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What do YOU use for home defense?

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Aaron1124

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What type of firearm do you prefer to use for personal home defense?

Many favor the shotgun, due to it's incredible stopping power, and not having to aim it as well as a pistol, which would especially come in handy if you're dealing with an intruder and your lights are off. Many favor the shotgun because of the automatic fear an intruder may have if he hears the pump.

Many favor the pistol, because it's small, light, and is easily accessible, and you don't have to worry about a long barrel when you're in a tight hallway.

Then when it comes to choosing a pistol, caliber size is a great debate. Many favor the .45 ACP due to it's incredible stopping power. Others like the 9mm, .38 , .40 S&W and .357 magnum. All have good stopping power, but you also don't want to over penetrate either, and end up shooting out of your house or in another room.

I personally like the 9mm and .40 S&W in Hollow Point. Both have good stopping power, but aren't over penetrating. I would definitely use a laser sight on it for use in the dark.

Thoughts?
 
R

reconvic

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Using the same as I do in my carry weapon. Since I shoot almost exclusive .45
I like and settled with Gold Dots, which I make up on my reloader and it clocks in at 880 fps. So it is good for Self Defense. As most any match shooter will tell you the minute you change anything the course of the bullet will also change.
One reason I carry one holster in the same position always if I carry Open or concealed.
 
W

Woodchuck

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I have 2 shotguns and a 45 loaded and placed throughout my residence at all times.

Always 1 nearby.

edit---I used to have the 12's loaded with 3.5" OO buck but after watching "Best Defense" Wed. night I have since switched to regular trap loads. The premise being that in a self defense situation of 15 ft or less the trap loads do a hell of alot of damage but without all the pass through damage to personal residence as well as possible family members in other rooms.
 
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N00blet45

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I'd choose my AK with my shotgun being a close second. The main reason I'd choose the AK over the shotgun is because there is no need to manually reload after each shot. The 30rd magazine doesn't hurt either. I have to admit though the shotgun makes a very audible "you're f***ed" sound, the AK isn't exactly cutesy though. Also I have more experience with the AK.

The main downside is the penetration issue. However I only consider it a minor risk because once the bullet hits something (wall, bad guy, furniture, etc) it's going to lose a lot of its energy and velocity.

In reality it'd probably be whatever is closest.
 
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Nutczak

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We have a few different things, First and foremost isour German Shepherd, if an intruder happens to make it past that, then they got my GF to deal with, her "first grab" weapon is a 20GA pump shotgun, with a 9mm for back-up.

Now if all this noise happened to wake me up and the threat is not neutralized or didn't ran off on his own.
Then I reach for my .357 revolver. It has glaser safety slugs loaded every other round in the cylinder with JHP's in between. if that isn't enough to stop the threat, then i'll just give the guy whatever he is after becuase if his effort.
 
Deanimator

Deanimator

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Handguns, a 4" S&W Model 29 with Speer 200gr. JHP .44 Specials right now. I usually leave out whatever I've been carrying, but in the hot weather I've been carrying my 2" Model 36. I prefer something larger for home defense, so I have the .44 Magnum and the .38 out.
 
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Don Barnett

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Mossburg 500 with 18" Barrel and 00 Buck. Mossburg makes a nice wall mounted lock rack. The key is in an inconspicuous place...on the gun itself.

Also, an M1 Garand is always in my workroom; with loaded clips.
 
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Legba

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I leave whatever I was carrying that day by the bed. I mostly just hunt with my shotgtuns, although I do have one that would be good for household duty. My rifles would be pretty well useless, unless I wanted to take out the neighbors at the same time as an intruder. Hasn't come to that yet. Still, I bet nobody would laugh if I were outside in my shorts holding a burglar captive at the end of a FAL or Dragunov, say.

-ljp
 
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Don Barnett

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My brother who lives in Maryland, just bought a 12 guage pump action shotgun from Dicks. The brand is an offshoot of Harrington and Richardson...made in China I am sad to say. But, he bought it because he wanted a gun NOW, and 00 Buckshot was the only ammo on the shelf. The gun is obviously set up for home defense with a 18" cylinder choke barrel, and under $200.00. It is pretty nice...his family used to be really ANTI-gun...but have changed their minds.

What is funny is that a while back, I traded him a Rossi .357 Magnum revolver for an outboard motor. He has tried to go to ranges in Maryland to shoot the gun, but they won't allow him because he cannot prove that he bought it and registered it in Maryland.

I am glad I do not live in that state.
 
C

Chaingun81

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To all those using rifles for home defense: please don't move into my neighbourhood! I don't want to be hit by your 7.62x39 or 30-06 after it went through the BG, closet door, 3 layers of dry wall and a piece of furniture. And yes, chances are it will still have energy to kill.

Using rifles for home defense is outright reckless and dangerous - the amount of overpenetration of a decent rifle round is for sure more than you can afford.
 
A

AWDstylez

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Chaingun81 wrote:
To all those using rifles for home defense: please don't move into my neighbourhood! I don't want to be hit by your 7.62x39 or 30-06 after it went through the BG, closet door, 3 layers of dry wall and a piece of furniture. And yes, chances are it will still have energy to kill.

Using rifles for home defense is outright reckless and dangerous - the amount of overpenetration of a decent rifle round is for sure more than you can afford.
Click to expand...

x2

Unless you're the only one in the house, with no neighbors for miles, using a rifle is idiotic at best. You could probably put a even a medium sized, FMJ rifle round (.223 or 7.62x39) in one side of a small/medium sized house and out the other side.
 
C

Chaingun81

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AWDstylez wrote:
Chaingun81 wrote:
To all those using rifles for home defense: please don't move into my neighbourhood! I don't want to be hit by your 7.62x39 or 30-06 after it went through the BG, closet door, 3 layers of dry wall and a piece of furniture. And yes, chances are it will still have energy to kill.

Using rifles for home defense is outright reckless and dangerous - the amount of overpenetration of a decent rifle round is for sure more than you can afford.
Click to expand...

x2

Unless you're the only one in the house, with no neighbors for miles, using a rifle is idiotic at best. You could probably put a even a medium sized, FMJ rifle round (.223 or 7.62x39) in one side of a small/medium sized house and out the other side.
Click to expand...


Absolutely. There was a test somewhere online where they shoot different loads at several layers of drywall and show the result. Every single load went through a standard house wall (not where the stud is), even 22 and birdshot. 30ish caliber rifle rounds were blasting through many and many layers.

Yes, only exception for a rifle would be if there is nobody else inside your home and you are living at a ranch in the desert or in the mountains with no people for many miles around. And even then, I don't really understand why you would need a rifle for SD inside your home...
 
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Nutczak

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I like the shotgun as an all-around firearm for defense and survival,

But I think an AR-15 in pistol configuration would make one heck of a nice home defense weapon too. The shorter barrel would make it easy to use in tight spaces, it would knock off some of the penetration and loading the ammo with
highly-frangible projectiles would help too.
You could even get the 100 Rnd drum-mags available currently.

But hands dowm a pistol-gripped or folding stock 12GA is hard to beat. Rubber pellets for the first 3 rounds would be even nicer. You could issue some much deserved pain and knock-down without needing to take a life in those states
without a decent castle doctrine.
 
Sonora Rebel

Sonora Rebel

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This... plus several strategically placed pistols. Not counting the one I have on me at all practical times.



Rubber pellets? LMAO! More like first two rounds are 000 Buck follwed by semi-jacketed hollow point slugs. 'They wanta' party... I got the noisemakers.
 
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Don Barnett

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I had the same idea once...I carried a revolver whereby the first round would be one of those "snake-shot" rounds. My idea was that a perpetrator would be "stung" by the pellets and if he decided not to retreat, the next five would be hollowpoints.

A friend of mine who was an FBI agent was looking at my gun and said: "What the 'F' is this?" I explained my theory and he said: "Are you crazy? You want the first round to end the confrontation. You are leaving yourself open to all sorts of lawsuits."
 
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