best caliber for home defense

[rexdutchman]

To directly answer .45 ACP Drop mic walk away , caliber designed to ( not PC) to stop a man. ( Think ZUZU wars because the 38s the army had then did stop the warriors ) .45 handgun for CQC , some type carbine rifle for the farm.

[tannana]

I turned it off after the first 3 or 4 minutes.

The point was made that the training and habits and preparedness are probably better indicators of success in a self-defense shooting than caliber, and I don't disagree. Someone who can handle the adrenaline dump and do the gross-motor-skill/muscle-memory tango with a stock glock will do better than an untrained ninja with a feakin' lazer beam.....

To the extent one has some modicum of training and thought about defending your home, the proper order (from best to worst) of home defense options:

1. Sawed off 12 gauge.
2. SBR'd AR platform.
3. Handgun of 9mm or larger caliber.
4. 12 gauge shotgun.
5. legal length AR platform.

And a light with all of these.

Why?
Shorter is better on the rifle and shotgun lengths inside a structure/home. Shotgun > rifle > pistol at "in home" distances (handguns don't stop fights). Any of these are going to penetrate at least two layers (if not more) of sheetrock when equipped with ammo that will stop a threat, so the idea that you are gonna get away with not hitting what you aim at without potentially bad repercussion is bunk unless you've lined steel walls with sheetrock or live in a blast-proof bunker.

If we want to get into the old standby of caliber wars, I'm going to offer 9mm from the choices in the OP. With a quality firearm and quality SD ammo, the stopping power is good enough. It's more controllable and less expensive to practice with than .45 for most shooters. It holds more rounds/mag (all things being equal). The subsonic variants are effectively suppressed (although this holds true of .45, too). Because I'm not nearly as paranoid or prepared as I used to be, I've got a VP9 and a light on my nightstand, with which I'd fight my way to the safe and likely retrieve an SBR'd AR from the list above, principally to offer the additional legs to be able to clear the whole property if necessary. When I get up enough in age where I can't run an SBR'd AR effectively, I'll do the same bit but retrieve #5, above (only because I've never bothered to get a stamp for #1).


YMMV, of course.

[zmonator]

Set my security alarm at night to instant alert..

Have a 9mm 20 round clip Beretta in a mattress holster.

I get a good nights sleep.

[Ronin3]

I liked my minigun. Somewhat impractical for household use, so I stick with what I’m most accurate with....Sig 229 9mm with Winchester PDX defensive rounds. My carry is the Nitron.

[oeb11]

Another same topic thread for reference
http://www.eccie.net/showthread.php?...t=home+defense

[dilbert firestorm]

speaking of shotgun rifles. I find these pump action shotgun rifles kind of stupid.


there are shotguns on the market that doesn't involve pump action. (2 barrels, repeating rifle, magazine)



don't own any guns, but if I had a shotgun, it's be the Henry .410 repeating rifle


just me I guess.

[grean]

All calibers can good or bad for inside a home depending on the grain & projectile type, i.e hp sp etc.... Lots of youtube videos about over penetration.

You shotgun fans may be surprised and want to rethink.

[carguy1989]

For home DEFENSE (some unwelcome miscreant) at any hour, I vote for a 12 ga (or maybe 10) pump with 00 buck. IF someone in your home hears the rack slide shut and they stay in the house, you will have to pull the trigger, cause they are nuts. In my state, IF they exit the building, you are no longer defending your home, DON'T SHOOT.

[MrThom]

Dilbert. Why don't you go to a range and try out a few different firearms.

[Unique_Carpenter]

Do we need to define "home defense" as used for this thread?

Perhaps:
Waking up, grabbing a piece and encountering a-hole in the upstairs hallway.

Who keeps a loaded long gun next to their bed?
Who has time to pull a shotgun out of the locker in another room or downstairs and load it?

So those are out and we're left with handguns from a mattress holster or nightstand drawer.

Thus at least a decent 38 or 9mm with nice ammo (hollowpoint)

[GingerKatt]

Glock 9 mm

[Ronin3]

Many reasons why a shotgun is not the best choice in the middle of the night. Shot size is not one. #4 would be adequate with low through and through wall penetration. My first argument would be trying to wield it quickly from a supine position and 2nd would be firing it from that position

[carguy1989]

Originally Posted by Unique_Carpenter

Do we need to define "home defense" as used for this thread?

Perhaps:
Waking up, grabbing a piece and encountering a-hole in the upstairs hallway.

Who keeps a loaded long gun next to their bed?
Who has time to pull a shotgun out of the locker in another room or downstairs and load it?

So those are out and we're left with handguns from a mattress holster or nightstand drawer.

Thus at least a decent 38 or 9mm with nice ammo (hollowpoint)

There are several drawer units for either under or next to a bed side.

[RetiredSubmariner]

Originally Posted by Unique_Carpenter

...Who keeps a loaded long gun next to their bed?
Who has time to pull a shotgun out of the locker in another room or downstairs and load it?

I have a loaded revolver in my desk, a loaded shotgun next to one of our back windows [it over-looks our compost pile, where coyotes like to show-up at night], a loaded Mosan-Nagant is hung up over our front door.

Then we have the regular assortment of rifles and shotguns laid out on a daybed, ready to be used.