sleeper is the Winchester 1300 (both pump guns).

Hope this has been helpful and good luck.

[BigBlueJon]

Here's my 2 cents. Know your target and what is beyond it. Know your home. Know where every item of furniture/electronics is located. In the light and especially in the dark. Know how to get to your family and any room in the house in the dark.

Discuss with your family what needs to be done as far as staying out of the way and making phone calls. My wife knows that her job is to make the phone call and my job is to protect the family. We're not SWAT trained, so staying in one room, with the family out of my way of incoming or outgoing fire is my choice. Pre-emptive planning is a must.

As far as weapon of choice. I recommend anything that will knock him down and out the first time. I prefer Moss 500 12 gauge loaded buckshot/slug/buckshot/etc. For the home defense handgun for myself a Taurus 445T 44spl. and my wife the Taurus PT111 9mm. Both loaded with half Glaser Blue Tip rounds and half Winchester silver tip hollows. Hope this helps and hope you'll never have to use it.

[smug]

Try reading "IN THE GRAVEST EXTREME" BY Masaad Ayoob

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

Granted, any functional firearm is better than nothing at all, but .38 special rounds do not have much stopping power. .357 Magnum is better with stopping power, but the bullet generally goes through a body not transfering a lot of the energy to the target. A good revolver round is .44 Special.

General rule of thumb with handgun rounds is to stay with .40 or bigger caliber.

I own a .45 ACP and .40 S&W handgun for self defense purposes. I practice like a lot with them too so I know how to my weapons like they are my own hand. I need to get some night sights on the .45 ACP handgun.

So many guns and accessories, so few dollars :-)

[dasher]

Hi Jim,

First off you said you had kids, to me this rules out a shotgun unless you have some way of securing it that you can get access to in less than 10 seconds. I'm yet to see a device like this on the market. Quick access to an already loaded firearm is a must for security purposes.

My suggestion is a .357 revolver with a 3" to 4" barrel tucked into a quick access push button safe along with a good bright flashlight. Now you have a secure gun that's ready to go when you need it. You can use a variety of .357 and .38 special loads in it for practice or defense. If you feel you must go with an automatic pistol, stick with a mid to full sized gun in 9mm, .40, 357 Sig or .45 ACP from a company like Sig, Glock, HK, Beretta or CZ. If you can find a gun store that has a range and rents guns, try before you buy.

No matter what you end up with, get training, learn the laws in your state and visit the range at least once a month to keep your shooting skills from heading south.

[ez]

You're right. It's #3 buckshot (3bk). I guess I used the four up...

[SauronOfMordor]

Right. It's like Murphy said. Tracers [flashlights] work both ways.

I was thinking more of needing to check that your kids are OK, and having the only light source available for this being the one hanging on the end of your muzzle, thus violating the rule "Never point your muzzle at anything you would not be willing to see destroyed".

Much better to have a handgun and separate light.

[SauronOfMordor]

Racking the slide of a shotgun (or a semi-automatic pistol) to frighten a criminal is PURE HOLLYWOOD BULLSH!T. An intruder in your home is not there to borrow a cup of sugar or to discuss the weather. You do not "owe" them a warning, even a verbal one such as "Freeze."

Plus the sound gives away your location and a wired-up addict might just decide to fire a few rounds in the general direction of the sound, to the peril of you and your family.

[Trailerpark Badass]

Get yourself a 16"-barreled AR15 carbine for a long gun. Shotguns are rapidly being abandoned by professionals for anything other than door-breaching.

For a handgun, get a 9mm SIG226 or, if you can handle it accurately, a quality 1911-pattern .45.

And let the flames begin! :0)

[Travis McGee]

My comments were directed toward getting effective protection into a newbies hands with the shortest learning curve. For the more experienced, and folks who will practice at least monthly, I agree a .45 or other more modern semi auto pistol is more effective.

But not for a newbie, where the "screw up factor" is too high a price to pay. "Did I chamber a round three months ago?" or "does the safety go up or down?" are not questions you want to be asking at 0300 under hyper stress when someone is smashing your door. A revolver takes away all of these pitfalls. Point and shoot.

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

Yes, there are lights that will work on a firearm- but the post I was amnswering specifically mentioned a mini-MAGLIGHT, the bulbs of which are quite fragile (I have broken several by dropping them...)

The purpose-made firearm lights ( Stinger, etc) are pretty expensive- I have one that cost as much as my shotgun...