To those gun owners...

[JediBeldarine]

Ok, so here's a question that's been on my mind for a while.

I've been thinking for some time about getting a gun for our home. We live out in a rural community with some fairly well-off neighbors. Right now we have no dog and I feel uncomfortable on the nights when I'm home but Shannon is not. We have swords in the house but I could not actually see myself defending our home against an armed invader with one.

Of course I'd be taking safety courses and going to the range to become comfortable with whatever I get. Of course I would keep it locked with the ammunition separate. Of course I would educate my son about its whereabouts and how to respect/use the gun correctly.

Now that we've gotten that out of our way... My cousin, who is a retired NYPD officer, recommended I get some sort of shotgun versus a hand gun. He cited some pretty logical reasons -- the shotgun is big enough to scare the **** out of any intruder, with shotguns you don't have to have surgical precision to hit someone and they're fairly easy to unlock and load in quick-action situations (all of this is as opposed to a hand gun).

Do you guys agree or disagree with this assessment? Do you feel I'd be better off wtih a hand gun instead? Why or why not?

I'm not close to making a decision since I'm a pretty slow decision-maker with something this important... so it's not like I'm going to go out and buy a shotgun tomorrow... I'd just like to know your input :)

Thanks,

Jen

[Ryan Pode]

For home defense, if you are able to wield a shotgun (it has a good deal of kickback), it's probably a smarter choice to go with than a handgun.

[Morgan Evanar]

Try a bunch of different guns and pick whatever you are comfortable with. A shotgun is a good home defense weapon, but it is pretty big. That is the largest advantage of a handgun: ease of maneuverability.

The reason why the shotgun is really scary: pump one. Very special sound :)

[Park Kraken]

Go with something that your comfortable with, that makes a lot of noise, and has a decent amount of punch, really. If you get a handgun, try to go for a Desert Eagle or a Beretta 9mm, if not, a 40-cal shotgun would be suitable.

[Cat X]

try to go for a Desert Eagle .

I'm no gun expert and even I know that was the wrong answer.

There is indeed nothing that chills the blood like a shotgun shell being racked and nothing that says "Get OUT" better.

Also speaking from inexperience, unless your fairly level headed in a situation a handgun is probably just as dangerous to yourself as to an intruder.

[Dakota Black]

I agree to go with what feels comfortable to you. Granted, the shotgun will definitely scare anyone who comes face to barrel with it...but on the other hand, it's a lot easier to conceal a handgun and maneuver it in a tight situation. I personally would carry a handgun if I could really afford it, so instead I carry a pretty scary knife.

Hope this helped a little. It's a really important decision, and it's cool that you're making it a family decision and responsibility. I've been a gun advocate for quite some time, and it's sad that those who oppose don't see this kind of situation when it comes to voting time.

Good luck with your decisions!

[Zem-El Vymes]

The reason why the shotgun is really scary: pump one. Very special sound :)

The sound of a shotgun blast is scarier than the sound of a pump action, that is, if they can hear it at all. I would prefer to already have a round in the pipe and announce "leave or I'll kill you" as my warning.

I'd suggest a shoulder-fired weapon because it's simply easier to fire accurately. Pistols are great if you're looking for defense options when away from your home, but if you're at your house, then you should gear up with the heaviest weapon you can comfortably and reliably bring to bear.

I'd suggest either a shotgun or a pistol caliber carbine. Pump shotguns are very common and many people swear by them, but I would actually suggest going the extra mile and looking for a Saiga:

http://panicked.org/sa/saiga.jpg

It's built in Russia from the same armories that built USSR and Russian Federation Kalashnikovs. The design is obviously derivative of the Kalashnikov pattern, with accomodations made to accept shotgun shells rather than rifle rounds. This one, I picked up barely used at a gun show for $300. The beauty of a gun like this is that semi-automatic weapons will bleed some of the recoil that you'd have to deal with if shooting 000 Buck (or thereabouts). In addition, Kalashnikovs can accept a recoil buffer on the spring, further softening recoil.

If you go that route, I can also deal you in on a larger magazine. The Russians sell an 8 round box mag in addition to the standard 5, but the 8 rounder is ridiculously expensive. I've done some dealer work with a domestic company that has designed and manufactured 10 round magazines for the Saiga, and I can sell you one at a discount.

Here's what that looks like:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/saigasig.jpg

Beyond that, if you wanted to just go crazy, there's some evil genius at www.tromix.com that specializes in these Russian beauties, and offers heavy modification packages to fully customize them from the standard commercial configuration that the Russians sell.

Here's one of the Tromix guns after modification. The combinations you can choose from are much more diverse than this:

http://panicked.org/sa/tromix.gif

All told, you can buy the basic package for less than $500 easy (or even less if you find a used one) or you can go all-out for less than a grand.

You can find cheaper shotguns sure. If cost is a king issue, I'd suggest you look at a Mossberg 500, which you can pick up for $150-ish. It's got a great aftermarket and I've shot enough of them to recommend them as well. I would personally angle for the Saiga if possible though.

As far as pistol carbines go, Beretta makes a gun called a CX4 Storm that Akrabbim owns. They are about $450-600 depending on who you ask, and they are very manageable. 9mm is the best choice I think, and it's a very accurate weapon. Also, it's very capable of accepting gear like vertical foregrips, weaponlights, etc, should that be your calling.

If you are okay with scaling up the firepower, you may also want to look into a combat carbine, but I wouldn't suggest it for home defense. Being that you said you're sort-of rural, it may be an option though. This option is also considerably more expensive than the others I've mentioned, so I'm not going to suggest that one too much.

[Jedieb]

I think the most important thing you've done is that you've put so much thought and planning into this decision. You really have to go with what you're most comfortable with. I would't get the gun, not with my kids. I know my little ones and I just wouldn't feel safe with that kind of weapon in the house. But if I did bring a weapon in I think the sound of a shotgun would do more to scare someone and avoid the weapon ever being fired. Warning someone stupid enough to break into your house may not work. Who knows if they'll even believe you. But I bet they'd believe the sound of a shotgun being pumped. And if they didn't, well, center mass.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I would caution to practice practice practice if you get a pump. One problem I've had at times, and one that could potentially get a novice killed, is the possibility of a short-stroke, in which you don't fully let the pump travel enough to engage, and the mechanism locks on you. That's a major reason why I prefer semi-automatics, which can still jam, but aren't adversely affected by things like stress.

[Callista]

I would get a 22 pistol or rifle...'cause...do you HONESTLY want to kill someone that's breaking into your home or just scare him and possibly wound if he does something stupid? A 22 would hurt, but not kill :P and they're easy and fun! I have a 22 single-shot rifle that I go prairie dog hunting with....but I also have a 300 and a .44 :P I'm pretty sure the ranch could supply a small war - my dad and grandfather were gun collectors and hunters :P

DEFINITELY teach your child about guns - if you can, have him do a hunter's safety class. Or any type of class. I've been shooting since I was too young to even hold the gun on my own. Neither my brother nor I ever had issues with guns...we're both good shots and have never been stupid around them.

But yeah, I don't know if I'd want something that would actually KILL someone...wielding it and making it scary with the sound is one thing, but if you're forced to shoot...eh - I'd rather have something that will just wound him.

[Morgan Evanar]

It's a lot less trouble to actually kill them in a lot of ways (especially legally). I'd rather kill someone with a head full of crack than just set them off.

A 22 to the head can kill someone plenty dead.

[Callista]

well...I wouldn't aim for the head o_O I'd aim for a leg!

[Morgan Evanar]

Like I said, it's not a good idea. People who have broken into homes have sued the home owner.
Besides, you break into my house, you forfeit every right you have.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

When police have to escalate their use of force to shooting someone they don't aim for arms and legs. They go for kill shots and use plenty of them. The same thing applies to any bad guys in your house. You don't want to just wound them and have them still come at you and murder you.

[Callista]

You can KEEP wounding them though :P I wouldn't want to kill someone...can you imagine what kind of havoc that causes in your mind? bad guy or not? Police officers are trained for that... That's just my opinion....I also don't live in high crime areas where any of this is warranted.

[Zem-El Vymes]

If you apply lethal force (discharge of a firearm) your intent should at least be to kill the threat, even if you don't end up doing so. Anything less would display in the eyes of the law that you didn't consider the scenario to warrant the use of lethal force in the first place, in which case, you were unlawfully using lethal force.

Not only should you aim for lethality, but you should also use a volume of fire, as LD mentioned with her police example. A popular saying amongst LEO/MIL is that anything worth shooting once is worth shooting several times.

[Kirian Graves]

I have to agree with Sir Vymes above. I can attest that the Cx4 is a good gun (this is Akrabbim, BTW). But a .22 is crap for anything but plinking. You're really looking to do severe central nervous system (CNS) damage. Yes, a .22 will kill. It will not, however, kill that quickly. You can pierce the heart of someone and they'll still have a few minutes. If they're hopped up on something (which, if they're breaking into an occupied house, that seems likely), they may be able to do plenty of damage before you take them down.

If you're intending to practice and are willing to shoot to kill, a pistol is not a bad idea. I have a .40 Sig, and it's a very nice gun. Bit pricey, though. Around $700. Glocks are good choices too, as they are very simple to use, have no safety (which is good, because it's easy to forget to switch off in stress), and rarely fail. Those are around $500.

And nth-ing the shotgun idea as well. You can get a decent Mossberg 12 gague for around $120, last I checked. Pump actions are nice in that they don't screw up often, but as Vymes said, you can screw up the pump in a tense situation.

Whatever you get, practice, and make sure you're willing to shoot to kill. If you're not, you may freeze up and not even fire. In that case, you've just put a loaded gun in your house that a bad guy could take from you.

Also, consider getting a light to go on it.

(Edit: off-topic, but can someone resize my sig? It's a quarter of a k over limit... and I don't have photoshop anymore...)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

As long as your sig doesn't break 31k its fine. :)

[Akrabbim]

Rockalicious. Now, back to the gun talk. :)