In need of better home defense firearm

I agree with Glenn.

#1 lighting, on the back of the house and the shed In have dusk to dawn flourescents, on the front I have low voltage eve lighting.

#2 Alarm, dual zone so you can set the perimeter when your home. Alarm sounds a siren and turns on the outdoor floodlights.

#3 Dog, A good dog with a good bark. Doesn't need to be ferocious but should be alert and loud. Mine is the best family pet ever but he is big and loud and doesn't like strangers.

#4 A good pistol IMO. I know they say shotgun but to me, to big and bulky and too few rounds. A good pistol you are comfortable with should be in easy reach. For me that's the 92FS.

#5 Use the pistol so you are comfortable and proficient with it. Get some good range time with it and know it well, join a league and have some fun while becoming a good shot.


To your question, 30 rds is tough in anything I call a decent handgun. The 92FS will hold 20 with a small grip extension. Some Glocks will get up there. But otherwise your stuck with the magazine sticking way out the handle, kind of defeats the purpose of the pistol (compact and easy to maneuvere with. Otherwise 15 to 17 is the norm (assuming you're ok with 9mm as I am, otherwise a lot less than that).
 
Selecting another defensive gun - should be based on what you shoot the best ( caliber, controls, size, sights, etc ) are all factors ...

By your own admission you were trying to justify buying an AR - pistol / and noone on here thought it was a great idea ( and I agree by the way ) / but if its what you want - then buy it - and train with it ... !!

Personally, I train with a 5" 1911 in .45 acp / 8 rd mags aren't high capacity - but its the gun I shoot the best / handle the controls the best etc ..../ but if I was worried about capacity, I'd store it with a mag-pouch with 8 full mags in it.

But I'm also confident enough in my training - that 16 rds ( 2 mags ) is way more than I will ever probably need ( even if there are 5 of them ) ...until the cavalry arrives ...but in my area that's probably under 10 minutes max ....but that's not your situation out in the country / so you need to adapt to your reality ....and what makes you feel good / not what any of us think ....and train with it ....hopefully weekly !!
 
there is a good chance of some of the 00buck missing and damaging your house - more so than a stray bullet will do. I also don't feel that 00 buck is as lethal as a high powered heavy handgun round, unless at close distances, in which case it's devastating
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To me, the shotgun is the #1 choice, given the choice. At 20 feet my 18" chokeless 870 Wingmaster produces a 9-shot fist-size pattern at 1200 fps that is likely to end the fight much sooner than anything shooting one bullet at a time (barring a headshot, which would be a fluke if you shoot COM as recommended). At 30 feet the pattern is only hand-sized.

I think there is a strong argument to be made that there is much less chance of stray lead from one 00 buck round from a shotgun vs. 9 rounds from a handgun.

To the OP - The 18" barrel on my 12 gauge Remington 870 is just slightly longer than my +3 round magazine extension, giving me a total capacity of 7+1 2-3/4" shells. I would try to find an extension if you're not comfortable with "only" 5 rounds.

00buck20ft.jpg
 
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One very helpful thing people can do is learn how to reload their own ammo and invest in a basic set of reloading gear. The reason is the obvious requirement, as is constantly stated here, that you practice a LOT and become intimately familiar with your firearm, especially if it's a self-defense weapon. The only way to do that is to fire hundreds and hundreds of rounds through it. If you really get into it, you can VERY quickly spend more on ammo than you did on the gun. Instead, most people simply don't practice as much as they should. They go down to the local range, fire a couple boxes of expensive ammo, bring the gun home and don't touch it again for 6 months.

I know it's easier for some than for others as far as cost, setting up a place to do it, etc. I mean, set up a little table in a corner or in a walk-in closet or something. But when you can reload for 1/4 the cost of buying it off the shelf, it can go a LOOONNG way towards getting in your practice time.

- Ruark
 
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Go with a Saiga loaded with a 20 round drum if you are that scared the one you have won't work. The simple fact is that an AR or AK pistol is going to be too heavy and awkward to shoot one handed in a high stress situation.

I have seen videos of a Saiga with an 8" barrel shooting an 8" spread at 25 yards with Hornady TAP buck shot. At home defense distances it will be accurate if you do your job.

It will be like shooting at a person with multiple rounds of .38 spl+p each time you pull the trigger.

Like others said, passive defenses will help. One thing I've been considerring is putting a driveway sensor beside the bottom step of my porch. If a person steps on the bottom step, I would get a loud doorbell ring in the bed room. Making the area as bright as possible, and the entry as loud as possible will deter the vast majority of criminals. If that doesn't stop the criminal at least you have enough advanced warning to get armed, dial 911 and get ready.
 
"All I can say is you've got to be kidding. Is this what the movies are doing to us?"

What, you didn't see "Tremors"? There's a reason to need this stuff!:p
 
Any excuse or none will do to buy another gun. I do that myself; however I can think of few problems inside the home that can't be solved with 5 rounds of 12 ga.
 
From a 9mm to a carbine rifle, bottom line is that the BG does not like to be shot by any of them. It's up to you if you want it to be a closed casket or not.
 
My advice is to stop blowing your money on guns and ammo. Spend it on a U-Haul trailer. Load up your booty and move to a place where life is safe and your brain is not filled with paranoia.

I know there are people who live in bad areas, but I guess I just did not know so many of them were on this Forum. If I were you, I would not hang around waiting for something bad to happen. Move to a save community. This is the best protection you can provide you and your family.

Many of us are prepared for the unexpected, but this sound more like buidling an arsenal and a fortress knowing the next charge is coming over the hill.

There was a home invasion in Montgomery, Alabama last weekend. One resident was killed. Guess what was in the house. A duffle bag of weed and a safe with bundles of cash. I wonder what signaled in the invaders?
 
OK, Here goes.
How about keeping a FN Five-seveN semiauto pistol in the nightstand. Stoked with magazine extensions it will hold 30 rounds. Sure its a small caliber, but the lack of recoil and huge wound cavity makes it a formidable HD firearm. Super fast follow up shots to boot.
If a carbine is more your speed, why not the civilian version of the FN P90! 50 rounds in a pretty small package is'nt too bad either.

Just my .02 cents.
 
OK, Here goes.
How about keeping a FN Five-seveN semiauto pistol in the nightstand. Stoked with magazine extensions it will hold 30 rounds. Sure its a small caliber, but the lack of recoil and huge wound cavity makes it a formidable HD firearm. Super fast follow up shots to boot.
If a carbine is more your speed, why not the civilian version of the FN P90! 50 rounds in a pretty small package is'nt too bad either.

Just my .02 cents.
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it took 3 pages to say it, and the person to say it beat me to it by a matter of hours.

All the other info aside about proper home defense, etc. etc. the op asked for pistol solutions with given requirements. OP already has glock with extended mag, only other pistol I know of off the top of my head that I would consider a true pistol and not an ar-pistol is the five-seven with +10rd extension (btw the extended mags on a five-seven don't compare to that of a glock, much more manageable). If people doubt the ballistic capabilities of the 5.7x28mm round look at some ballistic gelatin tests for this round. The round can get the job done, look at how many police and military forces around the world us the p90 as their primary weapon. The round works, it does damage, accurate, low recoil, fast followup shots, doesn't over penetrate. FN markets the five-seven as a home defense weapon for the civilian market, its a good choice.

for reference on the mags

fn_cmmg_57EXT.jpg


11.jpg
 
The round can get the job done, look at how many police and military forces around the world us the p90 as their primary weapon. The round works, it does damage, accurate, low recoil, fast followup shots, doesn't over penetrate. FN markets the five-seven as a home defense weapon for the civilian market, its a good choice.
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Theres also the civie semiauto version of the P90, the PS90. Here's a gunblast review:

http://www.gunblast.com/FNH-PS90.htm

I saw a couple at the gunstore this weekend and even with the longer civie barrel, they are a seriously compact package. Maybe worth a look, but I;m not sure about overpenetration of the round. Wouldn't want it going through multiple walls in your house.
 
First, if you are expecting 4-5 armed opponents as a nightmare scenario, DON'T GO TO THEM! Five on one tactics in your home should involve a choke point that THEY have to go through...which your 12ga. happens to be pointing at.

I'd keep the shotgun, and maybe add a Glock with at least a standard mag (17+ in 9mm) as back-up. If five blasts of 12ga. isn't enough to convince the BGs to avoid your hallway, you might just be out of luck!
 
Has anyone brought up how after all those potential rounds fired in a house that the OP will be stone deaf? :D After ripping off 30 rounds - he will be deaf as a door knob.
 
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