Home Defense Weapon?

[Butters 0]

Remember, in America the intruder may sue you if they are injured so make sure you are accurate.

"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

I've been looking at getting a weapon for home defense, after the neighbor (other side of the duplex) was robbed.

I've been steered towards both a .20ga shotgun, and a 1911 with a laser dot.

Recommendations?

Both are sub-optimal.

A 12 gauge would be more powerful than either and not kick too much to prevent follow up shots. Birdshot of some sort would limit over penetration.

A 1911 will be far less reliable than a .38 revolver and the recoil less manageable for an inexperienced shooter.

If my storage requirements allowed for it, I'd take the 12 gauge. Otherwise a .38 revolver with frangible ammunition (Glaser Safety Slugs) in a push-button safe.

A Glock 17 in 9mm would be more manageable than the .45 and mechanically more reliable than a 1911 close in price BUT polymer framed pistols sometimes stove pipe if you don't hang onto them tenaciously enough so they're still a bad choice for inexperienced shooters.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

Remember, in America the intruder may sue you if they are injured so make sure you are accurate.

Depends on the state. More enlightened places like Colorado legally relieve residents of liability when they use force in self-defense within their domiciles.

[Butters 0]

Quote

Quote

Remember, in America the intruder may sue you if they are injured so make sure you are accurate.

Depends on the state. More enlightened places like Colorado legally relieve residents of liability when they use force in self-defense within their domiciles.

I don't know the state by state laws ...

Remember, in America it costs a lot of tax payer money to hospitalize and then incarcerate criminals so make sure you are accurate. Is that better?

"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch

[ExAFO 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

Remember, in America the intruder may sue you if they are injured so make sure you are accurate.

Depends on the state. More enlightened places like Colorado legally relieve residents of liability when they use force in self-defense within their domiciles.

I don't know the state by state laws ...

Remember, in America it costs a lot of tax payer money to hospitalize and then incarcerate criminals so make sure you are accurate. Is that better?

It's moot. The surviving family members can still bring a wrongful death civil suit...

Edit: But it'd be better to have such a lawsuit (I'll get representation pro bono) and have one less oxygen thief in the world, than to be robbed, or have my family attacked.

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[akarunway 1]

Quote

Quote

Quote

Remember, in America the intruder may sue you if they are injured so make sure you are accurate.

Depends on the state. More enlightened places like Colorado legally relieve residents of liability when they use force in self-defense within their domiciles.

I don't know the state by state laws ...

Remember, in America it costs a lot of tax payer money to hospitalize and then incarcerate criminals so make sure you are accurate. Is that better?

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[ExAFO 0]

Here's a good option:
Super Shorty

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[Nightingale 0]

I've got a winchester defender 20ga. I picked up the 12ga, but it just didn't feel right. It was heavier and more difficult to handle. The difference between a 12ga and a 20ga in a home defense situation is pretty minimal.

[DaVinci 0]

For the non gun savy people....Shotgun or REVOLVER...Double action so they don't even need to cock it. .357 and you can teach them how to shoot it with .38, then load it with .357 and let them shoot it.

Autos are great for a fire fight, but they can jam and most cases in a home invasion you don't need more than 5 shots.

Should have a quick trigger lock, or be kept in a quick gun safe.

Children should be taught to shoot. That way they don't think of them as magical and want to play with them.

If you are not going to practice with the weapon, and you are not going to teach any children about weapons....DON'T HAVE ONE.

[StreetScooby 5]

Quote

Children should be taught to shoot.

Absolutely. Agreed 100%.

We are all engines of karma

[billvon 3,120]

>Children should be taught to shoot. That way they don't think of
>them as magical and want to play with them.

?? They should be taught they are dangerous and how to NOT misuse them. That's the important part.

Would you teach your 10 year old how to use a circular saw? An arc welder? A parachute? (After all, unless they learn to skydive, they might want to jump off the roof!)

[Zipp0 1]

Quote

>Children should be taught to shoot. That way they don't think of
>them as magical and want to play with them.

?? They should be taught they are dangerous and how to NOT misuse them. That's the important part.

Would you teach your 10 year old how to use a circular saw? An arc welder? A parachute? (After all, unless they learn to skydive, they might want to jump off the roof!)

I was hunting at age 12, and was very safety conscious. Even though we always had guns in the house (including my .410 at 12) I never once mishandled or 'played' with them, because I knew they were not toys, by training and experience.

Most kids don't want to hurt themselves or someone else.

In retrospect, a neighbor kid with no gun experience shot me in the face with a BB gun.

--------------------------
Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[WeakMindedFool 0]

As a few others have said, I like a .38 for home defense. You point and shoot. Put a shitload of rounds through it sooting from the hip 5 feet from a target...this is where you are most likely to be when it comes time to use it! I love my shotgun, have put 1000 rounds through it at least. I had to confront someone who came to my house with it. They had a .45 and I had a shotgun. I racked it and told him not to move...he turned and ran, I almost shot him in the back (that would have sucked!). The bitch of it was, even with my extreame familiarity with the gun, I couldn't seem to find the safety or the slide release for like 5 min....or so it seemed. I think removing variables in a super high stress encounter is good....a revolver does this.

Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for lost faith in ourselves.
-Eric Hoffer -
Check out these Videos

[DaVinci 0]

Quote

?? They should be taught they are dangerous and how to NOT misuse them. That's the important part.

You can preach all day not to touch a gun. And they will. They see it as something neat. Take them to the range, let them use it and the magic goes away. Show them the damage it can do, let them clean it when they are done. If you let them use a gun with supervision, they will be less likely to use it without.

Quote

Would you teach your 10 year old how to use a circular saw? An arc welder?

With supervision, yes. Better than just telling them to stay away from it.

Quote

A parachute? (After all, unless they learn to skydive, they might want to jump off the roof!)

A stupid analogy. It is not like they can buy a ticket and get on a plane.

How much experience do you have with guns? Do you own any?

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Quote

You can preach all day not to touch a gun. And they will. They see it as something neat. Take them to the range, let them use it and the magic goes away. Show them the damage it can do, let them clean it when they are done. If you let them use a gun with supervision, they will be less likely to use it without.

I agree with that principle. But then I also agree with it in other forms like drinking etc.

[DaVinci 0]

Quote

I agree with that principle. But then I also agree with it in other forms like drinking etc.

I would agree with alcohol as well. Question: What is the alcoholic rates in countries that allow children to drink with their parents?

[StreetScooby 5]

Quote

But then I also agree with it in other forms like drinking etc.

Then again, you're Canadian.

We are all engines of karma

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Quote

Then again, you're Canadian.

True Though this particular attitude comes from growing up in The Netherlands. I believe the same principle holds true for drugs and sex etc. The more you forbid something, the more you make soemthing very hard to get, the bigger the attraction becomes.

Quite frankly, theconcept of drinking to get drunk was foreign to me until I came back to Canada. I also see quite a bit more drug use here in Canada than I did in Holland. (and I am talking mainly about marijuana and other "soft" drugs.)

[StreetScooby 5]

BC Bud is too intense.

We are all engines of karma

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

I would be hesitant with a deer slug, it could easily go threw walls and into another room or neighbors house (same with a higher caliber pistol).

Same with a low-caliber pistol. if I can put my fist through drywall or lathe and plaster, I reckon that a .22 will experience a similar lack of difficulty in breaching the walls.

Of course, a fairly ideal weapon for home defense is a sawed off shotgun - they don't miss from distances expected for home defense and the spray is so wide that the danger of the pellets going through walls is minimized. Too bad they are illegal. Pistols DO miss and go through walls.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

They should be taught they are dangerous and how to NOT misuse them. That's the important part.

I agree. Children should be taught proper respect for firearms. Sometimes this is accomplished by showing them that the recoil can hurt them so they don't want to mess with them.

Also, to comment about intruders suing people: the general rule is that you cannot use deadly force to protect property. So, if you've got a shed that keeps gettign burglarized, you can't install a spring-gun booby trap to shoot the next intruder. You can be sued and you'll probably lose.

But if an intruder enters your house and you are there, then usually deadly force is authorized to protect people like yourself and your family, friends, hot dates, etc. It doesn't mean you can't be sued - it just means that you'll likely win. By the way, you can also sue the intruder.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Zipp0 1]

If an intruders family sued me for shooting him, I'd be in jail....for shooting them.

--------------------------
Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

wow, you are soooo cool.

[tkhayes 348]

I like those little lousiville slugger baseball bats - you can swing them with one hand.

No one can ever give you shit for shooting someone that way -

You can beat on them until they stop twitching and if anyone says anything about excessive force, you cna always sa y" Hey they took a swing at me and I overreacted...."

TK

[Croc 0]

My 2 cents. I think DaVinci has it right--a loaded .357. I recommend a Smith and Wesson model 65 loaded with Glasers. No fumbling (think of 3 a.m., dark, etc.) Pump and auto loading shotguns have springs that will take a set if kept loaded and possibly misfire. That goes for magazines as well. Bushmaster makes a fine rifle, but a .223 will penetrate an interior and possibly an exterior wall, although Magsafe makes ammo that would work indoors. Still, fumbling, springs, too long.
.357 loaded with Glasers or Magsafe gets my vote.

"Here's a good specimen of my own wisdom. Something is so, except when it isn't so."

Charles Fort, commenting on the many contradictions of astronomy