Good, simple home defense gun?

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I've been a fan of target shooting for many years; at one point I owned a .22LR rifle and a Ruger Single-Six .22LR/.22 Magnum revolver. (I wish I had 'em back now!)

Back when a long-time buddy of mine was still alive, he and I would visit the shooting range and blow lots of holes in defenseless paper targets with his 9mm autos. I told him his closet at home should be labeled "Guns of All Nations."

So: I've been thinking about a home defense gun for a while now. Much as I love the look and feel of many semi-auto pistols (the 9mm Luger comes to mind -- that fantastic pistol practically aimed itself!), for simplicity's sake I'm thinking about a revolver. A recent Guns & Ammo article lauded the classic Colt Single Action Army "Peacemaker" (or one of its clones) as great for home defense.

If I went with this, what would be the best caliber? The classic .45 Long Colt, or .357, or what? Any ideas appreciated!
 
12 gauge pump shotgun with buck shot. If the racking noise doesn't send them running the blast noise will! Plus you are more likely to hit what you are aiming at.
 
For home defense one of the last revolvers I would want is a SAA. They are great pistols and I have two of them, but my revolver for home defense is my S&W .357 with a 4" barrel. I want to be able to squeeze the trigger six times, and not have to cock the hammer back six times to fire.
 
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I agree with ZZman. A shot gun is the way to go for home defense. Saw it off (to legal length of coarse) and fit it with a pistol grip. Load it with buck shot or rock salt. If you are confronted with a break in and not thinking properly due to the adrenaline or surprise of the situation, just point in their general direction and pull the trigger. With the buck shot or rock salt, you will not have to worry about ammo going through walls either.
 
Another vote for a 12G shotgun, one with an 18.5" barrel IMO.

Ideal for home defense.

Personally, I like 00 for my round of choice, but if you live in an apartment or share a wall in such a way that overpenetration would be a concern, buckshot is a wise choice.

I wouldnt recommend a pistol for HD unless you are already quite familar with pistols, shooting, etc.
 
If you're dead set on a home defense revolver that you would never carry, I wouldn't get anything other than this, and I'd load it with this to reduce muzzle flash and noise at night in a home defense scenario. Buffalore Bores full power 357, while capable of ripping a hole in someones chest, is like firing a small cannon as far as flash and muzzle blast.

But I'd very much consider the shotgun as well.
 
I use a Taurus 5 shot hammerless .357 snubby for a carry gun and home defense. It's kept right next to my 12 gauge which has buckshot loads and a short barrel. You should consider a hammerless DAO revolver as Ayoob has pointed out in his many magazine articles. Juries have found that cocking the hammer of a revolver with the thumb while going through your house after an intruder is "premeditation" and can get you in deep trouble in court even if the shooting is inside your home. A hammerless DAO can only be fired by pulling the trigger. And, as an added benefit, there is no hammer to get caught on your pocket if you use it as a concealed carry piece.
 
Thanks, everybody,

I'm quite familiar with pistols and shooting, but not home defense scenarios. I know that I should go full scale, apply for a concealed-carry permit, and take the class. And if that were the case, I'd be thinking about something much more concealable -- a .380 auto, for example . . . or Boomer's suggestion of the hammerless double-action, like the old Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight. Does S & W still make that? I didn't see a small-frame revolver labeled "Airweight" on their site, though they have lots of hammerless pieces.

What about a .44 Bulldog? Not hammerless, but supposed to be an excellent value for the money.
 
Benza - There are a number of nice polymer chassis hammerless .45 semi-autos with double digit capacity nowadays. The one I named, XD45, is awesome in it's compact size, durability, and award-winning functionality/design.

I'm definitely far from knowledgable in this area....but my Walter P5 9mm is not sufficient, in my mind, for home defense and I'm looking to get a XD45 or similar for home defense & carry.

Joe
 
Colt Anaconda w/8" barrel in .357 mag or a .50 Cal Barret M82A1 (joking)
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Originally Posted By: Buffman
Can't go wrong with an XD :)


XD is made in Croatia...no thanks for me.

I own a S&W MP semi auto in .40 and a Sig P229 in .40 and they are great weapons. That being said, I still prefer my .357 DA Ruger revolver. I can shoot it more accurately and it really fits my hands well. I'll take 5 accurately placed shots of .38 special +P over 12 or 14 misplaced shots of .40, .45, etc. in a SD situation.

This is all personal preference and not meant to ruffle any feathers here. We all have our favorite guns for different reasons.
 
When I use to do lots of target shooting, practical pistol too, I'd help on the range sometimes. Revolvers seem to present far fewer problems than semi-autos, which was the opposite than what I saw in the miltary. The big difference is that military semi-autos (.45 at the time) were kind of loose, standardized regarding ammo, training, etc., while it's a zoo among civilians. Revolvers don't like to get too dirty, a problem in the military but an uncommon problem among civilians. I like a .357 reolver as the 125 gr JHP is still a standard for stops after all these years, actually decades now, and it's very insensitive to the type of ammo that you can use. They're easy to make safe, use, and out of the box tend to be more accurate than semi-autos, at least at a similar price range. I like semi-autos well enough, but just felt the need to go beyond a good revolver for large bore shooting. I do prefer a target grade semi-auto for smallbore (.22), but they're getting real expensive these days, just silly in fact.

The problem with any pistol is that it takes lots of practice to get it so that it's instinctive to use in the dark, around obstacles, with the weak hand, etc. I've seen shooters go thru two magazines at a station and just move on as they didn't hit anything. When we go out shooting with the pistols I like to take the 12ga pump, some birdshot for fun and buckshot for demo. After going 'pop pop pop pop' with the 9mm pistols, 'bang bang bang' with the .357s, it's always impressive to see what happens when you go 'KABOOM KABOOM' with some buckshot. It's easier for everyone to hit the target with the shotgun, once they learn that it's not a 'scattergun' like in the movies and that they still have to aim it. Shoulder fired weapons are just easier to use. Anyway, I think that a 12ga is the ideal 'home defense' weapon, and carry a pistol as a backup if you wish. I saw a sweet looking small 20ga Rem 870 at the store the other day, a youth model I think, that would would also do very well.
 
Originally Posted By: 1sttruck
When I use to do lots of target shooting, practical pistol too, I'd help on the range sometimes. Revolvers seem to present far fewer problems than semi-autos, which was the opposite than what I saw in the miltary. The big difference is that military semi-autos (.45 at the time) were kind of loose, standardized regarding ammo, training, etc., while it's a zoo among civilians. Revolvers don't like to get too dirty, a problem in the military but an uncommon problem among civilians. I like a .357 reolver as the 125 gr JHP is still a standard for stops after all these years, actually decades now, and it's very insensitive to the type of ammo that you can use. They're easy to make safe, use, and out of the box tend to be more accurate than semi-autos, at least at a similar price range. I like semi-autos well enough, but just felt the need to go beyond a good revolver for large bore shooting. I do prefer a target grade semi-auto for smallbore (.22), but they're getting real expensive these days, just silly in fact.

The problem with any pistol is that it takes lots of practice to get it so that it's instinctive to use in the dark, around obstacles, with the weak hand, etc. I've seen shooters go thru two magazines at a station and just move on as they didn't hit anything. When we go out shooting with the pistols I like to take the 12ga pump, some birdshot for fun and buckshot for demo. After going 'pop pop pop pop' with the 9mm pistols, 'bang bang bang' with the .357s, it's always impressive to see what happens when you go 'KABOOM KABOOM' with some buckshot. It's easier for everyone to hit the target with the shotgun, once they learn that it's not a 'scattergun' like in the movies and that they still have to aim it. Shoulder fired weapons are just easier to use. Anyway, I think that a 12ga is the ideal 'home defense' weapon, and carry a pistol as a backup if you wish. I saw a sweet looking small 20ga Rem 870 at the store the other day, a youth model I think, that would would also do very well.


Many great points here 1sttruck.

1) It is RIDICULOUS as to how much a .22 revolver or semi costs these days. How in the world does a .22 revolver often cost 200 bucks more than a comparable .357, .38, etc? Local pawn shop sold an S&W .22lr for 500 bucks and it was worn out.

2)On my trusty 18.5" Mossberg 500, the single best upgrade I ever did, was to install the Knox Spec-ops recoil reducing collapsible stock. I can go to the range and shoot 3" slugs and buckshot with ONE hand and it is comfortable. It was the best 125 bucks I have ever spent on a gun gadget. I would estimate recoil reduction at about 40%, which is a big deal. I can shoot the shotgun very accurately with slugs and buck.

Here is a link to this must have for an 870 or Mossy 500 owner:

http://www.knoxx.com/action_videos/Knoxx_Videos.php

Check out the videos and you will be convinced on these.
 
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
Originally Posted By: Buffman
Can't go wrong with an XD :)


XD is made in Croatia...no thanks for me.

I own a S&W MP semi auto in .40 and a Sig P229 in .40 and they are great weapons. That being said, I still prefer my .357 DA Ruger revolver. I can shoot it more accurately and it really fits my hands well. I'll take 5 accurately placed shots of .38 special +P over 12 or 14 misplaced shots of .40, .45, etc. in a SD situation.

This is all personal preference and not meant to ruffle any feathers here. We all have our favorite guns for different reasons.


Saturn you made that statement in another thread, and as I mentioned in that thread, I don't see any reason for a concern. The XD has passed numerious durability tests including the 20,000 round torture test. They are very well built guns and do carry a Lifetime Warranty.
 
870 Remington 12g, used one in law enforcement for years, you can`t go wrong. Handguns are nice, but under VERY stressful situations even the best marksmen have missed.
 
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Originally Posted By: Buffman
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
Originally Posted By: Buffman
Can't go wrong with an XD :)


XD is made in Croatia...no thanks for me.

I own a S&W MP semi auto in .40 and a Sig P229 in .40 and they are great weapons. That being said, I still prefer my .357 DA Ruger revolver. I can shoot it more accurately and it really fits my hands well. I'll take 5 accurately placed shots of .38 special +P over 12 or 14 misplaced shots of .40, .45, etc. in a SD situation.

This is all personal preference and not meant to ruffle any feathers here. We all have our favorite guns for different reasons.


Saturn you made that statement in another thread, and as I mentioned in that thread, I don't see any reason for a concern. The XD has passed numerious durability tests including the 20,000 round torture test. They are very well built guns and do carry a Lifetime Warranty.


To each his own, and if you like the XD, I respect that.
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