Recomend Home Defense Revolver?

[Indy]

Please keep in mind, when shooting an intruder your adrenalin will be making your heart beat a lot faster, your palms will sweat, and you could shake. We all like to think we are Rambo and can handle these situations. I agree a shotgun would be the best, but it is big and not a nightstand gun. I personally have a 44 Special at my bedside. It's a reasonably priced Taurus 445. The pistol is accurate, concealable with a 2" barrel, and fits my hand. The 44 Special gives you more knockdown power than a 38 without the recoil of a 357. Second shots are managable. I have never understood why one would want a flashlight. By turning on a light, you give up the advantage of knowing the layout of your residence when the intruder doesn't. I am a light sleeper due to Vietnam, and awaken if someone steps on my deck or front stoop, so by the time someone enters, I am down the stairway.
If you can create a diversion, such as, having a radio on a remote control switch you can buy at Radio Shack, turned to a hard rock station, in a room at the opposite end of your residence. A sudden blast of "Metallica" could give you an advantage to get a rear head shot.
Hopefully, we will never need to fire a shot, but we must look for things that give us a greater advantage to survive.
Indy

 

[chipp]

Alot of good recomondations. Mine is to make sure whatever you get is in a lock box. or a safe. They have quick access pistol boxes, shot gun holders and safes. If you don't do it for the reason that you might save someones life if the gun gets stolen...do it so you dont come home or wake up with the gun in someones elses hand. After all your buying the gun for self protection

 

[hank327]

If you are going to shoot .38 Specials, I suggest you buy a .38 Special revolver.
Look for a used pre-lock S&W Model 10 or 64 with either a 4" or 3" barrel. You gain a little more velocity and a little more accuracy when you shoot .38 Special rounds out of a .38 Special revolver as opposed to out of a .357 revolver. Also you can probably buy a dedicated .38 Special only revolver for less than a .357 Magnum. The advantages are not large, but they are there.

 

[kmrcstintn]

Holy Crap...you opened up a can of worms...

*** my revolver choices focus on .38 special & .357 magnum***

first off...Taurus and I have a bad history:

1) Taurus 605 spurless hammer...went out of timing after a hot load popped the primer cap into the breechface and had to send to a gunsmith to clear the jammed gun

2) Taurus 66's x 2 became unreliable at igniting primers with double action shooting after 750-1000 rounds when the mainsprings became weak

_________________________________________________________________

for brute strength and ultimate reliability...Ruger GP-100; trigger characteristics are not as good as Smith & Wesson, yet can be enhanced with lots of dry firing and/or a swap with a reliable spring kit from Brownell's or Midway

_________________________________________________________________

for good stregth, good reliability, and enhanced trigger characteristics...Smith & Wesson 686; many consider them to be the better of the 2 brands (S&W and Ruger); many consider them more aesthetic; many consider them to have better triggers from the factory

_________________________________________________________________

I have owned both; I like them both; used Rugers are usually less expensive since the Smiths have higher resale value; the cost gap on new ones has decreased as of late, yet the Ruger can still be had less expensively, but not by much

_________________________________________________________________

my current specimen is a very good used Smith & Wesson 19 which goes against everything I've recommended...

1) my father owned one for many years and I wanted it but he traded it on a Smith 686 for a hunting handgun

2) I do not plan on putting many magnums through the gun (the K frame Smith & Wessons that are chanbered for .357 magnum have a flat point on the bottom of the forcing cone in the barrel that can erode quickly with the shooting of many full-house magnums); read these articles that these links go to for if you want more information on what I metioned:

http://www.gunblast.com/RKCampbell_SWsBest.htm
http://www.gunblast.com/Butch_SW-Model19.htm
http://www.gunblast.com/Butch_M19.htm
http://www.gunblast.com/Butch_MagnumLoads.htm

3) My ownership of the Smith & Wesson 19 that I have is due to nostalgia and I do not want to prematurely wear out the gun and I choose to baby it with many .38 specials and few .357 magnums

 

[Nicky Santoro]

I think a newbie can do no better than a new or used S&W Model 10. Load it with 158 gr +P LSWCHPs. One in the boiler room will stop any threat.

 

[kmrcstintn]

Mr. Santoro is on a great path...I forgot about surplus .38 spl S&W revolvers and the ole FBI load...158 grain lead semiwadcutter hollowpoint .38 spl +p;

I always choose a .357 magnum for multiple duties...

range (.38 spl & .357 mag)
home defense (.38 spl)
hiking (.38 spl & .357 mag)
scouting (.357 mag)
hunting--backup sidearm (.357 mag & .38 spl--for a put down shot in the head)

my chosen .38 spl defense load varies from the one Mr. Santoro mentioned since I also have a S&W 642 (15oz. aluminum framed 5 shot snub nosed revolver) and I dislike the muzzle flip and perceivable recoil from .38 spl. +p loads...I use Hornady 125 grain XTP .38 spl (non +p) in both my lightweight revolver for CCW and .357 mag revolver for home defense