What do I want to consider for a good home defense gun

[JO JO]

home defense an 18in barrel and a bead sight works well but practice is your friend

 

[Benny762]

Whatever you are using at the very least put a light on it.

 

[oremike]

Like most everything, I'm doing my home defense all wrong. I have my trusty GP-100 in my nightstand for things the go bump in the night.

 

[OldBroad44]

Like most everything, I'm doing my home defense all wrong. I have my trusty GP-100 in my nightstand for things the go bump in the night.

And my idea of home defense is my trusty 686 snubby with a crimson trace laser grip.

Do I feel undergunned? Nope. What about the .44s? Recreation.

 

[RVTECH]

Like most everything, I'm doing my home defense all wrong.

Ditto this ! I am also doing it 'wrong' as well with either a Mod 66 or 60 Smith & Wesson!

 

[FourTeeFive]

Which reminds me. Once when I was a very young broad I gave my boyfriend a present of a snapping turtle. He really wanted one. And I found one about six inches long. Big for pet store.

And they can live longer than a human. I don't understand the appeal of a Snapping Turtle as a pet. I've had a few run-ins with them in the East and Midwest. Even the tiny babies have a bad attitude. They're born pissed off and ready to draw blood.

 

[bigezfosheez]

12ga shotgun with number 7 or 8 shot is probably the best for messing someone up vs. little overpenetration.

I live in the country and have no housemates/family here or close by neighbors, so I just use whatever really.

Depending on the room, AR15 pistol, AR10 pistol, Saiga w/#2 steel shot, or various 9mm pistols.

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

White or milk?

Purple 72

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

White or milk?

Actually dark but not above say 90% because above that it starts tasting like dirt

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

And once you start a thread, please hang around and participate. Nothing is more frustrating to responders than putting careful thought into a response and OP has dropped out and never responds, never thanks those who have been useful. If you don't care enough to participate, why should we? If you don't care enough to tell us more at the beginning its kinda wasting our time. We can either try to answer the question with so little info we are likely to be wasting our time or just give the question a pass. You don't even tell us whether you want a handgun, shotgun, or rifle. Or if a habdgun, whether it will be for home defense only, or also for concealed carry.

If you are taking a handgun course soon, and will have the opportunity to try many, it would be foolish to try to make decisions now. And it might be more useful asking specific questions you have after you have taken the course rather than asking such vague questions now. There are lots of good gun YouTube channels to give you an overview. Paul Harrell does an especially nice job.

It seems like lots of phishing for certain types of comments.. you hit the nail on the head

 

[titsonritz]

12ga shotgun with number 7 or 8 shot is probably the best for messing someone up vs. little overpenetration.

No thanks...

"Birdshot offers inadequate penetration and intermediate barrier capability and has no place for LE use."

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?4340-12-gauge-shotgun-loads-for-LE-duty-use

 

[bigezfosheez]

No thanks...

"Birdshot offers inadequate penetration and intermediate barrier capability and has no place for LE use."

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?4340-12-gauge-shotgun-loads-for-LE-duty-use

You're comparing apples and oranges here. Weapons that work best for law enforcement applications are not going to be the same for civilians defending their homes.

If you live in the suburbs and have houses close by, or in an apartment with paper thin walls and 15 units next to yours, you have to consider using a round that is going to have very little penetration.

"Birdshot offers inadequate penetration and intermediate barrier capability" that's kind of the effing point when you live in dense housing and don't want lawsuits from your neighbor or accidentally shooting your newborn in a wild gunfight that's in the next room over.

 

[Certaindeaf]

You're comparing apples and oranges here..

This is why Paul Harrell uses oranges to show slugs and buckshot are best.

 

[titsonritz]

You're comparing apples and oranges here. Weapons that work best for law enforcement applications are not going to be the same for civilians defending their homes.

If you live in the suburbs and have houses close by, or in an apartment with paper thin walls and 15 units next to yours, you have to consider using a round that is going to have very little penetration.

"Birdshot offers inadequate penetration and intermediate barrier capability" that's kind of the effing point when you live in dense housing and don't want lawsuits from your neighbor or accidentally shooting your newborn in a wild gunfight that's in the next room over.

Seen too many doctor's reports and not enough coroner's to even consider it. This is not going to stop someone intent on doing you harm or if hopped up on dope and it is liable to get you killed. Stopping the threat with a decisive shot will prevent a "wild gunfight". I'll stick with real ammo intended to stop fairly large, aggressive mammals feel free to use that which was designed for birds if you wish, but no legit firearms trainer would advocate using birdshot for self defense.

 

[bigezfosheez]

Seen too many doctor's reports and not enough coroner's to even consider it. This is not going to stop someone intent on doing you harm or if hopped up on dope and it is liable to get you killed. Stopping the threat with a decisive shot will prevent a "wild gunfight". I'll stick with real ammo intended to stop fairly large, aggressive mammals feel free to use that which was designed for birds if you wish, but no legit firearms trainer would advocate using birdshot for self defense.

View attachment 1086106

Dude. Look at the pattern of that birdshot. That had to have been fired from a sawed off shotgun at 50 yards lol.

 

[bigezfosheez]

This is why Paul Harrell uses oranges to show slugs and buckshot are best.

You invoked Paul Harrel, so hear it from the man himself.

He's done multiple videos on birdshot as a home defense round and they've all proved viable.

 

[bigezfosheez]

Watch this one to see patterning of shotguns at different yards. St the end, he shoots #6 birdshot at 7 yards with only a single round and shows you the severe damage caused to his meat target. Just as much damage (if not more) than a 9mm with none of the risk of over penetration.

Then imagine shooting 2-5 rounds of birdshot from a semiauto at that distance and how absolutely destroyed the target would be.

 

[American123]

What kind of optics should I get? For a 12 gauge pump action shotgun a Remington 870

For me whenever someone asks questions of this nature the response is clearly, "training." Because your competence in effective gun use is nearly 100% irrelevant to guns or accessories you may buy.

 

[308]

View attachment 1086106

Photo from Dick Cheney's pheasant hunting trip?

 

[coop44]

Well, this got weird.

It usually does