Choosing a handgun

[Romy]

While that does make sense, the reasoning most folks I know have a .22 is that they cannot see themselves justifiably killing someone.

Not picking on you, just pointing out something in general.

Anybody that can't deal with the idea of killing someone in self defense should not have a gun for self defense. Period. Wounded criminals are pissed off criminals (especially if they're suffering from mental illness or on drugs) and wounding someone can make what's coming your way a thousand times worse.

Also, there's a huge risk they'll get your weapon away from you and use it against you.

You're a lot better off with mace or a tazer in that case.

 

[AllieMackie]

Not picking on you, just pointing out something in general.

Anybody that can't deal with the idea of killing someone in self defense should not have a gun for self defense. Period. Wounded criminals are pissed off criminals (especially if they're suffering from mental illness or on drugs) and wounding someone can make what's coming your way a thousand times worse.

Also, there's a huge risk they'll get your weapon away from you and use it against you.

You're a lot better off with mace or a tazer in that case.

I agree with you. I personally will never have a gun for self defense for that reason (not that I can in this country anyway), though I totally want one for the range.

Gotta love our country, though. Mace is also a prohibited weapon, as are tasers. At least guns are restricted and non-restricted, depending on type, so I can legally possess them.

 

[release the hounds]

Never pull a gun, unless you intend on killing someone. If you're not willing to do what is necessary, you're more likely to end up a victim of your own gun. Better off not having it.

as for home defense?? why a pistol? Get a shotgun and you'd be much better off

 

[TuffStuff]

Never pull a gun, unless you intend on killing someone. If you're not willing to do what is necessary, you're more likely to end up a victim of your own gun. Better off not having it.

as for home defense?? why a pistol? Get a shotgun and you'd be much better off

This.
Except, as to the last part, it seemed like she wanted something she could also carry with her.

 

[Psyfalcon]

Home defense and CC guns aren't equivalent and a lot of people might be better off with two. Or three.

CC you want light weight and small. In your home, you won't likely require that. Target practice, you definitely don't want that unless you're already very proficient.

 

[Renee750il]

Taurus' Public Defender has a lot of features that make sense to me, especially being able to accommodate loading it with shot shells. I figure if I'm in a situation where I've got to reach for a gun and shoot someone, I'm probably going to have the adrenaline rush from hell and will need something that I don't have to be super accurate with to be deadly.

http://www.taurususa.com/product-details.cfm?id=669&category=Pistol

 

[ACooper]

Home defense and CC guns aren't equivalent and a lot of people might be better off with two. Or three.

CC you want light weight and small. In your home, you won't likely require that. Target practice, you definitely don't want that unless you're already very proficient.

Agree. I have CC, but I really don't care much for the .38 in my purse. Even though it's an air weight, it still adds more weight and bulk to my purse than I'd like so it pretty much stays at home for defense. Hence my shopping for a small .22 for the purse.

 

[Kat09Tails]

I've shot the public defender and in my hands it felt OMG heavy and clumsy but generally speaking I've found that true of most of the 45's. The reason I ended up choosing a revolver was that I wanted something stupid easy to use, load, and unload. There's not much hidden in a revolver to fark up too badly and I seemed to have so much trouble getting a semi auto pistol reliably started and didn't trust myself enough to fumble with it if I needed it.

I then went through my various models and picked the one I felt was the most comfortable to use with the most stopping power I felt comfortable with firing, one that I could conceal on my body frame, and felt right to my hand.

Then I decided on my ammo. My concern place was with walking my dogs at night in a fairly rural area. My dogs are about as intimidating as stuffed animals so I could see someone trying something stupid. At the same time I was concerned about where my bullet would end up if I fired it and I wanted something affordable to practice with. I did a bunch of research and found my round and practice round. I suggest you think it over and do the same.

As far as home defense - shotgun is where it's at. If the son of a bitch doesn't run when he hears it cocked he deserves what's comin'. Again, evaluate where you live and decide on your shells.

Then there is the legal aspect of all of this. You need to understand that killing someone may ruin you financially even if it was 110% justified. So think over what you should and should not tell police if the worst should come to your home. Words can and will be used against you.

 

[skittledoo]

P9R.

It's the one the Hungarian police use. 9mm round. It's sooo awesomely calibrated that when you shoot the brass all lands within a 4 inch square pile of each other when they're ejected.

I don't have a handgun for defense because I don't think I can bring myself to actually shoot at someone. But I've shot a lot of handguns. Of them all, the P9R is my favorite. It was really easy to load, easy to shoot, barely had a kick, and of all I've tried it was the easiest to get a nice grouping on the target.

oooh I like that one... course I'd have to get my hands on one before I will eventually decide what it is that I want. Josh and I are going to the shooting range in the morning and they have a gun store there. I'm going to talk to whoever works there and see if they have guns people can shoot or if they know anywhere I can try out different ones. I just don't want to buy anything that I haven't shot.

I have a .22 Rimfire semi auto Remington rifle and a lever action Winchester 30 30 model 94. Josh used to have a 12 gauge shotgun and wants another one. I'm eventually getting a 20 gauge (for hunting) though not sure yet what model I want. My 20 gauge technically could be used for home defense as well though I would prefer a shorter barrel as well for it if I used it at all for that purpose. Still definitely want a nice handgun though.

Not sure how I shoot with a handgun, but I'm pretty good with the rifles/shotguns. I definitely want to practice some with a few different handguns.

Also... with home defense... my intent definitely would be to kill. I would not want to risk just injuring someone and them coming after me/taking my weapon, etc. Shoot to kill has always been what I've been told. I would hope it would absolutely never ever have to come to that... but I want to be prepared just in case.

 

[skittledoo]

You don't trust Joey to protect you?



hehehe baby kangaroo punch!

hahahaha... he's about as protective as a stuffed teddy bear lol... maybe I can teach him to bounce on intruders as a deterrent :rofl1::rofl1:

 

[Dakotah]

I have a .22 pistol and a .22 rifle, plus a shotgun. All legally my dad's of course and they are with him until I get my concealed carry permit.

But I agree with whoever else said go to a gun range and let them help you find your right fit and they should let you test them out on their gun range. That would be the best thing.

 

[CharlieDog]

We have a 30.06 bolt action rifle for home defense-ish. It lives in the bedroom loaded, but it's also Steven's hunting rifle. I have a Ruger 10.22 for target plinking and taking small game.

I CC a Glock 22. It's a .40 S&W caliber. I enjoy it. I have longer fingers, but relatively small hands I'd say, and I can grip it comfortably without worrying about the slide taking any parts off when it's fired. It has a bit of recoil to it, but it's the fullsized frame, and the slide/action bit weighs enough to dampen that flip up a bit. At least for me. I'm pretty proficient with it out to about 15 yards.

I have a very small frame, and really the only place I can hide it on me is the small of my back or tucked in the front of my pants if I'm wearing a larger shirt/sweater. If I have a coat on or a hoodie, you can't tell I'm carrying a full sized 40 caliber gun on me. I have my weapons license though, so I just open carry it in a Blackhawk Serpa holster.

The other ones I'd suggest looking at are the Glock 23 which is the compact 40 caliber version of mine, and the Beretta PX4 Storm. My best friend has that, and it is a very very nice gun. Less recoil than mine because it's in 9mm and not 40, and it's one of the easiest guns to rack the slide on with one hand. My father has a Beretta M9 I believe, and I can't rack the slide on that one to save my ever loving life. The Storm and all the Glocks I've shot have worked just fine.

I do not like snub nosed revolvers. The recoil on those for whatever reason is really hard for me to handle, but my mother loves them. So definitely shooting a variety of guns to get a feel is the best thing to do before purchasing one.

 

[Renee750il]

Then there is the legal aspect of all of this. You need to understand that killing someone may ruin you financially even if it was 110% justified. So think over what you should and should not tell police if the worst should come to your home. Words can and will be used against you.

Absolutely.

The only thing you need to say, over and over, is how terrified you were, that you were sure the intruder was going to kill you and/or your family. Try not to babble.

 

[skittledoo]

I made a decision. A Bersa Thunder .380 automatic. It feels so perfect in my hand and I love how it fires. Been handling quite a few this morning at a local gun range and for my price range this gun feels great. It doesn't hurt at all to fire it for a while and it has sights on it unlike some of the other guns I tested out.

 

[skittledoo]

meant semi-automatic in my last post. was on my phone earlier and it wouldn't let me change it for some reason.

 

[Pops2]

oooh I like that one... course I'd have to get my hands on one before I will eventually decide what it is that I want. Josh and I are going to the shooting range in the morning and they have a gun store there. I'm going to talk to whoever works there and see if they have guns people can shoot or if they know anywhere I can try out different ones. I just don't want to buy anything that I haven't shot.

I have a .22 Rimfire semi auto Remington rifle and a lever action Winchester 30 30 model 94. Josh used to have a 12 gauge shotgun and wants another one. I'm eventually getting a 20 gauge (for hunting) though not sure yet what model I want. My 20 gauge technically could be used for home defense as well though I would prefer a shorter barrel as well for it if I used it at all for that purpose. Still definitely want a nice handgun though.

Not sure how I shoot with a handgun, but I'm pretty good with the rifles/shotguns. I definitely want to practice some with a few different handguns.

Also... with home defense... my intent definitely would be to kill. I would not want to risk just injuring someone and them coming after me/taking my weapon, etc. Shoot to kill has always been what I've been told. I would hope it would absolutely never ever have to come to that... but I want to be prepared just in case.

excellent choice for home. at ranges inside the average home large size birdshot (size 4 or larger) will do a good job of killing w/o too much issue w/over penetration. don't use slugs & even most buckshot will punch through walls. most common models of pump & semi auto can be gotten w/ either a long barrel threaded for choke tubes for hunting or a short barrel w/no choke for home defense. you can then buy the other barrel seperate.

 

[monkeys23]

You might look at a Ruger SR9. You're wanting something you can conceal and something that will fit nicely in your hands, and I think this is a good bet. I believe it should be right around your price range, as well.

This is what my brother got me. Its a really nice little gun.

 

[blue]

Im late to the game here but you have to try them and go with what works for you. My CC is a Glock 23, that is what works for me and it fit my budget. I would like a full frame 1911 at some point.

 

[Romy]

Im late to the game here but you have to try them and go with what works for you. My CC is a Glock 23, that is what works for me and it fit my budget. I would like a full frame 1911 at some point.

My uncle just picked up a 1911. He loves it. He said he'll get a faster response from the 1911 than he will from 911 if something bad does happen.

 

[Dogdragoness]

Absolutely.

The only thing you need to say, over and over, is how terrified you were, that you were sure the intruder was going to kill you and/or your family. Try not to babble.

That of course depends on where you live & the "castle " laws ... Usually out in the boonies they are more lax due to the lack of LE (law enforcement) here as long as you make it known that the offending person is trespassing & needs to leave or have a "private property, no trespassing" or "trespassers will be shot" posted CLEARLY Then I am in compliance with the law if I have to.

I have a 410 snakecharmer for snakes & a 10 gauge for everything else ... For me tx easier to handle then a 12 gauge. OH has a .357 magnum & I hate it lol , I've shot it once & my wrist was sore for a few days from the kickback ... I felt like I should tape my wrists before using it LMBO so it stays up in a cabinet unloaded since no one uses it anyway.

The snake gun is on a rack next to the door just in case, it has a holster thingy that I strap on on warm days when I think I might run into a snake . Buddy hates it ... I've had to use it a few times ... He always hides when he sees me with it .

The 10 gauge stays in my room on the off side of my bed within reach in case I hear some ong outside or something (I'm by myself a lot & with all the traffic the oil has brought to this area crime is going up) its always loaded.