Replies

If you live in Florida, rust due to humidity is an important consideration. I recommended stainless instead of blued steel in that environment.

If you do not plan to use the gun for CCW, then buy one with longest barrel you feel comfortable with. Ideal length in my opinion is 5" to 6.5". 4" is the absolute minimum. Under stress, it is much easier to unconsciously aim and accurately shoot with a longer barrel, especially in the dark.

Taurus makes fine revolvers. I have experience at the range with a 38 Special Taurus revolver with a 4" barrel. 38 Special hollow-point ammo works well for home defense. A 357 Magnum revolver is another fine choice. Just keep in mind that 357 Magnum ammo packs a heck of a recoil compared to 38 Special. Fortunately, 357 revolvers also shoot 38 Special ammo, hence the best of both worlds.

With that said, having plenty of experience at the range with a variety of revolvers, pistols, and rifles, I recommend a full-size 1911 (semi-auto, 5" barrel) in 45 ACP for home defense. I have a stainless Springfield Armory 1911 full-size, Custom, Loaded in 45 ACP. For your purposes, the full-size Mil-Spec model is fine and about $200 cheaper. The nice part about full-size 1911s is that replacement parts are everywhere and cheap. So are the magazines. I use Wilson Combat 47D 8-round magazines. Most 1911s are only as reliable as the magazine. Plus, for home defense, it's nice to be have a gun with several loaded magazines nearby (in a safe of course if kids are around). You can readily buy semi-auto magazines that hold 10-rounds if you wish. That's up to twice the capacity of a large caliber revolver in just the first magazine. With practice, you can swap a magazine and have 10 more rounds ready to go within a few seconds. I recommend avoiding 9 mm versions and sticking with 45 ACP. 45 ACP is far more effective for home defense although the ammunition costs more. I prefer the "strong push" recoil of 45 ACP ammo at the range over the "violent jerk" recoil of 9 mm ammo.

If money is a big issue and you want semi-auto, "plastic" guns like Glock or Springfield Armory XD are a great choice. Springfield Armory has the new 5" XD 45 ACP coming out this summer. The 4" XD 45 ACP just started shipping.

As for expensive whiz-bang "extras" like night sights, lasers, rail-mount flashlights and the like, skip all of that stuff. There is no substitute for experience, no matter what extras you buy for the gun. If you must have a light, something like the Photon Freedom micro light with covert nose is perfect and costs less than $15. Use the hundreds of dollars you don't spend on extras for a range membership, ammunition, and a decent spotting scope. And when you go to the range, practice in single-action mode using the slow fire method (shooting no more frequently than every five seconds or so). When you are at home, try practicing in your bedroom at night in the dark (with the gun unloaded of course). Put the gun where you plan to normally keep it and practice rolling out of bed, getting to the gun, chambering a round, and taking a defensive position. Remember: Hope for the best, plan for the rest.

The best place I know of to buy ammunition is WalMart, especially the white box Winchester target ammunition. For example, 100 rounds of Winchester white box 45 ACP at WalMart is $20. 38 Special probably costs the same or less.