Best Home Defense Hand Gun

[NE450No2]

A wall safe in every room is an excellent idea...

 

[1 old 0311]

The, "Ultimate Defensive Revolver" as so named by Smith and Wesson ca.1998.

A .357 Eight Shot 2.625" Barrel N Frame. Like it better than my Glock or PC 1911 in civilian applications.

Picture of mine at Misc. Photo Gallery by Doug Wever at pbase.com

Me Niece and her husband live in Texas next to the border. He is a Army Major and she is a nurse. This past summer she was asleep, hubby was on base working, when she heard a CRASH at the front door. Someone was trying to kick it in.
She grabbed her 8 shot .357 and "Well I knew how tall a guy stands and I didn't want to kill someone so I put 2 rounds through the top of the door. "
Bad guy quickly decided to depart and seek easier pickings. Thank God her Father, my Brother in law, taught ALL his kids to shoot and insists they keep their skills sharp.

 

[Smith357]

My HD handgun is the one I shoot the best. That would be my Model 14 that resides in my nightstand, that gun plain shoots and never seems to miss. I put it in my hand and it just points perfectly. It is a 6" but I figure if they get close enough to grab the gun out of my hand then I have failed miserably in doing my duty. I should only need 6 shots, as that should give me enough cover to get to the rifles in the den.

 

[OK Hog Shooter]

While I've had some shooting courses, have my CCW and practice as much as possible, I recognize that I don't have nor will not likely have the proper training and experience to know exactly how I will react or what I would do in a home invasion situation. So, when faced with a life threatening situation that is immenent, I know my adrenalin will kick in and the good Lord will have to guide my actions. As I've said before in several threads here on the forum... it's a Benelli M2 with 00 or 000 buck. I can back that up with a 4006. Nuff said.

 

[steelhawk]

I carry either an M&P 9c or a Ruger LC9 during the day. At night I take it off. If it is the 9c, I wipe it down and put it in the night holster. If it is the LC9, I wipe it down, put it in the drawer as a bug, and take out the 9c to put in the night holster.

 

[Springfeildkid585]

Random thoughts...
Best handgun for home defense.
Desires:
Short barrel, harder for the attacker to wrestle it away from the home owner in a Grappling situation.
Powerful enough to strike a hard blow, with only one hit.
Controlable recoil, enabling multiple shots, and hopefully mulitple hits.
Sights you can see in low light.
Quick to reload.

Everything considered, the 325 NG is worth a serious look.

Someone once said when it come to home defense, you want a short long gun or a long short gun. In essence, an 18 inch barrel shotgun, or a 5" 1911 are your best tactical option in a home defense situation simply because of the nature of indoor combat.

 

[armsmaster270]

Short barrel not really needed you shouldn't let the perp get close enough to grab your gun.
I use a Sig Sauer 226 in 357Sig and a S&W J frame 340PD 357mag Both loaded with Gold Dots.

 

[DCWilson]

There are several handguns that I would feel comfortable with as a home defense weapon, but I didn't feel comfortable about them until I got familiar with them, and I don't feel comfortable telling somebody else to use a gun that I happen to like without knowing his psychology. The best gun is the one you feel most confident about using. A theoretically perfect gun is the wrong one if you can't use it effectively against a threatening intruder.

Realize that "use effectively" is not the same thing as shooting somebody. In terms of personal safety, a retreating intruder is as good as one who is prostrate and bleeding.

I tend to feel best about short-barrel N frames with downloaded cartridges in them -- .44 Special in a .44 Magnum or .38 Special in a .357 Magnum. You are going to be confronting somebody at a distance of 10-20 feet unless you live in a mansion. Getting hit at that distance by a .38 wadcutter round will be pretty effective, so a big ugly gun like an 8-shot .357 with wadcutter ammo in it is threatening to the bad guy and relatively safe for your neighbors in case a round gets past him.

But seriously, get any gun you can be consistently accurate with, and then train yourself to use it quickly as well as accurately. That's the one you want.

 

[walnutred]

Ours is a 4" 10-6 loaded with 158gn SWC moving around 900 FPS and rubber grips. Over the years my wife and I have found this particular revolver tends to hit where we are looking, even when shooting in poor light.

 

[Arkie45]

Mine is an M&P .45 loaded with 230 grain Winchester Ranger T's (14 rd clip). God forbid I should ever need 15 shots.

 

[cmort666]

3" Model 13 or 65. With chamfered charge holes.

That said, my choice is the Remington 870 - backed up by a 3" 13-3. Regards 18DAI

I broke my 3" 65 out to carry a couple of weeks ago. I've kept it out for home defense. It's easy to handle and shoot. I painted the front sight orange (with a white base coat) with model paint. Loaded with the Federal .38 Special 158gr. LSWC-HP "FBI" load, I'm confident that it'll incapacitate any intruder.

A shotgun MAY be good, depending upon where you live. In my cramped apartment, it's about as useless as a naginata or a 14' bamboo cavalry lance. I couldn't get it out of my bedroom door without smacking the muzzle or butt on something. Where I live, any non-NFA long gun is more hindrance than help.

 

[Lee D]

the best home defense handgun is the one that is within reach, and will get me to a long gun.

 

[crofoot629]

Glock 19 (or Glock # of your choice, or S&W M&P autoloader of your choice) with night sights, white light and 33 round mag.

Emory

 

[letjimdoit]

I am looking at the governor for carry. How does it shoot? Have you tried 420/45 combo in rapid fire? Does the gun heat up making it hard to reload quickly? Is it a heavy gun? Thanks

 

[crofoot629]

I am looking at the governor for carry. How does it shoot? Have you tried 420/45 combo in rapid fire? Does the gun heat up making it hard to reload quickly? Is it a heavy gun?

You may have to look rather long and hard for anyone here to endorse such a handgun for self defense.

In short you're better off with most conventional revolvers or in my opinion an auto loader. It's hard to beat a Glock 19. There may be other preferences, but your not going to "beat" it.

Emory

 

[Varangi]

SHOTGUN, SHOTGUN, SHOTGUN- DOUBLE OO BUCK- IF YOU FAIL TO HIT THE BADGUY- YOU'LL SCARE THE **** OUT OF THEM.

 

[John In Omaha]

I was going through the same dilemma about a month ago. I settled on the 632-1 J Frame in .327 magnum. 3" barrel which also makes it a worthy CCW gun. After some reading and research I'm very happy with it. I was also considering the overall safety/reliability of a revolver verses a chambered or un-chambered semi auto stashed in the night stand.

 

[Bratastic007]

Model 60 stainless steel .38 +p with a 2-inch barrel.

Hard to wrestle away, reasonably allows for one-handed shooting, and heavy enough to club a guy with if need be.

You've got 5 shots, but that should be enough to get you to a safe place where you can reload (or reach a rifle or shotgun).

Your first line of Home Defense should not be offense, but should be DEFENSE in the form of a solid-core hardwood bedroom door with a decent lock. Let them steal your damn TV. That's why you have insurance.

 

[TACC1]

442/642

I used to keep a Ruger GP100 nearby. However, my mechanic
hands lost strength after carpal tunnel surgery. My idea is that
the 442 or 642 allows me to grab it without fumbling with a
heavier gun. Most of my practice is with these. Haven't grabbed
either by mistake when the phone rings, yet!
I'd rather use a 1911 or a Tokarev, but I know I am fumbly
when I first get up. TACC1

 

[auburn2]

For serious home defense I would go with a long gun, but for the "in the nightstand" pistol nothing beats a .357 mangum with a 4-6 inch barrell in my opinion. Mine is a 686 6-inch.