Question About Firearm Selection for Home Defense (VANITY)

vanity | April 13, 2003 | Jim Noble

[Jim Noble]

I have been trying to select a home defense firearm. I have handled and fired .38 special, .357 Magnum, and .45 ACP handguns, and 12-gauge and 20-gauge shotguns, but I'm not (yet) an experienced shooter.

I also have small kids at home.

I like the shotgun option, but have 2 concerns. 1) Do I like it because blowing away bad guys with a shotgun looks cool in the movies? (i.e., is this as viable an option as a handgun). 2) Can a bad guy with a handgun kill me before he is in lethal range of my shotgun?

Thanks in advance to all the experienced shooters here.

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

Also, be sure you get some firearm training and practice often. Don't go more than 45 days without going to the shooting range.

[CFC__VRWC]

Unless the law's changed recently, the feebs require that a shotgun's barrel be at least 18 inches in length. FWIW, this is the law that they were trying to "sting" Randy Weaver with, in the events leading up to Ruby Ridge.

[Shooter 2.5]

I notice it's never an kid issue when "the sound of a shotgun shell being chambered will make the bad guy #### his pants".

It's just plain stupid to be that close to a home invader to suddenly decide the gun should be loaded. It's cheap Hollywood stuff.

[Zeroisanumber]

I'd suggest a .20 gauge pump-action shotgun loaded with birdshot. Enough to knock an idiot out of his shoes, but not enough to do much damage to the walls of your house or innocent people who might be behind them.

Also, because you're acting in a pressure situation you might want to buy yourself a good, heavy bat while you're at it. You might not be able to reach your gun and get it loaded, but you can always pick up a Louisville Slugger to swing.

[Jim Noble]

>>The pumping of the slide is such an ominous and distinctive sound it scares the crap out of 99.99% of those that hear and understand they might be on the receiving end of a close quarters load of buckshot...<<

Well, that's an attractive proposition, all right.

I'm trying to think beyond that to the cold hard fact that I intend to use the weapon to kill an intruder.

that was the basis of my question about lethal range, which has been well answered here. Thanks.

[Shooter 2.5]

The only sound the burglar should hear if he's that close is the whispered phone conversation with the dispatcher as you cradle your shotgun pointed at the entranceway.

[Billthedrill]

For me the presence of the kids changes the equation a bit. If you do decide to go with a pistol remember that it takes quite a bit more training - practice, practice, practice, and then more practice, to quote pistolero Jeff Cooper - and is much more the sort of thing the kiddies can get into trouble playing with.

I'd recommend a lockbox, one with the provision for quick access of a loaded pistol. Browning, Mossberg, Liberty, and many others make pistol boxes answering this description. My personal choice is a GunVault, as it has finger grooves, a large number of potential combinations, and "goes to sleep" after six incorrect tries (meaning it must then be opened by key). That keeps little fingers from guessing the right combination.

A shotgun, OTOH, has a couple of advantages - it is less likely to be misused by kiddies (even chambering a round may be beyond a child's strength and Mossberg's 500 has a button that must be pressed in addition to racking the action). It isn't lockable in the same way, however, but at close quarters is devastating no matter what you've loaded it with.

Birdshot is marginally safer than buckshot but at close range both are a nearly solid mass. You don't get much of a spread on birdshot at inside-the-house ranges. Which means that you still have to hit what you shoot at. All calibers have less of an overpenetration problem if they have to pass through the chest cavity of a bad guy...

[Noslrac]

If there is a thug in my house, I don't wanna be racking the slide to scare him... He can listen to the slide rack after he is shot the first time. I personally want the element of surprise if I can have it and to not be fumbling with loading the weapon.

[algol]

I'll keep a round chambered if I expect to be in a combat situation on short notice -- in which case I'm probably not sleeping, either, and the gun is in my hand.

If the gun is not in my hand (or holster, if I were carrying), then I don't want a round in the chamber.

[Blood of Tyrants]

I say go for the pump action shotgun. Simple, reliable, versatile, cheap ammo, little marksmanship is required. Stay away from the expensive Benellis unless you just really want one.

And not only that, when you say to the noise in the dark, "IDENTIFY YOURSELF! I HAVE A SHOTGUN!" and then pump a round into the chamber, the mess you will likely have to clean up is not blood but urine the intruder pisses down his leg.

[Shooter 2.5]

No, you're not going to SAW anything off. You would BUY the standard riotgun cylinder bored barrel.

[Live free or die]

I am right now looking at a Mossberg 590 shotgun. You might be able to get one for less than $400. It's a 9 round type that has more range than any pistol. It's what I'd recommend.

[MaggiesDad]

.45acp

[Jim Noble]

For me the presence of the kids changes the equation a bit. If you do decide to go with a pistol remember that it takes quite a bit more training - practice, practice, practice, and then more practice, to quote pistolero Jeff Cooper - and is much more the sort of thing the kiddies can get into trouble playing with.

Yeah, that's a big issue. 3 kids, 5, 3, and 1. My first impression was it would be a lot harder for the little ones to pick up and misuse the shotgun, but I wanted to check here with the experts.

[Kadric]

I have to ask a couple questions.
Are the bedrooms in one area of the house where everyone can gather to one room easily?
How close are your neighbors
Do you plan on "hunting" the person in the house or holding put in one room?

If you are going hunting then the shotgun's size will be a disadvantage. If you come to the doorway or a corner either you will proceed the gun or the gun will proceed you.


In my case completely different from your. No children, no close neighbors, house located in a manner that favors hold in one room. Nothing in the rest of the house is worth my wife's or my life. If they attempt coming through the bedroom door this place will look like swiss cheese. From the master bedroom shooting straight through the house you hit a wooded hill. At hand 1911 .45, AK-47, FAL, wife has Hi-power, AR-15, and a semi-auto UZI carbine. 3 mags for each pistol and at least 6 for each of the long guns. Have a Chow by the front door, a Rott by the back and 4 other dogs that run loose on the property.

[Don Carlos]

OO buck in 12 gauge has 9 pellets. They look to be about 30-32 caliber. I can see what your cop friend way saying! Dont know, but just guessing, the muzzle velocity on a 3-inch 12 gauge OO-buck is probably 12-1300 fps. There is your 9 357 magnums!

BTW, I recently purchased a Mossberg Maverick with 18.5 inch cylinder barrel and plastic stock. For a factory list of right at $200, its gotta be one of the best buys out there. Some bigger outlets are discounting them as low as $139.95!

[algol]

Well, there is that, yeah. But "that close" is going to vary depending on the actual acoustics of the house, and sound of chambering a round is quite a bit louder than a whispered conversation.

[Jim Noble]

3 little kids behind one layer of sheetrock 30 feet downrange from the bedroom door. A shot through the open bedroom door is heading for the kid's room.

With time, would go to the kid's room and defend there. May not have time, though.

No possible chance ever under any circumstances I would try to clear the house alone, unless a kid were missing-so, the plan is defense from a fixed point.

Already have the dog.

[spodefly]

Get one of these (Mossberg 500 Tactical). Add a mini-mag light that affixes to the top of the gun and is triggered by a pressure switch on the fore-end grip. Load with #4 - #6. Place beside bed. Go to sleep.