Model 15-3 as primary home defense

[elm_creek_smith]

I read all the comments, Ralph, and I'm not going to check a "bump in the night" with a long gun. It's tough to open doors with a long gun, and too easy for someone to try to take it away. A door or window crashing calls for another response.

In the meantime, trying to disarm me while I'm carrying this will be problematic. I win the leverage war.

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[Mister X]

I have a few snub revolvers that are my go-to carry, as well as home defense weapons.

A big reason why is that they are very easy to carry, so they are not a burden to have on me all the time, even at home. I've come across a lot of video footage of attackers waiting outside to ambush the homeowner when they step outside, so anytime I let the dog out(multiple times a night), take out the trash, get the mail or whatever, I want to be armed.

Another advantage of the snubby is they are very reliable in any type of contact scenario. Most people think home defense always involves time and distant being on their side, so default to long guns, but I view it somewhat differently. Possible scenarios would be the examples I already listed, but also any situation where you feel the need to check out a noise you think is nothing, but could potentially be an intruder lying in wait and a close-quarter ambush is possible. And don't rule out intruders gaining access to your home quickly and rushing you. That actually happens quite frequently from what I've seen. I do want to avoid shooting anyone if I can help it, so retreating into the interior of the home putting locked doors between us and them and making it into the safe room with police on the way would be ideal. It may be possible or it may not. From there any shots fired would be from a few feet max.

I do own several high capacity 9mm Glocks and in situations where I may have some time and distance on my side, I might choose one of them, but I wouldn't feel all that undergunned with just the revolvers.

 

[91B40]

I use a Model 67-1, which is the same as a Model 15 in stainless. I don't feel undergunned. My wife owns a Model 67, so she's familiar with it.

 

[jmace57]

Model 59 in the nightstand - Model 64 and Model 15-3 in other places.

 

[shouldazagged]

For years my head-of-the-bed house gun was a lovely 15-3, which I gave to my son and his boys. Then it was a four-inch 10-5, which I sold to an old friend who was moving to an area where she felt a need of protection. Now it's the J-frame I carry; but there's also an elderly twelve gauge double, sawed to twenty inches, and a supply of #4 buck if needed.

 

[GRT3031]

Gents, what loads are you using in the .38 Special?

 

[Skyhunter]

Strategically placed around the place - my bedside, 1911-A1. Her bedside SP 101 w/Crimson Trace grip. Rem 870 - one each 20 & 12 gage. Outside the bedroom - Model 15-3 and two taper barrel Model 10s - all within reach by entrances or exits.

WYT-P
Skyhunter

 

[elm_creek_smith]

Gents, what loads are you using in the .38 Special?

I carry Winchester 130 grain JHP Defend standard pressure ammunition in my Model 12-2 Airweight with two speedloaders and two speedstrips of the same ammo for reloads.

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[biku324]

My wife's house gun is a Ruger Security Six with the old FBI +P load, while I keep a M58 with police loads handy. There's always a 12 gauge with turkey loads, usually 2 3/4" Federal Grand Slam #5 from Wally World (they are also good for turkeys!), in the corner if needed.

 

[Roller Delayed]

I use either a DA revolver or a DA pistol for the home. Pistols with light triggers that need holsters to be tucked away and long guns you can't be discrete with do not fit with any likely bump in the night I might want to check out.

I've read a lot of home defense threads, and people have plenty of stories about drunks, weirdos, people with car trouble and kids coming home late - and none about violent attacks. So my planning is oriented around the first group of "intruders".

 

[S&WsRsweet]

My home defense weapon for that " crash someone's in the house moment " requires explanation.My plan is wife armed with her nightstand gun ( 357 revolver loaded with 158 grain 38s) hide behind dresser ( real oak full of cloths the long way ) not pointing the gun just holding in holster and calling 911.Me armed with Remington 1100 and another 357 revolver loaded with 38s " and a bandoleer of 00 "defend " our bedroom fireing if need be across aforementioned dresser down hallway which intruder/intruders will have to come down to get to us .Why Remington 1100 .I have hunted and shot clays ect with one since I was 20 and can operate it in the dark 1 handed ( resting across dresser ) if I need to .You see an 1100 is very easy if shot " dry" to make " hot" again one handed while muzzle is still being pointed in general direction if intruder / intruders. No plans of trying to clear my home ,yard ect at night in the dark with no way on knowing who or how many I'm dealing with no sir .My plan is defending the Alamo ( my bedroom) and let the police on arival "clear" the house ,yard ect while the wife calls my insurance carrier.Intruders hit trying to come down hallway who are you going to call for them ? Oh you mean like ambulance ,ect ect .Naw I'll call a cleaning service to clean up the mess but any intruders can fend for themselves .What if that auto 1100 jams well thts what the two 357s are for .Why revolvers ? Well glad you ask .I been shooting DA revolvers for over 40 years and can operate one with 1 hand in the dark if need be .Why not " clear " the house ? Again glad you ask .1 when that 12 ga goes off the intruders are more than likely going to run but in the event they are well enough armed and determined enough to continue I would rather be hiding behind some sturdy furniture slinging buckshot than standing in my living room holding a flashlight in one hand and a revolver in the other trying to gunfight them .Home " defense " gun and plan for intruders in the house after bed time scenario.For home invasion say right now my plan is use this 357 to get to aforementioned shot gun and hide behind aforementioned dresser .Ok I'm a coward lol whatever sticks and stones ect and so on .Why the emphasis on 1 handed use .Well my Dad taught me that being able to use your self defense weapon 1 handed was very important along with good tactics .I asked him once if he knew he was going to be in a gunfight today what gun would he want his answer was " if I knew I was going to be in a gunfight son I would stay home ,hideing behind my dresser hopefully with a 12 ga shotgun preferably belt fed and fully automatic .Most of us need to rethink our tactics ( tactical squad police officers and prior Navy Seals ect excluded ) .

 

[BAM-BAM]

Model 15...... the short answer is............. why not.

I'd keep a couple of Safariland speedloaders near by!

.38 125gr hollowpoints would be fine or the old FBI 158gr SWCHPs

 

[Old Corp]

I feel a degree of shame here.....
Perhaps it's the years of handling residential burglary investigations, don't know. Most know that regular B&E's occur in daytime hours when residents are gone. My wife and I are gone quite a bit.

In most daytime B&E's the perps are doing a pretty fast grab and go. They hit the high spots - easily portable electronics, firearms, jewelry, cash, prescription drugs.
That means any firearms left out in easy reach are a prime target for theft.

I'd especially hate to have any one of my S&W's stolen like that. (They're all in a safe)

Our bedroom is (ashamedly) equipped with Tauri.
Her side is a SS Judge loaded with buckshot and .45 Colt ammo.(Hey, she wanted it...) My side is a SS PT92 (Beretta clone) 9mm with several loaded magazines nearby.
No children present or visiting.

Both are 100% reliable, get shot on drills and maintained. Full confidence in them.

Should this hardware suffer loss from a B&E while we're gone, not much loss.

 

[shouldazagged]

Gents, what loads are you using in the .38 Special?

I now use the standard pressure Buffalo Bore edition of the old +P FBI load--158gr. LSWCHP-GC (gas check), which is ballistically identical to the +P Remington version before they watered that one down. I've used it in both two- and four-inch-barreled guns.

 

[Bumpus13]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry!!

Let me see if I have this right----------------

It's three o'clock in the morning---you've been awakened from a sound sleep because you thought you heard something. Everything is pretty foggy. Then you hear it again! It's not foggy anymore----it's all hands man your battle stations---and the adrenaline pumps are wide open!! You have never been so terrified in your entire life----and you're going to select a so&so because it has the best trigger---or a such&such because it's the most accurate.

So which is it----laugh or cry?

Did any of you hardened gunfighters hear the guy who said shotgun---or the other guy who said long gun?

Think about it!!

Now think about it again!!!

Ralph Tremaine

Lookit the tough guy, internet warrior telling everybody what to do because he knows best in every situation.

Laugh or cry? I'm laughing.

 

[Birdgun]

Here's my primary home defense gun. What do you think?

S&W 4th Model "Pocket Gun" in .32 S&W (circa 1887)

Thanks for looking at my little Pocket Gun. It was at one time a great seller for personal defense.

God bless,
Birdgun

 

[ISCS Yoda]

My home defense guns are ALWAYS revolvers. There happens to be a loaded Beretta 92 available but that's because after the fire my guns went to a friend's home for storage and that Beretta was one of the few I took back. It is hidden in the living room. My bedside gun right now is my 2" customized Model 64. My 4" and 3" M686+s preceded that and some years back a 3" Lew Horton M629 which I happily got rid of. When the 686s come back they'll return to their place of "honor".

The night of the fire, when I thought there was burglary occurring in my backyard storage building, and I was asleep when the alarm went off, I popped up, grabbed the 3" 686+, got my dogs, and we trotted out the backdoor ready for a fight. Nothing there - so then I turned around and saw the fire. My point being that a .357 Magnum, loaded with whatever .38 Special I happened to have had in there, probably some kind of Hornady high performance load, is always sufficient, IMHO, for whatever I have to confront. My living room gun was an old Model 10 stoked with .38 Special Silvertips but it got pretty badly torched. None of the rounds cooked off, though. My Beretta 92 is probably stoked up with simple range ammunition presently; I did lose 1000 rounds of mil-spec 9mm HPs in the fire (4th of July!!!) and my M64 definitely just has .38 Special range ammunition in it because that was all that I had available when I brought the gun home. I do have Hornady available now so I ought to switch it but I am not concerned that .38 Special range ammo won't be effective. Not at all concerned.

 

[RMFnLA]

I keep a 12g Mossberg 500 20" Combat w/ pistol grip and my Model 64.

No photo of the 12g because this is the S&W Forum.

 

[Igiveup]

We use the Hornady Critical Defense in all the house revolvers, and the wife uses the Hornady Critical Defense Lite in her revolvers, an SP101 snub, and an M60 2 inch. I use the +P in my carry, whatever it might be on a given day. Also have an 870 ex-cop gun with #4 buck very handy. One of our best defenses are the two barking dogs that sleep in our room.

 

[rubiranch]

I think the best home defense gun is the one you're most comfortable with. The one that you can fire without having to think about it. The one that you can just point, shoot and hit your target.

I have two like that. One sits on my nightstand and the other one is my every day carry.