Mosin77
Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2019
- Messages
- 1,589
This is a question that’s come up before, of course. Problem is, most gun questions I can research, read, apply to my situation, and come up with a clear-cut answer, and this one I really can’t. I live in a wood, Sheetrock, and vinyl siding typical house in a typical rural- suburban neighborhood. Bedroom is upstairs with two turns to reach the spiral stairs and kids rooms obstructing much firing upstairs. Pretty terrible defensive layout unfortunately. I currently have a pistol, a shotgun, a Ruger PC9, and an AR which could be employed for home defense duty, and honestly if I woke up to someone breaking in my front door, I don’t know for sure which one I’d grab.
They all have pros and cons. All of them will potentially overpenetrate both in my house and into neighbors houses, necessitating great economy of fire and accurate shot placement. Pistol is faster and handier, less chance of it being grabbed away? But it’s a pistol so stopping power is not as reassuring and accuracy isn’t great. Shotgun probably has the best raw “stopping power” and that classic sound may well deter miscreants on the ground floor from venturing further, but could be short-stroked in the moment, and an 18” barrel is a lot less handy than a 5”. An AR is great on stopping power, accuracy, and capacity but is probably louder than a pistol or shotgun, and I think is the manual of arms I’m least familiar with, in terms of operating it quickly in the dark, etc. (Making a point to train with it thoroughly and regularly is always an option, of course.)
I think the question for me is that if I hear a “sound” and want to investigate, I’d probably grab the pistol from convenience/familiarity. If I heard something unmistakably criminal I’d want to grab one of the long guns (because long guns are superior combat arms). The kids’ rooms are between the master bedroom and the staircase, so staying put, per se, isn’t really an option I could get behind.
Typing this out I’m inclined to favor the pistol overall based on vastly better familiarity.
I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts on this.
They all have pros and cons. All of them will potentially overpenetrate both in my house and into neighbors houses, necessitating great economy of fire and accurate shot placement. Pistol is faster and handier, less chance of it being grabbed away? But it’s a pistol so stopping power is not as reassuring and accuracy isn’t great. Shotgun probably has the best raw “stopping power” and that classic sound may well deter miscreants on the ground floor from venturing further, but could be short-stroked in the moment, and an 18” barrel is a lot less handy than a 5”. An AR is great on stopping power, accuracy, and capacity but is probably louder than a pistol or shotgun, and I think is the manual of arms I’m least familiar with, in terms of operating it quickly in the dark, etc. (Making a point to train with it thoroughly and regularly is always an option, of course.)
I think the question for me is that if I hear a “sound” and want to investigate, I’d probably grab the pistol from convenience/familiarity. If I heard something unmistakably criminal I’d want to grab one of the long guns (because long guns are superior combat arms). The kids’ rooms are between the master bedroom and the staircase, so staying put, per se, isn’t really an option I could get behind.
Typing this out I’m inclined to favor the pistol overall based on vastly better familiarity.
I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts on this.