I'd buy the largest caliber, that all the people who will be using the firearm, can shoot well. AT least a 9mm, but preferably a .357, .40 S&W or .45 acp. Check out a shooting range that rents guns and see what works for you. My primary home defense/carry pistol is a Sig Sauer P229 in .40 S&W. Revolvers make an excellent choice for novice shooters (and experienced shooters, too) because they are easy to operate (just point and click). Regardless of what you choose, seek proper training. Not only on how to shoot, but when & when not to shoot.
While I agree that a shotgun is one of the best home defense guns around, I personally load mine with Bird shot (upland game loads). And before the flaming starts, let me explain...
Firstly, Birdshot has stopping power. Try this for yourself, take a piece of plywood at 25-30 feet and shoot it with 7-1/2 or 8 birdshot. All of the pellets go into the board and most go through. For me, this is near equal to the longest straight distance inside my home so it has enough penetrating power to really mess-up a BG.
Second, being in a city setting I don't want missed rounds going through the walls of my house and into the houses of my neighbors. There's where the bird shot works great too. It loses a LOT of energy with distance and probably won't go through my outside walls. If it does it'll, more than likely, just bounce off the neighbors outer walls leaving nothing more than a small mark.
What I'm trying to get at is Buck shot will penetrate TOO MUCH and I don't want to hurt anyone else in my neighborhood while trying to stop an attack inside my home.
Ok, that's my reasoning and if there are any dissenting opinions, I'd appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks
JC
I agree. If you want to keep it simple, stick with a small to medium size revolver.
Hey... so this is the first time ever looking into/considering getting a weapon.
Just a word to the wise and for future reference... th NRA frowns on the use of the word weapon to describe a rifle or pistol. Weapons are used to for military purposes or in other cases not military a weapon is oftentimes used for things not associated with a legal citizens right for the the purpose of bearing arms (self defense, sport, collector, etc.).
Call it a gun, firearm, pistol, heater, gatt, call it anything you like but unless you are in the the military and using it for that purpose- call it anything but a weapon.:idea:
While I agree that a shotgun is one of the best home defense guns around, I personally load mine with Bird shot (upland game loads). And before the flaming starts, let me explain...
Firstly, Birdshot has stopping power. Try this for yourself, take a piece of plywood at 25-30 feet and shoot it with 7-1/2 or 8 birdshot. All of the pellets go into the board and most go through. For me, this is near equal to the longest straight distance inside my home so it has enough penetrating power to really mess-up a BG.
Second, being in a city setting I don't want missed rounds going through the walls of my house and into the houses of my neighbors. There's where the bird shot works great too. It loses a LOT of energy with distance and probably won't go through my outside walls. If it does it'll, more than likely, just bounce off the neighbors outer walls leaving nothing more than a small mark.
What I'm trying to get at is Buck shot will penetrate TOO MUCH and I don't want to hurt anyone else in my neighborhood while trying to stop an attack inside my home.
Ok, that's my reasoning and if there are any dissenting opinions, I'd appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks
JC
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