[Mr. Lucky]

It's no contest. Any version of the .45ACP 1911 government models. Nothing stirs a sudden desire in a bad guy to go straight like staring down the barrel of 80 years of US military history.

[Arkinsaw]

I agree, 1911 .45ACP

The .45 has plenty of stopping power and won't penetrate six of your neighbors houses like a 9mm will. Plus you get the American history that goes with it and it has a hole in the end of it the size of a basketball for an intruder to look at and consider.

[The KG9 Kid]

Ditto.

mn-Bush-man, it's the single-action 1911 in .45 ACP. Everything else is a questionable afterthought. Find a decent used one for about as much as you have said you'll spend.

If you insist on something else, I have a first-generation Glock 17 that I'll sell you with two hi-cap mags. It'll be more than $300, though.