Firearms Stack Exchange Archive

Best Gun for home defense

I’m looking for a gun for target shooting and home defense. I was looking at a 9MM but from what I have read a 9mm has more penetration then I want. I was looking at a .45acp because it has the stopping power I want, but wont go though several walls.

Also should I look at a semi-auto or a revolver and why?

Answer 60

There is no all-around best gun for home defense - you need to find the best gun for you. The most important factor is that you can fire the gun comfortably and accurately. The best way to find this is to try firing several types of guns - some ranges will rent various models of guns to you to try, and some have classes where you can try several different types of guns. Your local gun clubs may also be able to help you out.

The next factor is to get effective ammunition for the weapon. Effective ammunition is generally available in calibers 9mm and up. Bigger calibers may be more effective, but have more recoil, which can make you shoot more slowly and less accurately. Also remember that common calibers, like 9mm and 45ACP generally have cheaper practice ammunition available. You should use JHP for personal defense for reasons best covered in another question. Speer Gold Dot and Winchester Ranger are generally considered good brands of JHP.

As for types of weapon, semi-autos are more effective because they hold more ammunition and are easier to reload, however, you need to practice more to know how to load and unload them. If you know you won’t be able to practice a lot, a revolver is a good choice because it is easy to see if it is loaded or not.

Keep in mind also that any bullet powerful enough to reliably stop an attacker is also powerful enough to penetrate several walls and cause serious injury to anyone on the other side. There is no way around this. It is thus best to use lights to make sure you can see the attacker, arrange your home and defense plan in such a way that no innocents are in the line of fire, and practice enough that your shots are as accurate as possible.

Answer 64

This is a very subjective topic and cannot be answered definitively. Basically there are just a few things to keep in mind:

  1. Get something that fits comfortably in your hands.
  2. Get something that you will practice with often. Type of gun and caliber matters a whole heck of a lot less than your general shooting skill. Remember, shot placement matters most when you need to stop someone/something, not the relative power of the round or its physical size.
  3. Make sure you can handle its recoil comfortably with quick repeated shots.
  4. Load it with defensive-type rounds from a reputable manufacturer (no handloads!). Cor-Bon specifically designs their hollow-points so that they will not over-penetrate, no matter the caliber. These won’t be any good for wilderness/animal defense though, just humans.
  5. Keep all safety rules and force escalation rules in mind if you ever need to defend yourself.

That’s it. Everything else is subjective.

That said, I keep a nice inexpensive Mossberg 500 Tactical Persuader as my home defense weapon, loaded with Hornady FPD 00 Buckshot. I carry a Glock 26 with a +2 mag extension as my concealed carry weapon, loaded with Cor-Bon 9mm JHP +P. These may not work for you, like I said, it’s all subjective.

Answer 48

Use the correct jacketed hollow point and you won’t have to worry as much about over penetration. 9mm is a fine choice for home defense.

That being said, any pistol caliber will go through several sheetrock walls before stopping if you miss your target. The best tool to minimize this would be a rifle in .223 since the bullet will tumble on contact and use up much of its energy. A pistol is not the best tool for home defense.

I would recommend the largest semi automatic pistol with the highest capacity you can find, afford and shoot comfortably. I would also recommend something with a rail to mount a weapon light to.

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