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I for one don't make highly important personal decisions based on what people in New England think, especially in regards to guns!
OP, in my opinion, the best home defense gun is one you can carry on you comfortably inside of your home. Some would take that as a simpleton answer, but from what I've seen in life, it's the truth. I'd take a handgun on my hip at all times over a rifle I need to retrieve any day of the week. Home invasions come suddenly and usually without warning. Having a gun handy is the key.
Once that has been established, a rifle/carbine for responding to a protracted situation is my second choice. I have two for that purpose: a .223/5.56 AR and a Marlin Camp 9 carbine. The Camp 9 fires the cheap and reliable 9mm cartridge, of which I always have thousands of rounds available. I also like that it uses the same magazines as my S&W 5946 handgun.
For inexperienced shooters, I agree that a pump shotgun is likely the best choice.
I for one don't make highly important personal decisions based on what people in New England think, especially in regards to guns!
OP, in my opinion, the best home defense gun is one you can carry on you comfortably inside of your home. Some would take that as a simpleton answer, but from what I've seen in life, it's the truth. I'd take a handgun on my hip at all times over a rifle I need to retrieve any day of the week. Home invasions come suddenly and usually without warning. Having a gun handy is the key.
Once that has been established, a rifle/carbine for responding to a protracted situation is my second choice. I have two for that purpose: a .223/5.56 AR and a Marlin Camp 9 carbine. The Camp 9 fires the cheap and reliable 9mm cartridge, of which I always have thousands of rounds available. I also like that it uses the same magazines as my S&W 5946 handgun.
For inexperienced shooters, I agree that a pump shotgun is likely the best choice.
Of all the weapons I've run, the pump shotgun is by FAR the hardest to be proficient with.
Wrong. 00 buck will penetrate more than a 9mm or even a 5.56.
It honestly depends on the medium, and the round. 00 BUCK is a very VERY poor penetrator of car doors, in my experience, and of wood. However, it will make short work of dry-wall, and penetrates very deeply in soft tissue.
9mm does a little better on car doors and wood, and depending on the load may penetrate either more, or less soft tissue.
5.56 can be tailored to your desire. I have loads that will frag violently on 1 piece of 1/4" soggy ply-board at 200+ yards, and I have loads that will punch nearly 30" of game animal with 1/2" expansion.
Get a loud dog or move to a safer area. No one around here thinks they need a gun. A few have them for hunting and even people who only have them for hunting have been known to kill each other by accident. (my own cousin is one.)
That's absurd. It's like telling a hot girl not to take a self defense class, but rather just pork up and let herself go so noone will want to rape her.
Maybe some people like where they live, and have accepted that even in nice places, bad people do bad things, and want to be prepared, should the need arise, to have the best chance at surviving such an event.
Consider that one advantage you have as the defender is that you don't have to worry about weight or concealment. The attacker has to haul their weapon with them to the crime scene and then haul it home again, and worry about it being seen.
As a defender, you can go big, and go heavy, and never have to carry your gun more than 50 feet. Length is a concern, but that can be mitigated with practice or with an SBR.
If you have no neighbors, I recommend the PTR 51P PDW. If the bullet doesn't get them, the muzzle blast will
You may want to consider flameproofing the drapes.
That would make a nice truck gun. (Keep in the truck for emergency)
How about a dog and a gun? The dog sounds the alarm buying you time to ready yourself.
My rottie is wonderful. She barks should someone approach the house. We always thank her since that is her job and we want to reinforce that behavior. And really, that's all she wants - to alert us. Once we acknowledge the alarm, she goes back to whatever she was doing.
With a rottweiler in the home, there is rarely a need for anything else.
I for one don't make highly important personal decisions based on what people in New England think, especially in regards to guns!
Do not assume that in_newengland speaks for the whole region -- I'm in (northern) New England, and everybody up here (ME/VT/NH) has a gun. Not so much for 2-legged predators as for the 4-legged ones.
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For inexperienced shooters, I agree that a pump shotgun is likely the best choice.
I don't entirely agree -- as stated earlier, a pump shotgun may be relatively safe, but takes time and practice for an inexperienced shooter to gain proficiency, and the OAL isn't optimal.
Another drawback is that new shooters tend to be nervous about the recoil of a 12GA, and anything smaller is less effective and takes more expensive ammo, further reducing practice time.
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The Camp 9 fires the cheap and reliable 9mm cartridge...
For legal reasons I would avoid using an AR-15, AK style shotgun, or silenced weapon for home defense.
Your best home defense weapon is cheap (because you will likely not get it back after a home defense shooting) , durable, portable, with high capacity. I'd say something like a S&W M&P9C or Ruger P95. 9MM cartridge with hollowpoints or .45ACP with regular ball ammo. Plenty of practice using the weapon... don't just buy it and put it away and expect to shoot someone with no practice whatsoever unholstering, dry firing, operating the safety, etc.
Do not assume that in_newengland speaks for the whole region -- I'm in (northern) New England, and everybody up here (ME/VT/NH) has a gun. Not so much for 2-legged predators as for the 4-legged ones.
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Another drawback is that new shooters tend to be nervous about the recoil of a 12GA, and anything smaller is less effective and takes more expensive ammo, further reducing practice time.
I agree - never assume anything about gun ownership based on the state or region of residence. I know plenty of gun owners who live in California, and I know plenty of anti-gunners who live in Tennessee.
I disagree with you about the 12-Ga, though... A 20-ga, while technically "smaller and less effective" than a 12-ga, is still much more powerful and effective than any reasonable handgun and even most rifles. Depending on gun weight and load, the recoil ranges from .308Win to 7mm Rem Mag levels for a 20ga (12Ga recoil is much higher). I believe getting hit by a full 20ga load is equivalent to getting hit by two 44Mag slugs simultaneously, and I don't know of anyone who considers the .44Mag to be "less effective".
And defense-quality ammo cost is quite comparable if you shop around and compare apples-to-apples. For practice you can find some really cheap deals on #00 buck in 12GA, but you have to move to birdshot to get cheap shells in 20ga.
I vote for the iconic Remington 870 12 gauge shotgun - in tactical setup with shortened barrel and 6+1 capacity. The dread of robbers, low-lifes, and scum intent on home and business burglaries for the last 80+ years.
Do not get the pistol grip unless you enjoy the sensation of a dislocated wrist.
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