What's the most powerful, practical hangun to buy for home defence?

Question

i know the desert eagle is really powerful, but it's tremendous sound and weight is too much.

So i guess im looking for the second most powerful gun. I would also prefer an automatic pistol since their easier to use

Answer 1

It looks as though some of the people who replied to this question would like to confuse the asker more than to help him make an informed decision.

There are a number of auto-loading handguns on the market that are simply point and shoot and are perfectly safe with a round left in the chamber.Two very popular examples come to mind in all of the Glock handguns, and all of the Smith & Wesson Sigma series handguns. The Glock can be had in just about any caliber you'd like, many of which are plenty suitable for home defense, including the .357SIG, .40S&W, and both .45 G.A.P. and .45 ACP. The Smith & Wesson Sigma is available in the excellent .40S&W round as well as the venerable 9mm. Any of these weapons are simply point and shoot. There are no safety devices to fumble with, no magazine disconnectors, and both weapons are utterly reliable.

On the revolver side, the .357 Magnum with a good 125 grn. JHP would make an excellent home defense handgun. I would tend to lean towards the Ruger GP100 as an ultra-reliable weapon, but there are a number of fine weapons available from Smith & Wesson and Taurus as well.

In my not so humble opinion, the ideal home defense weapon would be a 12 ga. pump shotgun loaded with some size 2 to size 4 shotshells. I would look for one of the compact models from Mossberg or Remington. The shotgun excels in that precision aiming is not required, tactical liability is very limited, and the sound of the slide racking a shell into battery is often times enough to send an intruder back out the door without so much as one shot being fired. If you have loved ones living in the same house, the shotgun will be safer for them as well, should you ever have to use it. The pellets from the shotshell, while very deadly to your attacker, are extremely unlikely to penetrate two layers of drywall and strike a child or room mate in the next room. The same cannot be said for a single projectile from even a modestly powered handgun cartridge.

Answer 2

Who on Earth put into your head the idea that self-feeders are easier? I've been fooling with firearms for a half century, and that's the first time I've EVER heard that! Easier to carry in a holster all day long, sure, but not nearly so simple to use as a revolver.
There's a limit to useful power when you're talking about self-defense. Handgun technology has progressed to the point of hunting handguns that are more powerful than you would ever need for defense, and the extra power seems in empirical data to be counter-productive in defensive situations. The 44 magnum doesn't seem to be as good a manstopper as less powerful rounds. It's theorized that it punches through too hard and too fast to have the effect of less powerful rounds.
For stopping a fight, there's actually been no cartridge improvement in 134 years, though the bullets in them are much better . A 45 Colt still compares well to anything else. The shorter 45 ACP is within a hair of the same performance, and the 357 magnum is right there with them. Nothing else quite has their record, but the 41 Magnum, 10mm magnum (and the downsized 40 S&W) come close, and I wouldn't want to be shot with the always popular 38 Special or 9x19.

Answer 3

The Desert Eagle is a behemoth, specialized pistol not suitable for anything but punching paper at the range. It is too unwieldy to take into the field for hunting. If you're talking about the .50 AE it is too loud to fire without hearing protection. If you hold it 'limp-wristed' you are going to cause it to jam. For home/self defense you don't need anything larger than a .357 Magnum in a revolver or a .45 acp in auto-loader. The 125 grain, semi-jacketed .357 Magnum hollow point out of a 4" barrel is recognized as the best man-stopper ever, period. For home defense I'd recommend the pre-fragmented ammo, though.

If you prefer an automatic than the .45 acp is hard to beat for home defense. Its low speed, broad n heavy bullet is a real attention-getter. If you want something a bit faster there is the .10mm, .357 Sig, .40 S & W or even the old .9mm (with good, defensive ammo). Practically, for home defense, I'd go with a good, high capacity .9mm like the Glock Model 19 with night sights. Again, consider pre-fragmented ammo because bullets shoot through a lot of dry-wall and a loved one may be in the next room. For an auto for home defense I'd just go ahead and pay extra for the night sights, something not availble in a wheel-gun.

Good luck.

H

Answer 4

If you look up the specs the .500 S&W Mag is the most powerful hand gun in the world....I've been looking around and Taurus makes a revolver called the Model 44 that shoots a .45 Long Colt and or a .410 shotgun shell with no modifications ei. cylinder change or barrel swaps... looks great for home defence... I use a Fabrique National FNP-40 shoots .40 S&W round I perfer 165Gr. Jacketed Hollow Points, which is more powerful then the popular .45 APC but I live in the country, with no close neighbors, so I'm ok to use higher-powered rounds, For the people that tell you that "They don't beleave in guns or violance"... Either do the people that lawfully own firearms but when that violance comes to us, we REFUSE to be just another statistic...

Answer 5

A semi automatic pistol is not easier to use. Here is a scenario for you: You are fast asleep, it is one in the morning, you hear somebody breaking in. You fumble around in the dark until you get your auto. Hmm, did you put the magazine in? Did you pull the slide back to load it? Does that safety switch go up or down? How long has that magazine been loaded? Will the springs still work? How do I clear a stove pipe jam? Or a failure to feed jam? Too many things can go wrong, too many things to remember.

The revolver is a point and shoot weapon. Much simpler to operate.

Although I have carried an auto for most of my police career, my house gun has always been a revolver.

The most practical choice depends on where you live. I lived on a small ranch well outside of town for years. My house gun was my S&W, 629, round butt, three inch barreled, .44 mag. I kept it loaded with CCI Blazer, 240 gr. hollow points. I figured if the first shot missed, I would either burn them to death with the muzzle blast or at least blind them. When I moved into to town, I realized the gun was simply too powerful for an urban environment, my neighbors were too close. A miss would put the round through my wall and into their home. I sure hated the idea of going to a smaller bullet, I like big bullets. I dismissed frangible rounds because they sometimes don't penetrate a heavy coat. I finally decided to keep the 629 as the house gun but now load it with Winchester 200 gr. Silvertips, in .44 Special. The bullet is half the velocity of the mag round. Good enough for the cowboys and indians, so it should work well on whoever is dumb enough to break into my place.

One other thing. Get a noisy dog. Does not have to be an attack dog, just one that will raise unholy hell if someone gets in. Frantic barking will wake you and disconcert the bad guy.

Answer 6

For home defense you might consider practicality; get an inexpensive 18 inch barrel 12 gauge pump shotgun. You can use bird shot and not have all the neighbors suing you because you perforated their BMW or whatever. Also, in a home defense situation you are not the steadiest, and with a shotgun you don't have to aim between the eyes. Just the sound a round being racked into the chamber will cause a drunk to become instantly sober; and if you are forced to fire your next door neighbor's child won't get ventilated because the shell goes through seven walls or something.

Answer 7

a .45acp will will give you all the PRACTICAL power you need. Smith & Wesson 500 and .44 magnum are good hunting revolvers, but if you think the Desert Eagle kicks and sounds loud, wait until you shoot one of these. The 45 has been the standard in self/home defense for a long time now, and millions of experienced shooters prefer them. Try a Springfield or Kimber in 45. I don't know your budget limit, so if they are too much, Taurus is making a perfectly fine 45 1911. Rock River is another good choice.

Answer 8

Old Fuzz hit the nail on the head. You have all these people who foolishly use a 9mm or .45acp pistol for self-defense at home. They'll most likely be long dead before they ever get a shot off, given all the motions you need to go through. A revolver is a much better choice for home defense. Pick it up and pull the trigger. That's all you need to know. I recommend a S&W model 686 or model 10 revolver. The new 686's hold 7 rounds and can fire either .38 specials or .357 magnums.

Answer 9

In a semi auto I would think a Glock would be best choice. They come in many different models and styles. They are easy to use, and easy to clean. The safety is in the trigger so you aim and shoot. I would say to take it out once a month or so and shoot a few rounds for practice and to keep the gun in shape. That would apply to any gun you get, you have to get use to it. You can't just get one and load it and forget about it, that's not good. When you put it away make sure it is loaded and ready to shoot. As far as ammo goes, all depends where you are. It would be bad to shoot off a round and hit a neighbor or someone in the next room. You have to keep this in mind when you get your gun. Good luck

Answer 10

Personally I'd recommend a Glock model 20 in 10mm or a Springfield Armory XD-45 if you're looking for a semi-auto...
But a 12 gauge shotgun is still the best home defense gun in my opinion.