Which pistol for home protection?

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What would be a good, reliable pistol to use for home protection? My dad is thinking about getting a pistol because we are moving to rural area and feels a lot safer having a pistol in the house at all times. The budget is under $600. He is fairly new to firearms in general so something that is reliable and easy to maintain is a must. Ammo must be cheap and readily available. From time to time he would like to take it to the range so an accurate guns is always a plus.

Thanks for your time.
 
If you're interested in an Auto, I use a Ruger P345 for home protection. Very reliable and way under you budget! .45 isn't the cheapest ammo, but its not crazy expensive. There are, of course, 9mm Rugers that are similar in design but I prefer the .45 for HD.

I also have a S&W M&P 9mm that I like alot. I haven't owned it long enough to trust it for self/home defence, but its super accurate, feels great in my hands and has been 100% so far.

You'll now get about a million recommendations for Glock and Springfield XD...
 
I'll second the Smith & Wesson 686. It's a .357 magnum revolver so there's plenty of power. You can use .38 special (cheaper ammo) for practice. Simple, easy to use, easy to clean, no takedown required.
 
My advice, for whatever it is worth.

1) Spend about 50 bucks and have him take a NRA basic pistol class
2) spend another 50 bucks and have him take the NRA personal protection class

lots of overlap, but spending about 100 bucks on getting a good education on how to hold a pistol, hwo to shoot/clean a handgun, and usually you willg et to handle 10-15 different frames across the 2 classes.

Now he is armed to make a real good decision on what fits him - then he can consider used police Smiths, rugers, glocks, etc and make smart buys based on his ergonomics.

More importantly, your Dad is mentally invested in the gun. More dry firing, more practice, more range time, which translates into more skill and better likelyhood of excellent judgement should he need it.

I wish when I got started into the hobby someone had drummed this into me better.

That's my opinion
 
First find out what fits him. His learning curve on using it won't be as steep then.

If it turns out to be a revolver there are tons out there. The model 10s and 686s from S&W always are in favor as are the Ruger SP101s and GP100s.

If it turns out to be an auto you can save money on BHPs and 1911s by looking at the FM version of the Hi Power and the various 1911's made off shore. Used Glocks have been mentioned. Trade in Sigs come available from time to time in that price range. NIB CZs are available also.

Second the courses.
 
I carry the .38 Special and .357 magnum. At home I keep a .45 ACP on my night stand. With warning, I go with my 12 ga. shotty. No warning...I go for the .45 ACP. The .45 is high capacity and has far less report (your ears will love you for it) for inside dwellings.
 
being new to firearms, I'd say any .357 revolver or a Glock 9mm (or a gun of similar design) because they're easy to learn. Easy to know if they're loaded or not and once loaded there's no "decock" or 'safety' levers to think about :)
 
Absolutely...S & W Model 10. An excellent choice. I have two in the bedroom. My wife's is a 2" snubby and mine is a 4" Royal Hong Kong Police turn in...Both loaded with 140 grain SJHP +P
 
Notice that the only company recommended by those with "glock" in their name is a glock.
No problem with Glocks, they are simple, rugged, they simply work, But those recommending them should add that the only safetys basically are the mind attached to the trigger becasue as soon as you put your trigger finger insdie the guard, it is ready to fire.

Look at the following for New shooters

The high power, browning or FN or FM.
the 1911, Warning should be carried cocked and locked
S&W model 10, 13, 60 686/586, 19, 65, 67, 64, any model in 38/357 that is based on the M&P.
Ruger SP101, Both the Speed/Security six and the GP100 line.
Also look at Ruger's P95 and 97 series of autos.
HK's are pricy but good guns
CZ75 are well known
SIGs hold their own,
and Many others.

Read, Research and fit the gun to the shooter with Training, Could be even lots of range time.



Dry Fire Warning, before you talk about dryfiring, make sure the ammunition is in another room and secured.
this is unloaded practice which can consist of drawing and firing from a holster, drawer, safe(get one if the gun is to be kept loaded in the house). also gives trigger time so the Software in our head knows what and how the Hardware functions.
 
If No gun at all for home 'D, I agree on the S&W model 10 .38 Special. ;)

Otherwise, there are lots of good ones out there; both revolvers and semi-
auto's. As stated, the S&W model 66/686 is a also a good choice; shoot
.38 Special for practice, then load either with 125 grain .357 magnums for
home D'. Also, in semi-auto's its hard too beat the .45 ACP. In which, my
choice would be either the world reknown SIG-SAUER P220A; or the fast
rising Springfield Armory XD-F~! :scrutiny::D
 
The Ruger SP 101 DA only .357/.38spl

If I were you or your Dad, I would keep a Ruger SP-101 DA only model in .357mag/.38spl there for protection/limited target use. This SP-101 is stainless steel and is easy to oil/clean. It holds 5 rounds of .357mag or .38spl( I would suggest a factory +P+ or +P .38spl round for protection). The Ruger SP-101 is also small and can slip in a robe or coat pocket w/o any snags or tears because it has no hammer spur. DA only revolvers/pistols are in use by many sworn LEOs and firearm experts because the avoid the false claims of "accidents" or "cocked hammers" as the cause of a shooting. My first handgun was a Ruger SP-101 .357mag DA only and I would buy another one if I needed a solid well made firearm. ;)

Rusty

PS: These are good loads for CC/home protection; Speer Gold Dot 135gr JHP bonded +P 38spl, CorBon 110gr +P+ 38spl, 125gr JHP .357mag, Glaser silver safety slugs; .38spl or .357mag, Magsafe .357magnum load.
www.ruger.com
 
Our Mods here give good advice, listen to them.

Your father should go to a shooting range and rent several guns in different calibers to get a feel on what gun & caliber may be correct for him. He should determne whether a revolver or semiautomatic would best fit his hands and needs. Only after he has done this should he try to narrow down what would be the best purchase for him and family.

Also, for a rural area, a pump shotgun may be even handier.
 
I don't have glock in my name so I will just recommend a 9mm

Cheapest ammo available...and practice is more important than caliber or platform

I would however make sure that whatever you get WILL go bang if you pull the trigger...(like most all loaded weapons will)

Anything else truly is unsafe

Counting on any buttons, switches, levers or locks to make them "safe(r)"

Is just silly
 
I vote with the rest who said, "a good .357 revolver". You can load up with 38 specials for practice and then load up .357 mag for defense. The revolver is less likely to jam and for a first time shooter, easier to master the manual of arms.

My .02 cents.

Ninja45
 
This is the easiest question to answer.... but has to be answered by you!

The absolute best pistol for [personal] defense (prefer a 12 guage for HD) is the one that you are most comforatble with and shoot the best with. My carry handgun is not my favoite pistol that I own... In fact it is not even close to my favorite, but it is reliable and the one that can get 2 shots to center of mass the fastest. Every single gun made has a fanbase for different but important reasons for each owner.

It makes no difference what brand or caliber I use because my choice will likely not translate to you. For example .45 acp is the cheapest ammo for me because I reload a ton of it.

Nearly any handgun 9mm/.38spl and bigger that feels good in his hand and is made from any of the major gunmakers. New, or used (not abused) will be a great choice!!

Plastic frame? Any Glock, XD, FN, M&P, Walther, Beretta, Sig Pro, HK, or Ruger will be a great choice, if YOU like the way it feels, and are comforatble with the controls.

Steel/alloy frame? CZ, Sig, Browning, FN, EAA, Beretta, 1911... Lots of GREAT new and used choices.

Revolver? Tons of GREAT choices in the used market for WAY less than your budget... Both Ruger and S&W are solid choices. You could buy a nice police trade in (model 64, 65, 10, 13.... ) AND an 870 shotgun for around 600.

I would just go to a gunshop & fondle guns until I found the one I like the best.... Remember though, your tastes, needs and wants will change over time. That is why most of us have a lot more that one... they are all good.
 
there are 10,001 ways to approach this and none of them are particularly wrong...depends upon the level of familiarity and taste in weaponry that you like...

with that said, a good quality .38 special duty size revolver w/ 4" barrel is an excellent choice for people that are new to handguns or don't plan to invest alot of time/money to train (FTE/FTF clearing drills, manipulation of safety levers, etc)

eg: my father is very familiar and comfortable with revolvers from using them for military, cilivian, and government contract security work, as well as a hunting sidearm; he is 76 years old and won't be privy to spending several hours over multiple weekends trying to learn to use a semiautomatic handgun; he will be living with me in @ 2 months and I wanted a 'common' area housegun that both of us can use; I traded in a great Beretta 92 (9mm semiatuo) on a Smith & Wesson 64 (.38 spl revolver) and got in store credit for the differential of the trade in value...

he will need 1 session to get familiar and then 1 or 2 quick refreshers/year to keep competent; if I didn't think of the greater good and kept the semiatuo out of selfishness, he wouldn't have a handgun he could easily use and I couldn't live with myself if he got injured or killed over a lousy handgun that can be replaced later on
 
Dang it Brian beat me to it
+1 on the S&W model 10 and for that price you can get a 12 g to accompany it.
 
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