Handguns for Home Defense

[Kleanbore]

My grandfather relied for years on a Smith and Wesson Regulation Police revolver chambered for the .32 Long cartridge. He did not believe it very effective, on the basis of the worrisome experience of the law enforcement officer who had owned it before.

But it was what he had. It sat on his nightstand for as long as I could remember.

I ended up with it. It was what I had.

Later, I acquired a more effective handgun. It too stayed in the bedroom. Concealed carry was not permitted then, and it never really occurred to me that a handgun kept in the bedroom might very well not be available to me timely should the need arise. But that's another issue.

Many people put their faith in handguns that they know to be marginal, because they have to. Many others rely on handguns that they do not know to question.

We all take what we can get. Given the choice, I will not keep at the bedside (1) any derringer; (2) any pistol chambered in .25 ACP. .22 short, or .32 short; or (3) any handgun with very high sound pressure or great penetration, such as a .500 S&W. A 22 LR would not be on my list, but if it were all I had, it would have to do.

A .32 Long or .38 S&W would not make the short list, either.

Someone in another thread keeps a five shot .410 revolver with three inch chambers. That would work for me, it it were what I had, but it would not be my first choice . A five shot .44 Special with a three inch barrel from the same maker would would be preferable for me.. Actually, a six shot Smith and Wesson .44 would rank above that.

Today, my home defense handgun is my carry gun. It stays with me, under my control, all the time, and I do not have to put in on or take it off whenever I come and go.

That keeps me from seeking a good S&W .44 Special Model 24 for defensive purposes, but I sure would like to have one.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Yep. I keep a S&W Model 64 .38 special around as a house gun. Might not be the greatest firepower on the planet, but extremely dependable and reliable with decent power with +P JHPs.

 

[Klint Beastwood]

This isnt to anyone on this thread, but i wish youtube didnt have so many rules. In the topics of self defense, I wish people could better prepare themselves and actually see people get shot and how not like the movies it is. Gunshot wounds inflicted are really an unpredictable outcome. You can pop a dude once, and he just drops cold, or you can empty 6 rounds semi center mass and the enemy still be in the fight. Even if he's dead on his feet, like a deer running after sending that round off when hunting, 15-20 seconds is a long time, and a lot can happen against an armed opponent.
As for calibers most effective, there is never a solid definitive answer, hense all the constant debate. One thing that is not usually dismissed though, bigger is definitely not worst.

 

[Kendal Black]

I can't figure out what the best pistol is, even after owning a bunch, so I simply sort defense guns into "prolly good enough" and "looks a mite feeble."

The dividing line for me is drawn somewhere underneath .38 Special +P, 9mm Luger and comparable rounds. Those are on the 'good enough' side of the line and, say, the .25 ACP is clearly below it.

 

[Spats McGee]

I used to keep a 12 ga. at my bedside, but over the years, my EDC pistol has become my nightstand gun. Off the holster, onto the stand. Reverse in the morning. I shoot my pistol much more often than my shotgun, & I'm beginning to think that maneuverability may trump the additional power that a long gun may be able to bring to the fight.

 

[Tirod]

At one end of the spectrum, a home defense handgun is probably only as good as the holster you carry it in while you are in the home. If it's out of reach it's useless.

On the other end of the Home Defense strategy it's equally useless - because the house is appropriately equipped to keep out intruders and they would never get into it at all. American homes are built for security about as well as the cardboard box guns are shipped in. Nobody locks a gun in a cardboard box for safekeeping.

The gun forums view of home defense is actually the worst case - using the gun at all, and usually presents the valiant homeowner defending wife and family (standing behind him) against vicious thugs (aiming their guns directly at him and the long suffering family who are now a backstop for his bullets.)

While it is important to "have enough gun" it's really a tightly focused view of disaster. How much more could be done to prevent it is ignored completely in most discussions and we are left with "racking the shotgun" defense theory. If a reader of this post has never heard of window security film then that is exactly the point. "Home Defense" is much more a subject of making it proof against external attack and adopting habits to keep intruders out - just because someone knocks on the door doesn't mean occupants quickly swing the door open to be polite. I don't see that a common habit in the NY apartment scene, why should it be common in suburbia? And yet we read of those who live out in the "quiet residential neighborhood" arming themselves against a threat that is all to easily turned away.

The gun is a tool of last resort, as said, whatever caliber it is will do. We have dozens of experts on which is suitable for defense, but can you explain why a commercial door lock is better than a residential one? That is a good example of how we put the wrong focus on "home defense." The next thing I expect to see are kevlar bullet proof blankets on the bed - we already have discussed wearing body armor and active electronic muffs. Too little too late. But fun to talk about.

 

[Kleanbore]

At one end of the spectrum, a home defense handgun is probably only as good as the holster you carry it in while you are in the home. If it's out of reach it's useless.

True--and for me, with our home layout, it is out of reach most of the time.

I did not figure that out for years.

On the other end of the Home Defense strategy it's equally useless - because the house is appropriately equipped to keep out intruders and they would never get into it at all.

Lofty goal, but out of reach, I think.

One can install strong doors with deadbolts, door frames, strong windows, place thorn bushes and river gravel under windows--no, one should do those things. Entry from the upper part of an attached garage must be prevented or slowed. Attention to visibility from the yard helps.

But nothing will stop determined intruders with certainty. An evil doer may push in with or behind someone we want to enter. Or some workman may have found a key and absconded with it unnoticed.

The gun is a tool of last resort,....

Indeed.

as said, whatever caliber it is will do.

Maybe, maybe not.

 

[Armored farmer]

For my $$.02 worth of input, my edc piece becomes a backup gun to my 12ga 870 the minute I get into my bedroom. The 870 is the platform that I have shot probably 2x as much as my other guns combined.

...and no, that's not where I keep it, lol

 

[dbmjr1]

Not really a handgun, more a firearm. It sits next to my bed with five rounds of reduced recoil buckshot.

 

[bannockburn]

Started out with S&W Model 10 with a 3 D cell Streamlight flashlight for illumination. Later went with Beretta Model 84 mainly because I didn't know what else to do with it and I thought having 13 rounds on tap in .380 might be a good thing in a small adjoining apartment. Nowadays it's a SIG P229R with a SIG STL-900L light/laser module and a spare magazine ready to go.

 

[MedWheeler]

Before I started carrying again (after a nearly two-decade hiatus), I kept two loaded guns in the house. One was bedside; the other hidden in the living room. Both were revolvers loaded with .38 Special ammo (the gun in the living room was a snub five-shooter.)

When I "came back" to the firearms scene in 2008, I started carrying and started acquiring more guns. Pretty soon, I adopted the "carry-gun-as-bedside-gun" plan as well. My daughter was born that year, and this kept me armed at all times while insuring the gun was safe from anyone but me.

My primary carry gun is in 9mm Luger. I still have both of those revolvers (carried them both during some of the time I was on the job back in the 1980s), but they stay in lockup pretty much all the time.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

I like to have options so I typically have my carry gun (Sig P239) on the night stand and a carbine in the corner.

If I lived in a free state, I would probably just use the Sig P226 with a 20rnd mag or two... But alas!

 

[TUBBY1]

Got a sp101 , 357 3" in my bed safe with 38+p. Just happened ,not really scrutinized . Got a couple of 380 s in the den hand safe. I take one out to carry daily . The rest in the basement safe loaded and ready.

 

[ray15]

I sleep fine next to my CZ P10C with 15+1 Gold Dots in it. It's the gun I have because it's a really good defense gun chambering an effective round. Quality guns are cheap enough these days to where 'it's all I had' is a pretty poor excuse.

 

[everydefense]

Multiple 9mm pistols distributed throughout the house with a total of... 176 (!) rounds loaded in mags in/near them should do the trick... there's no way I'd be able to use most of that before sustaining a fatal hit, myself, that's for sure. But at least there is one accessible in almost every major room.

 

[Varminterror]

I've valued the opportunity to combine my experiences as a (formerly) certified Risk Assessor into my instruction/coaching/guidance around defensive firearms applications. Having a developed strategic approach for risk mitigation comes in very handy when trying to identify potential risks, and implementing sufficient mitigation protocols.

For me, home defense strategy combines a spectrum of exterior defenses and early warning systems with point by point response protocols based on different occupancy protocols. As was mentioned above, a pistol on your nightstand doesn't do you any good if you come in from your garage to find someone standing in your living room between you and your firearm. A shotgun hanging over your bedroom door doesn't do you any good if you wake up to someone standing over you. And for a lot of Americans, having multiple firearms stashed around the house just isn't practical, or even responsible (i.e. young kids in the house, or cost of multiple firearms) - and frankly, it presents a greater risk of an intruder finding YOUR loaded firearm and using it against you.

Writing up different potential threats, largely locations an intruder might be able to enter the home, then comparing that to a list of common occupancy locations is the way to work your way through determining the most responsible and practical home defense protocols for your home. My home is pretty well laid out such I always have a direction of retreat, all of which include a secure exit strategy AND an opportunity to access a stashed firearm. So I really only have firearms two places in my house. If I am not in those locations, or intermediately between them, the threats would become apparent to me before they'd gain access to the firearm in their area (concealed and secured, but quickly accessible). When I work in my garage, there is only one way into my position, but I'm blinded to intrusion to the house, so I take a pistol with me. I don't leave a pistol in the garage. I also take a pistol with me when I'm working in the yard, since I'm cut off from my firearms in the secure locations in the house - although, in either of these cases, barring presence of my wife/child in the home, my safest mode is to exit the home.

A shotgun by the bed is great if you wake up to someone in your living room. My experience has shown it's worthless if you wake up to someone in your bedroom. Food for thought. Pistol on the nightstand, shotgun in the closet.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

Full size 9mm for me. It's the only other pistol besides my carry piece that I practice weekly with and am confident that I'm proficient enough with.

 

[JeffG]

Investigating a bump in the night, a Glock 23. Defending my home and loved ones from a bona fide threat; the AR 15.

 

[Klint Beastwood]

which ammo for the ar15?

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

View attachment 757921

Investigating a bump in the night, a Glock 23. Defending my home and loved ones from a bona fide threat; the AR 15.

Wut in tarnation is the little sucker washers on the barrel in front of the handguard?

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

which ammo for the ar15?

OT for this thread and the answer is "it depends".

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

Wut in tarnation is the little sucker washers on the barrel in front of the handguard?

My guess is practice weights, like a batter on deck.

 

[RPZ]

View attachment 757921

Investigating a bump in the night, a Glock 23. Defending my home and loved ones from a bona fide threat; the AR 15.

My summation on the topic is...

What you said. Except that the AR would be the go to anytime I am not just doing day to day stuff at home in the daytime. And then it could be a .380 pistol or a .38 snub on up.

 

[Ironicaintit]

Wut in tarnation is the little sucker washers on the barrel in front of the handguard?

I do believe that is a harmonic dampener. Helps to level out the frequency of the barrel. Like sticking your finger on a bell to stop the ring

 

[Ironicaintit]

I've heard unmuffled, indoor, close range gun fire more times than I care to remember.....
Given that, I have decided to choose firearms that aren't quite as offensive to the ears.

So primarily, I've got 45s lined up for HD. either a para ordnance p14 or an FNP45. Being a low pressure round, the report isn't nearly as sharp. More of a thud. Also on deck is a 357, but throttled back a bit, using 125gr JHPs and Unique. The report is still freakin loud, but nothing like the full tilt boogy magnum loads.

I cringe thinking of hipower rifle rounds indoors. It'll get the job done, but it's gonna leave a mark. What?