mercop
Member.
When the question comes up about what type of firearm is best for home defense you can choose between handgun, pistol or shotgun. Before discussing about what the best options is you first need to do a personal inventory of your needs and situation.
We teach that there are basically three types of situations where you would be most likely to need a firearm for home defense.
Bump in the night- the situation most people think of when the topic of home defense comes up.
The open door- when you arrive home and find that your front door is open, but no obvious signs of force. If there are obvious signs of force entry the best advice is to move to a position of safety and call the police. But if there isn’t you need to evaluate the totality of the situation and decide whether you think you forgot to close the door and make entry, or is there something else that leads you to believe it is the real thing and call the police.
Event in/around the home- this covers any other situation. Maybe you and your spouse are watching TV when your daughter’s violent ex-boyfriend begins to bang on your door. Or there late at night there is a loud knock at your door and you look out to see a neighbor covered in blood from a domestic assault with her husband walking up behind her. This actually happened to me.
When it comes to the bump in the night the vast majority of folks say they will grab a pistol or shotgun first. The pros of the pistol are that if it has a dedicated light it can allow you to open and close door, or even have a cell phone in your hand. The maneuverability of the pistol can also be a bad thing since its handiness may encourage someone without the proper training to go looking for the threat instead of barricading yourself in a room.
The shotgun along with the rifle are very formidable choices for home defense as well but have their own pros and cons even before you talk about which is better and the ammunition to load them with. The pros for the long gun include increased accuracy and sometimes round count. When equipped with a dedicated light they allow you easily illuminate your threat. The first con is that since they require two hands they may make it hard to talk on the phone or take physical control of family members. Clearing even your own house with a long gun without lots of practice can also be problematic. Things like leading into room with the muzzle and banging into things giving away your position can also be an issue. Another issue especially if you will be descending stairs is your footwear; do you make a habit of donning proper footwear when you pick up your firearm? Envision your heart pounding in your chest as you begin down your hard wood steps with your shotgun in hand to investigate a noise with your long gun. Your steps are steep so you usually use one or both of the railings when walking downstairs, but now with the shotgun occupying your hands your slip because you are barefooted or wearing socks. At least with a pistol you have one hand to catch yourself, or maybe not if you have a light in the other hand.
You arrive home after a late after work dinner party to find your front door ajar. What do you do? Chances are you will not have access to a long gun unless you get one from inside. Does your state allow CCW? Or even if it does did you leave your pistol home since you are not allowed to have it on company property. Is there an intruder still in the house? And if there is, were all of your firearms secured. This situation happened to at lease one young officer who arrived home with his young daughter in his arms and could hear the intruder in his bedroom. His pistol was un-secure on his dresser instead of on his hip. The intruder heard him come in the front door and fled out of a back window without his pistol.
Late at night, but before bedtime you hear a frantic knock at the door and look out to see your neighbor. When you open the first door you know focus on her head that is gushing blood. Something behind her catches your eye and you realize it is her husband walking across the street. He is covered in blood as well with a hammer in his hand. Do you wear your pistol at home? Do you even have a firearm on the first floor?
All of three types of situations are not far fetched and have happened to many of us or those we know. You can see in each where both handguns and long guns have pros and cons and that when someone asks “what is the best gun for home defense” we may need more information before arguing about caliber and effects on gelatin and drywall.
We teach that there are basically three types of situations where you would be most likely to need a firearm for home defense.
Bump in the night- the situation most people think of when the topic of home defense comes up.
The open door- when you arrive home and find that your front door is open, but no obvious signs of force. If there are obvious signs of force entry the best advice is to move to a position of safety and call the police. But if there isn’t you need to evaluate the totality of the situation and decide whether you think you forgot to close the door and make entry, or is there something else that leads you to believe it is the real thing and call the police.
Event in/around the home- this covers any other situation. Maybe you and your spouse are watching TV when your daughter’s violent ex-boyfriend begins to bang on your door. Or there late at night there is a loud knock at your door and you look out to see a neighbor covered in blood from a domestic assault with her husband walking up behind her. This actually happened to me.
When it comes to the bump in the night the vast majority of folks say they will grab a pistol or shotgun first. The pros of the pistol are that if it has a dedicated light it can allow you to open and close door, or even have a cell phone in your hand. The maneuverability of the pistol can also be a bad thing since its handiness may encourage someone without the proper training to go looking for the threat instead of barricading yourself in a room.
The shotgun along with the rifle are very formidable choices for home defense as well but have their own pros and cons even before you talk about which is better and the ammunition to load them with. The pros for the long gun include increased accuracy and sometimes round count. When equipped with a dedicated light they allow you easily illuminate your threat. The first con is that since they require two hands they may make it hard to talk on the phone or take physical control of family members. Clearing even your own house with a long gun without lots of practice can also be problematic. Things like leading into room with the muzzle and banging into things giving away your position can also be an issue. Another issue especially if you will be descending stairs is your footwear; do you make a habit of donning proper footwear when you pick up your firearm? Envision your heart pounding in your chest as you begin down your hard wood steps with your shotgun in hand to investigate a noise with your long gun. Your steps are steep so you usually use one or both of the railings when walking downstairs, but now with the shotgun occupying your hands your slip because you are barefooted or wearing socks. At least with a pistol you have one hand to catch yourself, or maybe not if you have a light in the other hand.
You arrive home after a late after work dinner party to find your front door ajar. What do you do? Chances are you will not have access to a long gun unless you get one from inside. Does your state allow CCW? Or even if it does did you leave your pistol home since you are not allowed to have it on company property. Is there an intruder still in the house? And if there is, were all of your firearms secured. This situation happened to at lease one young officer who arrived home with his young daughter in his arms and could hear the intruder in his bedroom. His pistol was un-secure on his dresser instead of on his hip. The intruder heard him come in the front door and fled out of a back window without his pistol.
Late at night, but before bedtime you hear a frantic knock at the door and look out to see your neighbor. When you open the first door you know focus on her head that is gushing blood. Something behind her catches your eye and you realize it is her husband walking across the street. He is covered in blood as well with a hammer in his hand. Do you wear your pistol at home? Do you even have a firearm on the first floor?
All of three types of situations are not far fetched and have happened to many of us or those we know. You can see in each where both handguns and long guns have pros and cons and that when someone asks “what is the best gun for home defense” we may need more information before arguing about caliber and effects on gelatin and drywall.
