Home Defense Pistol.. and concealed carry, in one?

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UWstudent

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As for most of us are aware of, some people do not have the luxery to afford 5 different hand guns, a shot gun and a rifle. Personally, I own 3 pistols, P226, Glock27 and a 1911 5inch kimber (9mm, .40 and .45 respectively) and I use my G27 for 99% for carrying. As for home defense, it would be a trade off between the 226 and 1911 (this is not a 9mm vs .45 debate.. we all know 9mm's go through walls better than 45's and 45's score higher on ballistics.. so whichever gun is dependent whether or not there are bystanders nearby or the ammount of ammo i need in case half the crip gang are inside, which then i'll pop a 32 mag clip in the 226 :cool: ).

The point of this thread is to get your ideas on what gun would BEST fit a good home defense purpose package as well to be easily concealed enough for every day carry.. so I can suggest a few more options to people I know who are buying for the first time. I just got a buddy of mine to buy his first gun (yay for me) and i suggested a glock 23 would fit both needs for the .40 caliber being a compact yet having 13 rounds is plentiful for most HD conditions IMO.
For the .45 caliber I suggested the Kimber compact carry..

yeah yeah.. i suggested 9's too but he didn't want 'em


Please post what you think fits both purposes..
if you wanna know what he chose, please read on..

He took the glock.. probably b/c of limited funds (hey, all students w/o rich parents are BROKE!).. but after the purchase and a few boxes fired i explained to him that it took me almost 4 years to rack up my super duper 4 gun collection, and after shooting my kimber, his next purchase he swore would be the full size kimber ;)
 
I think something along the lines of a G19/23 or full size 1911 would easily fill both roles.

I have a G26, and it is a great carry gun, and performs fine for HD (its my only centerfire at this point), but I definitely want something a little bigger and more accurate for the HD role. Since I already have a carry piece, I'll probably go for something with a metal frame that is big enough to shoot well, but not too big for carry.
 
personally, i like the Kimber TLE RL stainless.. i think that one is f***ing sooo sexy .. i wanna touch

i tried concealing the full size 1911 but i couldn't do it.. some people could pull it off better but i usually wear shirts and jeans and with my body it'd stick out like a bad tumor..
 
The SIG P220 is a great candidate as it's sort of rounded where it counts and being DA/SA there's no safety to mess with. Not to mention there are many factory refurbished guns out for < $450.00!
 
waterhouse said:
I'd go with a commander sized 1911 or a 3" .357. I'd be comfortable carrying either and defending my home with either.
Click to expand...

Good point, I'd love a 3" SP101
 
I reckon any compact or subcompact autoloader or 3" barreled revolver would serve the purpose - to provide enough protection for you to get to your shotgun or rifle.
 
I carry a Ruger SP-101 in .357 mag. Since it's my carry piece, it's out all day and sits on the nightstand at night. If I need to grab a gun during the night, I'll grab that one because it's there. The other guns are locked up.

I guess I'd rather have the 4" GP-100 in the GunVault next to the bed, but I probably wouldn't do anything more complicated than grabbing the SP which is nearest.

~Ichiro
 
Another vote for the SP-101. Five rounds of .357 should solve anything that needs solving and it's a snubby that you can actually practice with.
 
you guys are actually making me considering getting a sp101..

i'm gonna look into it for sure.. but will definately bring up that option for my next "recruit" :D
 
I guess I already gave my input, but to answer your question more directly, I guess I'd still have to go with a 3" .357 mag. revolver, whichever model is easiest for you to carry.

A 3" SP-101 would be a fine all-purpose handgun. With an exposed hammer, you could practice single-action and double-action shooting, and with a huge range of ammunition. Plus, it should still be easy to conceal on a belt. If you can manage it, a K-frame or GP-100 with a 3" barrel would be even better.

~Ichiro
 
I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for everyone but my first carry choice and night stand gun is a Crimson Trace equipped Kimber Tactical Ultra.
 
My SP101 is usually in the dresser at night, after I take it off my belt, so it's technically a HD gun.
In the nightstand by the bed is the CZ97, which also serves as a CCW gun fairly often.
In between the nightstand and the bed is the Mossy 12ga. Now, while it does have a folding Knoxx CopStock on it and M3 light, it never really gets considered to be the day's CCW choice.

And, boy, you should hear it complain about that! 'You always take the SP...'
 
There are plenty of intermediate sized guns that would make great home defense guns and decent carry guns, and plenty of larger compacts that would make great carry guns and decent home defense guns.

A 3" barreled K-frame revolver is a great example. It balances and handles well, the weight is enough for good control and follow up shots while light enough for carry, the barrel is short enough for concealability while long enough for good accuracy. I think these make great all around guns when chambered in .357mag.

A 3" barreled J-frame. A bit more suited towards carry but still acceptable at the range and for home defense. The main disadvantages over the 3" K-frame are 1 less round and it may be too light for comfortable use of magnums.

Any intermediate sized auto would work great (go with single stack if you want it to be better suited for carry, though the double stacks work fine):
-Taurus PT911/940
-used (not made new anymore) Taurus PT908 (single stack)
-S&W 910 or 410
-S&W 908 (single stack)
-CZ 100
-CZ 75Compact, PCR or P01
-CZ 40B (unfortunately it is only found used anymore)
-Kimber Pro Carry or any other 4" barreled Commander sized 1911
-SIG 239
-Glock 19
-Springfield XD
-Kahr K9, P9, K40 or P40 (single stacks)- for an all around gun the K series are probably bettter due to more weight
-Kahr T9 or T40
and many others

Some compacts would work fine for home defense and also be better for carry than the intermediates:
-Taurus PT111/140/145 Milennium Pro
-Glock 26 or 27
-the compact version of the Springfield XD
-a 3" compact 1911
-Kahr MK9 or MK40 (the PM series is just too small and light for me to consider for home defense, but the heavier MK series might work)
-CZ RAMI (may be too small, I'm not sure)
and many others

There are also a few full-sized guns that may work for some body types for carry and would be better suited for home defense:
-A full-sized 1911 (single stack)
-A FN/Browning or clone Hi-Power (slim double stack)
-Taurus PT945 (single stack)- larger frame than the PT911/940
-Taurus 24/7
-Ruger P345
-A 4" K-frame revolver
-a 2 1/2" L-frame revolver
-maybe others depending upon the individual
 
I keep and carry 1911's.

Got one that's a dedicated CCW pistol, one that's a dedicated nightstand pistol and a backup or two. As per Col. Coopers steps to cleaning a firearm. Step one: Load another gun.
 
IMHO, taking into consideration that your friend is on a budget (like me) I would recommend a mid-sized 9mm. Ammo is cheaper and I am a firm believer in practice makes perfect.

Reality check:
If you've got a 40, 45, 357, hell even a 500 s&w capable of taking down an elephant it does you no good if you can't hit your desired target. If you can't practice and be efficent you are doing yourself a great dis-service.

i dont' care how big someone is, if they get shot or shot at, they will either go down, or run away. I am pretty confident that the only ones likely to encounter a doped up lunatic are LEO's. Then I would recommend a 40, 357sig or 45. If that's your profession, it's in your budget.

With 9mm you can practice good double taps and point shooting more often and become a better instictive shooter. At that point, 2 to 4 rounds to the torso should be enough to neutralize any threat. Also be sure to tell your friend to practice with the ammo he will carry with.

I am personally partial to sig's. I would recommend the 228 or the 229. The 228 is getting alot of praise on the sig board right now and you can usually find a good used one at a decent price.

I do own a Glock as well and love the price tag and ammo capacity that comes with it. I recommend a G-19 as well

I don't have any experience with Kahrs, but I hear they are a bargain and great for close range work. I would try one of those too.

Have him try b4 he guys if possible.

Good luck. Tony.

(is this my first post?)
 
Tonyben, Welcome to THR! Hope you stay, and enjoy. :)

I can guarantee if you stay you will be reconsidering your "reality check" however.
Otherwise, good advice!


-James
 
Here's an easy solution. Don't listen to your friends that spend more than 5 grand on pistols in a year, get 5 hi points, stash them, and you don't have to worry about lugging them anywhere but for carry. Less money spent than one kimber, colt, or S&W and now you have guns that are a lot more reliable to boot.

Here comes the people that heard from their brothers' uncles' cousins' sons' dog that hi points are bad, and ugly!
 
I carry a Kimber 4" Pro Carry but I dont have a set "home defense gun".

Reasoning is that nobody in my house besides me could operate a gun and when Im wearing clothes I already have mine with me (I carry daily).....so technically its both already.

If someone breaks into my house while Im naked Im hosed.....I could deploy my pee shooter but I dont see it stopping anyone.
 
I can stop 'em in their tracks.

Aaronrkelly said:
I could deploy my pee shooter but I dont see it stopping anyone.

If I deployed mine, they'd stop immediately. Hard to attack and roll around laughing at the same time. At least that's what my wife says. :eek:
 
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