What Handgun to Buy ? Deacon.........

[BillEllis]

I'm not familiar with the combo in a Taurus, but it's a pretty good wheel gun. And a 410 shotgun shell would be good within the confines of a house. The Thompson Center Contender used to have this combo, but California quickly put it on the "no no" list. The TCC was single shot so that's not a consideration anyway.

GB... do ya think maybe there's a reason for the $150 price tag on the HP?

What about the Taurus Judge? A revolver that can shoot both .45 rounds and shotgun shells?

Anyone have any experience with this handgun? Strictly used for home protection...

 

[Mordecai]

There are a lot of good suggestions here on this thread. Personally, I would not recommend a handgun as a weapon of choice for home defense. Stray bullets can too easily find their way into your neighbor's house. My choice is 12 guage short barrel. Mossberg is good for that.

+1 If you're getting a gun purely for home defense, shotgun all the way.



Otherwise, I love my Sig 229, it shoots like a dream.

 

[SRock]

This is always a great question. Search the forum and you will find other posts on this same subject. The best advice any of us can give you is don't buy model "A" or model "B" because someone on here recommends it. Treat a handgun purchase like a car purchase. If you can't arrange to "test drive" it, don't buy it. Find a range that rents guns and try a variety of sizes, calibers and autos vs. wheel guns (if you are interested in both). If anyone else in your household may need to rely on it, or shoot it recreationally you both (or all) need to shoot the guns and find a happy medium. I am a firearms instructor/gunsmith with over a decades experience. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions.

 

[whodat]

What about the Taurus Judge? A revolver that can shoot both .45 rounds and shotgun shells?

Anyone have any experience with this handgun? Strictly used for home protection...

Not a bad firearm, but I'm going to nitpick.

First nitpick, OP is in California, the land of everything-fun-is-illegal. That firearm is illegal here.

Second nitpick is the Judge, like other .410/.45 combo guns, shoots .45 colt, not .45 ACP -- not a big deal if you don't mind the extra cost and pain in the butt with the ammo. Thinking in terms of easy availability, I'd steer clear of that one.

Oh, just to chime in again about the .357/.38 S&Ws -- you might one day decide you want a rifle of some kind to be able to reach out a little further. You can always get a marlin model 1894, which can shoot .357 or .38 -- it's a GREAT little lever action... smooth. like butter.

My suggestion of pistol:
ANY ONE OF S&W's .357/.38+P (like the model 620 pictured here)

or
ANY ONE OF TAURUS's of the same caliber (like the model 627 pictured here)

AND

Marlin .357/.38 model 1894 carbine

 

[dustin]

There are a lot of good suggestions here on this thread. Personally, I would not recommend a handgun as a weapon of choice for home defense. Stray bullets can too easily find their way into your neighbor's house. My choice is 12 guage short barrel. Mossberg is good for that.

This is not an issue if you're loading hollow points for home defense. You should never use full metal jacket ammo anywhere but the range. Though I agree a shotgun is also a great choice for home defense, I prefer the accessibility and mobility provided by a handgun. A decent, reliable shotgun is much cheaper than a quality handgun, however, and easily obtainable from the nearest Wal-mart without a wait in most states.

If you ever plan on carrying, something compact is the way to go - a compact auto or the .357/.38 are good choices. If you just want something for home defense/range, you can't go wrong with a 1911 variant. Their size and weight makes them poor choices for concealed carry(with the exception of very very large men), but for the same reasons they are some of the most accurate and reliable autos out there. I carry a Glock 19. They're a great value compared to many other similar composite weapons, easy to field strip and clean, reliable as hell and good shooters.

 

[riooso]

I have a GP100 Stainless and it is a solid piece and because of the safety bar design it is one of the safest handguns out there. There are fractal rounds available that really help with the errant round situation. I personally use the Remington Extreme Shock round and it is a very good accurate round and although it has some stopping power it will not go through a building like a regular round.


Take care,
R

 

[DS/B MCS]

Home Defense - Remington 870
Self Defense - Glock 19/26 or Springfield XD series

My summer CC is the G26 and during the winter I go with the XD45c

 

[Unknownsoldier]

Revolvers are somewhat more reliable than semiautos, but the odds of having a decent semi auto (non 22) jam on you are really small. Really really small. For just having fun shooting, semiautos are a little more fun that revolvers, especially single action ones.

Definitely a 9mm if you are going to be putting in some range time, but like a previous poster said, get a 22 pistol and then a gun for home defense. Unless you really get into shooting or start reloading your own ammo, .357 and even .38's are going to be more than you will be happy paying. 9mm ammo is a lot cheaper and you can get all kinds of pure copper, hollow point hex, etc. bullets which will destroy a person if you hit them in the otrso, or tear an arm or leg off if you jsu wing them. If ammo cost is not an issue, go with a .40 caliber, but your first pistol should be semi in my humble opinion.

I know the other gun enthusiasts are probably going to jump me for this, but you should get a Hi Point 9mm. You will get it for under 200 out the door, which will leave you with plenty of money to get a 22 for range use and camping shooting. Hi Points are ugly heavy, and not the most accurate, but they will easily serve you in a home defense situation.

My final opinion:

Get a high point 9mm and a 22 pistol, either a buckmaster or a sig mosquito.

GB

p.s Hi Deacon, I am Dick Dubloon on surplurifleforum.com. Nice to see there is another gun/cutthroat fan out there.

Have to agree, accuracy is not something necessary in home/self defence, in most suburban homes (such as mine) the maximum distance you will need to fire is about 4-5 metres (so working on a similar theory postulated by the soviets during WW2), why would you need a gun capable of a tight grouping at 50 metres..... it's not necessary, plus the fact if the 'guy' is in your house and you empty a mag at him, then you'll either hit him with the amount of lead or the accuracy.... as also remember most houses are tight with walls, so he will be open to most barrages.

Personally for my home defence I'd use a pump action for maximum effect (S&A) and width of spray. Also on the ammo front, you can get resin filled rounds (such as those used by air marshals), which are in essence a mini shotgun round (except the pellets are only release upon it hitting the body, so the round hits and then the pellets are lossed (preferably into the torso)).

The swappable calibre 1911 sounds good to, and on the jamming front, this from what I've heard comes from naff ammo or a dirty gun, buy decent ammo, and keep your weapon clean and it should be dependable, also a semi is 99.999999% of the time easily cleared if jammed anyway.

Tom

 

[Redhook]

Dang Nobody even put up a S&W model 500 50 cal. It'll even stop an invading/ assualting suburban.

 

[stobes21]

Ah, I missed that the OP is from California. I believe Cali has a 10 round magazine limit, so that restricts greatly the advantages of some of the larger semi-autos (like the glocks I recommended).

Anyway, the issue of over penetration in a house has been brought up many times. In my not-so-humble opinion anything that is going to penetrate a bad guy far enough to reliably stop him is going to penetrate a lot of walls. Birdshot in a shotgun or gimmick rounds (like the glaser) in a handgun are not the solution. The solution is to use proven rounds (buckshot in shotguns and hollowpoints in handguns) and be sure of your target and what is behind it before you pull the trigger. If that means you have to change your position in a room before you shoot or even retreat to a different place in your house then so be it. Think about the layout of your house and where a bullet would go if it missed your target. You should be able to come up with certain "no go" shooting angles and locations. Know them now so you don't have to think about them in the middle of the night. Check out www.theboxoftruth.com for ballistic testing data, particularly how much various types of rounds penetrate walls.

 

[dustin]

Dang Nobody even put up a S&W model 500 50 cal. It'll even stop an invading/ assualting suburban.

I believe the general consensus it that a .50 cal magnum is a bit overkill. They're the midlife crisis red Corvette of handguns in my opinion. Like Desert Eagles, they're just a 'my-gun-is-bigger-than-your-gun' gun. .357s, 9mms and .40 cals with the proper load provide more than sufficient stopping power in a reasonably sized frame with minimum recoil and better accuracy.

 

[whodat]

This is not an issue if you're loading hollow points for home defense. You should never use full metal jacket ammo anywhere but the range.

Having first hand experience having to shoot JHP through dry-wall in the line of duty with my back-up .38spl (S&W 642), I can tell you that as soon as a JHP strikes dry-wall, the dry-wall packs into the hollow-point, creating basically a FMJ. I can prove it, one of those bullets is sitting on my desk right in front of me.

The idea that a JHP is safe in terms of over-penetration is a well-trounced myth. Glaser safety ammo or the like is supposed to be better. Or you can go for frangible ammunition which supposedly shatters when hitting dry-wall or something else that's hard. Plus it's hard to recover good ballistics evidence from frangibles -- not that it should matter!

A shotgun also penetrates residential dry-wall quite easily -- assuming the shot is 00 or more. The first couple bits of shot will break up the dry wall allowing the following bits of shot to pass through easily enough.

Believe it or not, the "safest" round inside a house is a .223/.556, unless shot straight through the drywall. Any kind of angle causes a tumbling in the round so great that it will be ineffective after passing through one or two layers.

I'm still a big fan of the .38spl -- it served me well enough.

 

[Trudo1]

Thanks to every one out there !!!!!!!

Great response.......Deacon your the man !!!!!

I might just buy a S&W .357
You guys are great.....B&B.....Awesome

 

[turkish]

If it's for home defense then I would recommend a revolver. Revolvers are less likely to jam and if you have a misfire you simply pull the trigger until it fires. Under a stressful situation a semiauto may be more difficult for someone who doesn't have a lot of experience with handguns. You may or may not have an external safety to deal with depending on what semiauto you get. Also clearing a jam in a semiauto may be more difficult to someone who hasn't had a lot of practice doing that. Then after you deicde what type of handgun to get, you'll need to choose what caliber. If it's for home defense you won't want something to powerful that could over penetrate a wall and possibly injure a family member or neighbor. All things to consider. Ultimately probably the easiest and cheapest weapon for home defense is a 12 gauge shotgun.

 

[DeaconKC]

Wow, lots of well-thought out responses here. You've seen an awful lot of good suggestions, take your time and try to shoot some of the guns listed before plunking down several hundred dollars. Be safe!

 

[whodat]

try to shoot some of the guns listed before plunking down several hundred dollars. Be safe!

+1

 

[BuddyJ]

A CZ-82 is inexpensive, accurate, and fun to shoot. It'd also be okay for home defense, etc.

9x18 Makarov is a decent caliber that's becoming more and more common at sporting goods stores.

 

[bonusmarple]

I am seriously looking at an HK 45. I owned a HK USP and sold it due to the ergos. Supposedly, the HK 45 has fixed that issue and all that is left is an uber-reliable 45 that fits the hand. They made a smart move in getting Mr. Vickers to contribute to the design. I am sure he was instrumental in getting them to toss out the stupid double-stack. Who cares if you have 2 extra rounds if you can't shoot the gun worth a darn?

Anyway, I would take a look.

 

[SlyGI]

I've fired many handguns in the past five years. At home, we have a Taurus .357, 5 shot revolver, and a S&W .38

We have a 2 year old and a six month old in the house, so we keep one gun locked up and up way high. The other gun is in a safe that can only be opened with a fingerprint or a code-- the code is set to lock out after three tries. Plus, we NEVER leave the kids unattended because we are safety nuts with our kids (and we have two dogs, greyhounds but you should never leave your kids unattended with any animal-- just my humble opinion).

My next pistol will be a Sig Sauer .45. I've shot many auto's before going away for training, and I just love this brand. My wife wants one too, also in .45 cal. Go figure. The last Sig I fired at the range was just awesome, I wish I could remember which one it was. Most of the other .45s I tried seem to pull a little to the right, the Sig seemed to just pull up a little. Maybe it's just me. I don't know.

Anyway, I like the Sig.

 

[joseywales]

If you rightfully shoot someone in the course of defending yourself, you could easily spend $75,000 and up defending your actions - and lose a lot of friends in the process. So do whatever you can to avoid it. Home defense is about a system and strategy, not a gun. Dogs are excellent to have. The smaller the better. Small dogs make great watch dogs. Noise is what your after here. If you can't have a dog, give the appearance of a dog. Put a big dog bowl outside by the back door, or on your porch. Good lighting outside of course. Alarm systems, etc. Get your gun, secure your family, and call 911. Searching the house for the intruder will get you killed. You might have home field advantage and know the layout, but every idiot knows that the homeowner will be coming down a 3 foot-wide stairway. You're easy pickens for the intruder.

Find an attorney who specializes in defending self-defense actions and keep his card with you. Most attorneys are not skilled in this area and ALWAYs remember. Cops are there to solve a murder and they really don't care who goes down for it. This is NOT a slight to any police officer. It was told to be by a police leutenant, who was commenting on aggressive rookies anxious to rack up collars. After all, you did kill someone.

For a self defense handgun, used properly, the 1911, in 45, is hard to beat. HOWEVER, if you are not going to practice often, forget it! It's true, that 1911s have saftey built in, but it will work against you if you are not properly trained and don't practice at least monthly, or so. And the 45 takes some getting used to, though many women shoot it better than you think. Look for NRA course at your local rnage, but make sure the instructors are competant. I've seen those who are not. Springfield 1911s, Colt 1911s, Kimbers are all good. I'm really not a big fan of others and I think Colts are overpriced. Springfield has the best customer service that I've come across.


{B]Caliber:[/B] one shot stop is what you are after and the 125 grain, 357 is hard to beat for that. Ruger makes a great SP101 for that round and Ruger fans will NEVER give theirs up. I know I won't I'm not a big fan of the 40, because although it has some advantage over the 9mm, most guns "pop" when they shoot it, causing the barrel to rise. If you can't hit what you aim at, a 50 caliber won't help you. One famous gun aficianado keeps a 22 in his nightstand, because at 3:00AM, when the SHTF, he can control the weapon and put two shots in your farhead. Conversely, a 20 gauge, or even 410, are a bit loud and flashy, but it's hard to miss the bedroom doorway with them and you typically won't get too much over penetration, possibly harming family members, etc. Mossbergs would get it done. Remington 870 pump will out live your grandchildren with minimal upkeep.

Glocks are hard to beat for price, simplicity, and reliability. That said, if you shoot guns enough, or hang with those who do, you'll see that every gun breaks. If any item is handmade, it will break at some point in time. try to fine those with less MTBF, Mean time Between Failures. Glock, SIG, Ruger (revolver) all fine weapons. Spend the extra money, when warranted. after all, your life could depend on it.