What is the best handgun for home defense?

Question

And how do you know?

Answer 1

A 38 using hollow points is sufficiently accurate or a 357 using hollow points will do nicely too.

Answer 2

Do you live in a house, or an apartment? Do you live in town, or in the suburbs?

Are you comfortable with an automatic, or do you prefer a revolver?

In a house I would say nothing bigger than a .357 Magnum loaded with hollow point ammo. A .45 Auto with 230 grain Hydra-shok hollow points will also work very well, if you prefer an auto.

In an apartment I would recommend a .380 Auto with either Winchester Silvertip hollowpoint ammo, or 90 grain Hydra-shok hollow points. A .38 Special with 125 or 110 grain hollow points, if you prefer revolvers. In any case, nothing bigger than a .9mm with light, hollow point ammo to minimize penetration. Fragmentable (Glazier type) bullets would even be better in any caliber in an apartment complex.

Whatever you chose, practice, practice, practice. And always, always, always be sure of your target. Remember, use only as a last resort.

How do I know? I've been a policeman most of my adult life and have extensive experience with handguns.

H

Answer 3

I like the old government style 45 auto. It has a grip safety so it cannot be accidentally fired. The slide or recoil spring is to heavy for a child to operate. It is a simple design that is easy to disassemble and reassemble for cleaning. It's heavy enough that if you needed to you could use it as a club. The big heavy bullets have plenty of stopping power but are slow enough they will not shot through your house. Very little muzzle flash so you won't be blinded if you shoot it in the dark. Cheap ammo so it wont cost a fortune to target practice. Very accurate and easy to customize.
Like all things you need to practice and get to know it. You also need to take some firearm safety courses and check your local laws on home defense.

One more thing if you decide to reload it is illegal to use reloads for home defense.

Answer 4

i have a few home protection guns, i have the 44 mag revolver which is a awsome gun it will knock a person back and can kill someone easily. i have a sawed off 12 gauge shotgun that is my fav choice, i use 7and a half bird shot because that won't go very my farther then the persons body or head wherever u chose to shoot them at. the 12 will easily take off someones head clean. we have a 25 semi auto pistol but i wouldn't shoot much more then a mouse or rat with it, it don't have the power to take down a inturder. really it depends on what you prefer if ur looking to kill the intruder then i suggest something strong, 12 gauge or a revolver. semi autos aren't the best because u loose some of the power when the gun slides back to reload.

Answer 5

A Glock will function reliably even when it is subjected to misuse.
Some people find the Glock doesn't fit their hand well; while other people love it - check if it works for you.

Without knowing more about the strength and training of the shooter I hesitate to pick too potent a caliber. From your question I'm assuming you don't have very much practical experience. If I'm right then one of the many good 9mm rounds might be a good choice.

Answer 6

thats a question filled with some tricky problems in it. it depends on the state you live inreally. some states only allow certain guns to be legal to civilians. and the guy that said a .357 or .40 is a nut case. a nine millimeter is enough to put someone down, a .357 or .40 will blow somebody to pieces and i agree with the person who said that you can be set up for murder.the best thing to do really is get sturdy doors, good, durable locks, and strong windows. the nine mil is also the more common home-defence weapon. unless you have hooligans running around with flak jackets, you would only need a nine mil. if the area where you live is crime-ridden, i suggest moving. theres no reason to endanger youyrself or your family

Answer 7

forget the handgun, get a 12 gauge shotgun with some buckshot, its much more intimidating and a lot less expensive. in most cases just the sound it makes when you pump it will scare someone away and you wont have to even kill anyone

Answer 8

i keep a 45 and 357 ready in the night stand
my ar-15 and two 30 round clips with me most every where i go
got two twelve gauge shotguns one with #2 steal and the other with slugs
got a 270 if i need to stop a car or penetrate kevlar
as for kids you need to just educate them about guns if their not kept in the dark about them and taught to respect them you won't have any problems ignorance is dangerous not information safety's like gun locks are a dumb asses bet that's that uninlightened liberal crap your gun needs to be ready at an instant or it will do no good for you and your attacker will just be armed and not you i know of no lock that can't be broken trust and a tight bond with your children are the answers

Answer 9

Depends on if you have kids, plan to have kids... cause if you plan to have kids I'd go for one with a trigger lock and safty and all...

Other wise .357 are pretty popular.

But really, it's what ever you feel comfortable with. A .357 will do alot of damage to a person. However a 9mm is less likely to kill...

But then again, they say if you don't kill the burgler they're likely to sue you (and sadly may win)... so...

Tough question. Go with what your comfortable with.

Answer 10

Man don't do the handgun. The way I see it if they got balls to come into my house i'm going to blast them to pieces. 10 or 12 Gauge semi shotgun with buckshot.