Firearm information needed!

[Army]

For a home defense weapon that isn't going to be shot much, but stay in it's corner until needed, you can't beat a Mossberg 500 in 20 gauge.

20's can launch identical payloads as 12's, but do it with much less recoil. A house gun needn't be the most powerful, nor the most expensive.

It's not just about stopping the bad guy either, you must take into consideration the immediate aftermath of any shooting:

You will most likely be handcuffed and taken to jail. At least until the police can put all things together.

You will most likely be sued for wrongful death. Regardless the findings and conclusions of the police, family members take it personal when one of theirs is killed.

YOUR actions will be layed out in court for the world to see. Regardless if the former bad guy had a rap sheet a mile long, he will be portrayed as a choir boy. You must show and prove that you did all you could to avoid the situation, and used only as much force as was necessary to protect your LIFE or the lives of your family.

Forensics will be brought in to show exactly what you did, even if you do not remember them happening. This is a very common phenomenon called "tachy-psychia". If you have ever been in a bad wreck, you may recall that you don't remember seeing or hearing anything else around you except for what was directly in front of you. This also explains why there are 20 different versions of an event, despite all 20 people seeing the same thing. You may swear you were in the hallway the whole time, but forensics can show that you walked all over the kitchen too.

Lastly:

NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER move the body from where it fell, even if it's on Grandma's favorite poodle. And NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER put a weapon in the bad guys dead hands. Only move the body enough to check for vitals signs while you are on the phone with the police. Forensics will easily prove that the body was moved...AND YOU WILL BE GUILTY OF MURDER AND TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE IN A CRIME SCENE, because YOU just made it into a crime scene.....against YOU. That's no poop either, their lawyer will prove that you killed him in cold blood, and STAGED it to look like he was trying to rob you. This, unfortunately, happens all the time because some dunderhead said "If I ever shot someone, I'd just drag him inside and put a knife in his hand". Sure, and we'll see you in 30 years or so.

OK, now go take a firearms safety/familiarization class and begin learning!

[hAppy]

yeah i cant picture anyone in my family charging at a guy with a shotgun anyways. the shotgun is mainly for animals that may be lurking around. mainly wolves, than bears and elephants

but a .40 cal handgun isnt to guarantee a kill right? cus thats not what im looking for. just something that will stop crackheads and zombies, but nothing thats not strong enough to take down a big man.

[govnamac]

Wow, I didn't know Arkansas and Texas had bands of roaming armed invaders wearing body armor that you need an armory just to live there.

[richie]

Well what ever you get,become VERY familiar with it.There is nothing better than knowing your firearm better than you know your best friend.A lot of accidents happen because people "cleaning" thier gun and it just went off.If you are carefull,this can be avoided.I was raised around firearms and my father purposly let me hold his service pistols when he was on the sheriffs dept.He showed me how to handle them,how to NEVER point them at anything you did not intend to shoot.I am doing the same with my kids.It's all about respecting and knowing your guns.

I cannot attest to Glocks,but I have two Sigs(9mm),A Baretta 92F 9mm,and a Colt 1911 9mm lightwieght.I love the Baretta.I took the firearm course for the sheriffs dept and had to run 1500 rounds through it to complete the course on various range settings.Almost all the other people had the dept issued S&W 9 mm's.Out of all the rounds provided to me for the course,I never had one stovepipe(jam) while most of the other students were jamming like crazy.I have put several thousand rounds through this gun and have never had a jam with it.The Sigs in my opinion are just as high quality and are a joy to shoot.The Colt is a different story.I do not have the experience with a single action pistol as I do with the double action pistols I own and therefore are very apprehensive about carring it around as I do the others.

As far as home protection,a shotgun cannot be beat.They make safety slugs for most guns that do not come out of the backside of a perpetrator.That reduces the risk of harming someone else in your residence.The force is spread out in the perp body and not the house.

Or,You could just paint them to death

[hAppy]

Thanks hopefully I will learn my gun enough to not end up shooting anything around me.

govnamac - i dont live there, but everyone seems to be able to agree that "every home owns at least 1 gun". so... i dont want to be the one caught without one.

[Automag88]

I'd suggest the new Ruger revolver in .17 caliber. The bullet isn't big, but it flys really fast. Virtually no recoil, it's quiet, it can drop a coyote at 200 yards, plus if you miss you won't blow the crap out of your house.

[TylerDurden]

The best things you can do for security of your home are usually the most obvious. A good alarm system that will sound if a door or window is broken into would be good so that you do not have to investigate any "Strange noises" in the middle of the night. Keeping your cell phone charged on you night stand to call the police if the phone lines are cut. Keeping locks on your outer doors locked when no one is entering or leaving. I would recommend reinforcing your main doors to prevent them from being kicked in. Making it known that if the alarm goes of to meet in a certain room where you can lock yourself in. You may want to keep a firearm in here to protect your family.

Now onto the firearms. If you want a round with less recoil than a .45, but with the same capacity of the 9mil you could use a box of 9mm +P. The +P means it is a heavier grain slug than a normal bullet. This round is meant to be for defensive purposes. However, for at home protection a handgun cannot compete with a shotgun. It doen't matter if the perp is wearing bodyarmor or not because either way it will knock the crap out of them, and they will be peppered with pellets. I can pretty much tell you that if you come into the situation where some one breaks into your home at night...it will be to dark, scary, and confusing for you to tell whether they are, or not wearing bodyarmor. So just fire if you fell threated, and check their vitals if you believe they are no longer a threat. Either way call the police immediately and inform them of the situation.

If you are dead set on a Handgun, the simpler the better. Revolvers have historically been the simplest, and most reliable handguns made. However, their limitation is that they can only contain from 5 to 8 rounds (usually 6). The best thing you could as mentioned before is practice, practice, practice. The firearm must feel like it is an extension of your body so that when you need it the most it will feel instinctive to use it properly. Also, be sure to think before you shoot. Once, the bullet is out of the chamber it doesn't matter whether it is going into a criminal or a family member because it can't be stopped. Identify your target and squeeze the trigger.

Hope for the best...plan for the worst...be safe.

[TylerDurden]

Automag88 not to be an arse but the .17 is a terrible defensive round. The fact that it is small and flys fast means that it A) Will not do much damage to an assailant , and B) Would over-penetrate and fly into something it wasn't intended to. The round was made as a small game hunting round for squirrels and Praire dogs. It in no way was meant to be used on humans. The fact that it is quiet may be a detriment to the situation it would be used for. If someone is breaking into your home, and you shoot at them...You want it to be extremely loud. If your breaking into someones home and you hear a thundering boom...would you really want to mess with any one their?

However, if you wanted to use it for getting rid of squirrels, prairie dogs, or any other pests... then yes it is an excellent candidate for that.

[skife]

I'd suggest the new Ruger revolver in .17 caliber. The bullet isn't big, but it flys really fast. Virtually no recoil, it's quiet, it can drop a coyote at 200 yards, plus if you miss you won't blow the crap out of your house.

dont forget to add the price of this round is really expensive
a .223 is a fine gun for shooting animals.
what ever gun you chose for home defense is up to you, but might i suggest a laser pointing sight, it will certinally scare the crap out of somone because they know you have a gun and they know where its aimed.

[rehme]

also remeber that you cant shoot any one inless you feel endangered of your life. because if you end up shooting some one and killing them and they dont have a wepon you are screwed or that is the way it is here in kansas. but shooting a handgun half way accuratly is very hard and takes alot of practice. with a shotgun you really dont need to aim you just point and have a good chance of getting them.

[hAppy]

which shotgun and rifle should i get? or how do i know which ones i want?

[Mister Sinister]

which shotgun and rifle should i get? or how do i know which ones i want?

The question is too broad. What exactly do you want to do with them? As there is no one rifle or shotgun that will do everything. For a rifle do you just want to shoot pop cans or do you want to do big game hunting? bench rest shooting? Same with shotguns. Will it be only for home defence or goose hunting, trap shooting?

In terms of shotguns I own Franchi SPAS-12 which while it is a fine firearm doesnt really fit many purposes. It has a 20 inch barrel which is cyliner bore. Meaning it has no choke to tighten up the shot pattern. This kills its ability to perform well hunting birds or fowl. Its really more of a "police" style shotgun with its 8 shot capacity and short barrel which is good for CQB indoors.

Granted there are some guns that are more versatile. One of them would be a Remington 870 pump action shotgun. With 2 barrels one a normal shot barrel with interchangeable choke tubes and the other a rifled slug barrel. With this you can hunt really any manner of birds or fowl just by varying the shot type and load. It will do a commendable job skeet shooting or trap shooting if that interests you. Then with the rifled barrel it can be used for close range deer hunting in the woods and brush.

Most of the time you will find there is no single right answer. Even after you filtered your selection according to what you want to do with it. The price you want to pay for it you may find that will all the manufacturers and models that there multiple choices to be had. My suggestion pick up some magazines, talk to the people at the gun shops, do alot of research into it. This isnt something that you have to purchase right away.

[hAppy]

thanks for info once again

looking at shotguns mainly for wolves, bears and elephants that might come charging at my house from the woods. if it works for animals it works for people too right?

rifle, mainly for animals once again, it seems more convenient to use a handgun against people.

learning about these guns, i still need to know bout the gauges, and calibers, and all the goods. thanks!

[Mister Sinister]

[QUOTE=xXhAppyAznXx]

looking at shotguns mainly for wolves, bears and elephants that might come charging at my house from the woods.
rifle, mainly for animals once again, it seems more convenient to use a handgun against people.

QUOTE]
Not to be an arse but your kidding right? I grew up on a farm at the edge of the mountains. If you went farther up into the hills there were black bear and mountain lions. But it was very rare for them to come down around the house. For that matter the 19 years I lived there I can only rememeber 2 mountain lion incidents and neither time did we see one. One we just found tracks. The other time we just heard the dogs barking and found the tracks later. The only animals we ever had problems with were skunks and you dont want to shoot one of those unless you are far away from them. I dont think you need a firearm for animal protection.

[hAppy]

i live in CA, the only animals you see in the city are racoons and opposums at most...
i get my impressions of other states on tv, like on signs how the aliens came to some farm. yeah its all out of ignorance ill admit. i have the slightest idea of how life is on a farm. my parents are looking for some chicken farms at this very moment. they are in OK, TX, and AK for the week.