Best home defense weapon

This IS the thread about "the best home defense weapon" so the focus must be on the weapon, and what weapon is best for each person in their situation.

The best home defense weapon overall would have to be a modern handgun that can be held and fired. If a .22 is the most one can handle, that will have to do. This will leave one hand free to hold a flashlight (torch), or a cellphone (one should be calling the police) or free to defend at close quarters. Also, for those very old and/or weak, a small handgun is far better than a heavy and cumbersome shotgun or rifle. If one is in a wheelchair the handgun is a no-brainer.

Now, if you know someone is coming to kill you---just having a handgun is probably not enough. So what do the smart people do? What do the police and miltary use---and what would a smart person use in a "WROL" without rule of law situation???

They would have on body armor---at least a level III vest. Then they would likely have a modern military type rifle. And then they would take cover behind something that helps stop the bullets and wait for the threat to come for them.

If I were forced to live in a place like the UK where people do not have the basic right to self defense, I'd buy a black market handgun in the Balkans and bury it nearby if I were cautious---or hide it inside the house if I were less cautious. One could possibly lie and say you took the gun off the recently deceased felon and shot him/her with it.

 

Great post mate, we seem to share this tactical doctrine of mine which I drum into my recruits on the computer wargaming scene- "Fight with your brain first and your weapons second"..

 

The .22 is a quiet round, especially with a suppressor. A .22 rifle is quiet enough to shoot without hearing protection. (But I still recommend it.) The .22 is a great round for hunting small game. It is a very small round and packs very well. They typically come in boxes of 500 rounds or more.

Have you heard of the .22 bear defense? You shoot your buddy in the knee with the .22 and outrun him from the bear.

 

Have to go with the 12-gauge pump or semi-auto. Most efficient way to clear a room without being an imminent threat to those in other rooms. Plus, with a near infinite choice in lethal and non-lethal ammunition available, your loadout can be customized to fit almost any situation. 5-8 rounds is more than enough to clear any room, and if you just want to be sadistic, there is always the pump DP 12 with a 16 round capacity.

 

Yeah, when seconds count the police are only minutes away! I say both. Each has it's place. Also with two weapons you can send the wife/kids to a safe spot armed with pistol while you sort things out with the 870. Pistols work much better in tight spaces like car, etc.

 

What if the person the family needs to get away from is the person with the gun?

 

The nice part about a high tech security system is that it eliminates the need to call the police to come a fill out a police report.

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In that case it is probably not a good idea to have knives and baseball bats in the house.

 

Haha yes, there are several ways any Brit could get his hands on a gun if he really wanted one; the simplest is to join a gun club, then after a few months "probationary period" during which time he fires the clubs guns on their range he can apply to the police for a firearms licence which they'll almost certainly grant as long as he's got no police record.
That's me out then because I served a 3-month jail sentence on a vigilante rap in 2002.
However there are several illegal ways I could get a gun if I wanted one, such as paying a friendly farmer to buy me a shotgun on his licence (all farmers have got shotgun licences)..

 

Probably. Though the Shining was pretty pro-bat so who knows.

 

And I thought this thread was about "Home Defense". If you are afraid of your spouse, you have much bigger problems than home defense. Just declare your house a "safe space" and you'll be OK.

 

Everyone has their opinion of the best home defense weapon - ASSUMING you're not a person that does much shooting.

I have a HUGE collection of firearms and could pick anything. But for home defense, I keep it simple and reliable.

I'll make mine brief:
1. No high velocity rifle rounds - meaning no AR15 etc
2. A revolver over a semi-auto - at least 38sp but .357 better. Revolvers don't jam. Alternate a between ordinary ball and shedder/wadcutter/hollow point.
3. No handgun unless you have an instant-on laser grip such as a crimson trace. Most people can hide a cow at 20 feet in a panic. No laser grip, no pistol.
4. I like 1911 45acp, but advise against it because it is single action first round and in a panic you literally might forget to (*)(*)(*)(*) it.
5. I don't like pump shotguns. They are slow. Too much Hollywood. The ONLY advantage of a pump is e it will recycle any shell - a semi-auto might not.

Summary: MY opinion. If you have $500, buy a double barrel twin hammer 12 gauge - a short barrel shotgun (legal). Load both barrels with AA buck and put a 5 shell stockholder on it. If you don't have $500, buy a $250 used double barrel - and after MAKING SURE of minimal length (barrel and overall), just cut the barrel down with a hacksaw and smooth out the inner barrels.

LOGIC?
The LONGER the firearm, the more likely you will impulse-panic hit your target. For HOME defense, if you go with a handgun, go for a revolver with a Crimson Trace grip - a longer barrel is a better choice.
Shotgun? If you can't hit someone at indoor's range with a short shotgun, you certainly can't with a handgun. Even ordinary Remington AA gauge is a devastating shell - NINE 33 caliber pellets (balls). They will cross each other's path entering the body - each seeking the path of least resistance - which of course are the vital organs. Of course you can get hotter anti-personnel shells, but the ordinary shells are fine.

It is simple, most likely to get you hit, and you are least likely to be charged holding a shotgun. Note, virtually NO ONE will put up their hands and just stand there like in the movies. 90% of the time the person will run or charge - and if the person has a knife, hammer, etc, and you are in the same room? That 9mm MAY kill the attacker charging you - who may even die before you bleed out.

KEEP IT SIMPLE. I am confident more home intruders have been killed by shotguns than any other weapon. A double barrel won't misfire both barrels. KEEP IT REAL - you won't be dealing with a platoon invading your home. Watch the videos. Once shooting starts even multiple intruders will flee.

The only reservation I have is if you buy a hunting double barrel shotgun they tend to have very long barrels, so you need to cut it down. BUT absolutely allow and extra inch on the barrel and overall. Big federal and state felony if you're too short.

My point is not 1% of gun owners spend time at the pistol range - indoors or out - and that firearm you buy this year may sit untouched for 10, 20, 30 years. But if trouble comes, you may have seconds to react and, if need be, fire. A shotgun is impulse point and pull the trigger (s). I like external hammers as I feel them are more reliable.

NOTHING I WROTE APPLIES IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN IN THE HOME.

 

I only have 13 guns, not including BB guns and Airsoft.

In the home I have .40 cal HK USP and a flashlight in the nightstand. That is just the end of a layed defense: Living in a conservative country in a conservative state, in a subdivision with night guard and gate. Having an alarm system and a barking dog.

If I though someone was really going to attack, then I'd pull out the body armor, kevlar, and the rest of my military kit----or I'd simply run away before they arrive.

 

Honestly I don't even remember what this thread is about so...

 

I think it depends on the situation. My wife and I are relatively well armed. We have always assumed that a breakin that required us to defend ourselves would occur in the wee hours of the morning, when we were bleary eyed and not entirely "with it". For that potentiality we have a Mossberg Persuader propped on my side of the bed. We also have a Romanian AK knockoff on my wife's side.. In addition to those we have a Dan Wesson .357 revolver and a S&W .38 police special in the house just in case.

 

Remington 1100 are awesome guns. My father has one, and it's the best shotgun I've ever fired.

 

if you've got the (many) seconds needed to run and get any longarm, why dont you just run up and break the guy's neck? More likely, he'll be shooting/clubbing/stabbing you 4x per second while you try to go get that shotgun. Try not being so lazy and just ccw your pistol wherever you are. The odds are much higher that you wont have a longarm (when you need a gun) than the pistol wont be "enough gun". Most attacks are not made with guns, so just the sight of your gun is usually enough. Misses have changed a lot of minds, too! This can all be researched and proven to be true.

 

9mms over penetrate walls 45 / 40 cal hollow points are better hitters at short range in the home and knocking down power of a meth out crack head and a safety is good, double action trigger semi should be the first shot, its slower reaction but its more mistake proof since some people have shot there own relatives or husbands coming home late at nite, i would pick a pt 840 tarsus 40 cal
video time 3:05 double action [video=youtube;KaZ9-PLBSyY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaZ9-PLBSyY[/video]

 

What is best for home defense has very different answers depending up 1.) are their children in the home and 2.) is it a small interior and urban setting or rural with a lot of land?

If it has to be locked up, necessary with children in the home, a big caliber handgun. If it can be in the open, a 12 gauge semi-auto shotgun.

MOST people will do little to no shooting. That means their handgun will likely not be attended to or cleaned for years. This makes a big caliber revolver from .357 up the best choice in my opinion.

 

Revolvers aren't really a good choice, especially 357's. Virtually every instructor/guru is going to a striker fired DAO 9mm of good quality. They'll fire just about every time even if they haven't been cleaned for years. I've put thousands of round downrange with a Glock and it took years before I had a malfunction. I've never had one with an H&K.

 

Actual tests show that all centerfire calibers "overpenetrate" the walls of a standard USA home.

These 2 sites setup extensive tests shooting a variety of handgun, rifle, and shotgun calibers into sheetrock and walls:
http://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-1-the-original-box-o-truth/
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/03/ryan-finn/sheetrock-penetration-testing-take-1/

Even 22LR handgun went through 4 or more sheets of drywall.

The www.theboxotruth.com went even further in later tests, actually creating walls with insulation etc.

Bottom line: Every serious handgun will penetrate through multiple walls in a home.

Wall penetration in a home should not be a major factor in handgun selection.

Pick the handgun you are comfortable with, can handle well, will carry, and will use for practice.

 

(((((((((((((((Sigh)))))))))))))))))

Sweetie - you know we do not agree when it comes to guns

I just think the best home defence is what lies between your ears - outthink them

But then I fervently believe in Murphy - what ever can go wrong will and if I had to rely on a gun any one of a thousand things would go wrong - so I think rely on yourself first

 

You are replying to a 5.5 year old post. I doubt the debate is still going.

 

I'm sure T-bone and Buckwheat will appreciate that you're trying to out think them especially when you need to be shooting.

 

too many people imagine that things will go as they think they will. If things were, you'd not have a home invader. You dont answer the door, mow the grass, take out the pets, get the mail, take out the garbage, etc, with shotgun in hand. There are more home invasions in the daytime than at night, mainly cause no one (or at least, not the man of the house) is espected to be home. it can be a sudden crash-in, a sneak job, or by subterfuge (ie, UPS uniform, etc) so the odds of your getting to any longarm, in time, are much worse than the handgun's not sufficing. Of nearly 280 armed robbers caught in the act by the NYPD Stakeout unit, only 40 made the cops fire. The robbers were cornered and for sure were facing at least 10 years in the worst prison in the US, and they had a gun, yet they surrendered. Most home invasions are just burglars, just teenagers and have no gun. If you dont corner them, they will flee at the sight of your pistol, but you do have to have that pistol and you do have to get it pointed at them in time.

 

it has to be the handgun (first) cause you can't properly secure (and keep ready-enough) any longarm