As far as I am concerned, NOTHING beats a scattergun for home defense. As you know, it fires out a "cone" of shot proceeding out from the barrel muzzle, so, just point anywhere in the general direction and you will nail whats in the way. You can also, in a pinch, load them with just about anything on hand, tacks, bits of old snipped up tin cans, pebbles, snipped up short lengths of small jewelry type chain, whatever fits down the barrel. Just don't overload the gun, and you will be fine.
In the old days, some people loaded them with non-lethal but very painful loads, such as rock salt... OWIE !!!, For those pesky neighbor kids that snuk into the fields to steal thier apples or cherries, or whatevers... (Back in the day when kids expected to receive punishment for misbehaving, and parents regularly delegated it out.)
So my advice to you, is get a scatter gun, available from numberous sources, either in a smooth bore large caliber pistol, or, a an actual single or double barreled shotgun.
Here is a helpful little chart for figuring out Gauge sizes by Caliber.
Gauge Milimeters Caliber
-----------------------------
06..... 23.3......... 0.92
10..... 19.7......... 0.77
12..... 18.5......... 0.73
14..... 17.6......... 0.69
16..... 16.8......... 0.66
20..... 15.6......... 0.615
24..... 14.7......... 0.58
28..... 14.0......... 0.55
32..... 13.4......... 0.526
Or... if you want something a little more modern, and compact, take a gander at this little jewel, it is made of pure surgical stainless steel, comes with all the nifty little accessories, shown below, and is available in either a standard 22 caliber version, $215.00, or a magnum 22 calliber version, $235.00 both are 5 shot, single action revolvers.
http://www.northamericanarms.com/naac&b.html
Quote:
The NAA Companion is available for sale without going through an FFL Dealer in the United States because it is a black powder firearm. However, you will need to fill out and send us the Cap and Ball Waiver form below (under Quick Links) if your residence is in:
District of Columbia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, or Washington
Sincerely,
ElvinWarrior... aka... David, "EW"