this is not necessarily true. A lot of people who buy a gun for home defense go to the range to test it out once (if at all) then put in their bedroom and never fire it again. They also have little experience with firearms. For these people, especially women and smaller men, a cannon like a 44 magnum or 357 magnum is probably a poor choice. They probably can't hit the broad side of a barn with it and could easily end up bashing their own skull with it due to recoil if they don't know how to hold it right. For them a 38 revolver or a 9 mm MAY be the better choice.
Not to mention whats on the other side of the wall you hit after missing the target.
A discussion for the ages, right here. Like being in the gun store when a new shooter walks in.
Everychoice could be wrong, every choice could be great. That’s why guns are relatively cheap and small. And you aren’t told you can own one or a few. Well, in some places you are but those aren’t America.
I digress. Shooters are exactly as unique as the firearm offerings out there.
Many of these “shoot once and store away” people are buying the wrong gun.. and they are buying the wrong gun exactly because of articles like these. My wife has “The right guns” but never carries because of the “Wrong carry”. Literally, more permutations than answers here.
A large well compensated 357 revolver will have less recoil than a small concealed carry 9mm like the LC9.
And for indoors shooting a 45 subsonic might be easier on the ears, especially out of a revolver like the Judge.
Sadly the nonsense of making silencers illegal precludes any other form of self protection
The reason is this - you should train with your firearms regularly. If a firearm beats you up and is no fun to shoot, human nature being what it is you are going to find excuses not to shoot it. Generally speaking, the bigger the caliber, the higher the cost per round. You need to be able to afford regular range time with all your defensive weapons. Operating them should be second nature.
I generally carry a Glock G19 as my CC weapon. 9mm is relatively reasonably priced, offers decent stopping power, decent capacity in a concealable (for me) package. On my side of the bed is a Mossberg 12 ga pump loaded with slugs and #1 buck, and a full size 1911 loaded with JHP.
I train the most with the 9mm because that's the one I need the most work with. At home I would grab the 12 ga first and bring along the 1911 as a back-up weapon. When I practice with the 12 ga I absolutely love it. Bird shot is relatively cheap for putting shells through the weapon to practice basic operation. The slugs make satisfyingly large holes in the targets... Contrary to popular belief, I've never thought the 12 ga had that much recoil. Even with high-brass slugs, it's more of a shove than a kick.
Heck, now I want to go back to the range. I was there last weekend for a "pistol day" with my 9mm and a 38 revolver. Now I want to go back for a shotgun day... Maybe this weekend...
I tell my students use the largest caliber you are comfortable with because you wont be as good with something that intimidates you (which means go test some out at the range before you buy).
I also tell them if they are going to get a semi-auto, they need to practice regularly (like at least once a month) at the range. If you're not going to practice, stick to a revolver.