Need garage revolver

[brown40]

+1 on a pump shotgun, 12, 20 or 410 depending on how much recoil can be handled... the sound alone of a pump loading a shell should be enough to pucker & freeze 90% of the children & drug addicts that are roaming for stuff to trade or have.
A genuine thief by trade would be breaking in where they had near certainty that there were some real, portable high dollar items for them to grab, not exploring neighborhoods, unless they were high-end neighborhoods.
Another layer of mind-easing is a genuine security system, or at least some fake cameras & stickers to put up around.
That said, those Taurus Judges are neat little rigs and would push 1.5-3x the load out that a .38 would if the need actually arose...
It's sad to see... used to be when there was one biscuit left on the plate, you had to twist someone's arm to take it... more and more people are shifting to "snatch the biscuit" before someone else can...

 

[JMER817]

A guy hopped up on drugs won't hear or even care about the racking sound of a shotgun. In the heat of the moment i don't want to be fiddling with my gun. Keep one in the chamber ready to go. My preference is a revolver. A bad guy can grab the shotgun too easily.

 

[dmccarty]

Shotguns have their good points and bad points. They are long arms, thus LONG, and easier for a bad guy to grab in close quarters. This is NOT a reason to NOT use a shot gun but one must be aware of the threat. Every shotgun I have shot at 15ish yards with 00 buck does not spread more than 12-15 inches. I would think that most houses would not have enough open space for a shot longer than 15 yards. Shorter range and the short pattern is even smaller. One does have to aim a shot gun and I have seen people miss a target with a shot gun. :shocked:

In the OP's situation, I would be inclined to get a shotgun though one would have to figure out a way to hide and lock up the weapon that would allow easy access. CCW would be a better solution as other's have suggested.

Irregardless of the weapon, one should not try to clear a house by yourself. A minimum number of people needed to clear a house is two and you better know what you are doing. The only way I would move through my house with an intruder present would be to get to family members so I could hunker down with them in relative safely. If I came home and thought people were in my house I would back off, call 911, and wait for the PoPo to show up.

Years ago, a friend of mine went into a house after a rapist. He went into the house by himself after the victim ran outside. He xxxxxxx up. He should have stayed with the victim, protected her, given aid, and waited for backup which was already on the way. I understand WHY he went inside, he wanted the bad guy bad. However, the bad guy was hiding in a closet and when my friend got near, the bad guy shot my friend in the head. One person can only see so much. Even with two officers, my friend still might have been shot but there would have been a chance to see the bad guy and to this day I don't know why the closet was not cleared. My friend might have been moving to clear the closet or maybe he did not see anyone inside from a distance. Heck, maybe he did not look. My friend did live but he was not the same after the shooting. Kinda hard to be the same after you take a bullet to the brain.

If the house was not occupied when the bad guys broke in, there is nothing in the house worth getting shot.

Later,
Dan

 

[k0ua]

Shotguns have their good points and bad points. They are long arms, thus LONG, and easier for a bad guy to grab in close quarters. This is NOT a reason to NOT use a shot gun but one must be aware of the threat. Every shotgun I have shot at 15ish yards with 00 buck does not spread more than 12-15 inches. I would think that most houses would not have enough open space for a shot longer than 15 yards. Shorter range and the short pattern is even smaller. One does have to aim a shot gun and I have seen people miss a target with a shot gun. :shocked:

In the OP's situation, I would be inclined to get a shotgun though one would have to figure out a way to hide and lock up the weapon that would allow easy access. CCW would be a better solution as other's have suggested.

Irregardless of the weapon, one should not try to clear a house by yourself. A minimum number of people needed to clear a house is two and you better know what you are doing. The only way I would move through my house with an intruder present would be to get to family members so I could hunker down with them in relative safely. If I came home and thought people were in my house I would back off, call 911, and wait for the PoPo to show up.

Years ago, a friend of mine went into a house after a rapist. He went into the house by himself after the victim ran outside. He xxxxxxx up. He should have stayed with the victim, protected her, given aid, and waited for backup which was already on the way. I understand WHY he went inside, he wanted the bad guy bad. However, the bad guy was hiding in a closet and when my friend got near, the bad guy shot my friend in the head. One person can only see so much. Even with two officers, my friend still might have been shot but there would have been a chance to see the bad guy and to this day I don't know why the closet was not cleared. My friend might have been moving to clear the closet or maybe he did not see anyone inside from a distance. Heck, maybe he did not look. My friend did live but he was not the same after the shooting. Kinda hard to be the same after you take a bullet to the brain.

If the house was not occupied when the bad guys broke in, there is nothing in the house worth getting shot.

Later,
Dan

Good post as usual Dan. As far as missing with a shotgun, it is very easy to do. Try shooting a Texas star sometime.

In this video, pay no attention to the "advice" given on how to shoot a Texas star These guys don't know how.

Shooting the Texas star first time - YouTube

 

[dmccarty]

Good post as usual Dan. As far as missing with a shotgun, it is very easy to do. Try shooting a Texas star sometime.

In this video, pay no attention to the "advice" given on how to shoot a Texas star These guys don't know how.

Shooting the Texas star first time - YouTube

That Texas Star would be tough to shoot! Even with a shotgun! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Sad thing is the misses I have seen with a shot gun were when shooting at stationary man sized paper targets. :shocked: Most/all misses are because of failing to mount the shot gun correctly and jerking the trigger.

Later,
Dan

 

[EddieWalker]

Keep it simple. While I agree that a shotgun is a better home defense weapon then a pistol, I don't care for it as something quick and easy to get ahold of without leaving it laying around out in the open. It's size makes it difficult to conceal compared to a pistol and in close quarters, much easier to get in the way or taken away from you by a drug crazed intruder.

I like the reliability and ease of operation of a revolver. .357/.38 is an excellent caliber. You can easily find ammo for it, it's kind of affordable compared to the more popular semi auto calibers and it has plenty of power when shooting the .357 magnum rounds. I target practice and shoot small animals with the .38 rounds all the time. I cant count the number of raccoons I've killed with it, plus skunks and possums. I've even shot a few hogs with it, but prefer to use my .44 magnum revolver for hogs.

Mine is a Ruger Security Six with a six inch barrel that is blued. I added Hogue grips to it, but otherwise it's all factory. The double action allows for a hair trigger when target practicing, or lining up on a kill shot. The only time I use single action is when just goofing off, but if there was an intruder, it would be a nice option. I also like that it's totally safe with the hammer down and loaded, but able to fire by just pulling the trigger. Something you can't do with an auto. While I like stainless, for something that is sitting around in an easy to get to hiding place in my house, I don't feel there is any need or advantage to spending more for stainless in this situation. Since it's kind of bulky compared to the auto's, I don't think it's a good carry weapon either, so it's not out in the elements, and no reason for stainless.

There are quite a few good quality revolvers out there for a decent price. I bought mine used for $100 twenty years ago. Stick with a name brand and it will last you the rest of your life.

Eddie

 

[RDrancher]

Two things about shotguns...if you're racking it you're already behind in the fight. And while there may be a slight chance hitting something with your aim slightly off the mark, I wouldn't count on it.

My shop gun is a 70's model RG-31 revolver in .38 special. I found it hidden on a shelf when demo'ing a barn a few years ago. The ammo in it and the box next to it dated back to the 70's too. It shoots fine, but it's cheap and heavy and not good for much else besides a hideout.

 

[k0ua]

That Texas Star would be tough to shoot! Even with a shotgun! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Sad thing is the misses I have seen with a shot gun were when shooting at stationary man sized paper targets. :shocked: Most/all misses are because of failing to mount the shot gun correctly and jerking the trigger.

Later,
Dan

But Texas Star's are EXTREMELY fun to shoot! I have seen some spinning around like a windmill in a stiff breeze!:laughing:

 

[MotorSeven]

Your house, safe and car are not holsters... Weapons left in them will generally be as much use to you as the oxygen that an astronaut left on the launch pad.

If your personal safety situation is deteriorating, you should be carrying. What you are not carrying, more often than not will end up being what the intruders are carrying. "Feel good" weapons that are stashed somewhere are not contributing to your defense.

If your state law does not allow you to keep a weapon in your vehicle that is accessible, take the trouble and get a conceal carry permit. If you are not allowed to carry a weapon at work (a familiar situation), I would permanently install a safe in the trunk of my vehicle and lock it in there and it would be the first thing I take out when I get home. In many states there are pre-emption laws that prevent employers from prohibiting you from having a weapon in your car, parked in the company carpark. Michigan does not have such a law and it is rather problematic.

^this and X100 on the car safe. I can't tell you how many reports I took from a "victim" that left a handgun in his/her car and it got stolen...(thanks for arming a bad guy). A car safe should only be used temporarily when you absolutely cannot carry into a building/business/event. Any other time is should be on your person.

Stashed firearms rarely are useful in a critical situation and are much more likely to end up in a Burglars hands before yours. You and your wife should both take the class and get carry permits, but more important is to train and practice with the pistol/revolver that you end up carrying.

 

[Soundguy]

If looking for low cost, I'd recommend a Taurus or a used Ruger Speed Six or Security Six, and as mentioned, some of the older S&Ws can be found at pretty reasonable prices.

watch out about how old. i'd get new enough to not have the fixed fire pin...