Best Home defense Gun

If you were to use a 20 or 12ga I'd load it with reduced recoil loads, it may only drop velocity 100 or so fps it'll reduce the risk of over penetrating through all of your drywall... you could also buy smaller shot, it doesn't have to be 00 or 000. #4 works well and a lot of PD use it on entry teams... even duck loads can do some major damage to a human at close range. #7 or #8 shot within 5 yards is nasty, perhaps not ideal... but you put a shot of #8 into somebody within 5 yards and they'll rethink their course of action.

A .410 bore is an alright option too, either from a shotgun or a Judge. Less lead, less velocity...

Either way, if you use a shotgun it shoud be an 18" w/ a pistol grip... butt stock optional. Try to keep it as short as possible to make it easier to handle.

A .22lr is as good an option as any, if you can shoot well and have night sights you'll have a respectable weapon for home invasions. CCI Mini-Mag 36gr HPs actually perform well in ballistics gel, with expansion as large as .40-.50 diameter. I know, I know... just use a .40 and you get that with FMJs. But, depending on who's in your home a .40 may be more of a problem than a solution. Small spouse sensative to recoil? Teenage children? Guests staying over that aren't firearms savy?

Each person has different needs and concerns, different home layouts, etc.... to each his(or her) own.
 
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The best home defense gun is the one you can get your hands on the quickest. I have a number of guns around my home and have the ability to use them all well. I have no children living at home and my wife shoots as well as I do. We live in the country and protect our property well and will know before they get in the house if they are on the property. The best defense is a strong offense. Wake up BGs
 
My Mossberg 500 is loaded with Winchester PDX1, nasty stuff. Slug surrounded by OOB.


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+1 for the 870 Express Tactical. Just finished Defensive Shotgun Class. If you want to use a shotgun for HD, that's the one.

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I realize this is a very old thread. But I just purchased Maverick 88 for $199 from big 5 sporting goods. Can I say "What a buy!" This is just a generic for a mossburg 500. It shoots great. Holds eight rounds. 18" barrel. It accepts all mossburg barrels and upgrades. It is no Remington 870, but it will do the job.
 
Returning to this after being away from the forum for a while. Don't have specifics to offer, just some general suggestions:

If you use a shotgun for HD, make sure you pattern it at the ranges you will be shooting at in the house. And pattern it with every load you might be using in it for HD.

If you are running a carbine, 5.56 x 45 specifically, look at the several offerings of rounds that are optimized for CQB/indoor use that are designed to be less likely to penetrate structures and go outside.

Either way, get at least the shortest legal-length weapon you can get, and consider going the SBR/SBS route for a dedicated HD weapon.

Learn the best ways to maneuver inside with a long-gun even if you never plan to do it. You may have to regardless. There are ways to lower the chances of a weapon grab during maneuver. Learn what they are and practice them.

Understand also that handguns don't eliminate the possibility of a weapon grab and disarm attempt, they just reduce it. You have to learn how best to maneuver with those just like you do with long guns.

Realize that clearing a building is not just an adventure, it's a job. Good training in this area is a solid investment.

As far as what ammunition is going to penetrate less: Best to think it's going to go harder and through more and further than the manufacturer says it will. Plan your lanes and lines of fire and set your fire plan up accordingly.

Determine as best you can what in your house will most likely stop a round (different things for handguns or rifles, 'natch) and use that in your planning and preparation for response.
 
There is quite a bit of inaccurate information in this thread. I come from a two-decade background in both LE Patrol and Tactical, and as an Instructor with credentials through my State's LEO governing body over Instructors. There are techniques for clearing structures with longguns, and training that I have been involved in results in suspects getting shot during gun grab attempts of those armed with AR15/M16/M4 platform weapons, as the LEO's are able to disengage the safety and shoot very efficiently. It is no different for non-LEO's. Holding a pistol at full extension to aim and shoot is the same overall length as if I am holding an M4 carbine and aiming and shooting.

Those who are advocating shotguns and buckshot, they can definitely be an effective tool, but are not without severe limitations or disadvantages. A 20-inch barreled 870 is the same overall length as a fullsize 20-inch barreled M16. A shotgun barrel of less than 18-inches requires a $200 NFA stamp, and by the time you get to a 14-inch barrel you are reduced to 4-5 rounds of capacity and increased recoil and blast, which magnifies inside a structure. Way too many people expect to stop a threat with a single shot of shotgun ammunition. I am aware of numerous OIS's, including one where a suspect absorbed a full 870 magazine of 12-ga OOB to his torso before exclaiming "OK, I'm done." MOre and more shootings and threat situations are involving multiple suspects. Think of that when you only have 4-5 rounds.

At least no one is throwing out the idiocy of "Just rack the shotgun and they'll run away skeer'd", or "I use birdshot fer home defense!" Shotshells from a handgun, which I did see mentioned, are absolutely ignorant of what it actually takes to stop or incapacitate a threat reliably. Just as ignorant was the statement back in 2011 of having to worry about houses within a mile if you use a 5.56 carbine with that little itty bitty bullet that sheds velocity. I know of two officers killed because of that type of ignorance. The fact is, the .223/5.56 cartridges penetrate LESS in dry wall and structures than common cartridges shot through pistols, and DEFINITELY less than rounds fired through shotguns. NUMEROUS governmental agencies has tested this and found it to be accurate. The safest and MOST EFFICIENT gun you can use for home defense if you're worried about over penetration is an M4-type carbine with 55 grain softpoints. Look at it this way. A Chevy Suburban is the pistol bullet travelling 55 mph gets into a crash. The vehicle remains pretty much intact, and the mass takes longer to lose the 55 mph velocity. Now take a crotch rocket representing a 5.56 travelling at a faster 100 mph gets into a crash. It's lightweight and sheds the velocity quickly, and the total package shreds apart quickly and easily, including the rider.

I'll take the lower recoil, increased ammunition capacity, higher accuracy, better ballistics, quality weaponlights for ID'ing my threat, and all in a compact package that anyone in my family, including pre-teen kids, and use if needed. It's not the shotgun, but a decent M4 carbine.
 
Ruger SR9C main, American Arms CX22 backup. Both in a fingerprint safe by the bed. I want to pick up a shotgun at some point though.
 
10-32 Solutions said:
I'll take the lower recoil, increased ammunition capacity, higher accuracy, better ballistics, quality weaponlights for ID'ing my threat, and all in a compact package that anyone in my family, including pre-teen kids, and use if needed. It's not the shotgun, but a decent M4 carbine.
Click to expand...

I didn't quote this entire post but I fully agree on the M4 with 55 grain softies. The length, control, grip, common safety location, limited travel through structures, capacity and overall comfort make a great combination. My family has been to classes, including my teenagers and when it comes to function for home invasion it is a firearm that we all agree on. It might have something to do with its intended use to begin with.

I have hunting rifles, pistols, shotguns and 2 M4's. When we go shooting I can see the difference in how the family handles the function of the carbines. I want them to be confident and safe, the 5.56 does that for them.
 
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