Prefered Home Defense Weapon

[tacstar]

Shotguns are widely recommended for home defense but I've never quite understood why. Due to their size they are cumbersome,they are difficult to store & conceal.

In the event of a confrontation with an intruder I would much rather be able to reach in my nighstand & be armed within seconds verses running to the closet a grabbing a shotgun, in a situation like that every second counts.

However my during administration of justice class my instructor who was a 25 year LAPD veteran stated that in a close quarter combat situation homeowners have often fired several rounds missing their assailant & have had their guns taken from the during a struggle & in some instances lost their lives by being shot with their own guns.

He said he had never seen this scenario play out where the homeowner was armed with a longgun. In a close quarter combat situation it is next to impossible to miss with a shotgun(due to the pattern of the blast).

What is your preferd weapon for home defense? I would like to hear from LEO's.

Have any LEO's had similar experiences to my administration of justice instructor?

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

In a close quarter combat situation it is next to impossible to miss with a shotgun(due to the pattern of the blast).

I'm not a LEO, but anyone who has patterned a shotgun at close ranges knows this is simply not true.

This thread may be of interest: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=314607

 

[MachIVshooter]

However my during administration of justice class my instructor who was a 25 year LAPD veteran stated that in a close quarter combat situation homeowners have often fired several rounds missing their assailant & have had their guns taken from the during a struggle & in some instances lost their lives by being shot with their own guns.

I would like some HARD (not anecdotal) data suggesting that even one home invader stuck around to disarm the intended victim after being fired on. I find it highly-scratch that-incredibly unlikely.

And you can easily miss with a SG.

I don't even keep a SG in the bedroom. Handguns and an AR-15.

 

[The Annoyed Man]

I've seen several "point blank" shotgun entry wounds, administered anywhere from right at the muzzle to a couple of feet away. There was no "pattern." What was there was a large round hole, perhaps a couple of inches across, with extensively burned edges. Except for the one I saw that was a leg wound (nearly severing the victim's leg above the ankle), all were uniformly fatal.

I know nothing really about whether or not what your LEO friend said is true, but I can tell you that a shotgun is about the last thing I would want pointed at me. It might as well be a howitzer.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

AR15 carbine

 

[zxcvbob]

A big black dog, and a smaller "backup" dog.

 

[Officers'Wife]

OK,

My Uncle wasn't an LEO but he was a squad Sgt in a place called Da Nang in Vietnam. He always told me the best defense weapon was the one you could hit your target with when you were scared enough to pee your pants and that a .22 through the brain is much better than a .45 out the window. I feel I have to respect his experience.

Selena

Selena

 

[jeep-2]

there's one thing for sure about a shot gun, if there is an intruder in the next room, all you have to do is work the slide action of a pump, no one mistakes that sound, you don't have to say that you have a gun and if you hit them with the first shot, you have 2 people, if you also hit them with the second shot, you then have a crowd.

 

[goon]

Shorter barreled rifles and shotguns are not that difficult to maneuver with. And besides, if you wake up and hear someone in your house, it really isn't the smartest thing to go gallavanting off after them anyhow. Then you are moving around making noise and they could just hide somewhere and shoot you when you come by in the dark. You'd be better off getting your loved ones into one room, locking yourself in, and calling the cops. Let them clear the place - its what they get paid to do.

On the long gun debate, a load of #4 buckshot is equivalent to putting about 20+ .22LR rounds into someone with one pull of the trigger. A load of 00 is like shooting them 9-15 times with a .32 ACP (depending on load), and a load of 000 buck is like shooting them 9 times or so with a .380. If you really want power, switching to a slug is as simple as sticking one in the mag and working the slide. Then you have what basically amounts to a .735 inch one ounce bullet. It is powerful enough not just to kill but to STOP just about anything you are likely to encounter in the US.
Spread with buckshot is not what you'd think at close ranges. You could probably cover most of the pattern with your hand.
Fragmenting and expanding loads from rifles make a mess out of things they hit too - just ask any deer hunter what kind of a hole a JSP hunting bullet will make. They are so damaging that I was taught to shoot only for the head or neck if at all possible to avoid damaging any meat. Getting hit with one would most likely inflict massive damage on the recipient.
I have nothing against handguns. I actually like them a lot and want more than I could ever afford. But I can shoot a shotgun better and put more hits on target with it. Even an unpracticed person can get the bead on the target pull the trigger. Handguns take way more practice and experience to be proficient or even comfortable with. About the only place that they have an edge over a long gun is in terms of concealment (which can still be extremely important).

I am not an expert or a gunwriter, but after looking at all the info I could find, if I had to barricade myself in my bedroom with my loved ones with a gun pointed at the door, I think I'd want that gun to be a 12 gauge.
The only way I'd go with a handgun is if I could only own one gun for both carry and HD. Other than that, a 20, 16, or 12 gauge shotgun or a centerfire rifle is always going to be more poweful and therefore, more likely to STOP an attacker immediately.

 

[jeep-2]

my home defence is 2 yellow labs and a 34"33oz bat.

 

[yesit'sloaded]

my instructor who was a 25 year LAPD veteran stated that in a close quarter combat situation homeowners have often fired several rounds missing their assailant & have had their guns taken from the during a struggle & in some instances lost their lives by being shot with their own guns.

I'm sorry, but I just have to call BS on that. A long gun is much easier to grab and push the muzzle away from you. This is the usual LEO fear mongering against guns because only they are high and mighty enough to use them. Most officers I have shot with could not hit the broadside of a barn from the inside. Most of the ones that I personally know shoot better than I do. I know our police force is dismal where I am from, which may have swayed my opinion a little bit. The guys where I live now are some of the most professional and competent LEOs I have ever met, but on the whole most that I have met were the high and mighty sort, or just plain lazy and incompetent.

 

[Starter52]

In the shotgun/handgun debate, also consider that millions of Americans live in states (or Districts) where owning a handgun is not an option. Buying a shotgun is much less of a hassle.

And.... a good pump shotgun is half the price of a good handgun.

And I agree with MachIV and yesit'sloaded that the "several shots" situation is BS.

 

[Lonestar49]

...

For up close and personal, one of my hand guns..

For crowd control, or mass attacks, one of my shotguns..

For shear reward, my German Shepherd..


Ls

 

[mugs79]

A family friends used to tell us a story about when he was taking his sail boat around the world. He went all over the place and never had any trouble at all until he was anchored off the coast of New Jersey. Late at night, he heard a small motor get close and then die, and heard people climbing aboard. When he heard a few pairs of footsteps running around on the deck above, he grabbed his old pump shotgun.

He says he opened the cabin door and gave the shotgun a single pump. He heard someone yell "Oh s***," and they all jumped back into their boat or overboard.

The sound of a pump shotgun is probably the single most intimidating sound in the world. There are very few sounds than can change an invader's mind quite like that one.

 

[george29]

I just love my .308 Ishapor next to the bedside (next to the Mossberg, next to the .44 Tracker). They may get me if they invade in droves, but someone is going to be cleaning the entrails for a few days.

 

[Evil Monkey]

Short assault rifle with a suppressor. Since where I live, that's not possible, a 16" barrel rifle like an ar15 or akm is fine.

 

[SoCalShooter]

In the shotgun/handgun debate, also consider that millions of Americans live in states (or Districts) where owning a handgun is not an option. Buying a shotgun is much less of a hassle.

The district of columbia is the only one I know of with a handgun ban would you please expand on where else you are not allowed to buy a handgun?

For me i would use a shotgun.

 

[M2 Carbine]

In a close quarter combat situation it is next to impossible to miss with a shotgun(due to the pattern of the blast).

Immediately when someone makes this statement I disregard anything else they have to say.

The average HD shotgun pattern only expands about an inch per yard it travels. Across an average size room it's about as easy to miss with a shotgun as any other gun.

Although I keep four loaded shotguns in the house they aren't my first choice for a HD gun because my HD area extends outside for about 50+ yards. So, in most cases I'd grab a pistol or M4.

At close range, 5-10 yards there's not hardly a HD gun more devastating than a shotgun.

 

[bad LT]

The district of columbia is the only one I know of with a handgun ban would you please expand on where else you are not allowed to buy a handgun?

Several other large cities have handgun bans...

Chiciago, NYC, San Francisco, and some smaller cities.

 

[Deanimator]

However my during administration of justice class my instructor who was a 25 year LAPD veteran stated that in a close quarter combat situation homeowners have often fired several rounds missing their assailant & have had their guns taken from the during a struggle & in some instances lost their lives by being shot with their own guns.

To be honest, I think he lied.

I've had anti-gunners tell me that story for more than twenty years. Not a SINGLE one has been able to provide an example that didn't involve a cop (usually a police woman) trying to subdue someone with less than lethal force.

The OVERWHELMING reaction of criminals to flying lead is to try to outrun that lead.

As far as getting your gun "taken away" goes, it's tough to take anything when you've got a 180gr. .40 JHP in your chest cavity. The closer the assailant gets, the harder it is to miss.

Regarding shotguns, they're good if you have the room to use one. I don't. In my home, the only things less useful for self-defense than a long gun would be Hudson Bay ax, a cavalry lance or a longbow.

 

[curmudgeon and anarchist]

Creating a Safe Zone

My strategy is to make sure I have time to get to my Mossberg and set up before the intruder comes into the bedroom. I have two very noisy little dogs who will certainly wake me up, and I have good locks on the doors and windows.

My Glock 23 is always on my bedside table should I not be able to get to the shotgun in time.

 

[Regolith]

In the event of a confrontation with an intruder I would much rather be able to reach in my nighstand & be armed within seconds verses running to the closet a grabbing a shotgun, in a situation like that every second counts.

Easy Fix: keep your shotgun next to your nightstand instead of in the closet.

That's where mine lives when I go to sleep. I can grab it and get it mounted almost as fast as I could a handgun.

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

However my during administration of justice class my instructor who was a 25 year LAPD veteran stated that in a close quarter combat situation homeowners have often fired several rounds missing their assailant & have had their guns taken from the during a struggle & in some instances lost their lives by being shot with their own guns.

He said he had never seen this scenario play out where the homeowner was armed with a longgun. In a close quarter combat situation it is next to impossible to miss with a shotgun(due to the pattern of the blast).

Jorg and M2 Carbine already beat me to it...This troubles me a bit. If you were to make this assumption I would have just chalked it up as watching too many movies, but a 25 year LAPD veteran told you this.

I have a 1911 for my bedside gun, but if I had anytime at all I'm going for my M4(gery)...A rifle round is much more effective than a handgun round...

Check out this thread for all the info you need concerning with firearm is best...Read over what Correia and booner has to say...Along with many others.

 

[RNB65]

The preferred home defense weapon is the one you're most comfortable handling. Handgunners prefer handguns. Riflemen prefer rifles. Shotgunners prefer shotguns.

I use a Glock... as cover... to get to the closet... where my 870 Marine Magnum is waiting.

 

[mrpigg]

Going on the principle of what you are most comfortable with. I keep a loaded sks next to my bed with bayonet extended. My 5 dogs will hopefully give me time to clear any cobwebs in my head.