It's all you'll ever need.
The best home defense firearm is a 12 gauge pump shotgun. Remington 870 is commonly available and at a reasonable price. No reason to get one with a long barrel either. A 20-inch barrel is plenty.
If you are serious do it legally and get the concealed carry permit and what ever gun feels right in your hand and has stopping power... .380 is the lowest caliber, but if you don't have good aim or are not famillar with guns learn how to shoot one properly first or you are more of a danger then the looters are.
A shotgun. Just cycle the thing and most people think twice. Twelve ga. pump goes a long way for home protection. A 357 revolver is also the ticket. Do not use any semi auto's as they can jam.
If you shoot them outside.......drag the body inside. Learned that from a cop.....
A shotgun would be a good choice but, whatever weapon you chose, you need to maintain proficiency and the weapon itself. Keeping it in the crawl space does neither. In general, however, you do have the right idea - be prepared to protect yourself.
Agreed, 12 gauge loaded with Buck Shot is the ticket..Winchester makes a home protection model, think it's called the Defender and comes with short barrel.
I trust my life to a Colt 1911 .45 cal pistol. What are the two most intimidating sounds in the world? A pump shotgun being racked and the slide of a .45 pulled back and released.
Revolver - Used, clean, and low mileage Ruger Security Six in 357 Magnum
Shotgun - Used Remington 870 Express w/ 20 in. barrel or Mossberg 500A with 18 in. riot barrel
You are probably going to be inundated, with advice. I would recommend a 9mm Bereta, hand gun. I own no weapons, I have shot one of those. It was very accurate, it made alot of noise, but did not kick at all. I was knocking off cans at 75 yards.
I further suggest you practice, practice, practice. And mind the crawl space, if the temperature varies a lot during the year, condensation will turn your shotgun into recyclable steel
It won't be much use to you if a "dire situation" arises and you go looking for a firearm that's been rusting away in a crawlspace that you have never used before.
Quite honestly, whatever firearm you get should not stay in your crawl space. You need to fire it periodically. Take it to the range once in awhile, so you get used to firing it and using it. Your weapon, of all devices, needs to be something with which you are very familiar, both so you can use it safely and can use it effectively.
While I'm not going to put down a good handgun and I think you should one, I do believe you should be able to protect yourself from folks who are armed with a rifle. I'm not going to advise you which one to purchase, but it should be one with a high enough caliber to be accurate and lethal at 100 yards.
This would not be advisable at any time other than during a riot when someone is firing on you or trying to torch or enter your dwelling. The rules are a little different under those conditions (not literally, but with some vague understanding IMO). Don't think that you will get a free pass, if you do defend yourself. You might not.
The handgun would cover you in the event of an intruder. I would recomment hollow point ammo as it might be less likely to exit your home and enter another. It also has good stopping power.
Others will give you great ideas on which exact weapons to buy.
http://www.winchesterguns.com/prodinfo/catalog/detail.asp?cat_id=512&type_id=907&cat=012C
Above URL is the defender, 12 gauge, 8 shot pump
Nothing quite gets the attention of a thug like the sound of pumping a 12 gauge shotgun.