Best firearm for home protection? I realize a lot is personal choice involved?

[k0ua]

Back to home defense. I want something readily available, simple to use, and reliable as an anvil. For a high stress situation a revolver is what I want.

Revolvers are fine, but a Glock is like a revolver without a cylinder. They are just as reliable, will work with any kind of ammo, and will operate with neglect and filthy. They are just as simple to put into action, aim and pull trigger to fire. Repeat as needed. There is no safety to put on or off, just like a revolver, and you get the same trigger pull weight each and every time. The biggest difference is it holds a lot more ammo on tap to solve your problem with. A Glock 19 is not particular pretty to look at, but it works first time every time just like a revolver and holds 15 rounds in the magazine. And if that is not enough, you can reload 15 more much faster than you can load 6 with a revolver. 9mm ammo is the most popular center fire ammo on the planet.

 

[Tomtint]

Don’t you think if the crook has a gun he’s going to shoot right at that sound as soon as he hears it?

....In my house...He wouldn't have time..

 

[Username Taken]

This is all from memory but if I remember correctly the FBI went back to 9-mm after several studies of actual shootings and not bullets into ballistic gelatin. They found that the most important factors in a gunfight with handguns were: 1) shot placement, 2) getting the second shot on target as fast as possible. They were not concerned with killing the adversary, just stopping the fight. If I remember the charts correctly the best 'fight stopper' was a shotgun loaded with buckshot. Three 'stops' for four shots. Last place went to 25ACP which took nearly three shots per 'stop'. The main point realized from their studies was that after getting up to a 380ACP there was very little difference in stopping ability up to the main man-killer handgun round which was the 357 Magnum.

Back to home defense. I want something readily available, simple to use, and reliable as an anvil. For a high stress situation a revolver is what I want.

RSKY

The biggest reason the FBI and many other law enforcement agencies went to, or went back to, the 9 mike-mike is that many of the female agents had trouble with the 40 and simply couldn't handle the 45 ACP at all. Before then, many law enforcement agencies deemed the .45 to be 'too cruel', too debilitating, too 'unnecessary' and that it maimed too many people.

I do know the 9mm round has come a long way but it just doesn't have the 'shock' power, the knock down power, to take out a 6'6'' 300 lb bad guy that might be juiced up on something. And some people react like wounded Lions when they're hit, they get even more dangerous.

9mm hits hard if you're made of gelatin or if you're just measuring impact energy. It will definitely kill a bad guy. Or a good guy. But what it won't always do is....

...Keep him from killing you. I have a .45 and it will flat put a bad guy's butt on the ground.

They're loud, they're ugly, they're accurate up to about 2 feet (if you're a good shot) but will they ever do the job.

Revolvers are a good weapon, especially a .357; I just don't like them within a 100 yards of a kid. For some reason, every male child over the age of 3 months knows how to pull a trigger. And they will if given the opportunity. Every time. It's like genetic memory or something.

I keep a 45 ACP in one nightstand drawer and .357 Model 19 in the other. If the grand kids come by, the first thing we do is put the guns up. Except for the 45. A pre-teen kid isn't gonna chamber one of those (I keep it unloaded. Takes one second to chamber a round) All the kids in my family go to gun training before they reach 14. Even the girls.

Its not debatable. They go. If you're gonna keep guns in the house, the kids need to be taught that they're not toys.

The Black Powder rifle always gets them

 

[TractorTYMe]

What is the best gun in the world? The one available to you in the time of need.

 

[two_bit_score]

....In my house...He wouldn't have time..

Good reply Tom! But that second, or two, racking the slide may be longer than you think.

 

[paulsharvey]

Seems to have gone a bit sideways, but a PCC in 9mm/40/or even a 45, is a easy shooting, affordable gun, that has greater accuracy and more velocity (from 9 or 40) then a pistol in same caliber. Not 100% sure, but i don't think 45 acp really gains much velocity in 16" barrel, but would gain in accuracy. Another option, especially if you want a less 'tactical' weapon, a lever gun in 357 mag. A 10mm with 16" barrel is getting into light rifle realms of power.

Edit: Looks like a 16" barrel 45 acp is around 955 fps with 230gr Hydrashok vs 865 fps from 4"; so some gain but not much

 

[Hay Dude]

Revolvers are fine, but a Glock is like a revolver without a cylinder. They are just as reliable, will work with any kind of ammo, and will operate with neglect and filthy. They are just as simple to put into action, aim and pull trigger to fire. Repeat as needed. There is no safety to put on or off, just like a revolver, and you get the same trigger pull weight each and every time. The biggest difference is it holds a lot more ammo on tap to solve your problem with. A Glock 19 is not particular pretty to look at, but it works first time every time just like a revolver and holds 15 rounds in the magazine. And if that is not enough, you can reload 15 more much faster than you can load 6 with a revolver. 9mm ammo is the most popular center fire ammo on the planet.

Pretty much why I went with a Glock 17 in 9mm.
I remember I was on my way to get a Taurus or Springfield mil spec 1911 in .45, but at the last minute, decided the 1911 was too much to carry and twice the weight of a Glock 17.
A Glock 31 in 357 sig. would be the best stopper I can think of at reasonable cost

 

[buck12]

I sold my .45 to a buddy last year. If I ever have to use a gun for defense, I want the gun to be like and extension of me. To get to that point I shoot a lot. At least when, I could buy ammo. I like to shoot my Springfield XDM 9mm and have put thousands of rounds through it. I was never going to that with a .45.

 

[k0ua]

Truth is a .45 seems like a lot for some people. It just depends on the person. It is more pistol than many can handle well. More recoil, more muzzle blast, and larger frame pistols for starters. And as we age and hands become more arthritic and recoil sensitive, many will downsize to 9mm. They are typically more pleasant to shoot and practicing our skills is important. A good 9mm with proper ammo is a proven stopper.

 

[MossRoad]

Truth is a .45 seems like a lot for some people. It just depends on the person. It is more pistol than many can handle well. More recoil, more muzzle blast, and larger frame pistols for starters. And as we age and hands become more arthritic and recoil sensitive, many will downsize to 9mm. They are typically more pleasant to shoot and practicing our skills is important. A good 9mm with proper ammo is a proven stopper.

I have my dad's 1911 from world war 2. It was made in 1919. It's not the one he carried during the war. He said he bought it in the PX for $20 after the war and before he came home. It is not a light gun.