what would be the best pistol for self defense ?

Answer 1

Any "reliable" semi auto that fires the 45acp round..I prefer a Colt M1911 combat customized to my specifications..

Answer 2

With a name like Colt45Gunner, you probably know that every body's different, that the best gun is that which you are best at shooting, a hit with a .22 is more effective than a miss with a .44 mag., blah, blah.

So just for the fun of it, I'll go ahead and pick a gun. All things being equal, I would vote for the Glock 20.

First, the gun is a semi auto with, of course, removable magazines. So you have rapid fire and fast reloading capability

Two, the gun has Glock's Safe Action trigger system. The trigger pull is consistent for every shot, and is more akin to a short and light single action trigger, than a long and heavy double action.

Third, the gun, like all Glock's are simple, rugged and reliable. There are relatively few moving parts that could cause a malfunction.

Fourth, the 10mm cartridge is powerful and versatile. You can go with fast heavy bullets or super fast light bullets. The .40 S&W is anemic in comparison.

Fifth, the Glock 20 holds 15 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. A true high capacity magnum class gun.

Six, the Glock 20 is accurate. The gun is capable of one inch groups at 25 yards.

Seven, although the 10mm cartrige is more powerful than the .357 magnum, there is hardly any felt recoil due to the shock absorbing polymer frame. Even with stout loads, the gun is very pleasant and shootable.

Answer 3

Depends. You can have the 'best' gun in the world and it will not do you any good if you are not carrying it with you (providing you have a CWP). That being said I think you need to see what best fits you. The gun if it is not a home defense gun (in which case, get a 12 or 20 ga shotgun). Also you must be able to shoot it accurately. Being able to hit with a 9mm or .38 is better than a miss with a .44 or .45. I would look at the following. If you are a new gun owner, apply the KISS principle and keep is simple. A good .38 or .357 revolver is simple, reliable and easy to maintain. If you MUST have a auto then look at the Glocks in 9mm. It is a reliable platform and very durable in this round. If you feel the need for a .45 then look at a S&W 4506, Springfield XD, or a Glock. These are easier to learn to work with. If you are going to spend the time and effort to really learn to safely use it, the 1911 models in .45 ACP is my favorite carry gun. Though I more often opt for one of my revolvers (Ruger SP 101) or my S&W 6906 in 9mm. Get trained and be safe. Good luck.

Answer 4

This varies somewhat from person to person. I wrote a book titled "12 CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING A COMBAT PISTOL". I cannot tell you all about it here. Some criteria are quite subjective, so I must know you to recommend a pistol. Other criteria are more objective and thus the same for everyone. My brother was a PI. For him, I chose a Smith & Wesson "M-586" .357 magnum revolver, since he cannot operate semi-automatics. I use them. The Beretta "92F" is best overall in my tests, but it is a bit big for my hand. The CZ-75 and Browning "GP-35' are better on this score. I like the power of my .45ACP Heckler & Koch P9S that shoots harder than other .45's and is the most accurate combat semi-auto. If I really need power, I use my .500 Magnum "Bisley', a custom revolver by John Linebaugh made on a Ruger frame. It kicks over 3 times as much as a .44 magnum revolver.

Answer 5

Worrying about over penetration and all that is a luxury you buy by winning. Just an observation. If your 22 doesn't stop your bad guy you'll never have to worry about where those other rounds went. Much better to use something that will do the job and worry about the consequences after the fight.

But then again you don't want to be accused of reckless endangerment, so no rifles.

The FBI tests showed that the 10mm and 45ACP were the two rounds that will do the business.

So ditto on the Glock 20, that's what I have, loaded with Winchester Silvertips, just about the hottest you can get now, just below what the originals used to do. With two spare mags and one up the spout I've got 46 rounds to hand. If I can't do it with that then I'm probably already dead.

Answer 6

I would have to say that a shotgun is the best but if you must have a hand gun try this one. Polish P-64 9x18mm made by Z.M. Luczinik in Radom Poland. It shoots a 71 grain FMJ at 1017 fps. Single and double action. Weight empty with mag. 21.9oz. length 6.3" height 4.6" barrel length 3.33". The top of the slide is checkered so you do not get any glare off the barrel. It has a manual, trigger bar block, firing pin block, decock, loaded chamber indicator, last round slide hold open and a 29lb trigger pull on single action. If you end up in court defending your self after shooting an intruder do not give them any thing to use against you. If you used a big vicious looking hand to shoot the intrude the prosecutor will be waving it around in court in front of the judge and jury. The P-64 is a small gun that shoots a round only a little bigger then a .380. Price like new $137.00 - $180.00

Answer 7

Short answer...the one you are most comfortable with, and that you are most accurate with. A .45acp may be great, but if you are unfamiliar with the firearm, it won't do you much good. Also remember, when the sh## hits the fan, you forget everything, so what you are most familiar with, and have your muscles trained to remember on there own, is the best.

Also, remember...a .25acp is the worst, lowest energy centerfire cartridge made...but a .25acp in your pocket when you need it is five hundred million times better than a 12 gauge shotgun at home under the bed four miles away.

If you handle a .38 well, and are intimately familiar with it, it is a superior firearm for self defense than a .45acp that you have no experience with. The .45 acp is a better round, but if you can't shoot it...
My carry weapon of choice is a Bulgarian Makarov. A little better and bigger than a .380acp, eight round capacity, but, I can cloverleaf the bugger at 25 yards consistantly. Therefore, I tend to carry it more than anything. Late spring and the peak of summer I carry my .38 J-frame and my derringer is always with me year-round. When I'm wearing jeans and a button down shirt, or my jacket, I'm carrying my Makarov. When it gets cool enough for my heavier jacket or a coat, I'm carrying my glock.

Always remember, though...always carry your firearm in the same place...otherwise you might forget were you stuck it when TSHTF! I watched a video of a cop that had his primary weapon taken from him...while the bad guy was trying to shoot him, the cop slapped himself in three different places before he remembered where his backup was. He'd be dead if the bad guy had the common sense to do a standard rack-slap on the pistol...

BTW, I'm not a hardcore .45acp man...I believe that if I feel threatened enough to actually pull and fire on a person, I feel threatened enough to fire repeatedly...guaranteed way to double your knockdown is to fire again!

Answer 8

i do not own a .45, but it will be the next pistol i buy. i currently have a .357 with 3" barrel that i feel safe with. however, if someone is in my house and very close range with a knife or screwdriver, or even another gun, i want to stop him quick. i'm not confident that a 9mm would stop him. he may get shot and die later, but in the meantime, i have a knife in my lung. i think a .45 is a better "stopper".

case in point, my friend shot an intruder in his home about a month ago. the guy took 3 shots from 9mm and still lived to go to court. my buddy said after the intruder was shot, that the intruder gave up and sat down and waited on the cops.

i want to a caliber that stops the fight and not leave it up to the crackhead to give up.

Answer 9

A lot of people on this board are obsessed with bullet diameter, penetration, and energy. These are all important factors, but they are all secondary.

So what factors to I think matter?

1.Recoil
2.Over penetration
3.Under penetration
4.Magazine capacity
5.ease of reloading

Here are my thoughts on each.

Recoil: What makes the best home defense weapon depends a lot on shooting experience and recoil tolerance. If I were to look strictly at numbers, I would recommend a 454 Casull or a 500 S&W. Both are high powered and will kill any human with ease. Their high power is also a negative for both rounds. Both rounds are extremely high recoil. An inexperienced shooter trying to fire one of these rounds out of a handgun might not be able to hold onto the weapon. In either case, a lot of recoil tends to make for poor second shots if you are unable to handle it. When you are defending your life, you may not hit the person with the first shot. You very well may have to fire several times (ever hear the terms double tap or two in the chest, one in the head). You want to be able to fire quickly and somewhat accurately. A high recoil round will not let most people do that (some people can do it just fine, but not many. It takes a lot of practice).

Over penetration: If you live in an urban environment where your neighbors house is very close, you live in an apartment building, or in a condo/townhome setting, over penetration is a real concern. A shot from a 30-06 rifle is a very effective way of putting someone down, but what if the bullet passes through the intruder, penetrates the neighbors wall, and takes out their 5 year old son sleeping in his bed? The chances of this may be low, but you need to decide if that is a chance you want to take. If this is a real possibility where you live, you may want to stick with a lower powered round.

Under penetration: Conversely, if a bullet doesn’t penetrate enough, then you will have issues as well. The best placed shot with a slingshot probably isn’t going to kill a person. If you are using a 22 rimfire, where the bullet hits becomes very important. Every bullet fired that uses a smokeless powder case will penetrate enough to kill a person, it is just that some will do better than others.

Magazine Capacity: Back to the topic I covered under recoil, when you are fearing for your life, you probably will keep shooting until the intruder falls. Any handgun with a magazine or even a revolver will probably give you enough ammo to defend yourself and your family. I am just mentioning this as there are some singe-shot handguns out there. They typically shoot rifle rounds and are nice, but I don’t think it would be my first choice for home defense. On the flip side, a Thompson machine gun with a 100 round drum magazine would be overkill.

Ease of reloading: If you are a bad shot and have a revolver, after 6 shots (give or take, depending on model), you may be in a world of hurt if you have to reload and the intruder isn’t down yet. On the flip side, semi-auto handguns with an extra magazine will offer a quick way to reload and fast.

So what would my choices be?


If I lived in an area where over penetration is a real concern, a 22 rimfire semi-automatic with hollow point bullets or a 38 special would be my choices. Both are low recoil and should not over penetrate. This also means that they may not penetrate as much as you’d like when stopping a bad guy.

If you are recoil adverse? A 9mm is a great round. I like the Glocks myself. Many companies make 9mm handguns. I would just find one that feels good to you. A 40 S&W is a great compromise between recoil and power. I would also throw the 357 Magnum and 38 special into this category (the 357 may seem bad to a beginner, but people quickly get accustomed to it).

If you don’t mind recoil? The sky is the limit. A 45 ACP is an excellent round that is pretty cheap to shoot. A 41 Magnum or a 44 Magnum is getting into “overkill”, but if you can handle the recoil, you can never shoot something too dead.

If you already own a handgun, chances are that will do just fine for home defense. If you are just looking for a reason to go out and buy a new gun, they hey, go for it.

Personally, my home defense choice is a big, mean looking black lab/pit bull mix that I have that is great with the family, but isn't too fond of strangers. After that, it is a 12 ga. Remington 870 with the short rifled deer barrel on it (sorry, the only barrel I have, but I like the length). I have both buckshot and sabot slug rounds for it (rifled barrels and shot don’t mix too well, but at the distances within a house, it won’t affect accuracy too much). My second choice is a short lever action carbine rifle chambered in the 454 Casull round. After that…AK-47 or whatever else I can grab and load quickly.

If you are going to take the time to get a home defense weapon, take the time to practice with it and become familiar with it. Develop a plan for you and your family in case something happens. Find bottle necks in your house where an intruder would have to go to get at you and set up there (a hallway, a staircase, etc..). Some people recommend having an “Alamo” you can fall back to. This is where some people send their family to. Have a gun of your choice there and someone loading weapons and/or magazines for you or themselves if you get taken out (here is where a Thompson 45 ACP rifle with the drum mags might be nice).

Sorry for being long winded. Good Luck!

Answer 10

It's personal preference. I have two pistols. One is a Beretta 9mm and the other is a Ruger .45 Both are great for home defense imo. If you want, you can add a laser sight to your pistol?

Answer 11

a small frame short barrel 357 like a ruger sp101. Use 125grain HP lawman loads. They are designed to not ricochet or penetrate too far. It is small and unobtrusive. stainless steel so won't require much maintenance . The short barrel doesn't have the power of a longer one , that is why the magnum loads. It is double action, so you don't have to cock it, but has stiff enough trigger that it won't go off too easily and is safe if you drop it on the hammer. Nothing will help you if it isn't available. You need to clean it at least once a year because the oil will get stiff and you won't be able to use it.