What type of gun or rifle should I get for home security?
Im looking to buy a gun or rifle to go Hunting to
Tagged with: hunting
Filed under: Do It Yourself Security
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That is not a simple question and there is no simple answer. A personal firearm is a very personal item indeed. It has to fit in with your lifestyle, your clothing, your physical build, your local laws and its intended use. There is no one best answer for everyone.
Hunting and home security have some contradictory requirements. For hunting you want penetration and distance. For home security, you have to worry about penetrating walls and what’s on the other side. For most people, especially urban and suburban dwellers, a rifle is inappropriate for most defensive situations.
Handguns are emergency life saving equipment. When the used food hits the fan, the gun that saves your life will be the gun you have in hand. In emergency situations, that’s most likely to be a handgun, simply because shotguns are awkward to carry around all the time. So, for the burglar who just kicked in your door, you’re probably going to use a handgun. For the rioters coming up the street, if you can’t run away, you’ve got time to go get your shotgun. Shotguns are also very versatile for hunting and target sports.
Remington and Mossberg make the gold standard defensive shotguns. Berettas and Benellis are also good, if you can afford one. You want one with an 18 to 20 inch barrel and extended magazine. Load with 00 buckshot for "social purposes" and keep a few slugs handy just in case.
Handguns are more complicated. My advice is to treat this as you would any major purchase. Do your homework. Research what’s available. After you’ve done that, go to a shooting range that rents guns (probably an indoor range) and try out the ones you think might work for you to see what fits you best. Keep in mind that the fact that someone is standing behind the counter at a gun store does not necessarily mean they know anything about guns or their use. Some of them will be very knowledgeable and helpful. A few will cheerfully spout utter nonsense. All of them are salespersons. That’s one reason you have to do your homework.
That said, here’s some guidelines:
Stay away from off brands and cheap junk. If you’re a beginner, buy new from a reputable dealer. A good quality firearm, properly maintained and cared for, will last a lifetime, so amortize the price over a few decades to reduce sticker shock. Remember, you’re going to bet your life on this gun. The middle of a gun fight is a bad place to realize you should have spent the extra hundred dollars or so.
The minimum defensive caliber for semiautomatics is 9×19mm, aka 9mm Parabellum, aka 9mm Luger, aka 9mm NATO. (If you have a physical limitation that makes 9×19mm too much to handle, 9×17mm, aka .380, may have to do, but certainly nothing less.) The minimum for revolvers is .38 Special. Anything over .45 ACP for semiautos or .357 Magnum for revolvers will likely overpenetrate the target, wasting some of its energy and endangering who or what is beyond, so they’re not recommended.
These days I recommend against revolvers for defensive purposes. Their capacity is too restricted and they’re too slow to reload. It’s true that revolvers have fewer stoppage modes than semiautos. However, most semiauto stoppages can be cleared in a matter of seconds with a little training. When a revolver jams, it’s out of the fight and may require a gunsmith to get it going again.
When in doubt, you generally won’t go far wrong with a Glock, but some people just don’t like them. Nearly all ranges that rent guns rent Glocks, so it’s easy to find out if you get along with them.
Tritium night sights are worth the extra expense. Most other bells and whistles aren’t.
Re: Accessories:
Yes, you’re going to need some.
You need eye and ear protection for practice at the range. A baseball style cap is also recommended.
You need a safe, secure place to store your gun when necessary. There are many options for quick access lock boxes and gun safes. (Caution: Guns left alone in safes have been known to breed and multiply.) Beware of trigger locks. They are accidents waiting to happen and do nothing to prevent theft. There are few things more embarrassing than going to your local police station to report a stolen gun. One of those things is coming home to find someone pointing your gun at you.
You need a cleaning kit. There are many on the market and they all pretty much work. Follow the instructions that come with them for gun cleaning and maintenance.
You’ll need a holster. Sooner or later, there will come a time when you want to have your gun with you for a while. The middle of a riot or natural disaster is a bad time to go shopping for holsters.
A holster should be designed to fit your make and model of gun. Its mouth should be stiff enough to remain open when the gun is drawn in order to facilitate safe reholstering. It needs to hold the gun and itself firmly in place, so it will be where you expect it to be when you reach for it. Military style cover flaps are counterproductive. Thumb break straps will slow you down. A good quality concealed carry rig can cost $50-100. A simple Kydex or other plastic paddle holster will be much less, but won’t be as stealthy.
For semiautos, you’ll need a spare magazine carrier or two. The doubles are often uncomfortable to wear and some point one magazine in the wrong direction. For revolvers, you need speed loaders and carriers for them.
Above all, get training in safe gun handling and defensive use of firearms. That is absolutely critical. Without training, you’re kidding yourself and endangering those around you. Don’t let it slide.
If you want home security AND hunting, then get an AR-15. They are widely accepted by hunters as a hunting weapon and are excellent for home defense. Get one with a 16" barrel.
Top tier manufacturers of AR-15s include Bushmaster, Armalite, and Rock River Arms
Also, to the guy below me who says rifles aren’t good for home defense, I would present the fact that buckshot patterning widens at a rate of 1 inch per yard makes shotguns more prone to causing collateral damage than a rifle. .223 ammo in an AR-15 will fragment past 4 layers of drywall, which is actually good considering that other ammo will punch through more layers without deformation (source: http://www.theboxotruth.com)
And don’t even get me started on the myth that "hurr durr birdshot is excellent for home defense". If you absolutely want to use a shotgun for home defense, load 00 buckshot (that’s what police use).
Well, if you’re looking for one gun for both situations, a 12 or 20 gauge Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 are hard to beat.
Rifles aren’t the best for home defense because of collateral damage. Pistols aren’t the best firearm for hunting unless you practice extensively.
For home security, I would want a pistol. What kind of pistol is purely subjective, and what pistol to get is an entirely new question. While a pistol is inherently underpowered, it isn’t long or unwieldy, and can be maneuvered inside a house easily. The same cant be said for 16" rifles or shotguns. And while rifles and shotguns are much more powerful, you will have a harder time using it indoors.
But if you decide you want a shotgun anyways, look for a 12 gauge home defense shotgun. Dont get any of the sporting or hunting shotguns. And load it up with 00 buck or 000 buck.
a 12 Gage shot gun will be a good hunting tool
with a home security a easy gun is a 9mm or 38 special .. this both have a small recoil
good to carry because less noticeable
with both guns i mentioned its a good home defense
I have a glock 21 (45 caliber ) Heavy hitter and a 12 Gage shot gun i use for home protection
The AR-15 isn’t bad for hunting, or home defense, but it is by far right for the job of either if you are looking for something bigger then a varmint for hunting with the 5.56×45mm NATO.
If you must hunt with an AR-15, get something with a little more punch, they make .243, 6.5 Grendel and 6.8SPC uppers for them and you can hunt deer with those a lot more humanly then a .223 but even these rounds require a good shot on a target the size of a dinner plate.
A shotgun is very well rounded, it takes a little less aiming for home defense and is less likely to go into a neighbors house. But remember, a shotgun won’t make a foot wide pattern you still need to aim at the target to hit it.
A pistol well, it isn’t the best for anything other then home protection, and if you do get a pistol, go to the range religiously and get good with it, pistols take much more expertise then a shotgun or a rifle and are much harder to hunt with.
A 12 or 20 ga shotgun.
I don’t know what it is with everyone always suggesting a 12 ga all the time. A 20 ga can do the EXACT same things a 12 ga can. Proper choke and load and both a 12 and 20 will preform perfectly…. ok.. now off my lil soap box…
A rifle bullet can travel over a mile and the bullet will have no problems passing thru multiple walls. So, out of safety for anyone within a mile (and sometimes over a mile) of you, choose a shotgun or even a handgun (and yes, you can hunt some with a handgun).
No matter what gun you decide to get- no one gun is more accurate than another. It’s the person behind the gun.
12 or 20 gauge shotgun.
Never use a rifle for home defense. Very unsafe.
Well, unlike the first poster, Im not going to post my resume here. I will say that as a guy with a lot of experiance in firearms, home security and it’s assorted legalities, a short barrel shotgun is a good option. A rifle isnt. For some reason, there is a propensity to want to apply military weapons to hunting, and that just doesnt always work. The AR-15 is a fine platform, I have no issue there. I will plainly say that those who say a .223 (or 5.56) is suitable for hunting deer or other such sized game are just plain dumb, or inhumane. Its fine for coyote, but actually illegal for deer in most states with good reason. If you change the upper on the AR-15 to a more powerful caliber, you have a better hunting rifle, but a poor home defense (HD) weapon. There is a significant risk of overpenetration if you miss, or if you are using the wrong ammo and it zips through your attacker.
A 20 gauge shotgun with a 18.5 inch barrel is perfect for HD, load with 00 Buckshot if you home is spaced from other homes, or #2 to #4 buckshot for apartments or other close quarters. For hunting, use slugs.
Most important, practice and take an NRA class in your area. There is much to learn about gun safety and when its ok to shoot and when not to.
Handguns are not a bad choice, but you have to dedicate yourself to a lot more practice, and those that are intended for hunting are ususally poor HD weapons. The only exception (and a weak one) is a revolver chambered for .357 magnums. They are suitable for some hunting with the proper barrel and a scope, and they can also fire .38 special rounds for home defense.
The only rifles that are really suitable for home defense and hunting are lever-action rifles in .357 Magnum or .44 RemMag. They will do for close range deer hunting (100 yards and less) but they are not good for long shots. However from the sounds of things you probably aren’t either.
No handgun that is suitable for hunting is suitable for home defense and vice versa. So if you insist on a dual purpose firearm, a handgun is not for you. if you go with a handgun, I strongly suggest a medium frame double-action revolver, with a barrel 4" or shorter and chambered for .357 Magnum. Practice a lot using .38 Special Mid-range Target Wadcutters before you progress to full-power .38 Special loads and later, after much practice to full-power .357 Magnum loads.
Your other option is 12 gauge pump shotgun, preferably with two barrels, on an 18.5" cylinder bored barrel for things-that-go-bump-in-the-night, and a 26 or 28 inch barrel with screw chokes for hunting. I highly recommend a Mossberg Model 500.
Doc Hudson
Well my philosophy on all these questions about what caliber to use, what type of gun, blah blah blah, is that if a bullet is coming at me, I’m going down! Now it’s definitely not the same for hunting, but for home defense situations, I wouldn’t mind using a 5.56, hell I wouldn’t mind using a .22LR! Once again, my view on it is, it doesn’t matter what caliber you shot the bad guy with. What matters is that you shot him. Now as far as hunting AND home defense goes, a 12 guage shotgun would be ideal. And I’m not just making this philosophy up. I was hit in my left thigh by friendly fire on my tour of duty in Iraq, and I went DOWN. It was a big caliber ( .50 Beowulf), but now that I think about it, I would’ve gone down no matter if it was a 9mm or a .50 BMG.
Your getting a lot of answers, many are spot on the money!
if you asked me, when i think of home defense i think of surpressing the intruder, not necessarily killing him/her, so as far as a caliber goes for home defense it doesnt matter, so long as you can stop him/her without causing injury to yourself or a family member.
You can do this with a bb gun, but i’m not recommending one, lol, i would pick a .22lr or a 9mm for a handgun, but then again handguns take commitment to use safely and effectively.
A rifle is a single projectile going VERY fast, more than enough to go straight through the target and into something/someone else. also takes practice and dedication to use.
and finally a shotgun. a shotgun would be good except that it’s bulky and harder to manuver than a handgun, unless you mod one to a more compact version.
the shotgun would be my first choice, but i would NOT use buck shot, if i did i would use OO, this is because buckshot can goes straight though a body with no problem just like a rifle, but traveling up to a mile afterwards maybe not, honestly i would use a low velocity turkey or skeet load, this has more shot to hit your target first off, but not kill him necessarily, it wont go through a wall or a body for that matter. but i would make sure to have a full choke in your gun first to tighten the pattern.
My first choice for myself would be a smaller handgun, but my second choice would be a shotgun, i wouldnt use a rifle for home defense unless i had to. now for hunting,
A Bottom line is you can hunt more animals with a shotgun than a handgun or rifle, because you can hunt; turkey, pheasant, deer, coyote, quail, duck, squirrel, bear, and just about anything else with a shotgun…
So comparing the variables you best bet for security and recreation is a shotgun.
personally i would go for a remington 870 12 guage…
Hope this helps
Well you can change out the barrels on a shotgun and the grips to hunt with and for home security. Personally, I would have one for each purpose.
If you want to go with one, then a 12 gauge shotgun would be best. Mossberg 500 with the 18.5" barell and a pistol grip for home defense and then put on the full stock and a ribbed barell with interchangeable chokes for hunting. And what are you hunting? you can hunt birds and even deer with a shotgun. shotguns are better than handguns as well because you don’t have to place one bullet like a handgun, you just kinda point and shoot. But be careful, any of them will shoot through drywall so you always have to be aware of what is on the other side of the wall and shoot as the absolute last resort. still, you definatly want something to defend yourself.
a .22 is better than nothing, but I would never depend on it. And unlike one of the posters above me said, one shot from just anything is NOT going to take you down. a .22 would have to be very well placed to do a take down with one hit. I watched a documentary a while back on special forces and police training with firearms in tactical situations. one of the officers interviewed was actually shot 3 times at point blank with a .38 special or something like that and he continued to fire as he went down. he ended up putting 6 rounds of his 9mm into the other guy before the other guy was finally unable to shoot back.
Moral of the story, get a gun that will hit hard and put someone down before they have the chance to shoot back. Especially if you have a family, you don’t want a gun fight going on and random bullets flying around the house. You want your one shot knocking them down and out of commission. A .22 is something you would use if it was the end of the world and you just couldn’t find another gun. You would be stupid to use one in today’s world because there are thousands of better guns readily available to you.
And personally, I would rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6. dead men don’t talk and they don’t sue either.