What is Preferred for Home Defense?

[tombogan03884]

That it bites them in te crotch!

  Thats MEAN, but effective 

[wisconsin]

If you use any firearm for home defense weather your home is a house or an apartment don't you have to be mindful of where that round will end up. I use a 1911 45acp for home defense but I still til this day can't pin down the proper round to use. I don't want it to pass thru the wall and injure anyone else. The closes I can come to a guess is the Fed. 165 gr. PPD Hydra-Shock round and at best that is only a guess on my part . Yes, shooting into wet phone books will give you an idea of penetration or build a wall outside and shoot through it to see what it will do. But who can do this if you don't own enough land to try it out. I know they won't let me try it at my local gun club.The factory techs all say the same thing use only 230 gr. FMJ. Well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out were that round is going to end up???

[tombogan03884]

If you use any firearm for home defense weather your home is a house or an apartment don't you have to be mindful of where that round will end up. I use a 1911 45acp for home defense but I still til this day can't pin down the proper round to use. I don't want it to pass thru the wall and injure anyone else. The closes I can come to a guess is the Fed. 165 gr. PPD Hydra-Shock round and at best that is only a guess on my part . Yes, shooting into wet phone books will give you an idea of penetration or build a wall outside and shoot through it to see what it will do. But who can do this if you don't own enough land to try it out. I know they won't let me try it at my local gun club.The factory techs all say the same thing use only 230 gr. FMJ. Well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out were that round is going to end up???

You are correct about being responsible for every round right up till the time it stops moving, might even get greif if some one steps on it and cuts their foot. My solution is to use 230 gr hollow points counting on lowwer velocity and expansion to lessen the chance of over penatration. I may be wrong, but if I wind up in court, while it may do me no good, at least I made some effort to minimize the risk.

[jaybet]

I have also read some confusing stuff on the .45 for home defense. Obviously it has the knock-down power, but I have read (forget where) that there is some concern about UNDER-penetration with .45 hollow point. Even so, it has to hurt and maim. My wife has HP in her .357 revolvers and I will keep HP in the 9, but currently in the .45 I use EFMJ when on home guard duty.  I think it's safe to say that if you are concerned about what's on the other side of the wall, ball or plain FMJ ammo is out, no matter what the caliber.

[mward58]

I prefer a long-gun for home defense. A good shotgun or rifle is far more likely to STOP a shooter than any pistol, no matter what Ultra Mega-super Magnum ammo you feed it (unless maybe it's a .500 Magnum). As for being unwieldy, Ok, I'll buy that, but I ain't stupid enough to go wandering around looking for a bad guy in the dark of the night, I pay taxes for cops to handle that. I keep my cell-phone in the bedroom with me in case the phones go out (with my cable-system phone service, no power=no phone). I'm just going to hunker down in the bedroom doorway with the ol' M-37 Ithaca 12 gauge and wait for yon evildoer to poke his head around the corner or the sound of sirens, whichever comes first. Here in Detroit the scum run in packs and only butt-crack Rambo's go runnin' around the house thinking it's the O.K. Corral!

1st, get a weapon you like and which works well

2nd, learn your house (weak points, zones of fire, construction etc.) and make it work for you. Get alarms, bars on the windows, good locks, whatever you can afford to make your home a better castle.

3rd, keep emergency supplies in the bedroom. Gun, cell phone, flashlights, BATTERIES, first-aid kit etc. Adjust according to your needs, if the cops are hours away (if you live in the real boonies) have water and snacks and meds in there, you might need them.

4th, get good training and advice, gun mags and websites are great, they are also full of mall-ninjas and chuckleheads (though not around here, of course). Use your brain, you were issued it for a reason.

Lastly, practice emergencies, from fire to intruders. Practice lets you screw up for free, waiting for the real thing can be awful expensive.

Hope this helps.   

I agree with Warhawke. My plan is similar to his. My choice of a weapon is the tried and true Remington 870 with Scattergun Technology Ghost rings and a surefire forend. I also prefer the adjustable Carolina stock. My load of choice is the Remington 00 buck reduced recoil. As stated many times here, make a choice and get familiar wit that choice. Also you need to have a home self defense plan and practice it.

[Sponsor]

[GI Joe]

I think a 105mm Howitzer loaded with canister shot will be adequate!

[tombogan03884]

I think a 105mm Howitzer loaded with canister shot will be adequate!

Definitely annoying to the neighbors. 

[AR 15 Rep]

Talk about bang for your buck..... a 105mm.... wonder if they can make that in a shorter version?

[tombogan03884]

Talk about bang for your buck..... a 105mm.... wonder if they can make that in a shorter version?

Like for Concealed carry ? Yes, it's called the hand grenade 

[Ron J]

I agree with Tom's previous comments regarding the "kibble powered alarm"  ... If someone comes to Johnson Manor they have three large hounds to get through.  Should they be wearing cups and that not convince them, the talons of my evil wife.  Last stand would be to go guns.  Now, I have to check with the Mrs. on what gun will color coordinate with my pajamas but usually, it will be either a tuned 5" S&W 625, a SIG 220(both w/Win Black Talons) or a 4" S&W 629 (w/Win. 44 SP Silvertips) that was ported and tuned by the folks at Mag-Na-Port.

Long guns make sense and Erik is right when he says that a .223 will not penetrate anymore than many handgun calibers.  My problem is that I don't have a .223 and since I already have a 22-250, I don't really need one.  Grabbing my M1A Scout would be great if I defending my house from a platoon strength foe.  My 375HH Sako if it were some pissed off bears.  Given that I have 45 yards from my front door to the sidewalk and 50 yards from my back door/deck to the fence (and then a golf course fairway), a rifle does make sense for me.  Since there is not likely to be an invasion to utilize my M1A and there are not any big bears in Oklahoma (but I hear there are flying monkeys like in the Wizard of Oz), the gun I would grab if stuff hit the fan and I needed to work outside would be my Winchester Trapper in 44 magnum.  Works great in combination with the S&W 629.