for home protection when carrying isnt a concern...

[chk]

Since the original question was about a house gun,I'll have to say letting someone get close enough to take away/disable a firearm is letting things go too far. The firearm should be the last line of defense. When our dog is gone I'll look into an alarm system. Waiting until the perp is in the bedroom is way too late. That said,I'll stick with A DA revolver that fits her hand. A DA revolver can sit for a long time without spring set problems and always be ready to go.

[hntngirl]

I have a Smith & Wesson 12ga that would probably be my first choice. I also have a .357mag, but I'd bet there isn't a sound in the world to make an intruder think twice like the sound of a shell being jacked into a shotgun!  :twisted:

[KING]

:shock:    Here is some food for thought.   First...you never want to have the bad guy hear you cycle the action on your pump/semi-action shotgun.  Now i know it sounds good in the movies and it is supposed to be an attention getter.  But..as a 32 year LEO and an instructer...if I ever heard of a dip schmidt rookie stunt like that going on there would be some problems for the gun handler.  First...that cycling action tells the bad guy exactly where you are...if he had a doubt..he does not now have one.  Second...if he has a partner with him they now know which way to head ya off,or get behind you based on knowing your position.  That is really stupid.  And last but not least.  What ya gunna do when you do the macho thing and make some noise with the action and....you hear the same thing  from the bad guy...not good at this point.   NEVER...NEVER....NEVER.......  let the bad guy know where you are at,and never let him know what your weapon situation is.  Suprise is your best element,use your head.  Not what some idiot is telling you that might work in a very obtuse situation.  The less the bad guys knows,the better your outcome and survival of a bad situation.   Stay safe......King :roll:  

[hntngirl]

Sorry, King. That last part was just humor, not meant to be taken as good advice.  :wink:  :wink:

[myronman3]

well king,  i have to disagree with you.   if someone is in my house,  especially at night,  i have the advantage.   no one but my wife and i are going to be able to move around without a light in the house (espicially with our 85 lb rottweiler lurking).   and with the position of the bedrooms in the house,  said bad guy has got to get by me first.   i can assure you, it wouldnt be easy.   even if the bad guy knowhere i am at.   besides,  maybe that is what i want.   now someone will inevitably mention liabilty concerns: my outlook says that if you want to steal from me, fine; i have insurance (it aint worth taking a life to me).now if someone has entered the house, i see that as a direct threat to my family's welfare and that person/s will die.   the element of surprise is good to have,  but in strange surroundings when you are playing for keeps,  the knowlege that you no longer have the element of surprise and the homeowner is armed (and ready) might just save someone from having to shoot someone else.   besides,  i dont keep my house guns with a round in the chamber because of the children around.     i will say,lastly, that if you were to cycle the action;  you had better be ready to react.

[HappyHunter]

I proposed this "best house gun" question to a guy at gun club and he had two guns for his and his wife's protection:

12 ga shotgun, with a special load of some type of plastic shot that will not go thru drywall.

45 acp, with laser grips.

He maintains that if you cycle either weapon it will deter most evil dooers.  If you line up the laser on the bad guys face it will cause a moisture problem.

Also if you cycle a gun one of three things needs to happen, and happen fast.
1.  bad guy does and about face and runs.

2.  bad guy surrenders (starts another set of problems on "now what").

3.  bang,bang, bang.

If you have this weapon out you must be willing and able to take a life.. This is perhaps the scariest part of situation. :shock:

[1GLOCK]

M85 38spl. I love mine, its small enough to fit a womans hand, light and packs plenty of punch at point blank range (house range) but i think anything in a snub revolver would be fine. For ease of use you cant beat a DA revolver. On the other hand, 12ga 00buck sure would knock em down but its a little hard on the woodwork.

[KING]

:-D   Hntn.  I know it was humor,and i did take it as such.  It was a kinda knee jerk reaction to the cycle action type of thingie.  Glad to have ya on the forums.  Ya gotta remember.  After so many year of chasing the BG i try to get people to think like me.  I apoligize if ya took it as anything else. Seen way to many things go wrong and its my mind set. Stay safe.  King :-D  :-D

[dragthewaters]

I have a story for you guys, my grandparents lived in plainfield along time ago, and my grandmother had had 2 kids, and my grandfather was at work and he kept a brownig 10 guage, "the old ones with the old ringy action, loud too" and he kept it ther for her with 2 rounds in the mag, and none chambered, well it was late, and there dog, King, started barking when he was outsid as she was ironing or folding clothes, and well she was worried cause king never barked for nothing, and she set the gun next to her, well about a minute later she hears someone pulling out the screen and she threw a round in the chamber and whoever it was,m was gone in an instant she said, she looked out the window and nobody was there, she called my grandfather and he got home, there was a screwdriver laying on the ground next to the screen. So as for the action scaring someone, it is possible, but also possible for the intruder to fight back,

Now i think a 9mm with a tac lite is a good choice cause of the ability to see the person, and you can pull off shots with little recoil incase of a miss, but i also like the 12guage with buckshot, thats what is next to my bed, and it will tear up woodwork, but more importantly tear up whoever made the mistake to come to your house

[PaulS]

Ther are many reasons why a shotgun is the best home defense weapon.
1. easy to point in the right direction
2. hard to point in the wrong direction
3. will kill effectively even with a less than perfect shot
4. psychologically intimidating (most people want to be buried in one piece)
5. a missed shot is less likely to kill a neighbor (shot doesn't penetrate exterior walls well)

No other weapon has all these advantages. You will notice that I did not list the pattern as one of the advantages - at home defense ranges there is no more pattern to a shotgun than there is for a 44 magnum.

PaulS

[dragthewaters]

I agree with paul, shotgun is probably the Best you can get

[A62Rambler]

Back in my married days, I got a 38 snubbie for my wife. She hated it! Let her shoot some of my guns in cluding single and double action autos. She ended up buying herself a Walther P-38. Then she sold that and got a Smith 4904. Point being that in spite of me suggesting and pushing for a double action revolver she liked the double action auto better. Best to get her input for whatever you buy(handgun or shotgun). Better even yet is to let her try them if possible.