Best handgun for self defense and home invasion

[j1]

I am old and have been shooting revolvers most of my life. For self defense my primary handgun has been the S & W model 60. Five shots always seemed enough to me. Home invasion is a very different situation. The way I understand it a group of armed men kick down your front door and commit atrocities to you and your loved ones till you give them all of your money and valuables. My little mod 60 does not seem like enough gun to do the job. I have been looking and think that a Sig in 9 mm ought to be a good choice. Most
Sigs have hi capacity magazines.


What do most think of this choice? I welcome any advice. Thank you all.

 

[Deanimator]

Truth be told, if you can hit what you aim at with it, the Model 60 is adequate. Just make sure you have a supply of loaded speedloaders, and decent self-defense ammunition (I like the 158gr. LSWC-HP +P "FBI" load).

There are no guarantees, but the ODDS are that when you start shooting people, the fun goes out of the enterprise for the perpetrators. In general, they want money, drugs, and or to scare/hurt people. If they wanted to put themselves in danger, they'd be attacking police stations, the JFK Center, or al Qaeda training camps in Yemen.

My home defense gun is the Smith 36 I carry concealed, backed up by my Glock 19.

 

[Valkman]

I like the Springfield XD series in .45acp as they have 13rd mags and if you have a spare handy it's plenty of firepower.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Everyone knows revolver are ancient dinosaur weapons and that you can't use them for anything these days.

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But somehow, a .357 magnum firing 125 grain JHP rounds at 1750 FPS with 850 ft lbs of muzzle energy just seems like it might... work... with a few well placed rounds.

 

[MinnesotaFats]

My hd gun is a S&W 686. Its the handgun i shoot the best with. Unless a whole team of bad guys stormed in (which dosent seem likely to me) youll be fine. That said, Sigs are great guns.

 

[Ed N.]

Those 5 shots should be adequate for you to reach your shotgun.

 

[MutinousDoug]

I used to place a Springfield Gov't .45 in my bedside safe but came to the conclusion that my wife (who has limited interest in firearms or pistols) would be nearly helpless with that as a defense device.
I downloaded to her model 66 S&W and my model 15 with reloads, both of which she understands and handles adequately.
Individually I feel am hampered but as a team, my defenses are enhanced.

Before he passed away at 96 year of age, my Dad lost interest and ability to operate his issue service model 39. By that time I think a similar late '60's vintage revolver (may have) served him better had he required it.

 

[Huskerguy]

Some of my same points have been made here. We have my wife's LCR by the bed because she cannot rack a semi. I like my SR 9 or CZ Phantom for fire power. Age is something to consider with hand strength required to rack it and I like the simplicity of a revolver in a situatuon likr that. You don't have to ask if you put one in the chamber or not.

 

[twofifty]

Stick with what you know works and have trained with. Get a couple of those revolver reloading thingies and become proficient with them. Or a second Model 60.

 

[dprice3844444]

i use a glock 17.

 

[Scooter22]

Put a Clamor on the doors. That will take out the door kicker and his team. Finish with what you have. Or in my case i have a 8 shot shotgun with 00 buck handy. JMHO

 

[LT.Diver]

My vote is for a Glock 19. I store mine within easy reach. I leave the chamber empty and the magazine full and installed. All I need to do is rack the slide and I have 15 rounds at the ready. No safeties, decockers, or other distractions. Just point and shoot like your revolver.

 

[vamo]

No offense, but the scenario you're proposing is pretty far fetched and rare. If you're comfortable with that weapon then I'd keep it. Most altercations involving a gun are ended without firing a shot, those where shots are fired are usually over after 1 or 2 shots are fired.

Now to actually answer the question. I don't want to start a caliber discussion, but kinda hard not to with the question posed. If increasing capacity is your goal its hard to beat a 9mm, adequate power for defense and the cartridge size allows for some fairly large magazines. Its honestly, a bit hard to recommend a gun without a price range or what features you like.

 

[Skribs]

There are a lot of factors that play into 5 shots not being enough. Accuracy under stress, number of attackers, and the disposition of the attackers could make a lot of difference. The need for shots can quickly go into the double digits even assuming 2 attackers, 1 in 3 shots hit, and only needing 2 shots to put down each bad guy. Then consider people who get shot 5 or 10 times and keep on coming...

With that said, I don't see how home invasion is any different than out on the town. In any scenario, you will likely be with your loved ones, and the numbers could be one or two muggers or a gang attack. Especially considering this is handgun vs. handgun, I would want the best tool for the job in any case.

If your options were between a 5-shot revolver and nothing, the 5-shot isn't a bad idea. But personally, I look for a lot more rounds in line than what you can get from a revolver.

 

[frankiestoys]

Not to repeat on what others already said because a lot of good choices were given but if you feel the need for a few more rounds you can still stick with revolver there are several companies making 7and even 8 round revolvers today pick up a .357 and put some .38 spl in it compared to your 5 shot its a plus

 

[jimbo555]

All you need is a second j-frame, that gets you 10 quick rounds.

 

[tomrkba]

I am old and have been shooting revolvers most of my life. For self defense my primary handgun has been the S & W model 60. Five shots always seemed enough to me. Home invasion is a very different situation. The way I understand it a group of armed men kick down your front door and commit atrocities to you and your loved ones till you give them all of your money and valuables. My little mod 60 does not seem like enough gun to do the job. I have been looking and think that a Sig in 9 mm ought to be a good choice. Most
Sigs have hi capacity magazines.


What do most think of this choice? I welcome any advice. Thank you all.

First, attend a two to four day defensive handgun course with a revolver instructor. Semi-auto guys usually do not know the little details of revolver operation that you need to know to maximize your shooting.

Use what you are familiar with unless you decide to attend training with something else. Perhaps try a S&W N-Frame with eight round capacity. The S&W 686, Ruger GP100 and various K-Frame revolvers are good too. I do like Safariland speed loaders. 5Star loaders are good runners-up.

The SIG is a good choice. The DA/SA trigger requires disciplined practice. You will find the double action trigger pull to be familiar, but the transition to the short single action pull takes some getting used to. You may find yourself slapping the trigger.

 

[AK103K]

If youre seriously worried about home invasion, you'd best be always wearing whatever it is you plan on using, and be well versed at getting it into action. You wont have time to be going to get something.

If its got to be a revolver, better to make it two than to be fooling with speed loaders. I shoot revolvers on a regular basis, and use speed loaders in practice, both when I shoot and when I dry fire, and I know I wouldnt want to be messing with them in a situation like that, especially when I know my Glock 17 holds three cylinders worth of ammo, with no reload necessary.

 

[DJW]

Post #6 makes a lot of sense to me. Having put thousands of rounds thru my 870 I feel very comfortable with it and the results inside 25 yds. are awesome. YMMV

 

[Pointshoot]

If you've spent your whole life shooting d.a. revolvers, there's absolutely nothing wrong with continuing to do so if that's what works for you. There's a lot to be said for long time habits and experience kicking in when in a high stress life & death situation. - - - There's nothing gained from 357 shot from a snubbie than extra muzzle blast and flash. If it were me, I'd look into getting a police trade-in S&W service revolver with 4" barrel in 38 Special. You get better terminal performance out of the longer barrel. They can be found for good prices and usually have been shot little, carried a lot. I have several and they all have that wonderful smooth S&W trigger. This revolver would make an excellent home defense or field revolver. You can keep your 60 for concealed carry.

If you absolutely wanted to increase capacity, a 9mm pistol will work fine. Just make sure to learn the manual of arms. If the pistol jams in a hot situation, you need to know & have practiced clearing the jam so you are up and running quickly. That takes some practice and some fired ammo. Most of the time with a d.a. wheel gun, if there is a misfire you just pull the trigger again.

 

[22-rimfire]

If I were concerned, I would look at perhaps getting something like a Glock 19 (9mm) or Glock 22 (40 S&W) and keep a few loaded magazines near the gun. Glocks are really easy to shoot quickly and they usually function flawlessly even if you don't care for the plastic. Reloads are also quick and somewhat intuitive.

The second option would be a higher capacity revolver such as made by S&W in 357 mag or 38spl (686).

Keep what you have and add a couple loaded speed loaders near the gun. This would not be my choice as under stress, unless you practice, I have reservations that you could reload a revolver quickly even with speed loaders.

Add a police style pump shotgun to your home and keep it loaded in addition to the revolver.

 

[beeenbag]

The way I understand it a group of armed men kick down your front door and commit atrocities to you and your loved ones till you give them all of your money and valuables. My little mod 60 does not seem like enough gun to do the job.

Not to be condescending but, in this scenario, no gun is enough gun. How many shots do you think you could realistically get off before a group of armed men turned your general area into Swiss cheese?

Your best bet is layered defense. Deter criminals before they set their sights on your belongings. Get a good dog, a security system, and harden your entry points.

I keep a night sighted glock 19 beside the bed, but I have no fallacies of thinking I could single hand idly take on a group of armed men and come out successful, even if I put my 33 rd mags into play.

 

[golfer_ray]

If you go the semi auto route, I would find a place that rents pistols & rent a Sig before buying one. As one poster stated, their SA/DA trigger gets some getting used to. Many people swear by them but it didn't work for me.

 

[Ron James]

I truly and sincerely believe, that the best gun for home defense is one that goes bang every time you want it to, and one that you are comfortable with. There is no magic gun or bullet, there is nothing wrong with a .38 Special revolver, even a 5 shot if you are able to place the shots accurately. I don't feel a Hi Cap auto is the only answer, spray and pray is not always a good ideal in a residence that may have other people residing in it or even other houses close by. What ever firearm you choose should be one that you can finish the job with as few shots as needed. For my self ( and this is my choice, not any one else's ) I have chosen a Model 15, 4 inch barrel. loaded with 158 grain lead cartridges. The gun has no buttons to push, slides to slide, magazines to insert, or safety levers to lever. Pick it up, aim and pull the trigger, with a whole lot less chance of the bullet exiting and killing the child next door. I some how doubt that more than 6 bad guys are going to storm into my house. In every police report I have read, after the first guy goes down the rest are running for their lives. Of course that is just my way and I don't expect anyone else to take it as their gospel . :banghead:

 

[Barry the Bear]

Learn to use whatever platform you can to the best of your ability. Not everyone can afford "professional training" (I use that term loosely as many so called professionals have no experience in actual shootings) so use books,the internet and any other means available to you to become proficient.

Im also a firm believer in shot placement is king but caliber is queen, select the most powerful round you can shoot accurately with(speed is nothing if you cant shoot the broadside of a barn) If a .38 is the top of the heap for you then use it to the max that you can with todays' loadings(too many people are claiming that their uncle joe knows a guy who was killed with one .22 lr to the leg.) Calibers both rifle and pistols have their own merits and flaws but dont dilude yourslef into thinking the .22 is just fine. Can it kill ? yes eventually, however the goal is to incapacitate which takes a caliber of sufficient strength to penetrate the vitals.


If your really concerned about multiple attackers,then Id would strongly advise you to use a longarm as opposed to a pistol. Multiple people in a break in is not uncommon, in fact its becoming more prevalent as criminals know that there is strength in numbers. If three people with ARs,Aks,or shotguns come into your home do you really think a ruger lcp or some other small gun will deter them ? 1st rule of a gun fight is have a gun but 2nd rule is bring enough gun.



Last but not least get a dog.