Home Defense

There are as many opinions about what is the best firearm for Home Defense as there are people who own firearms -- perhaps more -- and while I'm certainly no expert on the subject I do have some opinions on what I think is best for my Home Defense situation.

Why so many opinions?

The primary reason is that everyone has his/her own specific conditions which mandate certain parameters which cannot be ignored. For example, the person who lives in the country with no close neighbors may decided that any firearm that does the job is appropriate; while someone who lives in an apartment or condominium is concerned about shooting large-caliber lead bullets which may pass through many walls may have a much more limited number of options available.

There are other conditions which limits one's choice of home-defense weaponry: the presence of children in the home; the degree of training and familiarity with the available weapons of choice; local laws and restrictions on owning/keeping/storing firearms; the 'geography' of one's home; personal opinions on "stopping power" of certain calibers, loads and bullets, etc.

Let's look at these few enumerated conditions:

Children in the Home:
When there are children present, the home-owner needs to be concerned about safely securing firearms and ammunition to prevent accidents. This, along with the ever-present need to have a self-defense weapon handy and immediately available in case of emergency, seems to suggest that a handgun would be most readily be made available when stored in a 'gun safe' which is concealed from casual sight, but can be readily accessed by a person at night, under stress, and reliably. There are pistol safes which use a combination lock (such as the V-line Top Draw Handgun Safe) which can be stored inconspicuously and can easily be opened with a single-hand punching in a combination. This allows the home-owner to easily access a pistol, yet prevents access by unauthorized persons ... including children.

Since the small 'pistol' size safes are more easily concealable, if you live in a home where children reside the safest defensive weapon may be a pistol, rather than a rifle or a shotgun.

Training and Familiarity with the Available Weapon:
It's safe to say that you are more effective with a weapon which you shoot regularly. The best Home Defense Weapon is probably the weapon that you use for any hunting or other purpose. Note that a high-powered rifle is often less appropriate because of the other conditions which have been mentioned, , it still may be the most effective Home Defensive weapon you own. Note that a .30-30 lever-action carbine may work best for you, there are other considerations which may suggest an alternate weapon. But if your situation has no other limiting factors, don't entirey discount a long-gun.

Local Laws and Restrictions:
This is a gray area: if you reside in Chicago, for example, there may be NO firearms which you can legally keep and own in a 'ready to use' status. On the other hand, some places allow either Handguns, Rifles or Shotguns to be retained in a mode which is readily available in a loaded (cartridge in chamber) or semi-loaded (cartridge in magazine) configuration. Which ever type of firearms is permitted in the closest-to-fire configuration may be the best choice for you. The acid test is whether you can pick up the firearm and engage a home-invader in the shortest period of time.

Geography of the Home:
If you live in a small home, with narrow stairwells and small rooms, a long-gun may not be the best choice for you. That would seem to suggest that a handgun would better allow you to move around corners and through small, cluttered rooms with a minimum of danger of restricting free access of a target.

On the other hand, if you live in an open ranch-style house with a fairly open geography (fewer corners, etc.) you may feel free to use a long-gun (rifle or shotgun).

This condition also includes the proximity of neighbors. If you life in an apartment building, you may share a common wall with your neighbor. I that case, you may be concerned about missed shots (or shoot-throughs) which can put a bullet into an adjacent dwelling. Your choices may include a pistol loaded with frangible ammunition, or a shotgun loaded with bird-shot.

Stopping Power:
Much is said about "Stopping Power". The truth is, you cannot reliable believe any of it. Generally speaking, larger calibers are more effective than smaller calibers. On the other hand, a hit with a small-caliber weapon is more effective than a miss with a large-caliber weapon. Other than that, most generalizations (and many specific assertions) become a moot point when the home-invader meets the home-owner. Shoot what you can hit with; after that comes hitting in a vital area, etc.

There are many people who confidently assert that you can stop an aggressor with a single round of 9mm, .38 special, .25 caliber, or other calibers. There are even more people who confidenty assert that these are not reliable home-defense calibers. However, there are a number of loads (mostly depending upon bullet design) which are confidently asserted by at least one gun-writer be 'man killers'.

Generally speaking, find something you can shoot with confidence, and find the most effective load for that gun/caliber.


Geek Preference:
I live in a two-story duplex in a college town. My landlord and his family live on the other side of common walls. My imperative is (1) to be able to stop an attacker, and (2) to not send a bullet through the walls with the high probability of injuring or killing a neighbor.

For that reason, my primary Home Defensive weapon is a Mossberg shotgun loaded with #7 shot. I have reasonable expectations that stray pellets will not penetrate the wall and, if they do, they will not kill my neighbors. I like my neighbors, and my Landlord; this is a major consideration for me.

Besides that, a shotgun is effective at the close range (3 yards) I can expect to engage an aggressor, regardless of the pellet size.

Also, I don't expect to be chasing a home invader around my house; if he doesn't attempt to enter my bedroom, hes probably not a dire threat.

Ultimately, I have other 'back-up' weapons: a .45 ACP pistol, and a really terrifying .41 Magnum single-action revolve which is very likely to deter anyone coming through my door while I engage them from the top of the stairwell. Any shot fired from that acute angle and missing my target will safely bury itself in the lawn -- possibly after passing through the body of a home invader.