Home Defense

[mickey01023]

What do you people feel is the best Home Defense Firearm? Shotgun, AR Rifle, Rifle, or Pistol?

[Perkascene]

The biggest dog you can afford to feed.

[riverpirate]

100lb lab , 100 lb coonhound , 19lb male cat shaved to look like a lion , 23 lb cat that hides under the bed, oscar in a tank by the back door ......... it that doesnt work my better half cooking !

[NineseveN]

There honestly is no "best", there's the best for your individual situation, but that's about it. Only the person who's home needs defending can answer that. In some cases (rural/country areas with no near neighbors and no kids) I'd argue a .308 or 12guage shotgun. In others, I'd argue against them (living in a small house on crowded street, gun owner is recoil sensitive and won't practice with the shotgun or battle rifle). And yet in others, I'd say an AR15 loaded with Hornady TAP (small to medium house, medium neighborhood, user is proficient with a rifle) or a service caliber handgun (user is not proficient with a rifle, can't or won't train with it, many tight spaces where maneuvering a pistol is easier than a rifle).

The answer is, the gun that is chambered in a round that is sufficient enough to produce incapacitation yet is least likely to produce over-penetration to the point to being a significant and likely danger to others, provided that the user is going to train hard with the gun both on the range (firing, reloading, clearing malfunctions) and also in the home (maneuvering, clearing, fixed positions etc...).

[Emptymag]

Should I turn out the lights and lock this now that the answer has been given?

[4XLT]

what nineseven said, and whatever your more comfortable shooting....

[knight0334]

I selected "other" along with most of the standard choices..

A Short Barreled Shotgun

[renegadephoenix]

i chose shotgun, but deoending on situation it would most likely be the first firearm you can bring to bear on the intruder. for me sitting here typing this it is my Sig P220 sitting right next to the keyboard. when i go to bed it will still be the Sig P220 unless i have time to grab my Benelli M4 shotgun under the bed. while i grab for mine. my wife has her first line of defense on her side of the bed, a Sig P232 and if she has time a Rem 870 loaded with 7.5 birdshot under her side of the bed.

we have a 130 lb Black Lab/Shepard Mix as an early warning system. if that don't scare an intruder then being hit with one of the above mentioned is soon to follow.

[Ten*K]

best is what's best for YOU taking in to consideration your specifics (proximity to neighbors, physical structure of home/orientation of other family members in home, familiarity with firearm, etc.)

my vote, btw, was a shotgun.

see here for some info to help you understand the physics of shooting indoors.

http://forum.pafoa.org/general-2/466...ion-video.html

[MuzzleFlash]

Vote: Other, because I agree a few huge dogs are a great first line of defense.

My personal option is a .45 pistol with hollow points and a bright tac-light to blind an intruder with a full can of pepper spray in the other hand to hose them down.
For one of my friends I recommended a 20 gauge pump action with a folding stock. She didn't know much about guns so my reasoning was that a 20 gauge has a lower kick allowing you to recover your target faster. The stock is there if you need it, and folded if it's too cumbersome. And finally, the pump is the universal sound that sends a shiver through most criminals. Oh, and most of all it's affordable and easy to use.
If this was truly a free country I think I would opt for flash bang grenades, taser pistols, and beanbag slugs. The idea is never to kill, it's to eliminate a threat. I figure if I have an invader in my dark home, I have the home field advantage and could certainly subdue them by non-lethal means. Even with all the non-lethals I would still carry a sidearm in case plan A goes awry.