By: randy

randy — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:42:40 +0000

I always recommend to a new shooter, or one with little hands on experience, to go with a revolver, and the preferred caliber is .38 special.
I say this for several reasons. a revolver is simple to operate in times of stress. A pistol has safeties to manipulate. A revolver is almost fool proof, you pull the trigger and it goes bang, jams are very very rare. A pistol can jam or miss feed and without extensive training you will not be able to clear it to make it function.
Having said that, I choose the .38 special because it is a common round, and can be found at any gun store. Ammo is not too expensive, recoil is very manageable, muzzle flash is low, and it is a proven man stopper but not prone to over penetration that will endanger a bystander.
Load it with a good quality hollow points from one of the top manufacturers like federal hyda shoks, federal TAP,remington golden saber etc and most importantly, practice with it at least once every couple of months, both loading, reloading and shooting.
As far as which one? Ruger makes an excellent revolver, rugged, reliable and accurate for a fair price. Others include S&W (more expensive) Colt (harder to find) but please, please avoid Rossi, Charter Arms, and really, even Taurus. All three of these have a history of problems and failures. If you must go with one of those 3, go with taurus over the other two. But have the firearm checked by a gunsmith on a regular basis.
Do yourself, and your loved ones a favor, TAKE A FIREARMS SAFETY CLASS!!!!! and also make sure that they cover the liability of using a firearm. Then, increase your liability insurance because I guarantee that if you use the firearm to defend yourself, you will get sued by the bad guy, or his family. And with all the sheeple that do not understand firearms, or the right to defend yourself, you will probably lose.
It sounds like you have taken the first steps in protecting your home and loved ones, but go the extra mile, install a good alarm system, get a dog, it doesn’t have to be a big guard dog, just a regular old every day family dog, that will bark when someone comes around. Post the yard with signs that say you have a dog, and the front of the house with the alarm warning, and install more motion activated outdoor lighting on all sides of the house. As you saw, when you made it difficult for the bad guy, he moved on to easier prey at your neighbors house.
Congratulations for being concientious and knowing what to do, and for your actions catching a bad guy and saving your neighbors property.
shoot safe

By: Mike N

Mike N — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:42:40 +0000

a .38 special. very small gun so it would be easy to conceal in your house. but the bullets are big and they’d knock someone over. it is my self defense weapon of choice. kicks like a mule lol hopefully i won’t ever have to fire it in the house :-/

By: cjp10990

cjp10990 — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:42:40 +0000

get a glock 9mm like the police use

By: Unknown Truth

Unknown Truth — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:42:40 +0000

I’m going to suggest a 9 mm. Its not hard to shoot, but will do the trick. I hope your home is kept safe, and things look better for you. You will probably have to take gun safety courses, and of course understand when you can and can not shoot. Everyone should feel safe in their home. Good luck, hope all is well from here on out.

By: SM

SM — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:42:40 +0000

The 357 magnum with a 4 inch barrel. I like the Ruger GP100, its affordable, reliable, and will stop the biggest man. Shooting 38 special rounds allows for good practice and its fairly inexpensive. Take a firearms safety class and a handgun defense class if your new to shooting. Be safe and good luck.

Comments on: What’s a good home protection gun?

By: randy

By: Mike N

By: cjp10990

By: Unknown Truth

By: SM