Best handgun for home protection?
 

looking into buying a handgun for protection and every time i go to the gun store the confuse me so I'll ask you guys.

Beretta 9mm "black" :_paranoid lol Its the best for 5-15 metres close combat shooting. :cool:

The .357 and 9mm do not have the knock down power like the .40 or .45. If you want to knock them on there rear you want the .45. But depending on the barrel length and the gun a .45 is tougher to handle. So if your wife/gf could potentially use it then you'll need to take that into consideration. But in all likelyhood if you shoot at an intruder with anything they will run. I am in the markey for a 4" .40 and thats what I would recommend. A smaller person can handle it and they still have good power behind it. If you are wanting to use more than a home defense weapon I would get a .357 or 9mm because the .357 revolver you can shoot a .38 or .380 (not sure which one) out of the same gun and that makes it cheaper also the 9mm rounds are cheap to target shoot. Hope this helps and sorry for such a long answer!

.357... you can practice all day with .38 ammo, then load it with some nice .357 hollow points and really make someone's day go all to hell. The revolver is easy to fire without complex safety levers or "racking" procedures. Honestly, I have a Smith & Wesson chambered in .45 acp, and while I absolutely love it, my wife cannot reliably rack the slide. If she were to actually have to fire the thing, and it jammed, she would never be able to clear it. With a revolver, if one round fails to fire, you just pull the trigger again.

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

I personally have a .45 but I am getting a hammerless .38 for my wife. Like the guys said before depending on the gun the .45 could be tough for the wife.
For the wife she needs something that she only needs to point and shoot. A shotgun will do the trick too.

I just went through the same thing yesterday. I ended up going with the Glock 21 ( 45 acp ). I also have a s&w 357 revolver for the exact reasons above ( my wife can shoot it well with 38s). I don't think 9mm has enough power behind it but would be a great practice gun.

If you're talking about specifically inside your house, like maybe a nightstand weapon, I would suggest something like this...
http://www.taurususa.com/product-det...egory=Revolver
Taurus Judge.
It can shoot a .45 or a 410 shotgun shell. With the 410, you've got serious close quarters hit, but it's not gonna travel all throught the house and hurt your family. Easy for your wife/gf to learn and with a shotgun pattern out of a pistol, they don't have to be super accurate in a high stress moment. You gotta think about how far the bullet will go through thin azz sheetrock (even a 9mm).

Now if you're talkin about a carry weapon for any situation, I like larger caliber. I want immeadiate nuetralization of the threat. I want to stop the danger permanently.


Jeff-

Inside the home, a tactical pump shotgun loaded with 00-Buck... Huge stopping power, and won't over-penetrate into other rooms or the neighbor's house... and if something goes wrong, you can still use it to club them over the head. ;)

For a handgun to C&C, then the biggest thing is to get comfortable with it, which takes firing a lot of rounds through it... A gun you're afraid to shoot doesn't do you any good. I'm really liking the Springfield XD models, although I haven't made a purchase yet. I'm leaning toward the 9mm due to ammo cost, and recoil compared to 40 S&W and 45ACP.

Jeff -- This is great info - and thinking about a slug going through bedroom walls etc is really good info -- I like the 410 "option" -- very smart!

If you have the wife using it for home protection I would definatly recommend the .357 revolver...it has more than enough stopping power and the women can handle it without any problems...My wife and I both concealed carry and I personally carry a .45 or a .40 ACP at all times, my wife carries a .38 revolver or her compact 9mm,....But she feels most comfortable with the revolvers, do to the fact that it is just point and shoot, no worries about pulling back the slide or jamming......"The Judge" they are talking about is also a great idea, but it packs a pretty good punch for most women!! Just my opinion!!