I know you want a gun - but have you considered getting new locks and a new security system instead of, or in addition to, a gun? Locks are legal in every jurisdiction, can be remarkably effective at keeping bad people outside, and are singularly unlikely to kill anybody by accident.
The ex-cop security guy that visited my company recommended:
[ol]
[li]Don’t get a gun[/li][li]If you must ignore 1, get a pump-action shotgun and make sure you do whatever it is you do that makes the characteristic loud nouse when priming it.[/li][/ol]
What he said. (I swear silenus is my twin brother of a different mother)
Dogs have one or two big advantages over guns
- A barking dog is proactive, as it will keep someone from breaking in. A gun is generally reactive (You have to hear the break in)
- A dog is effective when you are not home (assuming you leave the dog home)
- Hi Opal
If you decide to go with a firearm I would go with a shotgun with an short barrel like this one. You don’t have to go with a 12 gauge, and IMHO you don’t have to go with 00 buck either. (for a data point I have heard that in the old days, outlaw bikers carried cut down .410s and referred to them as an alley sweepers, as it could sweep an alley clean) But of what ever gauge you choose a short barrel will be much easier to use inside a house.
If you decide to go with a hand gun never forget the old saying: “Don’t get into a gun fight with an gun whose caliber does not start with .4.”
I don’t know; the 10mm Auto may have some argument with this.
This said, the 10mm Auto is the .40S&W’s older, louder, angrier brother, so it may get a pass.
You know that, and professional soldiers know that, but every Tom, Dick and Harry who buys these magazines does not. I have often likened those magazines (I’m thinking Guns & Ammo, and American Handgunner) to porn for gun nuts. They have lovingly photographed, well-lit closeups of the firearms, just like Playboy. Basically, these publications are shills for the gun companies that fill their pages with ads.
I own three handguns myself, but I am under no illusions as to my prowess with them. They require real training and practice to use well, and if I were in serious mortal danger, I know I would simply be spraying bullets and hoping to hit something.
As for the topic of this thread, it’s been said, but go with the shotgun. But consider a 20-gauge instead of a 12. The 12 kicks like a sonofabitch. Keep it secured from casual discovery by children or visitors, and get a dog, too. Even a tiny dog is fine, you just need one that can make noise. If someone sneaks into your house and surprises you, it won’t matter if you have a Gatling gun next to your bed.
Most importantly, watch whom you discuss your ownership of a gun with. Some people get very strange and irrational when this subject comes up, acting as if merely owning a firearm makes you the next thing to a criminal. You never can be sure who these people are, so keep it quiet.
Use the right tool for the job. 20 inches of barrel sticking out in front of you might not be optimal (or is it optimum?) in some situations, just as a 4.5 inch barrel and subsonic round isn’t always the best choice. They also may be easier to store safely for some people.
There are pros and cons to every type of firearm, that’s why different types are made.
20 Gauge, pistol grip shotgun, pump action. If you forget to pump or load or disengage the safety and he is still coming at you, you now have a club, which has been defending homes for 50,000 years.
Get training, practice with unloaded weapons, except the club part, it is always ready and never needs reloading.
What you really need is the patented Larson Dobie-o-Matic.™
Is this good for anyhting but looking cool?
Of course it is. It is an exceptionally mobile home defense weapon. There’s no possibility of getting hung up while bringing it to bear, and at home ranges it would be quite effective.
A Desert Eagle is a “cool guy” weapon, lots of bang with limited utility and reliability. I have no reason to believe that the Serbu would be anything but effective. See for yourself.
As kids we were always told by my dad that handguns exist as a method to allow you to fight your way to your main weapon if you were to become separated from it before the fight starts.
We’ve done this subject at hand plenty of times, but I was reading some of the above mentioned handgun periodicals just this weekend and came across an article for a Taurus Judge, which is a revolver that can be reliably and accurately loaded with either .45’s or .410 shotshells. I suppose if someone really couldn’t make up their mind between a handgun and a shotgun for home defense, it’s the best of both worlds. Plus you can stack the load in the cylinder and go with 2 birdshot, 2 .45 and two .410 slugs. (on edit, it’s only a 5 shot cylinder, but you get the gist)
That will handle a lot of whatever. Looks like a nifty gun, I can’t wait to give it a whirl.
Slightly OT, but I own the .50 BMG made by Serbu. Nice rifle.
One thing about a shotgun is that it’s incredibly loud. If you fire a 9mm indoors without hearing protection, your ears will ring for a little while, but you’d be okay. Try the same thing with a 12-gage, and you’ll be lucky if you don’t permanently damage your hearing. It’s a monster.
Consider the 20-gage, which is a much friendlier gun, plenty powerful, and a lot more fun to shoot at the range. My 12-gage collects dust because I simply do not want to shoot it. There’s a point when the kick ceases to be an annoyance and starts to become a real problem. I develop an unconscious flinch when I shoot it because my body knows it will be punished.
It holds only 3 rounds, and has tremendous recoil in 12 gauge, as the video makes clear. Those seem like reasons to me. You’d better make those three shots count.
Not to be a total stick-in-the-mud, but the Taurus Judge seems like a marketing gimmick to me, not a gun for serious work. What can be achieved with a .410 shotxhell from a handgun that couldn’t be achieved with a .45 Colt shotshell? And the .410 slug is no ball-buster; it’s actually pretty weak. If a person needs a handgun, carry a handgun. If he needs a shotgun, carry a shotgun.
If I may ask, what reasons gave the security guy for this, and what did he recommend instead?
I’m from the Netherlands, and the idea of personally owning a gun (or, for that matter, anyone owning a gun, even the cops) gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Yes, this is a good idea. But I prefer BB shot instead. Less chance of the shot killing an innocent on the other side of a wall.
I suggest a DBL-bbl exposed hammer “coach gun”, in 20ga. The hammers are clear and obvious to anyone - when hammers are back, gun is ready to fire.
A nice revolver is a second choice. .38spl is fine.
BUT do listen to all the good advice about training, safety procedures and the like.
That video just confirmed what I thought. Difficult to aim and tremendous kickback.
I will say this: There are many things a person can do to make their home secure BEFORE they go buy a gun that many people don’t try. Get stronger doors/locks, get good exterior lighting all around the house connected to motion sensors, get a dog and an alarm system, maybe even a few exterior cameras.
Getting a gun is a serious thing, and actually using it is even more serious. Few people really live with such danger they actually need one. Having said THAT, there’s still the old adage, better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it, and guns are a lot cheaper than all the stuff I listed above.
As for your phobia about guns, it’s just like gettng used to anything else. Face your fears.
Of course, you might consider practicing the club tactics too. The Air Force taught me that using my rifle as a blunt weapon is 10% perfect technique and 120% sounding like a cross between a Wookie and a Spartan, only scarier. Partially to convince your enemy that you’re about to knock his freaking head off, and partially to convince yourself of the same.
And then they also stress to never club at an enemy’s head or neck unless killing him is absolutely necessary, with the techniques we were taught, we basically used a variety of attacks to rapidly bludgeon him in the chest until he falls down. If you GOT to use a melee attack, you want to be the first one to do it of course. They never taught us any parrying techniques, so I’d probably be in a bad way if the other guy ran out of ammo first. 
Having spent a huge amount of time searching apartment buildings with a shotgun, a shot gun is the LAST weapon I would recomend for home defense.
Even the short barreled varieties are akward to walk through a building and go through doorways with. You stand a good chance of having the weapon deflected or flat out taken away from you.
Mind you, if you are barricaded in your room with and someone kicks in your front door and anounces BURGLER! A shotgun is your best bet. But if you hear something in the middle of the night and need to go check it out, a .40 cal auto, held close to the body (not starsky and hutch style) gives you the best chance.
Glock is good, I personally have a Berreta 96 in .40 cal, and a Colt revolver loaded with magsafe in my headboard. And a pitbull at the foot of the bed. Thats the most important thing, someone breaks in, they trip over the pitbull and I get off the first shot.