Which hand gun for home defense?

[IndyGlockMan]

For a home defense handgun, it's tough to beat a Glock 17 9mm with a 33 round mag and flashlight attached.

By all means, go to a range, try out different guns, and take some training.   It's a lot of fun and you will learn a lot.

Buy lots of ammo for practice.  Not just a couple boxes, I mean a couple cases.  You have a lot of learning to do and there's no better teacher than practice, practice, practice.  Yes, it's going to cost a lot of money.

If you are married, take the wife to training classes too even if she doesn't want to learn how to shoot.  If there's a gun in the house, she needs to be up to speed on gun safety.

Don't be one of those guys that buys a gun, shoots half a box of ammo and calls it good.  

33 round mag...  you bet.   The average self defense/home invasion is usually against 3+ intruders.   You will need more than 5 rounds, so bring enough for everybody plus a few more.

Check out www.ingunowners.com

Great form here in Indiana and we have lots of members from other states too.

Good luck!

 

[C0lt]

On 1/21/2016 at 6:38 AM, MDBowHunter said:

Not if you know how to shoot.

No matter how much training you have gone through, how much military/le experience you have, or how much of a range rambo you are, when you get woken up out of a sound sleep and have to defend yourself from an armed invader, your skills WILL break down to some degree. 

This is certainly a matter of opinion, but why restrict yourself to 5/6 rounds out of a revolver when you can have 15+ out of a semi auto. The old argument used to be reliability, but that argument is beginning to lose its bite with the extreme levels of reliability coming out of our modern semis, specifically the striker fire glock/mp lines. 

Again, just a mater of opinion,but i would rather stay on the side of caution than rely behind the old bar stool line of ".357 can take down two men with one round."

[MDBowHunter]

49 minutes ago, C0lt said:

No matter how much training you have gone through, how much military/le experience you have, or how much of a range rambo you are, when you get woken up out of a sound sleep and have to defend yourself from an armed invader, your skills WILL break down to some degree. 

This is certainly a matter of opinion, but why restrict yourself to 5/6 rounds out of a revolver when you can have 15+ out of a semi auto. The old argument used to be reliability, but that argument is beginning to lose its bite with the extreme levels of reliability coming out of our modern semis, specifically the striker fire glock/mp lines. 

Again, just a mater of opinion,but i would rather stay on the side of caution than rely behind the old bar stool line of ".357 can take down two men with one round."

First off my home defense gun is a 12ga, but it only holds 6 shots,!but if an intruder breaks into my house he or she is going to have to contend with two ticked off pit bulls before me.  After the dogs jump on them I promise I will be awake and aware enough to to make them 6 count. To be honest though after being attacked by two pitbulls and then hearing a shotgun being charged, I don't think I'll really be needing many shots.

[IntroC]

This is strictly personal opinion. You really can't go wrong with a Glock 19 or 17.  Smith and Wesson M&P's are also fine guns. I like the maneuverability of a handgun over a shotgun. You also have a limited round count with a shotgun. 6 rounds verses 17 is a no brainer in my book. I would hate to get into a gun battle and run out of ammo. Probably an unlikely scenario but you know what they say about murpheys law? Its all about puting the odds in your favor. In a situation like a home invasion im not leaving anything to chance. 

[F14A-B]

2 hours ago, MDBowHunter said:

First off my home defense gun is a 12ga, but it only holds 6 shots,!but if an intruder breaks into my house he or she is going to have to contend with two ticked off pit bulls before me.  After the dogs jump on them I promise I will be awake and aware enough to to make them 6 count. To be honest though after being attacked by two pitbulls and then hearing a shotgun being charged, I don't think I'll really be needing many shots.

You can sleep thru the break in.. your Dog's will handle it, lol

[A-Jay]

15 minutes ago, Alonerankin2 said:

You can sleep thru the break in.. your Dog's will handle it, lol

Something I never take for granted but certainly count on.  Between the kennel outside and the free roaming pack inside - Good Luck.

A-Jay

[MDBowHunter]

8 hours ago, IntroC said:

This is strictly personal opinion. You really can't go wrong with a Glock 19 or 17.  Smith and Wesson M&P's are also fine guns. I like the maneuverability of a handgun over a shotgun. You also have a limited round count with a shotgun. 6 rounds verses 17 is a no brainer in my book. I would hate to get into a gun battle and run out of ammo. Probably an unlikely scenario but you know what they say about murpheys law? Its all about puting the odds in your favor. In a situation like a home invasion im not leaving anything to chance. 

If I was only using a 17or 19 I would want that may shots also, because with a 9mm you can empty that into a person and they'll still be able to shoot back. If your gonna use a pistol make it something that will be devastating when it hits them like a 45, 44mag or. 10mm. The thing about a shotgun is the rounds will stay inside the house , and at 10 to 20 yards it will shred whatever part I hit and have enough power that your gonna be on your back after I shoot you. Another thing to remember just as you said when your startled in the early am a gun with no real safety can be real dangerous. It would be real easy to get tensed and shoot yourself in the foot or leg, people have been there and done that with glocks. Which I think are awesome guns in the right hands as I have two of them one in 45acp and the other is a 10mm not no peashooter 9mm.

[C0lt]

3 hours ago, MDBowHunter said:

 because with a 9mm you can empty that into a person and they'll still be able to shoot back. 

lol I guess if you were shooting blanks... 

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

 

Start with a 9mm Beretta 92 with rail.

Add

6" barrel

holographic optics or Tritium sights

20-round Mec-Gar magazine

Mainspring from a 92D

Use

115 grain +P Cor®Bon

or

115 grain +P+ Federal

or

90 grain +P Cor®Bon Casino Load (1500fps, semi-frangible due to speed and Sierra bullet)

 

This is a house pistol only.  It is not a holster pistol.  The rounds I listed will still penetrate walls.  If you go to frangible ammo, test to make sure it cycles.  This should be done anyway, but more so with frangibles and other light-for-caliber loads.

Regards,

Josh

P.S.  .45 vs 9mm vs .40 vs 10mm doesn't matter.  9mm and .38spl +P+ on up are about the same.  .38spl on down are likewise about the same.  It's what you're comfortable with when you're talking about duty calibers.  JS

[roadwarrior]

Well, for law enforcement or military use, I understand the advantage of automatic weapons. However, for home defense unless you are an "enthusiast", a revolver seems more appropriate to me. 

 

[F14A-B]

1 hour ago, Josh Smith said:

Hello,

 

Start with a 9mm Beretta 92 with rail.

Add

6" barrel

holographic optics or Tritium sights

20-round Mec-Gar magazine

Mainspring from a 92D

Use

115 grain +P Cor®Bon

or

115 grain +P+ Federal

or

90 grain +P Cor®Bon Casino Load (1500fps, semi-frangible due to speed and Sierra bullet)

 

This is a house pistol only.  It is not a holster pistol.  The rounds I listed will still penetrate walls.  If you go to frangible ammo, test to make sure it cycles.  This should be done anyway, but more so with frangibles and other light-for-caliber loads.

Regards,

Josh

P.S.  .45 vs 9mm vs .40 vs 10mm doesn't matter.  9mm and .38spl +P+ on up are about the same.  .38spl on down are likewise about the same.  It's what you're comfortable with when you're talking about duty calibers.  JS

No way they are the same, no way about the same. .45 killed & quickly stopped enemy's in Iraq vs 9mm.. the venerable .357 was also highly effective in Iraq vs 9mm. .45 was also highly effective in Vietnam & also WW2. Heck, massively effective in Chicago during Capones gang & the Northside Irish gang..

10mm & handloads  ( full power ) or full hot from underwood & you have a beast of a pistol round, you can kill anything on U.S. soil with the 10mm. 

The new Era of gun mags & Web talk would have many believe this, that all pistol calibers are equal or nearly equal.  It ain't true..  

[Josh Smith]

1 hour ago, Alonerankin2 said:

No way they are the same, no way about the same. .45 killed & quickly stopped enemy's in Iraq vs 9mm.. the venerable .357 was also highly effective in Iraq vs 9mm. .45 was also highly effective in Vietnam & also WW2. Heck, massively effective in Chicago during Capones gang & the Northside Irish gang..

10mm & handloads  ( full power ) or full hot from underwood & you have a beast of a pistol round, you can kill anything on U.S. soil with the 10mm. 

The new Era of gun mags & Web talk would have many believe this, that all pistol calibers are equal or nearly equal.  It ain't true..  

Hello,

If you're talking ball military ammo, then no, they are not the same, but they do both suck in ball.  9mm just sucks slightly more.

I personally feel that the .45acp may have a slight edge in "stopping power" with similar hollowpoint loads, but the data really doesn't back that up.  I carried 9mm for the first 10 (or so) years, and a .45 Government-size I modified to my needs for the past eight or so years.  Being rural, I used them both for critter control, and no critter hit with either cared about the caliber.  I also carried a couple revolvers and a .380 pistol in there as primary and backup arms.

Time was I conducted ballistic tests, and a group of us would swap info and check each others' work, and then we'd all check our work with conclusions drawn from real-world data, including, but not limited to, Marshal and Sanow. 

The 9mm Parabellum, as loaded in this country, is weak.  This was due to WWI and WWII bring-back weapons of questionable integrity.  (The 8mm Mauser - the 7.92x57mm - was likewise loaded down for much the same reason.)

Only recently has the 9mm P gone back to its original loading of 124 grains at 1250fps.  In the States, we call this loading a "+P".

Regards,

Josh

[C0lt]

Everything is a matter of opinion and preference. wether its between 9mm vs .45, revolver vs semi, etc. Although I think that most (not all) people today would feel more comfortable with an automatic, I wouldn't feel under powered with a s&w 686+ with 7 rounds of .357

 

The only thing i vehemently reject is the idea that a 9mm is an underpowered round. Maybe the fmj ball ammunition that is required by the military wont always do the trick immediately. However on the law enforcement and civilian side of this argument, our modern +p hollowpoints in 9mm have without a doubt proven how potent they are. 

[I.rar]

There is a ton of 9mm ballistic gel tests on YouTube and practically all around the Internet and most of the big name rounds did very well. I'm confident in it. 

[Josh Smith]

I personally think that the best defensive round would be a 10mm necked down to 0.355", loaded with a 124 grain Gold Dot, and shot to optimum velocity for fragmentation at about 9-12".

A 1911 chambered in that cartridge with an undercut trigger guard would probably provide the most control.

Still, not a lot of folks would be willing to put up with the recoil and muzzle blast, which would be significant.

If you're after "stopping power," use a rifle capable of producing hydrostatic shock.  This means a round capable of sending the bullet to Mach 2, at least.

Regards,

Josh

[EvanT123]

On January 24, 2016 at 8:49 PM, MDBowHunter said:

First off my home defense gun is a 12ga, but it only holds 6 shots,!but if an intruder breaks into my house he or she is going to have to contend with two ticked off pit bulls before me.  After the dogs jump on them I promise I will be awake and aware enough to to make them 6 count. To be honest though after being attacked by two pitbulls and then hearing a shotgun being charged, I don't think I'll really be needing many shots.

Are you going to shoot the guy before or after you pull the Pitts off?

i would think if you shoot him with the Pitts on you might kill one. Shoot him with the Pitts off it might be insult to injury. 

[MDBowHunter]

3 hours ago, EvanT123 said:

Are you going to shoot the guy before or after you pull the Pitts off?

i would think if you shoot him with the Pitts on you might kill one. Shoot him with the Pitts off it might be insult to injury. 

Really??? 

First off I'm not itching to kill no one, I aint no drug dealer who has a house full of drugs and I aint know billionaire with millions in my closet, so Im not expecting a home invasion any time soon. In the case that there is a home invasion the chance that its going to be special forces trained killers doing the invasion is pretty slim, so this leaves it to some scum bag POS. Which in this case chances are my dogs will either scare them away before they enter or they rip them a new one when they do enter. In the case that someone does enter I would gladly sit and watch the dogs chew on them a while with a shotgun in my hand, if by any chance they were to get away from the dogs and try to advance towards me or my family or hurt one of the dogs they would get shot period. Also If one of my dogs was to die that would suck, but if it was to save the lives of me and my family so be it. My gun of choice in this matter will be a 12 ga shotgun filled with magnum turkey loads, because if I did have to shoot someone I wouldnt want to have to unload a gun when one shot will do whats needed. 

On the note of what I said earlier if anyone here saw the last two cop involved shootings the two cops unloaded their 9mm pistols on these guys before they dropped. If either one wouldve had an actual gun in their hand they could've easily emptied the mag before they died, so COlt if you think a 9mm will drop you where you stand think again well maybe if your lucky enough to put one between their eyes (good luck with that). 

[jbsoonerfan]

I don't want to be shot by any round.

[EvanT123]

3 hours ago, MDBowHunter said:

Really??? 

First off I'm not itching to kill no one, I aint no drug dealer who has a house full of drugs and I aint know billionaire with millions in my closet, so Im not expecting a home invasion any time soon. In the case that there is a home invasion the chance that its going to be special forces trained killers doing the invasion is pretty slim, so this leaves it to some scum bag POS. Which in this case chances are my dogs will either scare them away before they enter or they rip them a new one when they do enter. In the case that someone does enter I would gladly sit and watch the dogs chew on them a while with a shotgun in my hand, if by any chance they were to get away from the dogs and try to advance towards me or my family or hurt one of the dogs they would get shot period. Also If one of my dogs was to die that would suck, but if it was to save the lives of me and my family so be it. My gun of choice in this matter will be a 12 ga shotgun filled with magnum turkey loads, because if I did have to shoot someone I wouldnt want to have to unload a gun when one shot will do whats needed. 

On the note of what I said earlier if anyone here saw the last two cop involved shootings the two cops unloaded their 9mm pistols on these guys before they dropped. If either one wouldve had an actual gun in their hand they could've easily emptied the mag before they died, so COlt if you think a 9mm will drop you where you stand think again well maybe if your lucky enough to put one between their eyes (good luck with that). 

Thanks for the detailed response. That's probably more in line with an actual scenario.  Sorry if I offended you. 

My thoughts on the subject are more in line with Rw and jbsoonerfan. 

Im slowly backing away from the gun forum. 

[MDBowHunter]

No offense taken I promise, I just wanted to be clear with my thoughts on this matter. I also agree with jbsoonerfan and I wouldnt want to be shot by even a 22, but if we're gonna have a knife fight I want the bigger knife. In the event that I'm in a home invasion situation I dont want to give the guy at the other end of the barrel even a chance at shooting back. If your talking a carry weapon then maybe I could see a 9mm but again I'd feel way more comfy with my Glock 36 or my Kimber 1911 just saying. But when it comes to inside the house nothing beats a 12ga with 6 rounds of #4 Magnum Turkey round, if you hit someone with it at 10yrds or so (which is what most in home shots would be) the invader would be knocked off his or her feet. Invasion over!!! Now if we're talking a terrorist attack or something like that well then out comes the full alphabet...

 

[Josh Smith]

There are two reasons a person will stop when hit by a handgun.

1. Psychological stop:  This is a 'decision'.  It's the "Oh crap, I'm hit!" factor.  May or may not be experienced by those who are on certain drugs.  Heck, adrenaline can keep a person from feeling this.

2. Physical damage:  With any handgun, this is not reliable.  We're talking about making hits on the CNS, which is pretty well protected and hard to hit on a moving person.  We're talking about structural damage, such as breaking the pelvic girdle.  We're talking about bleeding out, which can take a few minutes.

Ever shoot a critter and have it take off on you?  The animal has no concept of what a bullet is.  It only knows something hit it and it goes into fight or flight.

When a person is functioning with his lower brain, he'll have the same type of reaction.  Unless you can drop an angry black bear every time, first shot, with a given caliber/load, you're not going to stop a human being, either, unless the human being decides to stop or is hit in the CNS.

Josh

[C0lt]

9 hours ago, Josh Smith said:

2. Physical damage:  With any handgun, this is not reliable. 

Excellent point. Im not sure where this whole idea of " a 45 will knock a man off his feet with one round" came from, because it wont. If youre looking for something that is designed to physically stop someone in their tracks youre not going to find it in common handgun calibers. 

[IndyGlockMan]

If you don't have confidence in 9mm, you could get a Glock 21 (45acp) and couple 27 round mags.

Police trade Glock 21's with night sights are available for around $400-425.

Mount a flashlight and you've got an incredible home defense tool.

Some big dogs help too...  

[Nitrofreak]

With recent events in our area it has become something that consumes my thoughts, I have guns that can protect my family in the house but not anything you can carry around or get to in a hurry if need be.

Handguns have become really expensive, which has become one more determining factor added into the massive decision making process, another has become insurance, not for the gun but for yourself, depending on the laws in your area, should you choose to protect yourself with an open and or concealed carry no matter which you choose, there is an underlying issue of lawsuits from a corrupt justice system fighting for the criminals rights, should you ever have to defend yourself you could be brought to court on charges, make sure you add this to your list of things to consider.

I still have not purchased one as of yet, I have however talked to many law enforcement officers, many military personnel, fired and serviced a lot of their hand guns that they use, gone to I don't know how many gun shops to find the right gun that would be comfortable for use and have complete confidence in, a lot of these people will try to sell you what they think you need, don't do that, do what is right for you, explore as many options as you can, I thought I really wanted a Glock, their name and dependability are about as good as it gets but the breakdown process on the models I am interested in does not allow me to release the upper portion (the slide) with ease, my fingers are just big to grab those tiny little release tabs, it's simple things like this that can later on make you wish that you would have put that hard earned money into something else, take your time and handle as many hand guns as you can before you take that leap, make sure your comfortable with everything about it, we have a gun store here in Va. that allows you to fire any weapon in any caliber you want, that little extra money spent in places like this can make all the difference in choosing a hand gun and caliber that fits you best, you must have confidence and be comfortable with your choice, once you do make that choice, don't skimp on the practice and the training either, hope that helps a bit for when you do decide.

Edit: I forgot to include the one I chose for CC and home defense, 45 cal. Sig Sauer P250 full size   

[Way2slow]

For personal protection outside the home, my weapon of choice is a 10mm Glock 20, with a clip of Hornady 155gr XTP with enough Blue Dot behind them to push them close to 1,500fps.  They will not shoot through a person upper torso but they will literally explode it.  Then I keep a clip of 180gr Golden Sabers with it loaded at 1,350fps ready if I need to do a quick change to take out a vehicle or something.   

Say what you want about them 9mm's and how they are just as lethal because you can put more shots down range faster and more accurately.  Well, I say bull crap, that's fine for the FBI who spend ton of time shooting up the government ammo, but the average individual is hoping to get one bullet on target, and even though I'm a little above average, I want one to be able to knock some hyped up drug attic backwards several feet as he's going down.

My wife carries a baby Glock 40 S&W.

For home defense, I agree with a 12ga pump gun. Put an open choke 18 1/2" barrel on it, extended magazine for eight rounds but loaded with #4 shot so you won't be shooting through walls like buckshot will and potentially hitting other family members, but more that lethal enough when a person is in front of you, and a couple like this in key areas of the home.  I like a pump gun, because of the very distinct noise it makes as a shell is being chambered and not too many fools are going to be hanging after hearting that.

As for shooting through doors, etc, I sure hope someone is not fool enough to do that because there can always be unexpected, unpleasant surprises on the other side of that door.    My dad was an alcoholic  and drunk at two AM one morning, he decided he wanted to come visit his new baby granddaughter and was headed up the stairs when I flipped on the light on the shotgun pointed at him.