friersblackbelt
New member
Hi there. I'm just getting into guns and am looking for home protection ideas. Any suggestions for handguns? Considering Glock 21. Any feedback will be appreciated.
New to guns. Any home defense suggestions?
- Thread starter friersblackbelt
- Start date
sooners2win
New member
That would be a nice choice, or a Glock 22, Also consider shotgun, or .357 mag revolver for home defense.
Really just a matter of preference, I keep Glock and .357 near bed and a 12 gauge
Personally, I prefer a 12 gauge repeating shotgun (pump or semi auto) for dedicated home defense. There isn't a handgun in the world that is even near it. I also don't like pistol grip shotguns. They look cool and they are easier to maneuver but they are a cast iron #$%^& to shoot and aren't ever going to get high marks for accuracy. Besides, there's no telling when somebody is just gonna need a good old fashion butt stroke.
If you insist on getting a handgun, this is what I suggest.
Find a midbore (9mm, .38 Special, .357) semi auto or revolver that fits your hand well and learn to shoot it. Just making it go BANG!! isn't going to cut it. Handguns aren't as easy to shoot accurately as most folks think and big bores (.40-10mm and up) aren't as forgiving recoil wise as you'd think. It's too easy to develop bad recoil management habits like flinching or milking the trigger when you try to learn on one of them. Been there, done that. It took me years and a couple thousand rounds downrange to get over the bad habits I developed.
Take some basic instruction in handgun safety in particular and firearms safety in general. After all, you gotta learn how to be safe with it, so there's no need to start out forming bad habits that will need to be broken.
While you're at it, take a basic handgun course, too. Once you've been taught the basics, buy a case of practice ammo (that's 1,000 rounds give or take a couple hundred) and PRACTICE what you've just been taught. No marathon sessions are needed, just 100 to 200 rounds a week- if you make the concerted effort to make every round count instead of getting all giggly because you are actually shooting a gun.
Start shooting 2 handed with the targets CLOSE- like 12-15 FEET. When you can consistently shoot a group that you can cover with the bottom of a Coke can, move it back 3 feet. If your groups start opening up, move it back in and start it over. Keep doing that until you are at least as far as the longest possible shot in your house. I suggest doing the same thing 1 handed and even off hand only as well. There's no telling when you may be in a compromising situation (like holding a flashlight or your kid in one hand and the gun in the other) and need to use only 1 hand or even your off hand. Things usually don't turn out like we plan or we want them to, so it's best to be at least slightly prepared for that eventuality.
If you insist on getting a handgun, this is what I suggest.
Find a midbore (9mm, .38 Special, .357) semi auto or revolver that fits your hand well and learn to shoot it. Just making it go BANG!! isn't going to cut it. Handguns aren't as easy to shoot accurately as most folks think and big bores (.40-10mm and up) aren't as forgiving recoil wise as you'd think. It's too easy to develop bad recoil management habits like flinching or milking the trigger when you try to learn on one of them. Been there, done that. It took me years and a couple thousand rounds downrange to get over the bad habits I developed.
Take some basic instruction in handgun safety in particular and firearms safety in general. After all, you gotta learn how to be safe with it, so there's no need to start out forming bad habits that will need to be broken.
While you're at it, take a basic handgun course, too. Once you've been taught the basics, buy a case of practice ammo (that's 1,000 rounds give or take a couple hundred) and PRACTICE what you've just been taught. No marathon sessions are needed, just 100 to 200 rounds a week- if you make the concerted effort to make every round count instead of getting all giggly because you are actually shooting a gun.
Start shooting 2 handed with the targets CLOSE- like 12-15 FEET. When you can consistently shoot a group that you can cover with the bottom of a Coke can, move it back 3 feet. If your groups start opening up, move it back in and start it over. Keep doing that until you are at least as far as the longest possible shot in your house. I suggest doing the same thing 1 handed and even off hand only as well. There's no telling when you may be in a compromising situation (like holding a flashlight or your kid in one hand and the gun in the other) and need to use only 1 hand or even your off hand. Things usually don't turn out like we plan or we want them to, so it's best to be at least slightly prepared for that eventuality.
XD357grandpa
New member
And congratulations on your desire to protect your home and family.
araczynski
NotASheep.Enabled = True;
i have a full size glock 22, (.40s&w), keep it in a safe next to the bed. jtg has a lot of good suggestions, but depending on your situation/setup, keeping a shotgun next to the bed might be a bit awakward/unfeasable if you have kids or something. not really any shotgun sized safes that you can put inside a bedside stand. unless you feel like keeping one of those full size safes next to the bed and your wife is fine with the 'look'. you could always put a big safe in a closet, but that's further you have to go to get the gun, plus it wastes a lot of space in the closet (wife issue again).
i love my glock, simple design, easy to shoot, and reliable as heck. i always preferred the look of the glock to any other handgun myself, but looks are subjective obviously. i practice with it regularly, so its behavior becomes ingrained in my head. i would suggest getting a handgun light that attaches to the gun (streamlight TLR1s seems to be a popular choice [under $100 usually], unless you have money to burn on a $200+ flashlight), rather than using a seperate hand for the light. you'll want both hands to control the gun (.40/.45 ammo does have more recoil than say a 9mm, but with 2 hands its nothing that you can't recover from very quickly with some practice), and you'll want to be lighting up whatever you're pointing the gun at anyway.
i love my glock, simple design, easy to shoot, and reliable as heck. i always preferred the look of the glock to any other handgun myself, but looks are subjective obviously. i practice with it regularly, so its behavior becomes ingrained in my head. i would suggest getting a handgun light that attaches to the gun (streamlight TLR1s seems to be a popular choice [under $100 usually], unless you have money to burn on a $200+ flashlight), rather than using a seperate hand for the light. you'll want both hands to control the gun (.40/.45 ammo does have more recoil than say a 9mm, but with 2 hands its nothing that you can't recover from very quickly with some practice), and you'll want to be lighting up whatever you're pointing the gun at anyway.
mmckee1952
New member
My main home deffence gun is a 12 gage pump with bird shot ammo, it holds 5 with one in the chamber. If you go for a hand gun use something with a little power but with JHP bullets, they wont go through the person like a FMJ round might do. You don't want to have a round passing through a person and hitting anything (a person) other than you mean to hit. I also have a 1911 with JHP's there also just in case.
A couple of things come to mind. First, a plan. Don't know what you're living situation is but if there are others in the house make sure they know what to do if the bad guys show up in the middle of the night. Hit the floor and get under the bed if they can. araczynski a real good point. A high quality/high power light is a must for me. 300 lumens in the eyes can night blind the bad guy for 5 minutes or so, advantage you. Shot guns certainly are nice for home defense but can present some concerns trying to get it out and pointed in the right direction in a hurry....storage, accessibility, bulkiness. Wouldn't work well in my situation. We have no little ones living at home so I keep a Ruger P-89 (9mm 15 round mag, JHP) on the bookcase right next to the bed and a Taurus .357 on my dresser about 4 feet away.
Bedroom door locked...may buy a few seconds...alarm on and set at high volume.
Also have a herd of killer dachshunds ready to gnaw the feet off of anyone brave enough to enter the castle ;-)
Bedroom door locked...may buy a few seconds...alarm on and set at high volume.
Also have a herd of killer dachshunds ready to gnaw the feet off of anyone brave enough to enter the castle ;-)
The_Outlaw
~The Dude Abides~
The Glock 21 is an excellent sidearm, but it is a pretty 'large' framed sidearm.
It might not be the best choice for a female or someone with smaller hands.
I think that you should go with either the Glock 19 (9mm) or the Glock 23 (.40).
These are two very excellent sized defensive sidearms.
You should also seriously think about purchasing a good pump action 12 gauge defensive shotgun for your home.
P.s. A good dog also makes an excellent burglar alarm.
J
JSDinTexas
Guest
A G21 is a good gun for reliability and round capacity, and the .45 is the round of choice for most cops I know. (still be sure to double-tap them)
Even so, my preference for the home goes: 12 ga pump backed-up with a G21sf at the bed, and G30sf within arms reach at all times and outside the home.
And remember, it takes maybe a year or two to become a reasonably proficient user of a firearm, so some pro training is very helpful, and practice is a must.
Even so, my preference for the home goes: 12 ga pump backed-up with a G21sf at the bed, and G30sf within arms reach at all times and outside the home.
And remember, it takes maybe a year or two to become a reasonably proficient user of a firearm, so some pro training is very helpful, and practice is a must.
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