Handgun vs Long gun for Home Defense - a discussion starter

[Hamilton Felix]

I'll go with the crowd that prefers all three.

My Kimber .45
Her S&W .357
My Winchester 1200 Marine
Her 8-shot Remington 870
An AR carbine, a MAK90, an FAL and an M1A, within easy reach.

You never know what you'll face, and the goblins may be armored.

Oh yeah, keep a pistol in your bathrobe pocket. Trouble often knocks at the door late at night.

BTW, there is no reason to limit oneself to guns. She sleeps with a Kukri on the nightstand, and she has used knives. Brrrr....!

 

[jetfueller]

As I live in Canada we are not allowed to defend ourselves with deadly force. Now that being said just in case we are invaded by a black bear I have my Kimber in a fingerprint safe by the bed, a Snakeslayer under the pillow and a twelve guage real close. Who can tell in the dark that the "bear" was a bad guy. So much for our insane laws. When death is seconds away the cops are only minutes away.leasantry:

 

[buckslayer]

A home is a close-in environment. Long guns are difficult to weild inside a residence and overpenetration is always a concern (even with handguns). Long guns are quite slow to bring up to a full-ready position and tend to have a slower return to target. They also tend to requrie 2 hands to operate. Given the right set of circumstances, long guns (espeically a shotgun) can give you a nice audible and visible advantage.

I must have missed that part when going through all of my MOUT training prior to my deployments where we did A LOT of raids using our M4s. :sarcastic:

In reality, just like anyother gun, it all boils down to what you are trained to use. I am sure there are a fair amount of guys/gals on this forum who like myself, are pretty fast and accurate with our "long guns".

 

[mshean]

A pump shotgun of any gauge loaded with #6 birdshot and a smoothbore barrel, and/or a .45 of any make loaded with glaser 'blue' safety slugs, both designed to greatly limit/eliminate the chances of killing the neighbors while defending your home. How good would you feel while defending your home you killed a child/anyone sleeping nextdoor because you thought any high powered rifle or handgun ammo was the way to go?:hang3:

 

[PDawg]

I must have missed that part when going through all of my MOUT training prior to my deployments where we did A LOT of raids using our M4s. :sarcastic:

In reality, just like anyother gun, it all boils down to what you are trained to use. I am sure there are a fair amount of guys/gals on this forum who like myself, are pretty fast and accurate with our "long guns".

I concur, this isnt even clearing rooms that you have never seen. This is your house, practice defending and or clearing it. A Colt LE 6920 with proper round selection and a dot sight for me.

 

[Bighouse Doc]

A pump shotgun of any gauge loaded with #6 birdshot and a smoothbore barrel, and/or a .45 of any make loaded with glaser 'blue' safety slugs, both designed to greatly limit/eliminate the chances of killing the neighbors while defending your home. How good would you feel while defending your home you killed a child/anyone sleeping nextdoor because you thought any high powered rifle or handgun ammo was the way to go?:hang3:

Birdshot is for shooting little birds. It is highly ineffective against human targets.

Glaser slugs make spectacular, shallow, wounds. They also are only effective with perfect placement of frontal hits only. They are worthless if anything besides a sternum or abdomen is in front of the slug. They also can fail to hit stuctures that meed to be hit hard in order to incapacitate the threat.

They have a place in prison armory, and specialized situations.

Neither of these ammo choices are good simply because they can NOT RELIABLY hit the "Off Button."

-Doc

 

[6shootercarry]

I choose a handgun because it is easier to use in close quarters and is a better weapon when the BG is right in your face which could be the case when in a home defense situation. The idea of wrestling with the loaded long gun in my home with wife and kids is unnerving..

I like the revolver for the ease of use loaded with .38special +P to reduce the possibility of a through & through shot. The .45 is also a good choice for the lower through shot probability..

My 2 pennies...

 

[B2Tall]

As I live in Canada we are not allowed to defend ourselves with deadly force. Now that being said just in case we are invaded by a black bear I have my Kimber in a fingerprint safe by the bed, a Snakeslayer under the pillow and a twelve guage real close. Who can tell in the dark that the "bear" was a bad guy. So much for our insane laws. When death is seconds away the cops are only minutes away.leasantry:

Nice! :no:

 

[B2Tall]

Birdshot is for shooting little birds. It is highly ineffective against human targets.

Glaser slugs make spectacular, shallow, wounds. They also are only effective with perfect placement of frontal hits only. They are worthless if anything besides a sternum or abdomen is in front of the slug. They also can fail to hit stuctures that meed to be hit hard in order to incapacitate the threat.

They have a place in prison armory, and specialized situations.

Neither of these ammo choices are good simply because they can NOT RELIABLY hit the "Off Button."

-Doc

Agree 100%. That's why my Mossberg 500 is packed with 3" 00 buck and slugs. Lights out.

 

[kelcarry]

Handgun is an easy reach if someone is trying to break into my bedroom thru an outside door at night. Handgun is an easy reach for just walking in and about my home. Shotgun is nearby in bedroom. At night, should someone break into my house I will be in my locked bedroom with my wife. I will not confront them in the rest of the house but will dial 911, activate the car alarm and then position myself with my shotgun; robbing stuff is not worth taking my life. If they wish to defeat my locked bedroom door, it will end their robbery in my home. Portability and convenience depending on what you are doing, and ease of use enter in my equation as to when and where I rely on the handgun or the shotgun.

 

[Hawkeye638]

I think it comes down to tactics. If you intend to stay in one location, such as a bedroom, a shotgun is great. If you intend to move and clear your home room by room the maneuverability and high capacity of some large caliber handgun is best. This sits on my night stand.

 

[B2Tall]

This sits next to my bed. 30 rounds of 7.62x39 soft point.

My gunsafe is a few steps away in my closet where my Moss 500 sits loaded along with at least 1 loaded handgun (usually my HK45) if needed. My alarm system starts warning beeps within 2 seconds of the motion detectors being tripped so it's highly unlikely that I'll wake to find an intruder standing over me. The wall separating my bedroom from the rest of the house is 9" of solid concrete (Fla code when my house was built) so there will be no rounds coming at me thru a wall.

I feel safe :biggrin:

 

[Rocketgeezer]

870 loaded with #4 Buck, back of bedroom door, and G-21 on headboard loaded with a very light hollow point, both with good stopping power but not as likely to go threw more than one or two walls, in other words projectiles should not go outside your own home, we thought about a Judge, and it seems like it would be great for inside the home protection, I mean your only talking about 8 or 10 yds max so long range should not be a concern, I would still load it with #4, you still get a good number of pellets, with 410 gauge OO you only get 4 or 5 pellets, may get one if a good deal comes up

 

[B2Tall]

870 loaded with #4 Buck, back of bedroom door, and G-21 on headboard loaded with a very light hollow point, both with good stopping power but not as likely to go threw more than one or two walls, in other words projectiles should not go outside your own home, we thought about a Judge, and it seems like it would be great for inside the home protection, I mean your only talking about 8 or 10 yds max so long range should not be a concern, I would still load it with #4, you still get a good number of pellets, with 410 gauge OO you only get 4 or 5 pellets, may get one if a good deal comes up

I almost bought a Judge but after doing some research and reading owner's opinions I changed my mind. They all seem to say the same thing - lots of fun to shoot but of little practical value unless you're a rancher and your primary targets are snakes and rabid coyotes.

Apparently the short barrel cuts the 410's velocity so much that penetration is only in the neighborhood of 3" or so with 00 buck. Might as well stab 'em with a screwdriver. Beyond 20ft you're lucky to hit anything. Granted, a face full of birdshot is likely to deter anyone but why chance it. Also, the .45 long Colt loses much of it's velocity owing to the huge gap between the tip of the bullet and the start of the barrel.

The Judge tries to be two guns in one but ends up being most effective vs pumpkins and water balloons.

 

[buckslayer]

This sits next to my bed. 30 rounds of 7.62x39 soft point.

:man_in_love: I WANT ONE!!!

 

[CalicoJack10]

I would have to go with the pistol/shotgun combo. I keep a USP .40 Compact in the quick access safe next to the bed, and an 670 in the closet. But this also goes along with the tactics I have chosen.

In the event that I have nieces or nephews over I keep the bedroom door locked during the day, but they all know that if something happens at night they are to get in my room and into the closet asap. By that time my girlfriend has the shotgun and phone in hand and is dialing 911. I should note here that even the kids know what to tell the 911 operator if they should ever have to call.

I take the pistol and find an intermediate position so that anyone who would hurt them would have to go through me first. And I hold the line come hell or high water until the cops show up. The shotgun is only there for an extreme circumstance where someone would get past me. Since I live in a duplex there is some penetration concerns, but I solve that with frangible .40, and 00 buck in the shotgun.

 

[B2Tall]

:man_in_love: I WANT ONE!!!

I paid $400 plus I added the foregrip/rail, pistol grip, sling attachment and muzzle break. That stuff can be had for around $120 depending on what you choose. I already had the red-dot and tac light/laser combo.

I've seen them online for around $350 but considering the importer's spotty reputation (Century Arms) I wanted to get up close and personal with one before I bought it.

Quite the conversation piece at the range. Fun to shoot and it's performance convinced me to add to it my home-defense lineup.