Home defense long gun and a carry gun, advice needed
So, given what may be a small window between legal battles, I’m looking at getting a long gun (probably a shotgun) for home defense and also a carry gun for when I need to leave the confines of a pretty safe town…
Sadly, I have no useful experience with either. Yes, I’ve shot plenty of rounds from standard issue pumps and I’ve qualified expert with the 1911 several times but none of that has been related to home defense nor concealed carry. Thus, I’d like advice from the LEOs and retired LEOs here regarding what on the market today might make sense.
Right now, I’ve got my airguns (no, I don’t consider those home defense (but don’t get shot by my .62!)) and I’ve got a .357 with a 6″ barrel.
I can shoot the .357 pretty damn well but it’s huge for a carry gun…. It’s been my home defense gun but I’d rather have a gun with more power in that role…
All the magazines love every new gun and offer all kinds of advice. I’d like to hear from experience…
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Yep, i have match barrels in both the 10mm and the 40. The one in the 10mm is just over 5″ instead of the factory 4.6″er. The lone wolf in my 40 is ported back up the barrel and is a pussycat to shot.
I TOO LOVE GLOCK. But i have long fingers so Glocks feel like heaven to me.
The Glock 23 is 40 smith & wesson and my fingers overlap when wrapped around the grip, it is way smaller than the 10 mm 45 frame gun G 20 & 21, if your hands are smaller it would work great . I really dont think that the smaller frame sub compact glock would even be necessary the 23 is way small to me.
you can also buy conversion barrels for the 40 glock to shoot 9mm in them, and you can just drop in the 357 sig barrel to shoot that if you want.
The 10mm g 20 can be converted to 45 and vice versa also, this is why i went with glock, very versatile gun, and i really like the way it feels in my hand.
I have the glock 21 and the glock 23. I don’t have the conversion barrels yet , but i plan on getting them, i bought 10mm clips and 9mm clips so that i would have them for latter.
Years ago a friend fell in love with, and bought a synthetic-framed full-sized Kimber .45ACP that held something like 12-13 in the giant double-stack clip. He has small hands, and after pointing/holding it in his living room and trying to get a proper hold on the beast for awhile to no avail, he took it back without even firing it once, and bought a single stack Colt Officers instead.
It DOES Butcher. And that’s why i told Jerry to try and rent one at an indoor range first.
A LOT OF FOLKS don’t like GLOCKS cause of how the grip feels. Can be too bulky for the guy with GIRLIE hands….lol!
No real experience here……just wanted to run-by what I often here when folks post “which handgun for personal defense”, and get some feedback on it.
That being that some folks tolerate/shoot better using a cartridge with a snappy recoil (.40S@W?) better than a “pushy” recoil (.45ACP), and vice-versa. I hear some folks talk about compact .45ACP’s being to much recoil, whereas I think some of them shoot like pussycats (love’em!). I speculate that hand-fit has a lot to do with that as well.
you have the best caliber for people size critters with that 357 Mag , a good hollow point between 1400 and 1800 fps is going to do the job, no need in any more power for humans, the 10mm is about on par with the 357 mag as far a power.
And yes Knife, i agree the 45 has and will take care of business, but this 40 smith & wesson is a real nice round, it is balanced nicely for power and recovery time, it comes in nice compact sizes for conceal carry with attractive capacity.
So a Glock 23 which is 40, has a 4″ barrel and has 13 round clip, this is a nice concealed carry gun, and the glock 22 clips fit it for 15 back up rounds, really depends on how big a guy you are as to wheather you are comfortable wtih this size gun or the full size glock, but they carry nicely,
i have the glock 21 which is the full size 45 , and i carry it all the time.i find it more comfortable than the 1911, the 1911 just jabs the hell out of me and the glock 21 is lighter than the 1911 with a 13 round capacity magazine.
I carry the 23 also ,and i forget i have it , its that comfortable ,where the 21 is always on your mind, it gives you a jab or poke and reminds you. so really i recommend the 23, nice size and good power, but i just cant stay away form the 45 🙂
As far as more power for the house get a winchester defender or similar, i believe its 7 rounds in the magazine
Honestly Jerry, there aren’t to many guns you can go wrong with. Glocks, S&W’s, semi autos, revolvers, 9mm’s, 45 acp, 40 s&w, 38 special +p’s and the list goes on.
You could even go to an INDOOR range that lets you RENT pistols and or rifles/shotguns and try before you buy. A few folks do this idea to get a feel for what they like and what they can handle.
I consider the Glock 23 with NS to be the finest fighting handgun there is. A rail for a light only makes it better.
I used one to shoot a bear in my house years ago. My daughter carries it these days, it is considered a family heirloom, great fighter, perhaps not the best bear cartridge in the world, but a great man stopper.
RC
There will be many opinions I on this…
Long gun: either a pistol caliber lever or a short shotgun. A pistol lever develops about 2x the power of a regular pistol. For a pump 12ga shotty use either 00 buck with flight control wad (Hornady/Federal) or #4 buckshot to reduce collateral damage in a multi occupancy home.
Pistol: Consider who will use your gun… Is the slide on a semi auto too strong for your wife to cycle? Recoil? Mechanical complexity? Will a revolver be preferable? Start looking at a good qualit 9mm or 357 magnum 4″ revolver. The 357 can shoot 357 magnum, 38 special +P, and 38 special for cheap low recoil practice.
Above all… Practice with the guns… Pattern your shotgun… Make sure you know what you have and how to use it.
Airgun replicas of your chosen pistol may help trigger time for the spouse without the time and cost of a range session.
Jerry,
Well, I have the Glock 10mm (G20) and the 40 cal (G35). The 10mm is TOO MUCH for home defense. But that gun is sooooo fucking accurate. Off hand coke cans at 60 yard is easy with it. BUT, Its a hunting caliber…lol! That’s why the 40 was created….lol!
Glock 35
Glock 20
Also JER….lol, the 10mm and the 40 is the same BULLET but not the same cartridge. Just like the 38 special and the 357 mag. Same bullet to the tee but not the same cartridge.
So a glock 22 in 40 cal is a damned good gun and is just about the most popular Glock and i highly carried by LEO’s all over the world. Its also damned accurate and the 40 cal has about the highest 1 shot stop percentages over all others. The 45 is very close in comparison of one shot stops in REAL LIFE shootings.
For long guns and home defense, the ole 12 gauge is a GREAT choice.
Thanks for the comments guys. I’ve got a lot to learn about this stuff. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me keep my M4 when I left my last flying job. That gun was sweet!
I was checking out the Glock site (thanks for the link) and discovered they have guns in .40 and also 10mm. Well, learned something there, I thought 10mm and .40 were the same round! I guess I’ve only been paying attention to airguns for a long time…
Almost all the newer gats have a rail on them for a light, a very important item if you live with someone to identify your target.
For a long gun, if the evil AR’s are not available where you live, try a pistol caliber lever gun, a lot cheaper and socially acceptable, almost as fast and enough ammo to flush someone from cover in a firefight.
Being as you are used to double action type handguns, you might like Tactical Tupperware, Glocks in other words.
I hope you have a safe journey thru whatever troubles are out there.
RC
+1 Good advice RC.
I do it slightly differently, carry a snubnose every day, the home gun is Tactical Tupperware in .40 S&W and a light, long gun is an AR set up for distance.
The problem with discharging any large bore weapon in a house is penetration…and at age 70 I know a thing or two about problems with penetration!!!
“Frangible” ammo is designed to break apart, or “shatter”, when it hits anything solid. Bad news for the human body, and good news for a family member behind a wall in the next room.
Same thing when out in the open. A missed shot might not hit the “perp”, or even a bystander, but it will hit something and ricochet. Then it’s anybody’s guess as to who gets hit.
While not perfect, a frangible slug at least increases the odds that a bystander, or sleeper, stays reasonably safe.
One nice thing about a frangible, it shatters into a lot of little pieces when it hits flesh. Any grapefruit sized wound inside an individual is pretty much a guaranteed attitude changer…
Available in most calibers, and I believe for shotguns too. If not, there are “short” shotgun loads that are still very effective in the average house room. Saw some on “Cheaperthandirt.com” yesterday.
Kindest regards,
Brain dead, but still giving advice…Uncle H 😯 😯 t
Sorry if I made it sound like my legal battles! I was refering to Biden et al… Thanks for the good wishes though!
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The 1911 Just alway s felt right to me, when fitted with the flat mainspring housing.
100 same as .357? Not really. Although the Ammo manufacturers did tame it down a notch. Is is the Semi Auto equivalent of a .41 Mag.
The Semi equivalent of the .357 Mag, is the Sig. .357 Auto.
I like Glocks, and carry one from time to time. I do have a problem with the safety on them. Or the lack of one.
They are fine for the pro, but not the casual carrier.
The trigger safety will only allow the gun to discharge if the trigger is pulled.
Well, That is the same with any decent auto. Trigger safety or not.
But the 1911 has a grip safety, a firing pin safety, and a “Real” Safety on the side of the frame.
If you carry a glock, especially inside the waist band, make damed sure no part of clothing can get between the trigger and the holster. There is a reason the FBI nicknamed it the “Toe Popper”! They had more (AD’s) Accidental discharges with the Glock than any other platform they have ever issued.
It is la lot like carrying a 1911, cocked, the grip safety pinned to make it inactive, and the safety off. No way in hell I would carry a 1911 in that condition!
The Glock is a fine gun, but it is a gun for the expert, not for the novice. Same can be said for the 1911, or any Auto. A small revolver is in most instances, a safer carry piece.
For a Shot Gun, I like #9 bird shot for the home. Makes a hell of a mess at point blank range, like a huge slug, but really loses its energy in dry wall. Much safer for the inocents on the other side of the wall than buck or slug! 😉
Mike