Home Defense- Gun Question

[Lawfficer]

Serbu Super Shorty.

Look it up on line. You can even get a leg holster for it Shortest 12Ga Pump on the Market. Note: It does burn the knuckles a little when it's fired, but that's minor.

 

[toomanymustangs]

Ya i was wrong, it is 18 inches. What happens if you shoot someone in your house? A guy around here shot and killed an escaped prisoner and got off, but he and his wife were held hostage for a while and his story checked out.

 

[mswaim]

12 gauge magnum shells alternating slugs with buckshot? Where did you come up with that one? Reminds me of a guy I once arrested who had a Dan Wesson .357 tucked under his car seat loaded with alternating rounds of .357 JHP and .38 snakeshot. I don't even need you to respond to know your reasoning has to be as entertaining as his was...................

 

[CATMACH]

I like my Winchester 1300 Defender. Its light and has an 18 1/2 inc barrel. Holds 7 in the tube and looks cool to boot. About $300 so its not real expensive.

 

[speederdoc]

Here's mine...a Smith and Wesson 12 gauge pump action with pistol grip. I've brandished it at some miscreants when they were trying to break into a car in my apartment parking lot in college. Just pumping it once scared them off. Haven't needed it since, but it's ready.

 

[slvRsrpnt]

357 or 45 acp. you want instant knock down. hollow points are a must. you don't want rounds penetrating walls. especially where there may be childeren on the other side of them sleeping. my parents always had the pictures with the swing out photo and would have a couple pistols hidden behind.
readily attainable yet out of sight, out of mind. teach your childeren how to respect a firearm as well. don't just hope they don't find one.

 

[Hermes]

Good post Groovyash. I would recommend a 20 ga. rather than a 12; less recoil and still the hammer of Thor compared to any reasonable handgun cartridge; this would also be Massad Ayoob's recommendation (Google the name if you are unfamiliar). Number 4 buck is loaded in 20 ga. by at least one of the major ammunition manufacturers and gives a reasonable number of pellets while being significantly less penetrative than larger buckshot. Shotguns must be carefully aimed at room distance; they are not point and spray at 15 feet! The advantage is lack of penetration while hitting very hard in a soft target at short range. Please note that large caliber handgun rounds (9mm and up to .45) are still highly penetrative even with hollowpoints with regard to typical house/apartment walls, especially inner walls. If you want to get a handgun and are prepared to invest the time to learn to use it properly look into "frangible" ammo such as Glaser Safety Slugs, etc. Get proper training for you and your spouse. Do not attempt to "clear your house", call the police and fort up with your family. In a series of training exercises done by Lethal Force Institute in the '80's with ultimately over a thousand repetitions/role plays with paintguns with one person trying to clear an intruder the success ratio (defined as: you do not get shot and the bad guy does) is less than 10%. The ambusher always has the advantage. Even with a trained partner, soft body armor, etc. this is an ugly, exceedingly dangerous task that is really a last resort.

 

[Chas]

12 gauge pump and a revolver if you need it in a hurry. A hollow point will still go though walls, I gotta get some of those "instant knock down" bullets. J/K

 

[monkeyspunk79]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I'll definately give these all a thought. I'm still leaning toward the basic 12 gauge.

I plan on becoming VERY familiar with whatever I decide. My father in-law is a police officer with a nice place in the country where we can shoot safely.

Thanks again :beer:

 

[hoofbeat]

Are you sure about the permit to transport a gun? Are you telling me that in Indiana if I want to drive me and my weapon to the range I need a permit?
In PA they just make you have the weapon and ammo in different places ie gun in trunk shells in car.

Indiana has two levels of handgun permits. One allows you to carry on your person at any time ,called a personnel protection permit. The other is a hunting/target permit ,it allows you to transport your weapon to a shooting range or hunting area however the weapon MUST be in a locked container and the ammo Must be in a seperate comtainer.

 

[IEatGt's]

just get the personal protection permit. It isn't hard to get, and it's well worth it. I think it only took them 4 weeks to get it to me after I applied. just my $0.02.

 

[Z-COBRA]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I'll definately give these all a thought. I'm still leaning toward the basic 12 gauge.

I plan on becoming VERY familiar with whatever I decide. My father in-law is a police officer with a nice place in the country where we can shoot safely.

Thanks again :beer:

12ga. with #6 bird shot will do the trick like you can't believe and not destroy everything in it's path.

 

[dragon40k]

Indiana has two levels of handgun permits. One allows you to carry on your person at any time ,called a personnel protection permit. The other is a hunting/target permit ,it allows you to transport your weapon to a shooting range or hunting area however the weapon MUST be in a locked container and the ammo Must be in a seperate comtainer.

Thats kind of what I was getting at. It just seems strange that you'd need a permit just to transport it. Of course every state is different I just hope PA never goes to that.

 

[pyrosniper88]

Get a 45( or 2 lol) With laser sight for easy shot placement.

 

[FordSVTFan]

I was raised with a Winchester Model 1897 12-gauge in the house ever since I was a child, so I learned really quick to respect and properly care for a weapon. I'm thinking along the same lines as that, possibly a Remington 870 Express, or something similar.

Thanks for your input. :read:


BTW- Nobody is out to get me. :coolman:

Then you answered your own question. A shotgun is the best home defense weapon as it is loud and will hit almost all targets.

I like the 870.

Good Luck.

 

[Labinnac]

Either 12 or 20 gauge will work as they are both very common. Pump action with the shortest legal barrel you can get. Go with a pistol grip and a folding stock combo if you can. A lot of people like firing from the hip but I sure as hell don't. I like to know exactly where that muzzle is pointed and the best way to do that is fire from the shoulder with a stock.

Get a revolver if you're leaning towards a pistol. I wouldn't bother though as the risks such as penetration and chance to miss are a lot higher. A shotgun has a much higher pucker factor than any resonable sized handgun.

Good luck and be safe with whatever you choose. May you never have to use it for what it was intended.

 

[Stang_robert]

i kno u all say 12 gauge but the best would be a .410 shotgun.... it still has the killing power of a twelve gauge but will not go through a wall so ur family will be safe

 

[EvergreenSVT]

.410 is a joke. It's birdshot only, or a slug, and not particularly powerful.

 

[DocD]

Seems like a lot of you guys are talking pump-action shotguns... for the LEOs, you'd suggest a pump over a semi-auto?

Also, I guess I can re-ask this question (sorry about before, FordSVTFan), what buckshot size would you use?

 

[Groovyash]

Seems like a lot of you guys are talking pump-action shotguns... for the LEOs, you'd suggest a pump over a semi-auto?

Also, I guess I can re-ask this question (sorry about before, FordSVTFan), what buckshot size would you use?

Due to the variations in power level between shotshells, it's difficult to assure that a semi-auto shotgun will function 100%...some do, some don't. If you find a combination that works all the time for you in practice then a semi does have some advantages. The problem occurs when one gun is used to try to fill too many roles, a shotgun that is set up to shoot max dram 3" magnum slugs may have to be sprung too heavy to reliably cycle light field loads of birdshot, and vice versa. The 11-87 I've always found to be pretty reliable, even with reduced recoil loads, if I were going to use a semi that would probably be my choice.
As for shot size 00...maybe #4 but even that is a push...anything less and no matter how many hollywood movies say otherwise, you're not getting guaranteed penetration to do anything other than really piss off whoever you're shooting with it...lighter shot might work, but I'm not about to bet my life on might.
Dan