Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: Astro14
With any discussion on a firearm - I would need to know more: your priorities, your willingness to train, your experience, your budget, etc.
It's a lot like asking "what kind of car should I get?" - and then being asked "how do you intend to use it? How many people will be driving it? What's your budget? Is MPG important? Luxury?"
So, there are shotgun fans, handgun fans, and carbine fans. I'm a fan of all three, for the right set of circumstances.
When my wife has a weapon at the house, it's a Beretta 92, loaded with 17 rounds of Federal HST 124gr, or Speer Gold Dot 124gr. Why that gun? Well, she's ex-military and has qualified with the M9 dozens of times. She shoots it well, she knows it intimately. It's a good, reliable, high capacity full size service pistol.
When I've got a weapon at house, it's an H&K USP Compact in .40 S&W. Why that gun? I've been trained with it and qualified with it several dozen times. I used to carry it. I've put tens of thousands of rounds through it. I know it intimately. It's a good, reliable service pistol, and I like the tritium night sights, too.
If I knew that my house was likely to be broken into, however, I would have my LR-308 AP-4 with a 25 round magazine within arm's reach. Why that gun? If I know a fight is coming, I want a rifle, and a high-capacity one at that. This is a high-capacity carbine length rifle that I've put several thousand rounds through, and know intimately. It's a good, reliable gun. But it's a lot of gun to keep by the night stand.
I think the point is this: whatever you choose for a home defense weapon, you need to know it intimately. You need to practice with it regularly. Consider this - in a moment, you're awakened by a noise, the sound of glass breaking, and while you're burdened by sleep inertia and a bit groggy, you have to have this weapon ready to go. You can't be thinking about how this one works, it's just got to be something you know.
Further - You need to be certain that it's reliable. I would recommend a full-size pistol because of the higher capacity, and easier recoil management. No one cares about concealability in a home defense weapon. The Glock 17/19 recommendations are good ones. Reliable. High capacity. Easy to operate. Reasonably priced.
The .357/.38 recommendation is also a good one. Why? A wheelgun is simple: pull the trigger. No malfunction drills. Load it with .38 for low cost/recoil range practice and .357 for self defense. A great choice for a first gun or for a shooter that will not have the time/resources to shoot and maintain proficiency. But, they're not cheap, and they're limited in capacity.
In addition to purchasing the gun, get some training with that gun. Then start educating yourself on the use of lethal force. Lethal force is OK to stop a lethal threat, but it's immoral, not to mention, illegal, to use lethal force to stop theft of property. I would recommend that you start with a classic, Massad Ayoob's book, "In the gravest extreme". I believe in this strongly enough that if you PM me your address, I'll send you a copy from Amazon. I've got no association with the author, but I read that book over 30 years ago and it is still an excellent treatise on the how to use lethal force.
An example of how I intend to put some of his principles into practice: if there is a break in, I will remain upstairs. Many valuables, including electronics, tools, antiques and personal family heirlooms are on my first floor. If the intruder comes upstairs, they have bypassed the obvious economic gain of breaking in and are seeking out the people in the house. That clarifies their intent: violence against me and mine. That allows me to apply lethal force in good conscience, because their actions have demonstrated their intent.
You've got to both know your weapon and understand the legal and ethical context in which you might be forced to use it.
Should be read at least 3x by anyone and everyone. Great post.
The dude said. He is a rookie, he will train with it and it is for home invasion self defense. Doesn’t have to be complicated.
