Sidearms & Scatterguns What size pistol for home defense

[NineHotel]

Full size variant of your CCW piece, assuming you make a smart decision on your CCW piece, with a light. Example - G17 for home, G43/26/19 CCW.

a 3 or 4" K or L frame is hard to go wrong with as well.

 

[Snuby642]

Something to consider, a full size double stack is premium defense for a hangun whatever flavor suits you.

However, rushing out the door with it in site, scares bad guys, problem is if leo is poking around
Some of them go all batshit as well. Some times a concealed weapon is still a good bet.

I have had rookie leo get all sideways with an open cary holstered gun.
They sometimes feel the need to try and violate my second amendment rights and state
Legislated rights to cary with a license, defend your own property within the law .
They are a huge threat at times. I inform them of my ltc and stand my ground.

I may end up shot by leo way before a bad guy gets me.

Anyway a concealed response to unknown threat is depending on your circumstances
A viable option.

 

[George P. Burdell]

I agree it depends on the home and the circumstance but for me it's the G19 and a flashlight

 

[GA_medic]

I personally carry a 19X or a Taurus M85.

 

[TheGerman]

If you have the option of being at home and having a weapon for home defense, my answer wouldn't be a pistol.

Not sure why you'd want to limit yourself to one, when you can have a carbine with basically an unlimited amount of ammo sitting there.

 

[Snuby642]

Shot gun and sbr next.

 

[Landon4]

I have a ar pistol in 300 blk with a 8” barrel, a kimber micro 9 by the dresser and a glock 22 40cal in the dresser drawer along with the wife’s glock 19 also have an ar 9 pistol close by with a 5.5 barrel

 

[ingraham]

the real deal.

 

[ingraham]

I think the best home defence gun is the gun you're most familiar with, whether it's your EDC gunor a dedicated house gun. If you don't carry a gun on you everyday then you should take the time to get familiar with your house gun. Shoot it, clean it, learn it and get to the point that you know how to operate it from a dead sleep. If you do carry a gun daily then I hope you know it like the back of your hand, and if you do then I think that should be your PDG (primary defence gun). Your goal is to defend your life and that or your family, regardless of where you are, but in the home you are at a distinct advantage. Don't give that away bc you're not familiar with your gun. I have backup guns in places designated at barricade points from where I can fight or give flight, but my PDG is my EDC. It is the gun I am most familiar with which is the gun I am most proficient with. My backup Pistol is one just like my EDC, and my other back ups are simple gun I am very familiar with as well.

 

[101stinfantry]

Full size combat handgun of whatever flavor suits you. If it's a back up to a shotty, or rifle, then it's likely it will never get used anyway.

 

[SwiftScope]

I use my carry gun (Glock 26) and my wife has her S&W Shield 9mm with a mounted Streamlight TLR-6

 

[Unknown]

Unless a pistol is the only firearm someone owns, having a pistol a their PRIMARY home defense firearm would be a poor choice. A long gun would be a far better choice as a primary home defense firearm. Generally, a long gun is easier to control under great stress, can have more capacity, and power.

While I support everyone's right to make their own choices, if I knew I was going into a fight, or had to defend my home and had the time to get to it, I would choose a long gun every time...even if it was a pistol caliber carbine.

With all that said, it is far easier to carry something like a chief's special, or a small 44 special (Charter arms or S&W 296) in a holster or pocket than having a long gun on a sling when just walking around the house. That is also why I own more than one firearm.

 

[FredIII]

12 gauge. Or 45acp

 

[SuckitTrebek]

What's best?

What is best is what works for you, there is no correct answer as long as it isn't a piece of shit.

 

[SuckitTrebek]

Awesome thread . I prefer a .45 for stopping power . And I think that Unknown's response deserves a second read as he is spot on . Know your house and know your weapon . I would also recommend prepping your family with occasional discussions of what to do and where to go . If you are the primary defender have a signal word . Ours is dog . We have a dog so it would not be to odd to an intruder and yet if the wife screams it I know there's a problem .

We have a signal phrase too. It's "Some motherfucker is in the house"

 

[Alphatreedog]

We have a signal phrase too. It's "Some motherfucker is in the house"

That's veruy subbtle .?

 

[northshorelumber]

Of course it is the one you shoot the best and will practice with the most. That being said I prefer a full size double stack 9mm.

 

[SuckitTrebek]

That's veruy subbtle .?

hehehaha not supposed to be. I want everyone on high alert if that happens, it's fucking go time. Not time
to try and act like i'm jason bourne.

Violence of action wins the fight.

 

[remmynikon.308]

My bathroom gun is a 9mm, couch gun is a 9mm, bedside gun is a .45, foot of the bed i have an AR and an AK, in between rooms there are shotguns.
Why choose 1?

 

[mobenzowner]

For me a Glock 21 with night sights fits the bill.

 

[wyld3man]

I see home defense as having the ability to open up many good options. Any of the "pistols" like the MPX, Vector, Scorpion, HK with a brace or stock if you choose to sbr seem like a great option. The Sig Rattler with subs, also. Even a AR pistol build with the proper ammunition choice. I like the stability offered by being able to shoulder the firearm, as well as a proper red dot. But that's just my preference, as I have not fully mastered being a proficient hand gunner, yet.

I agree with using a pistol style carbine or sub gun with the correct ammo. The ability to shoulder it will make it way more accurate than a pistol. I use a Sig MPX with a can, shooting indoors is loud.

 

[Alphatreedog]

hehehaha not supposed to be. I want everyone on high alert if that happens, it's fucking go time. Not time
to try and act like i'm jason bourne.

Violence of action wins the fight.

Surprise , Speed and violence of action hence the safety word so as to clue me in and not the home invader .

 

[VJJPunisher]

what i recommend to all my closest of friends is you want the best of both worlds, a pistola and a shotty. Go out and get ya a Lemat, I keep mine on a ready condition Alpha stand next to my bed like seen here, THANK ME LATER

 

[SuckitTrebek]

Surprise , Speed and violence of action hence the safety word so as to clue me in and not the home invader .

with violence of action outweighing the rest by far.

You aren't guarding a cia safehouse man.

 

[hermosabeach]

9,.40,.45 = same stopping power

It's about shot placement. Get what you can run in the dark and 1/2 asleep.

If you have muscle memory on the beretta, pick up 3 used. 40 cal trade ins are cheap...

 

[RTH1800]

It is telling that most if not all the 9mm fans are also hi cap fans.

 

[MosesTheTank]

If it's gotta be a pistol and you don't want to fuck around, which of course you shouldn't...

 

[SuckitTrebek]

Anyone that has ever had to pick up a pistol for self defense thinks the same thing

"I wish I had a fucking rifle right now"

 

[cbat]

Mine is a Judge in 410. Not a carry gun but a good one to stash a few around the house. Point and pull the trigger. You are up close and personal by then anyway.

 

[Zeroit]

I would recommend a pistol that you are most familiar with, and can operate in the dark, under great stress, when you have been awakened from a deep sleep, without having to think much about how it works. I'm not suggesting grabbing a gun when you are half asleep, what I am suggesting is that you choose something you have so much familiarity with that you can operate it under the worst possible conditions. A caliber of 9mm or greater would be great, but if the gun you are the most familiar with is a 9X18 makarov, then I would go with that. Magazine capacity, and whether anyone else in the house (wife/girlfriend) would need to operate the pistol is also a consideration.

For home defense, it would also be highly recommended that the firearm also have a light, or that you practice various flashlight techniques (Harries/Chapman/FBI are worth practicing) in conjunction with the pistol.

In addition to the firearm, it would be recommended that you walk around your house during the day time and take a look at places from where you might shoot, and consider what lies beyond any direction in which you might be shooting. Doing these things BEFORE an incident occurs will help you greatly. Think beyond just the firearm, consider what you would do when you call the police, after you call the police, legal rights, what you would or wouldn't tell the police. It is highly recommended that you also study use of force laws, and police report writing on use of force so you know what they might consider or be looking for when they question you. It is not generally recommended that you talk with the police without an attorney present.

The firearm is just one of a great many considerations. Think beyond just the firearm or how you would shoot it. If you are ever unfortunate enough to have to shoot in self defense, the things you consider BEFORE any incident will help you out immensely.

I guess one question is anybody else potentially going to use it and be trained to be confident with it? I can get the job done with anything I have rifle or pistol hardly anywhere is (something not available) here any kids in the house? My wife when we were first married 40+ ago her go to was a.12.ga. now it's a 9mm sig (she is a pistol instructor) and probably trained couple thousand men and women. However most women and some men won't shoot a 12 ga often enough. Easier to train on something fun than harsh. AR 15 are fun Just saying. But get what you feel comfortable with in the caliber of choice a .22 (can) get the job done. They do say a handgun is to get to your rifle. My. 02

 

[Blue Sky Country]

what i recommend to all my closest of friends is you want the best of both worlds, a pistola and a shotty. Go out and get ya a Lemat, I keep mine on a ready condition Alpha stand next to my bed like seen here, THANK ME LATER


View attachment 7025380

Those were VERY badass pistols of their day, and they still retain a certain mystique today, especially with screenwriters and video game designers.

The concept is great, but the originals (and reproductions) are somewhat plagued by mechanical issues that lay in the design of the gun itself rather than actual quality of construction. They are overly complicated for a single-action revolver and their internal mechanism is almost like a watch. When the selector latch on the hammer is flipped downward to fire the central smoothbore barrel, there is only 1.5 inches of travel from the cocked position to the percussion cap for that barrel, so on most occasions, it will take several strikes of the hammer to ignite the cap. There is simply too little space for the hammer to travel with sufficient force for reliable ignition. Perhaps the older mercury fulminate caps were more sensitive and offered more reliable performance, but modern lead stipenate primers really need to have a good whack to go off properly. The loading assembly for both the cylinder and the center bore is mounted on the side of the frame and held in place by a small and fragile leaf spring on the barrel. Upon the recoil of each shot, that lever will flip upwards and launch the ramming arm downrange like a trebuchet. If you find an original on the market today, they will most likely be missing their loading assemblies. Soldiers who used them on the battlefield will remove them so they will not get loose and get in the way during operation.....Those are just some of the design flaws with this revolver.

I have had folks send them to me occasionally to have work done on them, and if the work involves timing correction or barrel-cylinder gap lineup, I would test fire them before sending them back and have learned a lot about how they handle and perform in this manner. The modern reproductions are built by F.lli. Pietta Firearms, who also builds extremely high quality reproductions of other Old West revolvers as well as a PPsh-41 SMG chambered in .22LR (sorry fellas, semi-auto only) They are .44 caliber with a .63 caliber central smoothbore and the gun is really accurate.

If Chiappa can produce a thoroughly modern version, in the same style as their Rhino revolver, let's say, with a .357 Mag or .44 Mag rifled lower and a 12-gauge center/upper, it would be a true feat of modern design. The weapon would be WAY too unwieldy to carry, but for collectors of oddities, sci-fi fans, or a magnum-diehard, it will be a dream realized, IF: 1). They find a way to still make the thing NFA-passable and 2). They design an internal transfer system so the same striker can set off either the upper or the lower with a push of a selector.

 

[Jscb1b]

12 gauge 3" 00 buck. 9 in the tube, one up the pipe. Glock 34 with 33 rnd mag. Have a nice day.?

 

[thejeep]

My bathroom gun is a 9mm, couch gun is a 9mm, bedside gun is a .45, foot of the bed i have an AR and an AK, in between rooms there are shotguns.
Why choose 1?

Just remember to space them far enough apart so you don’t get into an internal debate on which to grab. Decisions decisions.

 

[remmynikon.308]

Just remember to space them far enough apart so you don’t get into an internal debate on which to grab. Decisions decisions.

i should be out of ammo by the time i get to the next.....

 

[Jsmith410]

I would go with the largest frame I felt comfortable with. With it being a home defense gun, concealed shouldn’t come into play as if it were being carried. I would also want as many rounds as possible. You probably wouldn’t need a lot but why not have them just in case. Just my two cents.

 

[dc451718]

They sure are. I owned an M&P 9mm for a while and I put it through it's paces in different weather conditions. Pretty battle-worthy, that is why I instinctively brought that one up.

Just checking out the FN-45 right now...That capacity...and threaded for a can too GUNPRIME has em' right now for $899. I can see Sig breaking a little sweat.

FNX 45 is a great pistol

 

[Blue Sky Country]

FNX 45 is a great pistol

It is actually this thread that compelled me to do some perusing on the FNX 45 and I am impressed. I would call it a pistol that was built to bridge the gap between a standard operator's sidearm and a battle rifle. Get a few NFA accessories slapped onto that bad boy and this opens up a category of it's own in the world of urban CQB to mid-range engagements.

 

[Aggie]

I
I have several diferent weapons but this is my truck revolver. However for short range work it certainlly does the job. The First three shells are Federal .410 2-1/2" 000 Buck. The last two are .45 Long Colt. I have 100% confidence in this weapon . It is a Taurus Public Defender.

 

[Coffee_and_Pipes]

Anyone that has ever had to pick up a pistol for self defense thinks the same thing

"I wish I had a fucking rifle right now"

Yep

 

[Trevor300wsm]

FNS9 w/ light under the pillow. Mossy 500A beside the bed. These should buy me enough time to get to the safe where I’ll pick an appropriate SBR w/ a can on it.

 

[jmb1911]

Pretty much any autoloader with a rail for a quality light, $275 and up, 9mm and up using bonded JHPs.

There are literally hundreds of choices and a majority are outstanding; many of which are documented already in this thread.

 

[4darkseid]

WOW, there are so many to choose from. Its kind of a pick ya flavor type of deal. For HD I'm thinking 9mm or 45 acp as for caliber. You are gonna find a few reliable autos to choose from as far as brand.

Mainly Springfield Armory, Glock, Sig, Ruger just to name a few. There are some brands of revolvers that I wouldn't use as a paper weight, just pieces of crap...the same with autos. So I wouldn't worry about the "too many moving parts theory"

Now having said all that, you want reliability and on a budget. Go with a Ruger P90 or P345. You can usually get them brand new for around 4 bills. Which is a great deal considering what you're getting.

 

[serevince]

I highly recommend a AR9 pistol with 4-5" barrel, suppressor, RDS, light.

Makes and incredibly easy to shoot package. One everyone's favorite guns to shoot, and everyone shoot it well. Compact and relatively light, although with 2x 33rnd magazines (coupled) it gets a little heavier.

Also won't wake up the kids. lol!

 

[Odysseus1911]

Obviously, for home defense you want reliability, controllability, stopping power, and capacity. Accuracy is nice, but when shooting from one side of a room to the other, match-grade accuracy isn't much of a concern.

I think a semi-automatic designed for combat is a better choice than a revolver for a number of reasons.

Modern ammo has come a long way and has narrowed the performance gap between 9mm and 45, but if my life is on the line I'm going to be throwing 230 grainers.

A weapon-mounted light is an asset.

I think there are lots of good modern options from FN, SIG, S&W, Glock, and Springfield. Personally, I'm partial to a well-tuned 1911 -the ergonomics are second-to-none, amazing trigger, match-grade accuracy, very controllable through rapid follow-up shots because of the weight distribution and ergonomics, and the most customizable handgun in existence, but they're not for everyone. Downsides are: good ones are expensive, they have to be tuned by someone who knows what they're doing to run right and be reliable, they require regular cleaning and lubrication, capacity limited to 8+1.

 

[SuckitTrebek]

That's veruy subbtle .?

That is the point. It's not supposed to be subtle. It's supposed to let everyone in the home know that some motherfucker is in the house that is not supposed to be there, because it's go time.

I'm not trying to run a CIA safehouse or pretend i'm jason bourne.

Grab the fucking guns right now and get to work

 

[mkollman74]

Anyone that has ever had to pick up a pistol for self defense thinks the same thing

"I wish I had a fucking rifle right now"

Unless the pistol is a Sig Rattler in 300BO shooting the heavies, or something similar. Of course, this assumes home defense, not a running firefight in open terrain. For that you call in an airstrike...

 

[Odysseus1911]

When the OP asked for recommendations on a pistol, he was probably referring to the types of guns the word pistol has always referred to. It may technically be classified as a pistol by the ATF, but in my mind, any AR variant is a rifle -regardless of whether it has a butt stock.

 

[Mute]

Since concealment isn't an issue, get whatever sized you do your best shooting with.

 

[Snuby642]

At the end of the day it is what ever you like and the first available firearm.

Sitting here right now I have a 9 double stack on my hip I toss it on the armchair table sometimes next to me.

9 or 45 in wife's purse in kitchen.
9 and 38 in bed drawers on iether side of bed.
12g on corner pistol grip and shell holder on side.

2 sbr's in safe with long guns.

No.guns in bathroom or grandkids toy room.

Turret on rooftops attract attention in the city or I would have them.

Feel me?

What white bread neaborhood do you live in ?

Edit. Get strapped now.

 

[Odysseus1911]

Something else to think about is simplicity. If you live alone and you can flawlessly operate every one of your multiple different types of handguns while startled and still half asleep based on muscle memory. . . then sure, have a whole bunch of different guns in different calibers stashed around the house for home defense.

But if you've got a wife or SO who's a shooter but doesn't have as much training as you, it's better if all your HD handguns are the same. My wife carries a full size 1911 45acp just like I do. We use the same for HD. It's much simpler that every handgun in the house operates exactly the same way, feels the same, shoots the same, and uses the same magazines full of the same ammo. Much simpler and simplicity is worth a lot.