Home Defense Handgun--Best features and examples??

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glock06

New member
Like everyone else in the rural south I keep a handgun secured but available for different emergencies such as a aggresive animals, unknown folks knocking at the door,as well as the worst horror, a home invasion.:eek:

I was thinkling about the qualities that would be wanted in such a desired gun--

Reliability,
Portability,
Accuracy
Effective caliber and firepower
Safety features for other family members
Decent control by several family members
Utility in the Dark of night

What guns can do this the best??

After I did all that thinking I figured out I had the wrong "family gun".
Started out with a 9mm Glock 17 with an attached Light/laser combo but that had to go when I woke up sleepy one night and figured out I was handling the gun poorly. My wife also could not handle the Glock to her satisfaction.Adios, Glock!

My wife bailed and said No Glock--she would only handle a gun she liked so we now have a Kahr 9mm and a handy flashlight for her and a GSR Sig 1911with a laser light attachment for me. The features of the Sig are great for me but not ok for the wife. Her Kahr worries me but the only other option I can think of is a revolver with an attached laser/light source to keep hands free.

What are other folks solutions to a home defense handgun??
 
1) Find an indoor firing range that rents firearms and rent dang near everything they have with your family. Find something you can all handle...

OR

2) Toss the "one gun everyone in the house can use" idea out the window. You won't find any one gun perfect for everybody.

I'm guessing there is a difference in hand size between you and your wife. You won't find a gun that both of you like. Sure, you can probably shoot anything she can. But the same can be said for her. Just because she doesn't like shooting it does not mean she can't if the need arises. Besides, you won't be accurate with something if you can't hold it comfortably. I would stick with the 2-gun solution. As long as both of you can properly operate both of the guns, I don't see a problem.

As for the wife, try finding her a good compact or sub-compact 9mm with a rail. If you can't, give a snub-nose .38 a try. Crimsontrace Lasergrips can be found for many of the models being produced by Taurus and S&W if they are a must for your situation.
 
I have several 4" Colt Official Police revolvers stashed around the house with +p 158gr LSWCHPs. My bedside gun is a G17. My chairside is a G19.
 
I really like my XD9SC for a nightstand gun.

Reliability- Close to 2,000 rounds through it and it eats everything. No FTF or FTE.
Portability- I leave it in a pocket holster with a flashlight nearby. If I need to leave the house for some reason, I can have it in the pocket of my sleep pants. No belt needed.
Accuracy- At 50 feet at slow fire, I can put 10/10 rounds in the 8 ring or better with most in the 9 ring and likely a few in the X.
Effective caliber and firepower- 9mm gets beat up as a defense round, but I really like it. I shoot it the most, so it gets the nod. I have Gold Dot 147 grain hollowpoints in the magazine. 16+1 as mentioned above.
Safety features for other family members- Wife loves it because of the lack of a safety. Taught her from the start that it goes boom when the trigger is pulled. Draw, aim and fire.
Decent control by several family members- Wife can put 10/10 rounds in the 7 ring or better at slow fire and a majority of them in the 8 with a few in the 9.
Utility in the Dark of night- You can attach lights to the rail in the front if you so choose. Night sights are an option.

As far as the utility part in the dark of the night, if I hear a bump in the night, we're staying put and calling 911. I have enough night lights around the house to backlight any approach to the bedroom. I won't be sweeping the house if I feel someone is in there with us. Let him come to me or let the police clear it.

If for some reason I need to go outside the house at night (lock up a car, the shed, get the mail, etc...) I'll carry it in my pocket holster with a flashlight in hand. No need to have a flashlight attached to it to give the bad guy a point source to aim towards my head.

All that said, if I'm 100% sure someone is in the house and I have the time, I'm not reaching for my handgun.
 
Her Kahr worries me
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Why? Kahr is a good gun and 9mm will do HD/SD jobs nicely. Plenty of power and capacity, and little kick.

Her handgun is HER choice, no one else's.

The "best" gun is the one YOU like, not anyone else. It will be a compromise of:

1. Fit - It should fit in your hand like you were born with it there.
2. Reliability - It should go BANG about 99.8% of the time you pull the trigger.
3. Accuracy - In YOUR hand. It's how well YOU shoot it.
4. Concealability - It should be comfortable enough to wear and easy enough to conceal so you won't leave it laying on the dresser at home. (disregard for home defense)
5. Cost - You don't want to scrimp on your "life protector" weapon, but you probably don't need a $1,000 Kimber, either.

That being said, I prefer a semi in 9mm or .40 S&W for both home defense and carry. Since the HD gun won't be concealed, it can be larger with more capacity. If you don't have any small children in the house, the point of safety becomes moot. The gun does need to be easily accessible and quickly brought into play. Keep it (or a couple) where you can easily reach them without exposing yourself. We have an "upstairs" gun and a "downstairs" gun. I do NOT favor long guns for HD. They're too cumbersome in tight spaces, require two hands to operate, and can be easily taken away in a surprise situation. Get a good alarm system and use it. I prefer CPI with the listen/talkback feature.

+1 to CopelandXD - do NOT go looking for the bad guy. You'll get nailed every time. Bunker down in a defensible position and let the police to the house clearing.
 
The wife and I ultimately decided on separate guns. She said shove the 1911 style, which is ok and went with the 9mm Kahr and a separate flashlight in a finger keyed safe. Thats ok for her to access then go to the door with, etc. The long trigger pull really aggravates her but she will just have to practice!!

The Glock wasn't right for me because at night I am definitely not instantly awake and in my semiconscious state my finger was instinctively messin with the **** trigger. That just can't happen when walking around a house with family in it!! A Glock with the standard Glock trigger had to go for me.

A 1911 style is better with a manual safety for me.We will look around and see what's available for her smaller hands which has an available light attachment. Kahr presently doesn't build one that way.
 
Reliability,
Portability,
Accuracy
Effective caliber and firepower
Safety features for other family members
Decent control by several family members
Utility in the Dark of night

What guns can do this the best??

living in the south also, my choice is a smith and wesson model 65 4 inch barrel .357 magnum It's the first gun I go to most often for nearly anything at home at night.

extremely reliable

extremely portable

extremely accurate

effective caliber using either 158 gr .38 +P or 125gr .357 magnum

safety features - a revolver is straightforward and safe

decent control - with lighter .38 special rounds, very controllable

utility in the dark of night - same utility as in light of day.
 
Many years ago I wondered the same thing. I ended up with a revolver (S&W model 65) stainless (less maintenance) with a 4" barrel. (long enough to be accurate, short enough to be difficult to grab). It shoots .357 but I practiced with cheaper .38's. After all these years and a few more guns, I still think that was a good first choice.
 
I've been hemming & hawing over the same issue. I'll probably end up with a completely different HD gun than my wife; we have different hands, different shooting styles, different tastes. ;)

My preference given all the ideals is a 4" .357 loaded with .38+p hollowpoints. It's a comfortable type of gun to shoot, it gets lots of range time, it's compact yet powerful, it's simple to operate, and if I pull the trigger I know it will go BANG. The ammo is usually common & cheap. Right now this niche is filled by a very tired Colt Python, but I'm thinking of switching to a Smith 620.

A close second for me would be a snub .44 mag loaded with specials.

For a very effective illumination system for investigating my home at nght, I've got overhead lights. I'm just a regular guy; tactical flashlights seem like one more complication.
 
My wife shoots the 1911 better than any of my S&W revolvers or Sig autos so she prefers it. I just use my Carry gun a Sig226 in .357Sig with a Crimson Trace Grip and Streamlight flashlight.
 
The gun you shoot best in an effective caliber

There is no one perfect gun, IMHO. I would stick with a quality make in a caliber of at least 9mm. Glocks meet your criteria, but don't fit everybody. Sigs are excellent as are Smith's Rugers etc. If you have the money, a custom 1911 would be great, but for $500 you can get a 2022 or G19/22/32 or Smith M&P etc.

Try them all out with your spouse and see if one fits both of you. One advantage of guns like the M&P and Sig is the ability to change grip size from small, medium to large (they come with different interchangeable Backstraps.

Funon1
 
If you're strictly talking home defense, I wouldn't think the portability factor is very important. Reliability is certainly important. But just the familiarity factor is critical. It's whatever gun you know the best, because chances are you won't have much time to react. It will be pure instinct and the lighting might not be the best. I used to think that my S&W mod 60 with the 3" barrel was ideal when loaded with a full power 357 load. It's certainly not bad, but I actually shoot my revolvers with the 7.5" or 8 3/8" barrels a lot more than that one. I don't think the SA revolvers that I shoot a whole lot are at a disadvantage compared to the DA revolvers I have either for that application. One or two carefully placed shots are all that's likely to happen anyway. For now, I have a 45 Colt single action revolver by my bedside, since that is what I shoot the most. I can handle it in my sleep it seems like.
 
My nightstand gun is a S&W M24-3 in .44 Special.

A DA revolver means all I have to do is pull the trigger and the .44 Special means a big hole is going to appear after I pull the trigger.
 
I really like my XD9SC for a nightstand gun.
Click to expand...

+1

I keep mine stoked with a full size 15 round mag hidden inside a secret shelf at the head of my bed.
Everything to like about it and nothing not to like.
 
I know this is a handgun thread, but the emphasis is on HD. Although I have a handgun close by, if push comes to shove, the Browning shotgun is coming out and will be highly visible. Also easier to point and aim in low light.
 
The Glock wasn't right for me because at night I am definitely not instantly awake and in my semiconscious state my finger was instinctively messin with the **** trigger. That just can't happen when walking around a house with family in it!! A Glock with the standard Glock trigger had to go for me.

A 1911 style is better with a manual safety for me.We will look around and see what's available for her smaller hands which has an available light attachment. Kahr presently doesn't build one that way.
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HUH?????:eek:.....you're walking around your house half asleep with a gun in your hand??? WTF?!?!?!!?.....If you can't get awake immediately, then walking around your house with a gun is just plain dumb......call 911 and wait in the bedroom

so you grab the 1911 half asleep and confront a BG - you going to remember, while half asleep, to flick the safety off?

I use either a G17, P7 or a revolver on the nightstand simply because I just to do the old Kodak thing - "point and click".....

Maybe you should be looking at a 12 gauge pump instead.........
 
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