Colt detective special enough for home defense?

[640ALEX]

It's serious question I have three guns a browning hi-power, 642, and colt detective special. My current home defense gun is the dick special, is it enough. I'm less attached to the colt should I trade it for a auto with more rounds and a rail. The only the reason I'm asking is because I had an attempted entry in my home with my wife and I inside a couple of weeks ago and all I had was the colt and a surefire in hand. Am I overreacting?

 

[alwslate]

I love my two BHPs but a revolver makes more sense for home defense
due to being an always loaded grab and fire powerfull weapon. Since the older colt revolvers bring high prices these days I would sell the
colt and look for a nice 4" S&W md. 28 .357 mag. Hard to think of a
better home defense handgun.

 

[ContinentalOp]

I see nothing wrong with using a Colt Detective Special for a home defense gun, presuming both you and your wife are confident in your skills with it. A larger gun, like a S&W 64, might be better as it's usually easier to shoot than a snub.

I'm currently using my 2" 64 loaded with standard pressure Buffalo Bore 158gr LSWCHP as my carry and home defense gun. If I don't have the gun on me, it's close by. I am confident in my ability to deliver rounds to center mass quickly out to 10 yards, even though 10 feet is about the farthest I'd have to shoot in a home defense situation. I also do dry fire drills nearly every day (drawing, reloading, moving to cover, awkward positions, etc.). And I don't live in the nice part of town.

It's about what you're confident in and have sufficient training with that counts, not the gun itself. If you think you need a higher capacity semi-auto, then make sure you get one that both you and your wife can shoot well, get the necessary training, and practice. Have a plan and rehearse it.

Just my opinion, for whatever it's worth.

 

[J.P.60]

It's about what you're confident in and have sufficient training with that counts, not the gun itself.

All the capacity in the world means nothing if you have not honed your abilities. If you can shoot the gun well, The Detective Special is more than up to the job. My opinion is that if you cannot dispatch an intruder with 6 shots, at in-house distances, you'll not do it with higher capacity. All the Hi-Cap will do is give you a false sense of security.

 

[s&wchad]

Scary that someone attempted a home invasion, I’m glad you and your wife are OK. I suggest you put a lock on the bedroom door and buy a shotgun instead of another handgun.

 

[walnutred]

Considering one of the loaded firearms in the house is a 3" M37 caliber and capacity wise I think we're in the same camp. Howver for the last few years my Bump In The Night firearm has been a Hipiont 995 TS carbine. Where I live the BITN is most likely going to be caused by a coydog in the trash cans.

 

[PeterCartwright]

Most of us reading this forum wouldn't be here if we weren't handgun nuts, but the earlier post stumping for shotguns makes a lot of sense. Used, completely dependable shotguns can be had on the cheap. Whack off the barrel if it's too long (CAREFULLY measuring to comply with all Federal regs, of course!) Buck loads in either 12 or 20 ga. will certainly handle up close threats. Our handguns are just icing on the cake.

PC

 

[Old cop]

The bottom line is use the gun you and your wife are most familiar with. During an emergency your fine motor skills go out the window so if that is the Colt, than depend on it. Any good .38 will do the job but you both should practice as often as possible.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

While I always keep a couple of handguns handy (with a strong preference for .45 caliber), my primary defensive weapon at home is a Remington 870 12-gauge cylinder bore 20" loaded with 2-3/4" magnum loads of BB shot (about 65-70 pellets of .177" diameter). If an intruder is foolish enough to advance after hearing the slide racking the first round into the chamber I am pretty confident in the stopping power at close range, and I don't have to worry overly much about bullets/slugs/buckshot flying around in a residential area.

For what it may be worth.

 

[MotorCityGun]

Scary that someone attempted a home invasion, I’m glad you and your wife are OK. I suggest you put a lock on the bedroom door and buy a shotgun instead of another handgun.

Chad, I agree with your locked door recommendation and your choice of home defender (Moss 590?). However, the location of the shotgun in the picture may not be ideal. Can you think of a better location or let us know why you decided to place it where you currently have it?

 

[MotorCityGun]

If an intruder is foolish enough to advance after hearing the slide racking the first round into the chamber I am pretty confident in the stopping power at close range

For what it may be worth.

My questions/comments are related to your "racking the slide" as a perceived deterrent. I don't doubt that this MAY/MIGHT deter the BG from advancing on you, however, from a tactical pov:
- do you maintain your pistol/gun with an empty chamber or cylinder?
- do you want to audibly give away your location to the BG?
- do you want to waste or give away the time it will take to rack and draw down/aim?
- will you remember to rack/chamber the shell in your sleep-induced haze?
- can you provide any data/statistics which indicates the BG was, in fact, deterred from a racking slide? TV/Movies don't count

 

[cmort666]

A Detective Special is a perfectly adequate firearm for home defense, although I'd prefer something bigger in size, even in the same caliber.

Regarding shotguns, they CAN be effective, but not in all situations. In my home, a shotgun is about as useless as a naginata or a longbow, hopelessly unwieldy.

 

[cmort666]

My questions/comments are related to your "racking the slide" as a perceived deterrent. I don't doubt that this MAY/MIGHT deter the BG from advancing on you, however, from a tactical pov:
- do you maintain your pistol/gun with an empty chamber or cylinder?
- do you want to audibly give away your location to the BG?
- do you want to waste or give away the time it will take to rack and draw down/aim?
- will you remember to rack/chamber the shell in your sleep-induced haze?
- can you provide any data/statistics which indicates the BG was, in fact, deterred from a racking slide? TV/Movies don't count

You couldn't be more correct.

An unloaded firearm is worthless.

I would NEVER assume that I won't be surprised by an intruder, or that having done so, he'll allow me to load my weapon when it should have been loaded in the first place.

 

[J.P.60]

Having some small experience and expertise, I will go further. If your sidearm is not kept in condition one - give it away. It will only kill you.

 

[S&W forever]

I own many Smiths, but my nightstand gun is a Browning Auto 5 with a 18" barrel loaded with 3" 4 buck. You can't go wrong with a 100 year old design.

 

[photoman]

It's serious question I have three guns a browning hi-power, 642, and colt detective special. My current home defense gun is the dick special, is it enough. I'm less attached to the colt should I trade it for a auto with more rounds and a rail. The only the reason I'm asking is because I had an attempted entry in my home with my wife and I inside a couple of weeks ago and all I had was the colt and a surefire in hand. Am I overreacting?

Where was the 642 and the BHP when this happened? When the gunfight starts, no matter what gun you have, you're not going to feel like it's enough.

 

[walnutred]

I own many Smiths, but my nightstand gun is a Browning Auto 5 with a 18" barrel loaded with 3" 4 buck. You can't go wrong with a 100 year old design.

You must have a very large nightstand ;-)

 

[ldp4570]

At one time, all I had for CCW/HD was a Walther PP in .32acp, and due to practice, and still to this day a strong will to survive, I never felt out gunned or under gunned. The firearm is just a tool, its the person behind it that matters!!

 

[s&wchad]

Chad, I agree with your locked door recommendation and your choice of home defender (Moss 590?). However, the location of the shotgun in the picture may not be ideal. Can you think of a better location or let us know why you decided to place it where you currently have it?

It’s just a picture, that‘s not where we keep it. I won’t discuss our specifics, but everyone need to determine what methods are right for them. I do understand the need to insure that firearms are not accessible to unauthorized persons. I also know that it won’t do us any good if we can’t get to it in time.

 

[IvanW]

The Colt is a fine HD weapon. As others have said, use what you have the most experience with and confidence in.