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

[bcp]

I never hear it mentioned about having a plan for what to do after one or many misses.

Here are a couple of examples of trained officers missing.

NYPD Officers Fire 84 Shots At Suspect, Miss 83 Times

"I couldn't believe how long it was going on."

www.huffpost.com

How will the average surprised and scared resident do?

Bruce

 

[MossRoad]

Probably some training in weapons tactics might be more important than your choice of a weapon. Reminds me of one scary guy I knew with a Milliary and possibly SOF background. Told me to aim for that spot just under ones nose, above the lip! Maybe someone here could chime in as to what the merit of that location might be.

Closed casket funeral

 

[k0ua]

How will the average surprised and scared resident do?



Typically somewhat better. Average Cops are the least skilled of all shooters. At least that has been my personal experience. Not true for all of course, Average cops I have shot with in matches are very unskilled. To the point of embarrassment and never showing their face at the range again. Of course I have shot with some of the best the police force has to offer and the could usually outperform me. These are typically swat team or so called "crisis team", guys that intend to be alive after the firing stops. But if you want a fun day at the range, take your average cop. It will be enlightening.

 

[k0ua]

And the next question should be "why are cops such bad shooters?"
Here is why: in a nutshell cops are not interested in guns. Many actually hate guns, and hate the fact that they have to carry them. They are about as interested in their firearms as they are in their walkie-talkies. In other words, not at all. If you have an attitude like that, you will not seek out more practice than required. And the required practice is next to nothing. Often nothing more than a "qualification" once per year. To become a really good shooter requires practice.

The skilled cops that I shot with were gun enthusiasts. They practiced all the time and every chance possible. The cops that were very unskilled shooters, never practiced on their own, and just thought the fact they carried a badge that they could outshoot us "citizens". Boy did they get an education. Us citizens, even the lowest ranked among us, outshot them so badly, some of them would never show their face among us again. A very few took it to heart and stayed the course to become better shooters.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I always hated how the cops scream at perps. But I think I understand it now. Yes, partly to intimidate, but I think also and maybe even more importantly to expell and refocus a great amount of anxiety and "FEAR".

Maybe the cops had been watching too many movies and were holding their sidearm (the new way that matters) horizontally. lol

 

[shooterdon]

I would like to comment on what James said.

Most cops are useless with a gun. I would never take advice from one unless I knew him and what he did. And what their department uses is of little consequence.

I have shot in competitions with cops and only one guy could kick my ass. He was Captain of the SWAT team for a large Metro area.

A few years ago I took a four day pistol course at Front Sight in Nevada. If you can afford it, it is very worthwhile. Our instructor was a guy who worked personal protection. His wife did the same job. They have been there, killed others and seen others killed. They are not forced to carry what some bean counter or purchasing agent buys. Their lives depend on the choices they make. They used Glock model 22 pistols. I asked about home defense and they have some 12 ga Mossberg 500's around the house

The instructor told of a buddy of his who was working a detail and got killed. He was carrying a Glock 22. When they examined the gun, it still had rounds in it but they found the trigger had malfunctioned. His buddy had put in an aftermarket trigger to "improve" it...it cost him his life. Keep the gun stock.

As to using a rimfire.... that is a bad choice. Rimfires are prone to misfiring from the priming compound not being evenly distributed around the rim. How many times have you had a FTF, rotated the round 90* and had it go off? If you insist on using a RF, buy Eley or similar high end stuff to carry and practice with the cheap crap.

IMO, most untrained people are better served with a revolver for a carry gun. It is near idiot proof and does not have a failure to feed or eject issue. A trained shooter should select the gun he shoots well and couple it with good ammunition. Caliber is far less important than training and getting rounds in the kill zone quickly. I found I shot better with the 9mm so I swapped out the barrel in the Glock 22 with a 9mm barrel and bought 9mm mags.

Home defense means using a 12 or 20 ga shotgun. BTW, have a set of muffs staged with the gun as you will damage your hearing if you fire it in the house. That instructor mentioned above told me that...he said to get the electronic type that amplify sound. Lastly, NEVER rack a pump shotgun. It is stupid ninja warrior BS. It means you have one less round, it tells the intruder where you are, and it will not scare away a determined adversary.

And if you have to kill someone...do not do a happy dance....do not say I had to kill the *...tell the police your life was threatened and you had to neutralize the threat AND THAT IS IT. Get a lawyer and say nothing else....NOTHING. Be polite about it but do not get sucked in.

 

[Industrial Toys]

We used to buy the cheap Aquilla .22 by the thousands. We were both annoyed and thrilled when they would blow out at the Rim!

That would be hard not to tell the cops your story, if you were convinced you were in the right. Been there, done that to my detrement in a much less serious matter. Better to say nothing and be arrested, than to give information that you can't retract. I would say you are in emotional distress and would just like to see a lawyer. Question is, many of us have no lawyer, unlike everyone on TV that seems to have one on speeddial.

 

[sandman2234]

Once again this is from memory. The guy who did the study of thousands or civilian and police shootings was a big 40 S&W/45ACP fan. After the study was completed and all the results tabulated his carry weapon changed to a 22-magnum revolver.

I am currently looking to get a Seecamp for my main carry weapon. Look it up at www.seecamp.com The problem is that the 380 is supposed to be brutal to shoot and the company even recommends using bandaids on your fingers when practicing with it. I want the 32 ACP version but cannot find any ammo locally or online. The micro pistol will only handle hollowpoints because a FMJ is too long to operate properly. This is a SMALL gun and I want it to carry when I cannot carry anything else. It has no sights and is strictly point and shoot. Reloading with a fresh magazine is also slow. BUT, six rounds of fast shooting but not very deadly ammo will solve 98% of the problems a person will encounter. If I need a high capacity pistol and extra mags I need to be running away from the problem as fast as my legs will carry me. But this is for a carry weapon and not what the OP was asking about.

RSKY

I just returned a box of 32acp that we mistook for 25acp. Neither are cheap, but at least I can shoot 25acp!
David from jax

 

[Hay Dude]

I would like to comment on what James said.

Most cops are useless with a gun. I would never take advice from one unless I knew him and what he did. And what their department uses is of little consequence.

I have shot in competitions with cops and only one guy could kick my ass. He was Captain of the SWAT team for a large Metro area.

A few years ago I took a four day pistol course at Front Sight in Nevada. If you can afford it, it is very worthwhile. Our instructor was a guy who worked personal protection. His wife did the same job. They have been there, killed others and seen others killed. They are not forced to carry what some bean counter or purchasing agent buys. Their lives depend on the choices they make. They used Glock model 22 pistols. I asked about home defense and they have some 12 ga Mossberg 500's around the house

The instructor told of a buddy of his who was working a detail and got killed. He was carrying a Glock 22. When they examined the gun, it still had rounds in it but they found the trigger had malfunctioned. His buddy had put in an aftermarket trigger to "improve" it...it cost him his life. Keep the gun stock.

As to using a rimfire.... that is a bad choice. Rimfires are prone to misfiring from the priming compound not being evenly distributed around the rim. How many times have you had a FTF, rotated the round 90* and had it go off? If you insist on using a RF, buy Eley or similar high end stuff to carry and practice with the cheap crap.

IMO, most untrained people are better served with a revolver for a carry gun. It is near idiot proof and does have a failure to feed or eject. A trained shooter should select the gun he shoots well and couple it with good ammunition. Caliber is far less important than training and getting rounds in the kill zone quickly. I found I shot better with the 9mm so I swapped out the barrel in the Glock 22 with a 9mm barrel and bought 9mm mags.

Home defense means using a 12 or 20 ga shotgun. BTW, have a set of muffs staged with the gun as you will damage your hearing if you fire it in the house. That instructor mentioned above told me that...he said to get the electronic type that amplify sound. Lastly, NEVER rack a pump shotgun. It is stupid ninja warrior BS. It means you have one less round, it tells the intruder where you are, and it will not scare away a determined adversary.

And if you have to kill someone...do not do a happy dance....do not say I had to kill the *...tell the police your life was threatened and you had to neutralize the threat AND THAT IS IT. Get a lawyer and say nothing else....NOTHING. Be polite about it but do not get sucked in.

Sad state of affairs regarding cops. They have become more symbolic than substance. Still some good ones out there, too. I used to lift weights with a PA State Trooper academy instructor. He was like a drill sargeant for the police academy.
As standards were lowered, he told me he actually feared for the public’s safety that he was being forced to allow cadets to pass through that could NOT protect the public for the sake of _______________. He told me that male candidates were put through much more rigorous physical tests than females. He also told me most male & female cannot shoot worth spit and tend to get worse when FEAR is introduced. Of the last 3 state cops I interacted with, one was highly unprofessional. Cant believe she passed through the state police academy.
There’s many private citizen friends I have that I would call in an emergency before the cops. I realize they still serve the community and a greater purpose, but the quality of policing and some of the new policies they must follow are disturbing.

 

[Captain Dirty]

. . . I would say you are in emotional distress and would just like to see a lawyer. Question is, many of us have no lawyer, unlike everyone on TV that seems to have one on speeddial.

Former neighbor was a landlord in a nearby city. He would ask prospective tenants to fill an application that included name, present address, how long at, employer, how long employed, lawyer's name and address, etc. If the prospect filled in "lawyer" without hesitation, the landlord would find some excuse not to rent.