I am wanting handgun

[wingnut]

i still say a shotgun = best for home defense.

Well sure, but that was not the only role to fill...

[2fnloud]

If you have smaller hands look at the Tarus 9mm, that is what my wife has.

[masterjr33]

i would like to suggest taurus 92's or 1911's.
i bought my wife a chrome taurus PT92. 9mm 17 rounds!!
cheap to shoot when you want to poke holes in paper.
has good stopping power with a SERIOUS round in it.
holds 17 rounds!

doesnt kick to bad and fits her small hands.

a bit large to "carry". but great for a drawer in the house.

I prefer my 1911 .45 ACP. much larger and stronger round.
only holds 8 rounds. wife says it doesnt fit her hands.
my shot placement is much better than hers. so im not worried about the round count.



behind the door sits the home defense.
its a mossberg 12ga 500.
it is the epitimy of "dont come in here and fuck with us"
it holds 8 rounds of 00 buck shot 12ga rounds.




rifles for target practice and fun. find a SKS used. its fun. great and cheap to shoot.
easy to maintain. shoots the words most popular and cheapest ammo on the planet.
many of them use AK47 magazines. helen keller could take it apart.
More than accurate over 100-200 yards for a normal person( no reason to try and shoot something at 300 yards+)
cheaper to buy and shoot than any AR15. or buy yourself a .243 rifle of any sort. cheapest long riffle ammo to plink with.
they are also VERY modifiable. just really quick go google "sks" and see how many images you see of guns that dont look the same.. you can make it your own!. unlike AR15's that will and always will look and be an AR15. no matter what optic you put on it.



or even a marlin .30-30 336. its a good "dinner" gun. classic. tons of parts. easy to work on and use. not a HUGE painful round or very expensive.. fun to shoot. it will kill any game in N.A. reasonably.


BUT first suggestion go to a gun store. and put about 20 different ones in your hand.. find one that "fits" to you.. and then let us know what it is. well tell you if it is a decent gun. or recommend you ones similar.

[2fnloud]

Also have an SKS in the vault

[beepbeep]

Just reading and looking at what has been posted. I may never get my VR4 now. Super info, group. I will make it back to Gander with a list from this thread and see what magic happens.

[IPD]

Well sure, but that was not the only role to fill...

sure. but that's what i'd start with.

as for caliber size? i like 9mm. i'd rather have a 15 round clip. even with practice, my accuracy might not be 100% in a pinch, and recoil won't help. besides, i know that there's SOME places you can still get hollow-points.

i'm not a fan of rifles. nothing wrong with them, but they're impractical unless you're a hunter or addicted to target practice.

[Turbo Beast]

Thadd, Theres a reason why I carry a .45acp 1911.

A friend of mine got shot 7 times in a robbery with a 9mm. He's still walking and talking, even got some rounds off himself during that event.

.45acp with 230 grain hollowpoints is a good home protection weapon. Or a 12ga remington home defender, with a full stock or folding stock, pistol grips make for a worthless gun.



Oh and as for a rifle, get a 22lr, 45 long colt or 243. I shoot a Browning, Ruger also makes very dependable rifles.
I wouldnt go any larger if youre not planning on serious hunting, the price of a single round for my .300 winmag is stupid and would take the fun out of target practice.

[dbest671]

I would prefer a shotgun vs. rifle for home protection... which a rifle you have to worry about it going through walls and whatnot. Plus, the sound of a pump action shotgun is a universal warning to any would-be intruder. We have three shotguns and two rifles (well three, but we don't count the Henry survival rifle).

[Valhallaz]

A friend of mine got shot 7 times in a robbery with a 9mm. He's still walking and talking, even got some rounds off himself during that event.

This, exactly. When I attended one of of Jeff Cooper's defense courses way back, he told a story about how 10mm became his ammo of choice. Basically, he'd emptied his .45 into a drunk indian, and still had to wrestle him to get the axe away from him.

According to Cooper, 3 guys out of 4 hit with a 9mm will get right back up. Only 1 in 5 will get up after being hit with a .45, and the 10mm takes that to 1 in 10.

Safety slugs, such as glasers, can minimize the possibility of overpenetration in a household situation with heavier calibers.

I use the heaviest round I'm comfortable with, and adjust ammo according to the sitution. In my case, that's 10mm. When I can no longer get ammo for it, I'll prolly move to a .45. The trick is figuring out where your comfort zone is, and choosing appropriately.

Should I ever have anyone shooting at me, I hope to hell he's a 9mm fan.

That all being said, unless you are willing to put in the cash and time to become proficient with a handgun, your best bet for home defense would be a tactical shotgun. Think Benelli M2 NFA tactical, if you have the means.

[beepbeep]

I'm not adverse to a shotgun....I'm just trying to do this slowly. And yes, for home protection, I'll take a handgun or a shotgun in a heartbeat. I have experience with rifles and a few shotguns and enjoy using them.