Best gun for home protection?

I gave my opinion already, but in the end any weapon (except a scoped rifle) will do fine if you shoot it enough to know it. The biggest factor, in my opinion, is your desire to have a weapon anybody in your family can shoot. To me that narrows your choices to ease of use and low recoil.

Truth is that 99% of bad guys will begin back pedaling the moment you fire the first round. They may do some shooting with their head ducked as they make for the door, but almost every time they don't want to tangle with someone that can readily KILL them.

That said, I subscribe to the ten rules of a gunfighter which I will post here:

1. Bring a gun, preferably atleast 2 guns.
2. Anybody worth putting a bullet in is worth putting two bullets in.
3. Only hits count.
4. If your shooting stance is perfect you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.
5. Keep shooting until the threat is no longer a threat.
6.If you can choose what to bring to a gun fight bring a long gun and a friend.
7. In 10 years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived and who died.
8. If you are not shooting you should be reloading or running.
9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards are more dependent on "pucker factor" than any inherent accuracy of a weapon.
10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they will have to beat you to death with it because it will be empty.

reply to post by stupid girl

1. Not gonna swordfight with over my figurative statement about not being prepared for the recoil of a shotgun.

Well considering the rest of the 'advice' you proffered it was hard to tell what was 'figurative'.

2. I said hip was simply my personal preference. My. Personal. And yes, it is not easy to aim from the hip. But with enough practice, you learn the nuances in aiming from that position and acclimate to an additional shot perspective, rather than being limited to shoulder-only perspective.

Shooting from the hip is idiotic. You lose the ability to aim effectively, lose the ability to make an effective follow up shot, and pretty much lose any credibility with anyone who has ever shot a gun. You don't make hip shots. Sure, in a very limited set of circumstances a hip shot is viable, but thinking it is better in any way than a shoulder shot is ridiculous. There is the Oh sh## hip shot. That's if you've already done everything wrong.

3. I never guaranteed anyone's safety. From what I understand, the OP has a teenager and a wife in the house. The likelihood of a fatality with a rubber round is embarassingly less than that of a lead round.

OK, here

but neither one of those would kill your child or yourself should the unthinkable happen and that first round be accidentally engaged.

You clearly and falsely stated that one of those rounds was non lethal, even to a child.

Sorry I crashed the men's only thread about guns

I'm not that guy. I know very well that there are many women out there with much more experience and capability with a firearm than myself. You're just not one of them.

benelli m4 pistol grip automatic shotgun.
it is expensive, but easy to shoot.
virtually no kick compared to standard shotguns.
the force of the shot is absorbed by the recoiling bolt. and is gas operated.
holds 5+1 in the chamber. slugs or shot.
anyone can handle a benelli, including a child no problem.
beneliiusa

don't buy a glock, they suck.

buy a pistol with a fixed barrel, not a floating barrel.

fixed barrels are more accurate.

i had a springfield xd, i couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with that piece of crap.-floating barrel..

just bought a walther ppk, made by smith&wesson.
what a great gun, very accurate. only .380 though.
but small easy to handle, and will get the job done.

reply to post by Domo1


Alrighty then.
Thanks for sharing your opinions on my colossal stupidity.

reply to post by stupid girl


I would hardly say you crashed a men's only thread. I don't think any of us were trying to make that so. I apologize on my own behalf for making you feel as an outcast in this thread. That was not my intention. Just as sixswornsermon said, "It's your home, your rules." I never said your way was wrong, and I never said my way was the best. I was only offering my constructive criticism based off of my own personal experiences, and not attacking, degrading, or otherwise belittling you, your experiences, or your beliefs. Just trying to have a friendly discussion.

I'm confused as to your thoughts on responsible gun ownership though. You claim that having the less than lethal round as the first chambered should make people feel more comfortable if they have a child. The kids who find guns and play with them are more likely to shoot themselves at close range, so I doubt a less than lethal round would actually be less than lethal at that close range when impacting the fragile body of a child. Why not keep your firearms in a locked cabinet? That is responsible gun ownership, especially if you have children in the house.

reply to post by stupid girl


Sorry for misreading your first post. I did read that as at the front door, not just for it. My mistake.

And, despite the small space, I think it would still be easy for someone to miss with a shotgun. A shotgun isn't a magical kill everything in front of it weapon. Yeah, it will certainly do some damage, but only if your shot is true. And like I said before, shooting paper targets, is a far cry from shooting a living, moving human being.

You're correct that it doesn't take a couple seconds to pump a shotgun. You can absolutely pump, fire, and cycle the round in just over a second. But what about aiming? Not many people, aside from professional target shooters, can do that and keep their aim true, especially when firing from the hip. Firing from the hip gives you almost zero true aiming capability. If you can do all that, you must be either Annie Oakley reincarnated or a real-life Rambo.

reply to post by Advantage


Absolutely! Aside from training of handling a firearm, preventative measures can definitely deter an intruder! It's kind of like The Club on a car steering wheel. Does it really do anything? No. It can be easily cut off the steering wheel and the car can be driven. But is it easier to steal the next car over that doesn't have The Club? Absolutely! It's as simple as installing deadbolts, lights, and locks on your windows.

We also have motion light along the side of our home, where there are essentially blind spots. We also have them in the basement level windows, just in case. I like to call them insecurity lights, just because they go off for almost no reason at all. We have a lot of stray cats in the neighborhood, so they're almost always on. We also have a video system. We run a business out of our home, so it's mostly for that.

We also have four dogs, which the neighbors are all afraid of. We just tell them that they bite so to leave them alone. Keeping the neighbor kids afraid of the dogs helps too, we believe.

Originally posted by bjax9er
i had a springfield xd,

Weird you say that.

I love my XD .45 and feel that it is very accurate within it's intended range.

Of course, I did upgrade the sights and trigger.....

Originally posted by cmdrkeenkid
I'm confused as to your thoughts on responsible gun ownership though. You claim that having the less than lethal round as the first chambered should make people feel more comfortable if they have a child. The kids who find guns and play with them are more likely to shoot themselves at close range, so I doubt a less than lethal round would actually be less than lethal at that close range when impacting the fragile body of a child. Why not keep your firearms in a locked cabinet? That is responsible gun ownership, especially if you have children in the house.

We store our guns responsibly. My bedside revolver is in a hand-activated gun safe. My Father-In-Law was the Chief of Police of a town in Arkansas, God rest his soul, and he was an extremely avid gun sportsman. He took great effort in teaching his 3 sons, one of whom is my husband, respect and safety of firearms from the time they were born.
My husband is now an avid gun sportsman just like his father was. I am not as thrilled by the sport as he, however I respect his interest and he has his own room under lock and key for the sole purpose of his hobby. I won't lie, there have been a couple of times in in the 7 years since our first child was born that we have vehemently disagreed in regard to how best rear children in a home which is owned by a gun enthusiast, et ux, but like all things that most people have their own opinion about, we work through it towards a mutual goal-- our children's safety.
Sadly, the reality is that many children have accidental deaths by firearms. They are accidents that happen by freak chance, neglect, ignorance or misfortune....none in which the blame can truly be categorized as certain types of firearms, or particular frame of circumstances.
I have learned over the years that gun ownership is a touchy subject and when I tell someone that "We are responsible with our gun ownership," there is nothing else I can say to make them believe me-- they either will or they won't and I can't lose sleep over someone else's opinion.

And, despite the small space, I think it would still be easy for someone to miss with a shotgun. A shotgun isn't a magical kill everything in front of it weapon. Yeah, it will certainly do some damage, but only if your shot is true. And like I said before, shooting paper targets, is a far cry from shooting a living, moving human being.

I don't think any weapon is a magic kill-all, but it is my personal opinion that a shotgun is your best bet if you're in a hallway standing in front of a 3 foot wide door frame. It is my personal opinion that a shotgun is your best bet in most close-proximity situations.
I agree, a stationary paper target is most definitely not a moving person. I would suppose no one really knows how it would exactly all play out in their particular circumstances until they have that encounter.

You're correct that it doesn't take a couple seconds to pump a shotgun. You can absolutely pump, fire, and cycle the round in just over a second. But what about aiming? Not many people, aside from professional target shooters, can do that and keep their aim true, especially when firing from the hip. Firing from the hip gives you almost zero true aiming capability. If you can do all that, you must be either Annie Oakley reincarnated or a real-life Rambo.

LOL...not hardly. Maybe I'm just describing my situation poorly?? I really don't understand why people are freaking out over my comments. This is our downstairs shotgun:


A Remington 870 Express Tactical Pistol Grip

This is how I have to shoot it:


except I hold it a little bit lower, above my actual hip, just below my ribcage, my right leg way back and lean forward a little into the shot. I cannot shoot this gun from my shoulder, all my practice with it is shooting it butted up against the meaty part of my side in between my lower ribs and upper hip. And I'm not saying that's Gospel, all I'm saying is that is what works best for me, that is what feels most comfortable and that is the stance that I have adapted to for someone my size using my particular style of shotgun for the purpose it is intended--which is close range, most specifically anyone trying to bust through an exterior door or window.

Thankfully, I'm not the only idiot that feels more comfortable shooting in this position:
Pistol Grip Shotgun Technique

Shotguns from the hip

reply to post by stupid girl


I'm certainly not "freaking out" over your comments. You're posting on a discussion board, I'm responding in turn. Isn't that what we're here for?

Actually, most child related deaths with firearms aren't accidental. This data is a bit dated, based off data from 1999, but it probably still holds up.

In 1999, 3,385 children and youth ages 0-19 years were killed with a gun. This includes homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries.
This is equivalent to about 9 deaths per day, a figure commonly used by journalists.
The 3,385 firearms-related deaths for age group 0-19 years breaks down to:

214 unintentional
1,078 suicides
1,990 homicides
83 for which the intent could not be determined
20 due to legal intervention

Source

That 214 unintentional deaths, which has to be accidents is about 6.32% of all the deaths in children related to firearms that year. Even if you factor in the 83 that were indeterminate, you'd still wind up with a total of 297 deaths, or 8.77%, of firearm related deaths in children. The leaders, homicide and suicide, make up 58.79% and 31.85% of gun deaths that year, respectively.

Maybe you're not describing shooting your shotgun well enough, because it sure sounds like you can hip fire a pistol grip, pump-action shot gun rapidly and with extreme accuracy. If it works for you, it works for you. That's great! I just find that hard to believe is all.

I've hip fired a Mossberg 500SP with a chainsaw grip as fast as I could, and even with the added leverage to keep the muzzle down it was still a beast to keep under control. I'm not a big guy, but I'm no weakling either. By the time I ran through the six shells I was high and wide to the left. Hardly accurate, but fun as hell to do. This is why, based off of my own personal experience, I doubt your claims. I couldn't even imagine how bad it would be without the added leverage from the chainsaw grip.

SKS with a bullpup kit on it. GET SOME!