Handgun, Rifle, PCC, or Shotgun for Home Defense?

[Mosin77]

You guys have given me some good food for thought. Thanks.

I like the idea of some kind of camera/motion light at the doors. I’ve always been the sort to brush off that sort of thing as a bit paranoid/“they’re capitalizing on fear to sell you something”/“my grandpa didn’t have a security system so why should I have one?” but realistically it might buy me an extra minute, which is a considerable advantage. On the other hand I think, movies/etc aside, maybe planning for a break-in in the middle of the night is less likely in a suburban context. (But doesn’t mean it can’t happen.)

If some thugs come barging in at, say, dinner time, I’d be surprised, but I’d have my CCW piece so I could respond to the threat as the situation dictated. Just as I could in a parking garage or anywhere else.

It’s that “I heard a sound downstairs/was that someone knocking at the door?/Honey I think I heard glass breaking??” moment in the wee hours of the morning… sure, you HOPE a criminal isn’t stupid enough to break into an occupied house, but one never knows. If they were that smart they’d be working as a lawyer and not a burglar. And you’re in your own home so, strapping up to investigate, you don’t have to limit yourself to a pistol, you can grab something bigger.

My old house was in a bad neighborhood. We heard gunshots all the time, drug deals in the alley, I pulled in to the side street where I usually parked and was once approached by a lady of the night. But the houses were brick, the floors were incredibly creaky, and I had a great defensive setup, straight down a steep staircase backstopped by my own wall and my neighbors brick foundation. This house? Wayyyy better neighborhood, but if something ever does happen, defense would be more challenging.

 

[Ks5shooter]

Dogo is my alarm.He stays down stairs at night.We sleep upstairs,then it's CCW handguns with extra mags at the ready for me and the wife.

 

[Kleanbore]

That is the time when I am most vulnerable

That doesn't compute.

Most home invasions and burglaries occur during the daytime.

 

[Scrapiron45]

Realize that this is straying from the original post but I recently installed light switches for a retired couple that they control from their phone. They can now control selected lighting throughout the house without leaving the room and while this was primarily for convenience it would be a great security feature.

 

[P5 Guy]

Glock's model 34 with 20 rounds of Gold Dot 124 +p. A plus two adaptor on the 17-round magazine. makes19 + 1.

 

[GRIZ22]

If you don want something that's going to blast through multiple walls a shotgun with bird shot is probably best.

Problem with birdshot is lack of penetration.

I had an attempted suicide with a single barrel and a load of #6. The only reason he lived waa.because the wad plugged the.wound and I stuffed my tie in it enroute to the hospital.

 

[GRIZ22]

Su sProblem with birdshot is lack of penetration.

I had an attempted suicide with a single barrel and a load of #6. The only reason he lived waa.because the wad plugged the.wound and I stuffed my tie in it enroute to the hospital.

He kept saying in the ER, "I'm going to die". The ER nurse told him, "we're all going to die sometime but you're not going.to die tonight".

He survived

 

[nettlle]

That doesn't compute.

Most home invasions and burglaries occur during the daytime.

When I start feeling vulnerable during the daytime I will carry then also.

 

[luzyfuerza]

OP, first, examine the kinds of shots you think you might have to make in your environment.

Then take your HD handgun (assuming its in a duty caliber) to the range, and see if you can reliably make those shots. If you can't, practice to get better.

Only if you simply cannot reach the required skill level with your handgun should you think about switching to a long gun.

Also, make decisions about installing gun-mounted lights and irons-vs-RDS on your HD handgun based on the shots you might have to make.

 

[film495]

When I start feeling vulnerable during the daytime I will carry then also.

I kind of do the same thing, based on internal radar. I have to remind myself that an attacker cares little about how I feel about it or what my schedule looks like. I tend not to carry at home, cause of emo teens in and out of my house on the regular.

 

[HowardC]

FWIW, a 16 gauge shotgun makes about a 1 1/2 inch hole in a chicken house wall at 8-10 ft. Don't ask how I know.......

-West out

 

[JTHunter]

In the event of a nighttime break-in, there is a 12 ga. SxS with double triggers on a gun rack next to the bed, and my .357 is also hanging on it with 2 Speed-loaders on the belt.
There are multiple handguns secreted around the house - JIC. In the kitchen, there is also an old umbrella with everything removed except the metal shaft that looks like an epee (type of fencing sword) as well as 3-4 large chef's knives. One is 12" long and 2" high at the hilt and heavy enough that, with a well placed strike might remove a hand at the wrist or almost decapitate someone.
Then there are the old, heavy hammered aluminum sauce pans that are about 3 qt. size. They will leave some lumps.

 

[CDW4ME]

The handgun I'm carrying all day is handy at night; so, that is my go to self defense weapon.
Live in a good area? Check
Have two large dogs? German Shepherd & Bullmastiff. Check.
Carry anyway? Check.

 

[Rexster]

The shotgun will, absolutely, move the most living structural material, within the body of an opponent, per shot. (Well, some rifles will move that much material, but, such rifles are not as man-portable.) A handgun, however, is usually handier.

My wife worked for 21 years, as a Death Scene Investigator, for the Medical Examiner of the what was then the USA’s third-most-populous county, which emcompasses most of the USA’s fourth-largest city, by population. Death Scene Investigator, not autopsy room. Let’s just say that she approves of the home defense shotgun concept. But, yes, a handgun is usually handier.

I worked 33+ years of night shift police patrol, for that fourth-largest city in the USA. I know that I cannot predict the nature and capabilities of the person who may try to invade our home. I keep handguns handy, and a Benelli M2 almost as handy. I actually DO know how to hunt bad guys, inside a structure, while wielding a long gun, but such a task is BEST done with a team, and BEST done with a handgun on my hip, in a retention-type holster, on a sturdy duty belt.

A handgun is usually handier.

If a person invades our home, he will probably not hear the action of a shotgun action being worked. Our most-ready Benelli already has a round in the chamber. (It is a best practice to position a loaded-chamber weapon in such a way that it will not threaten anyone, in the event that a chambered round cooks-off during a house fire.)

A handgun is usually handier.

Rifle? PCC? Both nice options to have, but, remember that part about a shotgun moving structural material? I trend shotgun, if home defense is the task. I do, however, appreciate that my wife likes lever-action rifles. It is always nice when couples do things together.

 

[1nighttrain]

My CC gets put on the nightstand when I return home, with a shotgun near by.

I choose the shotgun over an AR because I’m more comfortable with it vs the AR.
If a zombie apocalypse is outside my door I’ll take an AR from the safe.

We have a couple dogs that are fantastic alarm systems.

 

[Show Me]

So how pyscho is it in a rural bedroom to have a revolver sticking out of a drawer, a short SxS leaning on the night stand, a short R92 leaning on the window trim and now a mini thirty on the other.

Takes a while to lock up though. I leave the stoger unlocked.

Our house isn't big so if someone kicked in the front door two old people are toast anyway.

 

[CoalTrain49]

I prefer a pistol with a light on it. Never understood the shotgun for HD rage. All of my shotguns and rifles are locked in my safe. I have a pistol in my desk and one in my night stand. Those are the places you can find me 70% of the time when I'm home.

 

[Bcwitt]

I have no doubt the handgun can be mobilized faster & is vastly better negotiating doorways & halls indoors. Handgun bullets typically do not over penetrate w sensible calibers / loadings. Also, a pistol can be used w a single hand. An attacker might grab ahold of a long gun & take it from you.

 

[AJC1]

I have all the options and I bounce between AR and shotgun. If they get buy the dogs and are in my home it's war till its over... my kids have been trained to lay on the floor because that's the safest place to be...

 

[Jeff White]

Handgun bullets typically do not over penetrate w sensible calibers / loadings

You've never fired one through sheet rock walls have you? Standard US construction practices are 2 layers of 1/2 sheet rock on 2x4 studs at 16 inch spacing. Unless you go to extraordinary measures like filling the voids between the 2x4s with sand or placing the sheet rock over steel plates (both options require heavier construction to support the weight) you can count on shooting through walls with just about every firearm you can name. Your best option is frangible bullets which are a huge compromise in penetration in the bad guy. One of the reasons police tactical teams went from shotguns to AR pattern rifles is that M193 ball ammunition breaks up and the fragments that penetrate interior construction are usually small enough that they are less of a hazard to people in adjoining rooms in case a stray round goes into an interior wall. Note that I said LESS OF A HAZARD NOT THAT IT WON'T INJURE OR KILL there is just a greater chance it won't.

Few of us are going to go through the expense and labor of hardening our interior walls. Things like book cases can provide additional protection from over penetration and you might consider placement of them in your defensive plan.

 

[Bcwitt]

You've never fired one through sheet rock walls have you? Standard US construction practices are 2 layers of 1/2 sheet rock on 2x4 studs at 16 inch spacing. Unless you go to extraordinary measures like filling the voids between the 2x4s with sand or placing the sheet rock over steel plates (both options require heavier construction to support the weight) you can count on shooting through walls with just about every firearm you can name. Your best option is frangible bullets which are a huge compromise in penetration in the bad guy. One of the reasons police tactical teams went from shotguns to AR pattern rifles is that M193 ball ammunition breaks up and the fragments that penetrate interior construction are usually small enough that they are less of a hazard to people in adjoining rooms in case a stray round goes into an interior wall. Note that I said LESS OF A HAZARD NOT THAT IT WON'T INJURE OR KILL there is just a greater chance it won't.

Few of us are going to go through the expense and labor of hardening our interior walls. Things like book cases can provide additional protection from over penetration and you might consider placement of them in your defensive plan.

I suppose it is subjective, depending on what type of home construction you went with. Brick walls are still very popular in my area. Also, get some steel plates & shoot them w m193s from a 20" bbl. You might be surprised just how much they will penetrate. Will go right thru 1/4" mild @ close range. M855s will blow thru 1/2" mild @ same distance.

 

[Jeff White]

Brick walls are still very popular in my area.

Interior walls?

Also, get some steel plates & shoot them w m193s from a 20" bbl. You might be surprised just how much they will penetrate. Will go right thru 1/4" mild @ close range.

I’ve probably put 100,000 rounds of M193 downrange in a combined 48 career as an Army Infantryman and police officer. I’ve shot it through vehicles, houses, steel plate and all kinds of glass. The advance indoors is exactly what I explained. It keyholes and fragments, those fragments lose velocity and are less likely to kill or cause serious injury than a bullet that stays intact. They are still dangerous and one should not think that it’s safe to shoot through a wall because of that effect. Handgun rounds, even though they are moving at a fraction of the speed of M193 will retain their mass and more velocity when fired through common building materials.

 

[jmorris]

I like the idea of some kind of camera/motion light at the doors. I’ve always been the sort to brush off that sort of thing as a bit paranoid/“they’re capitalizing on fear to sell you something”/“my grandpa didn’t have a security system so why should I have one?”

I have had motion sensors outside my home for more than two decades. My wife never sees me, "just sitting around", when she gets home. When we lived in the city, it would startle people reaching for the doorbell, as you answered the door because the IR sensor triggered the single tone on the door bell, once they stepped off the street and into our yard.

Outside the city they work even better on pigs, coyotes and such.

 

[Lo-Profile]

Handgun and shotgun are readily available

 

[JTHunter]

Another advantage of a shotgun over a rifle or pistol is that the "cloud" of pellets is more forgiving of poor aiming which can be a factor at night. Also, the area of damage is greater than a single solid projectile.
Think about that - one .38 cal slug (0.355-.358") vs. 12-15 pellets that are .33" (OO Buck) diameter.

Which will give you better "coverage"?