bjones870
Yard/ home defense gun
Ok, I'm not new to firearms at all. But when this question came about, I was lost. So here's my situation. I am looking for a gun that is good for home defense, and yard defense. I live in the country, and have around an 8 acre yard, and my closest neighbor is around 2/3 of a mile away. If I see someone/something in my yard, I want a good gun I know i can grab that'd be good for around 25 yards or so. Im also looking for a gun to keep by my bed in case something goes bump in the night. Am I looking at buying two different guns, or is there a gun for my "situation"?
You set a few parameters in you post.
Not new to firearms
for home defense and good to 25 yards
Assuming you are only concerned with human threats:
Since you are not concerned with with concealment or a small size to carry around, you can go to the
much more effective platform of a long-arm firearm, rather than a handgun. A 12GA shotgun with buckshot is much more effective round, shot for shot, than any defensive handgun. A carbine in .223, 7.62 x 39mm, or similar carbine round (not a handgun round in a carbine sized platform) would also be much more effective shot for shot than a defensive hand gun. The long arms also have the great advantage of being more accurate at longer ranged due to the ability to stabilize the firearm with two hands at two different points and a shoulder.
One consideration of a 12GA with buckshot is the choice of barrel and sights. A slug barrel is open bore and allows the buckshot to spread quickly. It has been determined that with such a barrel only 3 or 4 (usually 3) of the 9 buckshot pellets hit a 42" "Pepper Popper" at 25 yards. That is sufficient to knock a Pepper Popper down which is calibrated to fall when hit with a .45ACP 230gr round to the center of the target. Using slugs is a possible choice.
Pepper Popper
Since you are familiar with firearms you may also want to consider a carbine which can be short enough for inside defense and can reach out and touch someone for outside defense.
However, the more distance between you and your target, the more difficulty you might have in justifying that target as an imminent threat and the use of deadly force. Shooting someone inside of your home versus shooting someone outside of your home at a range or 25 or 30 yards is something to consider.