Home protection question

[xl-one]

Reading the threads, it looks like it is split about 50/50 hand gun vs shotgun for home protection. I do own both and believe me, a round going though a wall and ending up somewhere where it shouldn't be (kids room,neighbors house) is a real concern. My house is very small and would be hard to navigate with a shotgun, esp if a perp is waiting around a corner. How about a 9mm with a laser sight and frangible rounds. Under stress,fear, and adrenaline it should be easier to shoot where the "red dot" is rather than taking the time to try and sight the gun. The frangibles,from what i've studied, will do the trick as far as stopping power without penetrating walls and taking out your neighborhood. This is my personal opinion and I would like to hear what the experts say!

[tankerman]

This is my personal opinion and I would like to hear what the experts say!

If you are looking for experts you're in the wrong place...........this is an internet forum.

[TheBundo]

Still gotta go with the shotgun. The sould of you racking the slide is a major step in dissuading the bad guy too

[Saigon1965]

Thus we are all experts - Go with the shotgun - If the perp is around the corner - Shoot at the wall covering him -

[UBFRAGD]

I'm going to be a jerk on this and say use the axe. Channel the Berserker.

[flatovercrest]

Under stress,fear, and adrenaline it should be easier to shoot where the "red dot" is rather than taking the time to try and sight the gun.

Laser in your home protection gun is a must.
-First, my alarm goes off at 3am because of a home intruder, I wake up, grab the revolver from the night stand, there is no way I can focus on the gun sights (takes me minutes to wake up properly in the morning), I need the red dot!
-Second, let's not forget that the laser has a great intimidating factor and at the end of the day the last thing you want to do is pull the trigger..a laser pointing at an indruder's chest or head should make him drop all bad intentions right away (unless there is a situation when he's under heavy influence of drugs, etc. at that point pulling the trigger is the next thing in line).
Get a laser for your home protection gun!
Just my opinion.

[ZombieKiller]

If there is a perp around the corner and he has already threatened you and/or yours.....a shotgun would be nice in that situation- shoot the corner. Then shoot again and repeat as necessary.

[AJAX22]

Still gotta go with the shotgun. The sould of you racking the slide is a major step in dissuading the bad guy too

[Justin562]

Shotgun with 12 gauge 3" 41pellet shells.
I pick the scatter gun only because your likely to tag the suspect on the first or second shot and take him out.
I saw a t.v. show recently where this guy shot a suspect that was attacking his wife in his house with a welding rod... Well he shot the guy 3 times all in the center mass area with a 38 special, and he got booked for murder for I guess being over kill. Seeing that made me wonder if instead he shot him once with a 12 gauge,would he still get booked for murder???
How bout a chain saw for h.d. The sound of that will make you run for sure

[jlb]

I have both.....it's a last second choice as to which I'm holding while opening my bedroom door
both are chambered and ready to go.....so there will be no racking of slides or anything of that nature...it's either ''Get out of my house or I'll shoot" or ''BANG''

[JDoe]

Speaking only for myself, I'm not an expert, etc. I have had the same concerns as you and thought about using frangible ammo. After a lot of research, soul searching and looking at probable shooting corridors in my place I opted for a regular JHP personal defense round in 147 gr. 9mm AND the 12 gauge with 00 Buck because I don't believe the frangible ammo has enough penetration to have any kind of reasonable threat stopping power.

I don't have any comments one way or the other regarding lasers, my 9 mm has one and it works as advertised but it really is a personal choice on what works best for you at this stage in your evolution as a shooter.

Here is a Box-O-Truth look at some frangible ammo in 9 mm and a Box-O-Truth look at shotgun ammo penetration.

Which weapon I pick up depends on how much time I have to act, etc. but would likely just grab the 12 gauge loaded with 00 buck and hunker down concealed with 911 on speaker phone while waiting for trouble to crash through the bedroom door while I yell out to them that I am armed and will shoot them if they come through the door. There is no way I am going looking for trouble if someone is actively breaking in or has broken in to another part of the house. If you have kids to think about you need to figure out how to protect them while putting yourself in as little danger as possible. Your job is to stay alive for them, clearing your house is not something you should even be thinking about at all--leave that job for the police.

Check out this excellent article titled Best Choices for Self Defense Ammo.

I don't know your house layout but keeping a set of house keys hidden in each room attached to a glow stick might be a good idea in case you need to toss house keys to the police at night. The glow stick will help the police find the keys in your yard at night.

[berto]

Secure your weapon and your loved ones and stay put. There's no need to go looking for the bg in defense of your dvd player. Choose the weapon you're best with.

Flame away.

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

About 6 or 7 years ago, I had the opportunity to test a number of frangible rounds as a part of selecting a carbine caliber to be used in a court facility. I was surprised to find that every frangible 9MM round tested passed through a wall sample constructed of two layers of wallboard on each side with 2X4 framing. In some cases the frangibles passed through more than one such sample.

I have personal knowledge of an incident in which a .22LR inadvertently fired from a Ruger MKI 4" barreled pistol penetrated an interior wall (wallboard and 2X4 construction) and entered a second wall, but did not exit that wall. I observed the hole in both walls shortly after the incident.

I also have personal knowledge of an incident in which a .38+P+ 110-grain round was inadvertently fired at an interior lath-and-plaster wall. That round entered the wall but did not exit.

None of this qualifies me as any kind of expert.

Analysis - don't trust frangibles not to pass through walls, etc, unless you have personally tested them against a sample. I would hope that the technology has improved but wouldn't bet my house on it.

[TheBundo]

Laser in your home protection gun is a must.
-First, my alarm goes off at 3am because of a home intruder, I wake up, grab the revolver from the night stand, there is no way I can focus on the gun sights (takes me minutes to wake up properly in the morning), I need the red dot!
-Second, let's not forget that the laser has a great intimidating factor and at the end of the day the last thing you want to do is pull the trigger..a laser pointing at an indruder's chest or head should make him drop all bad intentions right away (unless there is a situation when he's under heavy influence of drugs, etc. at that point pulling the trigger is the next thing in line).
Get a laser for your home protection gun!
Just my opinion.

You think the laser will intimidate the BG if the alarm didn't get him running? He's probably armed, and at night, the laser tells him where YOU'RE at. I would get cover, including for my loved ones, and wait for the alarm-ignoring BG to appear and let him have it with the shotgun

[N6ATF]

a laser pointing at an indruder's chest or head should make him drop all bad intentions right away (unless there is a situation when he's under heavy influence of drugs, etc. at that point pulling the trigger is the next thing in line).

I think it was Massad Ayoob who busted this myth, on the ProArms podcast about lasers. The perp is not going to be looking down at his chest, and will not be able to see it on his head. I suppose you could use a green visible light laser, but then you'd give the perp a straight line back to you for targeting.

Let it forever rest along with gun myths like racking shotguns makes criminals crap their pants.