Home defense caliber?

[hk boy]

a hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .44
so shot placement is the most important factor

 

[CanTex]

Ok guys, stop teasing me. I am always on the lookout for very inexpensive guns that may have a bit of rust, bit someone when they held it wrong or does not fit with their new favorite combat gear/hunting camo. Nice to go with the food cards! Didn't think of that. So if you have broken or just not using and need to clear space give me a shout.

Also, question on pump shotguns. Thought's on leaving one with 3 of 7 shells for extended periods? Problems with spring memory or other feed problems developing? Let me know thanks

 

[40Arpent]

that is the most asinine statement i have ever heard...
if you are going to carry a weapon, you may only have 1-2 seconds before the threat is on top of you...

...keep my pistols loaded and chambered but i keep them inaccessible to them but easy to get to for me.

I am honestly curious to know how you keep your gun inaccessible to your children, yet is "ready to rock" in 1-2 seconds. That is, if you don't mind revealing one of your "secrets."

 

[40Arpent]

...

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[40Arpent]

...hope i didnt sound like a dick in my responses...

Not at all.

 

[WARHAWK357]

damn comp. is bugin
sorry will try later

 

[Big country]

Hydrostatic shock is completely relevant to caliber used and the size of the target impacted by the bullet. For example, if you shoot a BG with a .22 there will be little "shock" present. If you shoot a BG with a .500 S&W, there will be very noticeable presence of shock. Yes I know the examples are extreme but they get my point across.

 

[dbgun]

When I'm home, I perfer a Hollow Point in 45acp, through an RIA 1911. When I'm gone, my wife perfers a .32 S&W long in a small revolver. She can shot the Bersa in .380 ok, but perfers the revolver. As she puts it, I just want to pick up the gun and shoot it. I don't want to think about pulling a silde, taking off the safety, etc.

I tried to work her up to a .38 special as well, but she didn't like shooting that caliber, as well. At 15 feet, she can place all six rounds (.32 S&W lg.) into a 3-1/2 inch circle.

 

[Old Man of the Mountain]

by keeping them hidden and above their reach, when i am not home, and when i am i have a bedside kydex holster that is clipped on to the bed, and the one i have on my hip

even if one of them were to grab a chair and stand full length they can't reach where i have one stashed, but i can walk by and grab it if need be

and the 1-2 seconds was referring to concealed carry but the same could apply in my home as well...

the secrets remark was how i have them "marked" at the house as to whether i know if they have been moved... they may be placed back close to the same spot, but never where i left them...

that and the kids are only allowed in my room when we are in there, otherwise it is off limits.

I have noticed that the children who have good parents obey the rules.

You must be a good parent!

 

[Old Man of the Mountain]

You're just splitting hairs when discussing calibers. About the only thing 95% will agree with is that it should be more powerful than a .380.

Actually, for cheap shooting and an effective weapon....it's hard to beat a shotgun. However, I've seen a very compelling argument that rifles are the best home defense weapon.

I agree!

I feel that my .40 pistol is a good defensive tool, but my .40 carbine is a better one, and my center fire rifles, and my shotguns.

I do not feel under gunned with my .40 pistol, I shoot well with it, and it goes bang when I pull the trigger.

For concealed carry, you need something small enough to conceal, and light enough to carry, but for home defense, anything that you can shoot and maneuver well in the area you are defending will do the job.

Night sights or a red dot can help with accuracy in dim lighting.

Just keep in mind the two most important rules of firearms:

Never shoot anything by accident (like a family member, neighbor, or pet).

Don't miss what you are shooting at.

I chose the .40 because it holds more rounds than a .45 (home invaders come in packs) and it is more dependable and more powerful than a 9 mm (eventhough all the 9 mm fans will deny that) it also has better penetration than a .45, and a .45 generally has enough penetration as it is.

Some folks advise going with a light bullet to reduce recoil in a .40, which made me realize that if a 180 grain hollow point would kick me a little harder, then it would hit the criminal thug a little harder, so I have changed to that. I don't feel like it is too much gun for me, or too much ballistics for them.

 

[Old Man of the Mountain]

I just wnet and checked the box o truth web site and talked with some police officers and would like to retract my previous advice about shotgun's loaded with bird shot DON'T USE BIRD SHOT FOR DEFENCE use buck shot or something! Don't take my word for it as we all know you should research everything for your self. I still stand firm behind my .40 with hydra shock's or TAP, but that is just what I prefer.

The event that convinced me that bird shot is for little birds and not for jail birds, was when that big criminal thug, Rodney King, was shot in the chest, and again in the back with bird shot (don't know at what range) he jumped on a bicycle and rode it all the way home to call for an ambulance.

A dangerous attacker with that much energy left in them is not the result I am looking for.

 

[Big country]

The event that convinced me that bird shot is for little birds and not for jail birds, was when that big criminal thug, Rodney King, was shot in the chest, and again in the back with bird shot (don't know at what range) he jumped on a bicycle and rode it all the way home to call for an ambulance.

A dangerous attacker with that much energy left in them is not the result I am looking for.

Yeah the whole Rodney King incident was little before my time. And after looking at the results on the box o truth website. I started rethinking my advice a bit, not wanting the someone to get killed because of my bad advice. that is what got me rethinking things.

 

[dbgun]

box o truth website

I just went into this website. Looks pretty interesting. Thanks, for the info.

 

[Old Man of the Mountain]

I just went into this website. Looks pretty interesting. Thanks, for the info.

The Box O' Truth is a great webside, with the results of many tests they have conducted.

[url]http://www.theboxotruth.com/[/URL]

And they are even in Orange, Texas, from what I heard.

 

[Big country]

Yeah it's hard to argue with the evidence they provide to support their theories and conclusions.

 

[idleprocess]

I chose the .40 because it holds more rounds than a .45 (home invaders come in packs) and it is more dependable and more powerful than a 9 mm (eventhough all the 9 mm fans will deny that) it also has better penetration than a .45, and a .45 generally has enough penetration as it is.

It's simple fact that most .40 S&W loads have more muzzle energy than 9mm (heavier and faster), and are "more powerful." Whether it's "more dependable" is obviously the subject of considerable debate.

 

[DocRod]

It's simple fact that most .40 S&W loads have more muzzle energy than 9mm (heavier and faster), and are "more powerful." Whether it's "more dependable" is obviously the subject of considerable debate.

Given that even the federal agencies, with all of our tax money that they will ever need to spend on testing and none of them can agree on even basic issues. I spent several years as an LE rep for S&W back in the early 1970's and that experience taught me more than I ever wanted to know about the people in that field, especially the feds. One simple fact that I learned to anticipate when dealing with them was that every federal LE agency considers itself the defining expert in the field of firearms, and they all disagree on almost every issue regarding "best caliber" and "best weapon" to use. Be wary of anything that an "expert federal employee" writes about firearms or ammunition because they are always politically motivated and have a desperate bureaucratic need to look better on paper than any of the other agencies.

Find a handgun in whatever caliber that you can become proficient with and stick with it. While bullet size, penetration, and expansion is all a part of the equation, bullet placement almost always has the final word, regardless of caliber. More people are killed in this country by .22 caliber bullets than the .45 caliber, but I wouldn't trust carrying a .22 for self defense. I carry a .45 ACP 1911-A1 in a shoulder holster and a .40 S&W backup in an ankle holster. Why? Because I am comfortable carrying both these pistols for many hours in a day; and within a 25 yard perimeter I can double tap and hit my target within 2-3" of center mass with either one of them, and that's more than good 'nuff for government work!