Newbie here...need some opinions

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Welcome Brent

Your selection of calibers is very good. Any of them would do for self defense. Having some acquantances who are tow truck operators I would say that you may not be able to carry on your person. You would be in and out in all sorts of weather. Your company may not allow you to have a gun in a company truck. If they are fine with it you may want to look into a small car type gunsafe. You would have access when needed and it would be inaccessible to others while you are out of the truck working. The shotgun for the home is a nice touch. The Remington 870 is one of the best known shotguns for this purpose. Most police agencies have used them for decades. I have an 870 Wingmaster in 12 GA with a 20 inch rifle sight barrel. If your wife will have access to the shotgun you may want to consider a 20 GA or just use the standard 2 3/4 inch 12 GA shell. The magnum shells may be to powerful her her to handle. Plus the more powerful the round the more damage it will do to walls, doors, furniture, and appliances. With a little one at home you may also want to consider a locking gun cabinet or safe with a rapid opening system. It is good to see a new member of the shooting fraternity asking questions before they get in over their heads. It is very easy to do. Oh yeah one more thing about the shotgun, there is a stock made for police (available to others) that has a flashlight in the stock. You may want to look into it for a future add on.
 
Thanks guys!!

As for the Shotgun. I am wanting a VERY multipurpose gun. I want the 3 1/2" capability for hunting bigger birds and game. I plan on using low recoil 2 3/4" shells for HD so that my wife can shoot it if need be. I know that the 26" barrel is not ideal for HD but this gun will be used primarily for hunting and Skeet shooting. I may consider purchasing an 18" barrel in the future to swap out for HD. My wife could shoot the 12ga if she needed too. If I am not home for the night then she will put the baby in our room with her. Then if there was an intruder she could take cover behind the bed and rest the barrel on the bed with the muzzle pointed at the door. Then if anyone opens the door with out identifying themselves she could shoot.

The pistol. I know my wife could handle a .45. But I also want to be able to carry the gun on me and most .45s are a little big. I am leaning strongly towards the 9mm due to the vast ammo availability and the low ammo cost. I do plan on testing them all out (along with my wife) before making a purchase. We also plan on educating ourselves, taking classes, and spending alot of time at the range. To be honest my wife is a little freaked out by the handgun thing (she is fine with long guns). I think it is due to growing up in southern California where "Guns are bad":banghead: She has come a long way since then.

When doing repos I will probably open carry and trust me...I will drop a car quicker than you can blink if things are going to get physical. The gun is more for visual defense and to buy me enough time to Get the you-know-what out. For normal days I will just leave the gun at home.

Safes. My daughter is only 2mos old so she isnt getting around too well yet. I plan on getting a safe before she is a toddler and taking a gun out for overnight standby as needed.
 
Brisk said:
We also plan on educating ourselves, taking classes, and spending a lot of time at the range.
Click to expand...
Folks, it looks like Mr. and Mrs. Brisk, and the Briskette, are going to fit in just fine around here.

Good on ya.
 
My brother was a repo man, and was involved in a shootout

First, Quoheleth had it right on crawling under the cars and getting dirty. A used ruger auto in 45, would be the first place I'd look ("rugged, reliable, ruger"). My family had a tow truck business in Boston, and Brisk, you know as well as I do that the wheel lift doesn't always work perfectly. You often have to get under the vehicle, and any gun on your belt will be uncomfortable and get dinged and scraped. Also, BUY THE BEST NIGHT SIGHTS YOU CAN AFFORD. All the hairy repo occurs at night, right...?

I also don't think that there will be time to drop the car and boogie. In repo, the guys knows that someone is coming for the car, and will do anything to make the car hard to repo. I've seen Honda Accords chained to trees.

However, there may be time to draw and seek cover. Okay, here's the story on my brother. I can prove that he was a repo man because he was on the TV show about repo men hosted by the actor from Sopranos. Anyway, my brother was repo'ing a car (in the middle of the night, in a bad neighborhood) and heard shots fired close by, and heard the shots impact the side of the truck. My brother then sought cover behind the truck, got to the cab and got his gun. He kept in in the cab. He says there were lots of people running, like 5 or so folks in the front yard, but they weren't running at him, and they weren't the ones firing at him. My bro was very confused (he hadn't returned fire yet) and then he was fired on by the house NEXT DOOR to the address where the repo car was registered at. Turns out, the house next door was a crack house, and a rival gang was raiding the crack house at the same time that my bro was trying to repo the next door neighbor's car. So my bro returns fire, but it then realizes that they weren't firing on him, he was just caught in the crossfire. He's got the car half hooked up, but can't drop it or pull away yet (PTO engaged in truck, rear wheel drive car with truck hooked to the front tires, car still in park, driveshaft not yet disconnected, etc., etc.), and the whole thing happens real fast. My bro calls his dispatcher, the cops come in about 5 or so minutes, and my bro is still hiding behind the cover of the truck when the cops come. Funny thing is, the guy whose car my bro was repo'ing never came out of his house, and my bro got the repo...

So the take away is, keep the gun in the cab, and call the dispatcher as you are drawing the gun. and tow trucks make good cover...

Please don't hijack the thread responding about how my bro should have done this or that differently, I was just trying to communicate a relevent incident to Brink...
 
Good post. I like the idea of keeping the gun in the cab until needed. It would be uncomfortable to slide under cars with a gun on my hip.
 
definitely a good idea to consider a 2nd barrel for home defense if you get a long shotgun. the shorter the barrel for home defense, the easier it is to point. i'd still recommend having the pistol on you, and the old rugers are a great suggestion. i'm a semi-auto guy myself but in your case maybe a snubbie in .38spl will do the trick. easy to clean after a day's of sweating, safe to carry with less fear of unintentional discharge (this shouldn't be a problem anyway because i know you will practice safe handling) and easy to pack for quick access. good luck.
 
All great advice, but personally I like the Mossberg 590 with a Knoxx specops stock better. The location of the safety just feels right to me. Either way, I'd definately get a Knoxx stock for the HD gun, be it an 870 or whatever.

Try a mossy. I was dead set on an 870 until the 590 found its way into my hands--haven't looked back since.
 
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