Tranquilis; Point taken 
I should have read more carefully.
Cosmopolitan
It’s cool. Completely a non-issue. You gave me a chance to expand on one of my favorite soap-box topics, and I didn’t make the point as clear as I should’ve the first time 'round, anyway.
Your instincts are right on-line, and you pointed out something every gun owner should be thinking about.
Tripler
I’m thinking that anyone that deliberately plays with bombs is too scary to mess with… [sub]Oooh, wait. I used to do that…[/sub]
By now, everyone is thinking that Tranq is some kinda major whacko on the subject of home defense… 
On the point of reloading revolvers vs autos: with speedloaders and a little practice, reload times are almost a nonissue and revolvers are far more consistent. With autos, a slide lock failure can stymie many shooters under stress, even those with experience. This is never a problem with revolvers. If you’re in battery, pulling the trigger will always drop the hammer on a live chamber. The biggest disadvantage for revolvers is the fact that the weapon has to be completly removed from the sighting line to reload. With autos, keeping the muzzle on target during reloading is easier.
One other advantage is reliablitly. As good as the Glock is, it has a terrible tendency to stovepipe when fired from a weak grip. Many other autos share this tendency, but my experience and personal testing showed the Glock to be noticably worse than Colts, Berettas, and Smiths. A jammed revolver is an exceedingly rare occurence when using factory ammo.
<bolding mine>
Precisely. Whatever you choose, you’ve got to practice. In my experience, I’ve found very little to complain about IRT Semi-auto reliablilty. Stove-piping and fail-to-feed failures are extremely rare for a practiced shooter, excepting with certain poorly designed weapons. I can count the number of failures I’ve experienced quite easily, and aside from one batch of marginal ammunition, I think I caused every one of those failures through my own actions. That’s where I got the practice bug.
That said, Wheelguns are simpler to fire, and in general, more tollerant of poor maintenance. They are also generally capable of handling more powerful loads (yes, I know that some semi-autos can fire truly amazing loads, but they cost a small fortune, and are generally poorly suited to home defense). Of course, no one in here would put a weapon away dirty, and everyone in here practices regularly… 
Problem is, most of the time it doesnt work that way. I remember one night being awakened by the sound of breaking glass. I got out of bed, grabbed my handgun, and carefully made my way down the halway. It turned out to be my framed Rush grace under fire poster had fallen off the wall, and broken out the glass. It was right next to the back door, so I had no way of knowing that it wasnt the glass in the door. Had I heard voices, or further sounds, I would have called 911, but with only the broken glass, I needed to check further. Until I got to the room, I thought I might have dreamed it. Still, if I hear something that is diffinately someone breaking in, I will go and secure my child while my wife calls 911. Any case, it requires moving through a halway in a possibly hostile situation. I know cops that have been extensivly trained with shotguns for building searches, etc. They still hate doing it.
As for the 9mm issue, The strausberg tests(although some claim they were a hoax, I tend to believe they werent) showed them to be pretty ineffective. Most police agency I know of have dropped 9mm in favor of .40 S&W because of "real world"experiances of shooting people and them not being stopped. A .45 or .40 loaded with mag safe or glaser will incapacitate most people pretty quickly.
Even if the Straussberg Tests weren’t a hoax (and the evidence suggesting just that is damning), it was crap science anyway. The supposed ‘tests’ were poorly controlled and designed to produce minimal verifiable information. Marshall & Sanow, however, have verifiable evidence on their hands, not to mention the evidence of several wars. It turns out the the difference in real-world shootings between the .45ACP and the 9mm Parabellum is negligible. The .40 S&W shows remarkable promise, and may in fact be the ultimate combat semi-auto pistol round. The jury is still out, and will be for some years, but initial reports are impressive. Marshall & Sanow were among the first to break the news on that subject. Prior to M&S’s report, the .40 S&W was sneered at as being the .40 “Smaller & Weaker”, as it is a lower-powered 10mm (the 10mm ACP being widely released just a few years before). After that report, people began to seriously consider the .40 S&W as a viable round.
And yes, if you’ve got to move about the house, a pistol can be more handy (I stated so before), but with training and practice, a shotgun can be nearly as mobile, and provides more bang.
Investigating unknown circumstance in your house at night is risky, and should be done with utmost caution. I really must point out Ayoob’s writings again. He has a whole series of books on the subject, but just reading them won’t cut it. You’ve got to practice the techniques in your own home.
At least on that we can agree on. When it comes to doing damage to your fellow man with a firearm, Ayoob is the man.
about the stausberg test, from Evan Marshalls own site
I really think this test did take place, and that it is about as accurate a test as we can come up with without shooting real people. Until something better come along, anyway.
I won’t know much about floor plans until I actually see the place I’ll be renting, so I don’t know whether I’ll need to move around or not.
OTOH, my primary defense strategy would most likely be to call 911, grab the piece, and blast any non-law enforcement type person who walks through the bedroom door.Maybe yell “GETTHEFUCKOUT!!!” a few times.
FTR, kids won’t be in the picture.
Glad all y’all had thi opportunity to hold forth… thanks again.