Best type of Home Defense

[mcfroggin]

I've always been under the impression that the best home defense gun is a shotgun. I don't want anything that goes through walls easily and being accurate at 3am in the dark would be a plus. The shotgun seems like an obvious choice, but some people prefer to defend the homestead with other weapons. What are the benefits to other options out there?

 

[Clockwork]

Actually I have more than a few weapons around for home defense...

 

[atticus]

+1 clockwork. Love it.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

The best weapon is one that you can get to without having to leave your seat first.

 

[Clockwork]

The best weapon is one that you can get to without having to leave your seat first.

Exactly. The best weapon is one that is available. That's why I keep more than one around. What if I'm in the kitchen? What if I'm taking a dump? What if I'm laying on the couch? Best to just have a gun within three feet of you wherever you might be in the house.

 

[weiss27md]

This might sound dumb but I've been inside with a weapon fired and it is very loud, an AK. I think a shotgun is a bad idea inside because it would cause a lot of over pressure and would probably blow your ear drums out. Any handgun minus +P and magnum rounds would be great for inside.

 

[Billy_Madison]

I agree any gun within reach is the best to have...

I think a 12ga is the best for a 1 shot stop, but yes it will be very very loud indoors. But in a life or death type scenario I would rather need hearing aids versus being 6 feet under the ground!!

 

[DBDawg]

If someone breaks in to my house, they can have what they want...but if they're coming after my family, I don't care how loud it is...they're gonna eat lead. I'll deal with the bleeding ears later.

 

[weiss27md]

Well if your confident in your shooting then a handgun otherwise a shotgun. I have my two old Ruger Vaquero's 4 5/8" barrel 45Colt loaded with hollow points.
If I'm heading outside I'll grab my Mossberg 18 1/2" barrel.

 

[Billy_Madison]

Well if your confident in your shooting then a handgun otherwise a shotgun. I have my two old Ruger Vaquero's 4 5/8" 45Colt loaded with hollow points.

I agree hell a .22 is lethal with great placement , but if a guy is ballsy enough to break in a home in Texas he deserves a shotgun round center mass.

Every person I know has at least 1 firearm and I don't blame them this country has changed alot in the last few years!!!

 

[DrBart2]

The best weapon is one that you can get to without having to leave your seat first.

Well, if I was sitting on the sofa watching TV when someone broke in, my first reaction would be to throw the cat (which is probably in my lap) on the BG's face. While he is dealing with that I will grab the closest gun which wouldn't be far away.

 

[Texas42]

I've always been under the impression that the best home defense gun is a shotgun. I don't want anything that goes through walls easily and being accurate at 3am in the dark would be a plus. The shotgun seems like an obvious choice, but some people prefer to defend the homestead with other weapons. What are the benefits to other options out there?

Shotguns are cheap and common. LOTS of options for the 12 guage in terms of buckshot, slugs, and birdshot with lots of different sizes, manufacturing ect (20 I'm sure would work great, but you are more limited in the size of buckshot). Lots of defensive guns at a variety of prices and sizes. You are limited to 18" (as opposed to 16" for rifles) for non-NFA guns.

The cons, bird shot has low penetration. Low in walls, low in bad guy. Buckshot and slugs pentrate lots. Most defensive guns are limited in capacity to 6 or 8 rounds. Good enough for most situations, right. . . .but not near as good as other options. Pump shotguns require lots of practice. I've shortpumped a shotgun before while hunting. . . . an auto would get around this, but then you rack up costs and add other reliability issues.

Handguns are lighter, more portable, more likely to carry around. Have less power and are harder to shoot. Can penetrate many walls. Cost $400 on up. Mag capacity range from 8 to 19 in normal capacity, with most double stacks being close to 15. Easy to reload. Enough variations to blow your mind.

Rifles, powerful, high magazine capacity (20 or 30 : ) ). Lots of options on calibers. got at close and far. AR's and AK's are the majority. Price is usually more expensive. Penetrate a lot (.223 might not penetrate as much as a lot of stuff, but still a couple walls at least). Bigger than a handgun, but can be smaller than a shotgun.

I think there is a reason most LEO's are switching from the shotgun to the carbine. More ammo, lots of good, realtively inexpensive options, sticking lights and optics is easier. Punches through armor.

My HD gun is a Glock. Its what I'm good with, and my AR doesn't have enough practice or appropriate optice.

All systems require training. They can work. They can fail.

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Shotguns are probably one of the worst ideas for home defense, especially considering how often they are recommended to people that are inexperienced and not ready for all the physical manipulations involved in running a shotgun. Don't get me wrong, with a good buckshot load they can do tons of damage at close range, but they have a whole host of problems to deal with. A handgun, and/or a .223 carbine would be better, though each has it's pros and cons. The whole "point and shoot" fallacy with shotguns has led to a lot of people having a false sense of security about their defensive choice.

 

[medalguy]

Practice, practice, practice with WHATEVER you are going to use for HD. I keep a Stevens 311 12 ga double nearby most of the time. It has 18-1/2 inch barrels with the buttstock shortened 4 inches and a recoil pad added, so it's short enough to be very maneuverable yet long enough to get the job done legally. I keep #3 buck in it. If I can't do the job with 2 barrels, I'll go to the backup, 1911A1.

I also keep several handguns scattered around so I can get to one pretty quick. I don't bother carrying a pistol with me all the time, too impractical. By the way no ankle biters around to worry about either.

 

[Texan2]

What if I'm taking a dump?

This begs the question? Why is the term "taking a dump"? i dont ever "take" anything with me when i leave the bathroom. Shouldnt the phrase be "leaving a dump"???

Sorry....hijack over.

 

[San Antone RR]

This begs the question? Why is the term "taking a dump"? i dont ever "take" anything with me when i leave the bathroom. Shouldnt the phrase be "leaving a dump"???

Sorry....hijack over.

And there goes the thread....

 

[M. Sage]

I've always been under the impression that the best home defense gun is a shotgun. I don't want anything that goes through walls easily and being accurate at 3am in the dark would be a plus. The shotgun seems like an obvious choice, but some people prefer to defend the homestead with other weapons. What are the benefits to other options out there?

Anything that will stop a human being bent on harming you is going to go through several walls. I'm sorry, that's just reality. You or I can punch a hole in just about any interior wall you'll find in a home (unless it's lathe and plaster or you're unlucky enough to hit a stud).

Shotguns go through as much wall as a handgun, and a higher velocity rifle round like .223 typically goes through fewer than either.

Don't bother saying "but I'll load with birdshot!" Birdshot works on birds. It doesn't reliably work on humans. The only way you can stop someone with it is with a very lucky hit, through pain (unreliable) or through fear (unreliable). Disregard what the mall ninjas on the net say about birdshot acting like a slug close-in. It doesn't. It acts like a cloud of small, light pieces of lead. Each is and always will be an individual projectile, no matter how close together they still are. The minimum load I'd suggest trusting your life to is #4 buck. 00B is best if available, but #4B will get the job done, especially at indoor distances. In some shotgun calibers, like 20 gauge, it's a lot easier to find than 00. Slugs also work well, but then you might as well use a rifle.

You still have to aim a shotgun. Pattern a 18" shotgun with no choke at 20 feet, you might be surprised at how tight the pattern is. I chose a 20" barrel with improved cylinder to keep the pattern tighter. Tighter patterns do more damage, and you can reach farther without worrying about putting pellets off target - a very serious drawback to the shotgun!

Finally, shotguns are big, heavy, have a lot of recoil (IMO people should be running 20 gauge if they want a HD shotgun) and are usually harder to operate than a decent semi-auto handgun or rifle.

Carbines like a 16" barreled AR or an AK are great for home defense, if it's nearby and if you don't need to go roaming the house trying to secure children or other family members. They're not as good in tight spaces as a handgun, especially without some practice and training in how to negotiate those spaces. They're also not as good for one-handed use as a handgun, which goes back to roaming the house to secure family members. The plus side is that they hit hard, they carry lots of ammo and they're very easy to use accurately compared to a handgun. You also have less worry about missed shots because they fire single projectiles that are more likely to break up in walls (still won't stop in a single wall, though - we're talking several). They're also usually pretty light and have light recoil, especially compared with a shotgun. Easy to use? Heck, yes. They're designed specifically to be used under stress and in the case of the AK, with a bare minimum of training. An AR, AK or similar smallish, light intermediate caliber rifle makes an excellent gun for barricading in and waiting for the police to show up. Women and kids can handle them pretty easily, which you can't always say about shotguns or even handguns, which take a lot more practice.

Finally handguns. These are the bread and butter of self defense. They're light, they're easy to transport, easy to hide... Just a little harder to use well, especially under extreme stress. The lack the punch of either the shotgun or the rifle, but are a lot more maneuverable and easier to stash away in unsuspected places.

There's nothing wrong with any of the three, so long as you have a plan, know how it's going to be used and how to use it as part of your plan. Usually a good setup (IMO) will incorporate two of the three types, and there's nothing wrong with having some combination of the three put here and there. Every setup is different and there is a trade-off to be made no matter what weapon you choose. For example, I can load a 30 round magazine in either my AR or AK. Better accuracy, great stopping ability, etc. But it's hard to argue with the 72 pellets of 00B that the 8 shells in my 870 contain. That's some nasty firepower that would make a great barricade weapon, especially if you're hitting badguys as they come through a door or down a hallway.

The most important thing is not the weapon(s) you choose. It's your mindset.
Think about realistic (meaning simple!) scenarios you might have to face. Plan for them.

Attitude counts. Quitters die, fighters survive. Are you in it to win, or just put up a good show?

 

[M. Sage]

FWIW, I'm pretty sure a shotgun blast indoors won't be as bad as an AK or AR going off. There is a lot less pressure (a lot more gas, maybe) in a shotgun. You also don't usually have a supersonic projectile making things worse.

 

[majormadmax]

Mossberg Persuader loaded with 3" 00-Buckshot Magnum shells...

If you depend on a pistol, make sure it's a good one! Don't let this happen...

Cheers! M2

 

[Clockwork]

And there goes the thread....

Thread took a dump.