Newbie questions on first handgun purchase

[Obiwan]

After 5 years of asking/begging/reasoning with my wife, I’ve finally received the green light to purchase a handgun for home protection. I had a few questions that I’d like guidance on.

1.) What are some of the best options to consideration? This would need to be something easy to use for both myself and my wife to learn on.

2.) Responsible safety controls – of course the most important concern. Aside from proper education and location, what is the best way to ensure restricted access to the firearm (i.e. what are the best locking mechanisms to consider). I’ve been looking at fingerprint recognition safes, which seem great in theory, but I’ve heard mixed reviews on the ease of use. Any thoughts or better recommendations for a house with children would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[jwcarlson]

A short barreled shotgun for home protection. Of it you HAVE to have a handgun a Taurus Judge or Public Defender or whatever they're calling them. They shoot .45 long Colt and .410 shotshells. The idea being if someone breaks into your house and is coming at you in your bedroom you have a far better chance of doing damage with multiple projectiles if you're fumbling in the dark for your glasses and gun. :)

[stobes21]

You need to take a basic handgun class before you go out and buy. I suggest an NRA course. Call around to your local ranges and ask. I'm sure you can find one. The course will cover the basics: safe handling, loading and unloading, basic marksmanship, and perhaps even basic cleaning. You absolutely have to know these things before you bring a firearm into your home.

As for what guns to consider: I would suggest a semi auto or revolver in a popular self defense caliber (for semi auto that means 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 acp and for a revolver that means .38 special or .357 magnum) made by a well known and respected brand. So glock, smith and wesson, springfield, sig sauer, taurus, and heckler and koch all come to mind. Try as many as possible at the range and figure out what feels the most comfortable and what you shoot the best. My personal suggestion would be to go for a full size pistol or revolver rather than an little CCW gun if it is going to stay in the house. The full size gun will be more accurate, easier to shoot and follow up, handle recoil better, and have a greater mag capacity. If you go the CCW route later down the line you can look at the much smaller guns that sacrifice a lot of that for conceal-ability.

I would also suggest buying a .22 pistol first and becoming familiar with it before you move up to a self defense caliber. The principles of grip, stance, aim, trigger pull, and the like all will carry over and make you a better shooter with the larger gun when you move up. Plus, .22s are cheap and fun to shoot no matter how experienced you are.

Safes are an interesting issue. The fingerprint ones are cool but I have also heard concerns about reliability. Electronic safes with numeric keypads should be more reliable and almost as fast to access. Just remember to bolt the safe down and as soon as possible start teaching your kids responsible gun handling and ownership. The safest situation with kids and guns doesn't involve locking the guns away. The best situation is to have kids who know that guns aren't toys nor are they to be feared but rather are to be respected.

[maxzoran]

While I do have several shotguns, I personally would not use one for home protection. Sure, the scatter is a good option to make sure you hit your target. But the problem is you also hit the wall, windows, drapes, other family members...etc. I personally purchased a Ruger 9mm, the recoil isn't horrible and the wife doesn't have an issue shooting it. I chose 9mm as the ammo is cheap for practice. I bought the Ruger because it fires any ammo you put in it. I have a Sig Mosquito .22, and it will only take premium ammo, otherwise it will jam. Cost isn't a big deal with the .22, but it will be with higher calibers. Do a lot of research and perhaps go rent a few to fire at your local range.

[Obiwan]

Thank you both, that is very helpful. I've excluded shotguns based on size and storage concerns.

As far as classes, there is a local place that offers courses that we'd both be going to.

[Dennis]

Before you dismiss shotguns, have a look around the Box O Truth site.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/theboxotruth.htm

[natchez]

As noted above, IMO the best home defense gun is by far a shotgun. A Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 would give you what you want in protection for not too much in money. You can even go 20 gauge for your wife's comfort in practice. Just the sound of a shell loading up into the chamber can sometimes even do the trick with an intruder. I keep a Mossberg 500 under my side of the bed. Out of the way, not intrusive and, God forbid, if ever needed, easily and readily available. Of course, we have no kids in the house and when kids visit it gets unloaded and locked in the safe.

If you insist on a handgun, I would go with a 38 special revolver, less kick for the wife, and less chance of a jam and very dependable. But, you really need to practice a lot with a handgun. Especially, if that is your home defense weapon. Under pressure, an inexperienced user and a handgun is just not the best combination. I think an burglar alarm may actually be a better investment and surely more of an initial deterrent. I have one of those, and plenty of signs outside.

This may seem odd, but have you hunted or served in the military? The hardest lesson in owning a gun for defense is coming to grips with whether you could actually pull the trigger and shoot to kill. If you have hunted successfully or have otherwise been trained, you likely could. But, if you were like me, a city kid who grew up in New York, it took a long time for me to come to grips with being able to actually pull that trigger and take life in any form. I hunt regularly now and have no doubt, if the need arose, I could actually use the shotgun. But, it was, at least for me, the hardest part of gun ownership for defense. Shooting clays is not the same as shooting animals, which is not the same as shooting at a person.

A good concealed carry course would be a big plus with a handgun.

[fireengineer2004]

A short barreled shotgun for home protection. Of it you HAVE to have a handgun a Taurus Judge or Public Defender or whatever they're calling them. They shoot .45 long Colt and .410 shotshells. The idea being if someone breaks into your house and is coming at you in your bedroom you have a far better chance of doing damage with multiple projectiles if you're fumbling in the dark for your glasses and gun. :)

+1! I have a 12ga riot gun with extended mag (loaded with magnum goose loads) that will definitely clear my hallway or anyplace else. I think the Judge is a great gun and am looking to purchase one to carry. Lessons are VERY important - for the users AND the children! Guns are NOT toys! 2 rules to live by: ALL guns are loaded till YOU prove otherwise and NEVER point a gun at anything you don't want to kill - these CANNOT be over emphasized! Everyone around weapons NEED to know these. Any security device, to be effective MUST allow the gun to be accessed immediately when needed...or it might be used against you and your loved ones...

[Leche]

I'll also recommend a shotgun. Most break ins occur when the owners aren't home and many readily flee when confronted, most just want an easy buck. Pistols are nice but without continuous practice you are going to be fumbling and inaccurate. Also you'll have sloppy response to the recoil so your additional shots will be even more inaccurate. To safely keep a pistol you can't just toss it into a drawer until the moment of truth.

[Obiwan]

All great points. I'm never surprised at how fast I can get valued feedback @ B&B. I was all for a shotgun for all of the reasons stated above, however, my wife's concern is with the storage space (which may change as we start looking at storage and safety options).

As far as the hunting question, I do not hunt. For no reason other than time. I have little spare time and my outdoor passion has always been fishing which takes up most free time I have. As far as the difficulty coming to grips with actually having to use a gun (and this of course could me being naieve), but I'd like to think I'd have less concern using it if heaven forbid I ever needed to considering it would be in an effort to protect my family.

A great point that was raised that I didn't realize was the ongoing effort that would be involved in keeping up the handgun skills in case it ever needed to be used. I'd be all for going to the range on a periodic basis, but I'm not sure the wife is. That may weigh heavier to opting for going the shotgun route.

[thebikingengineer]

Whatever you choose you're going to need to practice with it regularly to be effective. You should have the actions necessary to discharge your firearm down to muscle memory as you'll likely be pretty wired on adrenaline in a home defense situation. Even a shotgun will only have a spread of an inch or two at close range (i.e. any home defense situation) so you should be reasonably accurate with it, it's not spray-and-pray like in a game.

[Brance]

A short barreled shotgun for home protection. Of it you HAVE to have a handgun a Taurus Judge or Public Defender or whatever they're calling them. They shoot .45 long Colt and .410 shotshells. The idea being if someone breaks into your house and is coming at you in your bedroom you have a far better chance of doing damage with multiple projectiles if you're fumbling in the dark for your glasses and gun. :)

+1

The scariest sound in the world is the sound of a 12 gauge pump shotgun in the dark!

Short of that, the Taurus is a great choice. I've got a Kimber Custom II .45, my wife can't even pull the slide to load a round in the chamber, so it wouldn't do her any good. I keep the Kimber looked up during the day, and take out and put it on the top shelf of the bedroom closet before I go to bed. Lock it up again before the kids gets up in the morning. If I'm gone for some reason, the Taurus is what my wife keeps handy. Much easier to use, less chance of dropping the mag out by pressing the wrong button , etc.

I also agree with the previous poster about instructing the kids concerning firearms. Remove the mystery. Teach them safety. My dad did and there was never any curiosity on my part or my brothers' because we knew all about them. Dad hunted a LOT, and took us with him from a very young age.

+1 on the hunting/military comment as well. The psychological aspect of pulling the trigger when you need to, should not be overlooked.

[LuckyR]

As noted above, IMO the best home defense gun is by far a shotgun. A Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 would give you what you want in protection for not too much in money. You can even go 20 gauge for your wife's comfort in practice. Just the sound of a shell loading up into the chamber can sometimes even do the trick with an intruder. I keep a Mossberg 500 under my side of the bed. Out of the way, not intrusive and, God forbid, if ever needed, easily and readily available. Of course, we have no kids in the house and when kids visit it gets unloaded and locked in the safe.

If you insist on a handgun, I would go with a 38 special revolver, less kick for the wife, and less chance of a jam and very dependable. But, you really need to practice a lot with a handgun. Especially, if that is your home defense weapon. Under pressure, an inexperienced user and a handgun is just not the best combination. I think an burglar alarm may actually be a better investment and surely more of an initial deterrent. I have one of those, and plenty of signs outside.

This may seem odd, but have you hunted or served in the military? The hardest lesson in owning a gun for defense is coming to grips with whether you could actually pull the trigger and shoot to kill. If you have hunted successfully or have otherwise been trained, you likely could. But, if you were like me, a city kid who grew up in New York, it took a long time for me to come to grips with being able to actually pull that trigger and take life in any form. I hunt regularly now and have no doubt, if the need arose, I could actually use the shotgun. But, it was, at least for me, the hardest part of gun ownership for defense. Shooting clays is not the same as shooting animals, which is not the same as shooting at a person.

A good concealed carry course would be a big plus with a handgun.

What he said...

[my19]

I have a Mossberg 12 gauge with an extended magazine and a Glock 19 9mm. The Glock is about as idiot-proof as a semi-auto can be. Pull the trigger and it goes bang. Don't, and it won't. No safety to worry about when you're half asleep, groggy, with the adrenaline pumping. +1 on a course at the local shooting range. My wife and I took one years ago, before we bought anything. Shot everything from a .22 to a .45, decided what we liked and went from there. And +1,000 on practice, practice, practice to be ready for something you hope never comes.

[MASSDRIVER]

As I said in another thread, think seriously about what you are trying to do.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...=198586&page=4

Nobody giving you advice so far has shot and killed anyone, including me. (If you have, you need to speak up)

The scary sound of a pump shotgun racking has ZERO stopping power. If the bad guy walks into your bedroom and racks a shotgun, what would YOU do?

Revolvers in .38 are a poor choice for a gun. Only 6 shots, in a weakened, generally ineffective caliber, and difficult to reload. Keep this in mind knowing most violent burglaries involve more than one bad guy.

The not so funny joke of a .410 revolver. The .410 is somewhat effective against squirrels. Stake your life on that. The .45 Colt? alright, but put it in a real, quality handgun proven not to break. Not Taurus crap. Good lord.

As my19 wrote, the general solution is a Glock in 9mm. And training, And ammo. And Training. And ammo. It's really easy to figure out, and developing skills is the key.
Stealing from someone A LOT smarter than me:
Again, most violent altercations involve more than one bad guy.
It takes, on average, 4 or 5 shots to stop an attacker. Call that a "dose".
So before reloading:
Revolver, 1 dose.
Shotgun, Almost 1 dose.
Rifle, in general, 1 dose-5 doses, but HIGHLY lethal.
1911, dose and a half.
Glock, 3-4 doses.

So for those that advise a revolver, keep in mind you are telling a rank amateur their best choice is a limited, underpowered gun, that they won't practice with enough, that they probably will miss a lot with, and is difficult to reload in the most stressful condition you can come up with, multiple bad guys in your home with bad intentions. Sometimes using a load only marginally suited to the taking of small game.
Just think guys.
For those that have killed someone with the aforementioned hardware, and can say for sure I'm out of line, please: speak up.

Brent.

[Groat]

These threads always seem to be points of contention. It's excellent and beyond advisable that you and the wife are taking the safety course. For somebody who has never had extensive weapon handling time, this is always the first thing that should be done.

Personally, I'd buy a semi-auto of some kind. I've got a Glock and as others have said it's easy and reliable. I've heard that Springfield XD handguns are similar. Why?

First of all, I enjoy shooting and going to the range. There are several indoor ranges in my area, but the closest public outdoor range is over 90 minutes south of here. You can shoot rifles and shotguns (slugs) at some of the indoor ranges, but I don't enjoy shooting shotgun slugs at a piece of paper 60 feet downrange. Shooting handguns is a blast for me and I do it once a month or more.

Second: my two handguns, loaded magazines and ammunition all fit nicely in a little safe in my closet. It's probably the size of a shoe box. It's got four buttons, one for each finger. You set a four-button code and then can open it up without looking at it. It's not the most secure safe out there, but it gets the job done. It's worth noting that it will lock you out after three failed passcode guesses, but if you have very persistent kids it's possible they could get into my model. I keep all that stuff locked up at all times, as it's not something that people need to be messing with.

Third, either of my guns could get the job done. I live in a very low-crime area. It's very unlikely that I'll ever have to shoot anybody. I don't spend much time thinking about it. I didn't even buy my weapons for the express purpose of self defense. However, handguns could kill people just the same as a shotgun, revolver, machine gun, grenade, missile, or whatever else you want to use. My advice is to find a range that will rent out weapons for use on their range. Try a few, find one that you like and then buy it.

[Blue Raccoon]

I would recommend a dog. If you and your wife have not shot a firearm before and unless you plan to go to the range 2 or 3 times a month and practice I wouldn't recommend a firearm in the house with kids. Remember if you miss with a handgun the bullet will go through the ceiling or walls and maybe even into a neighbors house. If it's locked in a box in the closet and not on your nightstand or on your person while outside it ain't going to do you much good. Get yourself a German Shep, Boxer, etc... check your homeowners insurance before thinking Rottie or Doberman.


btw, a S&W J-frame 38 with +p Speer Gold Dots is not weak or ineffective. Frankly if anyone needs more than 5 shots they have a much bigger problem then they can handle.

[fine wine]

You need to take a basic handgun class before you go out and buy. I suggest an NRA course. Call around to your local ranges and ask. I'm sure you can find one. The course will cover the basics: safe handling, loading and unloading, basic marksmanship, and perhaps even basic cleaning. You absolutely have to know these things before you bring a firearm into your home.

As for what guns to consider: I would suggest a semi auto or revolver in a popular self defense caliber (for semi auto that means 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 acp and for a revolver that means .38 special or .357 magnum) made by a well known and respected brand. So glock, smith and wesson, springfield, sig sauer, taurus, and heckler and koch all come to mind. Try as many as possible at the range and figure out what feels the most comfortable and what you shoot the best. My personal suggestion would be to go for a full size pistol or revolver rather than an little CCW gun if it is going to stay in the house. The full size gun will be more accurate, easier to shoot and follow up, handle recoil better, and have a greater mag capacity. If you go the CCW route later down the line you can look at the much smaller guns that sacrifice a lot of that for conceal-ability.

I would also suggest buying a .22 pistol first and becoming familiar with it before you move up to a self defense caliber. The principles of grip, stance, aim, trigger pull, and the like all will carry over and make you a better shooter with the larger gun when you move up. Plus, .22s are cheap and fun to shoot no matter how experienced you are.

Safes are an interesting issue. The fingerprint ones are cool but I have also heard concerns about reliability. Electronic safes with numeric keypads should be more reliable and almost as fast to access. Just remember to bolt the safe down and as soon as possible start teaching your kids responsible gun handling and ownership. The safest situation with kids and guns doesn't involve locking the guns away. The best situation is to have kids who know that guns aren't toys nor are they to be feared but rather are to be respected.

Ther are a few areas I would have to disagree with. One, since neither one you are experenced with fire arms it has always seem natural to go with a revolver than a automatic handgun. They have been around for 150 years. I'm sure by now they have been engineered to the max.There are no safetys to worry about, all you have to do is pull the trigger and it goes boom.. I've never had any problems with revolvers, but I have had semi-automatics jam. More than once. As far as teaching children about respect for firearms, yes that needs to be addressed. But I am WARNING YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!~IF A CHILD SEES A FIREARM AND DAD ISNOT THERE THEY WILL PICK IT UP AND FOOL AROUND WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!LOCK THE DAMN THING UP!!!!!PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Aku Aku]

So, you end up going with a handgun. Get proper training and needed range time. Purchase a wall gun safe to keep it secure. Chose a 9mm or .40 either of which would be a nice choice for home defense. Finally, without doubt, the most important step comes next....

You must buy a quality well built firearm. Don't look for a low cost version to save a couple of dollars. Rather, look at solid manufacturers with long track records such as Sig, Glock, Walther, Colt, Browning, Ruger...etc. Whether you end up selecting a revolver or semi-auto, make it a respected quality manufacturer. If you ever have to pull the trigger, it had better go BANG!

[Brance]

The scary sound of a pump shotgun racking has ZERO stopping power. If the bad guy walks into your bedroom and racks a shotgun, what would YOU do?

My thought here is that the "bad guy" isn't coming into my home intending to harm me. He's probably coming in expecting the home to be empty, and hoping to leave with some loot. Once he knows someone IS home, and armed, he hightails it right back out. That's the idea anyway. If someone IS coming in my home with the intention of doing me harm, I've got bigger issues that should have been worked out before I was laying asleep with my family around me.

The not so funny joke of a .410 revolver. The .410 is somewhat effective against squirrels. Stake your life on that...

...Sometimes using a load only marginally suited to the taking of small game.

If you're using the same loads for home defense that you would use for hunting squirrel...you deserve what you get.

Try something like these...

Winchester PDX1 410

For those that have killed someone with the aforementioned hardware, and can say for sure I'm out of line, please: speak up.

Does this mean you have "killed someone with the aforementioned hardware"? Otherwise, how can you say for sure that any other poster's opinion is "out of line"? (I'm not trying to be hostile, just to understand the stance you've taken there.)

I hope to never need to do so myself, and to be therefore forever unqualified to give experienced advice on this matter!

PS: My backup plan would be to threaten to shave the intruder with a feather in my adjustable set to the most aggressive setting. That scares me very much!