Best handgun for home protection?

[pjs65]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

In the UK are you allowed to even own a handgun??

Can you get a Concealed Carry permit??

I not really sure about that but i think you can get a permit to own a gun , its just something we don't have in general use over here . Here if you own a gun your either in a gun club , need it for your job or a drug dealer , and only a few specialist police units have guns . We do have a bit of a knife problem with the youngsters but generally the laws pretty tight here on any kind of weapon and even to say that you have a gun can get you arrested . I know you guys like your firearms but we find them unnerving and view people with a bit of suspicion for wanting one . Your allowed to carry them and we aren't and to be honest i feel safer with things that way . Pete

[camcojb]

Originally Posted by pjs65

I not really sure about that but i think you can get a permit to own a gun , its just something we don't have in general use over here . Here if you own a gun your either in a gun club , need it for your job or a drug dealer , and only a few specialist police units have guns . We do have a bit of a knife problem with the youngsters but generally the laws pretty tight here on any kind of weapon and even to say that you have a gun can get you arrested . I know you guys like your firearms but we find them unnerving and view people with a bit of suspicion for wanting one . Your allowed to carry them and we aren't and to be honest i feel safer with things that way . Pete

I am glad it's not that way here.

[Sieg]

Originally Posted by pjs65

or a drug dealer

That's where the big problem is for me. I'm not sure how the statistics would play out for the number of drug dealers per capita in the UK vs. US but there are way too many in our community for me to be comfortable without effective defense measures.

If everyone would play by the rules it would be easy........

[pjs65]

Originally Posted by Sieg

That's where the big problem is for me. I'm not sure how the statistics would play out for the number of drug dealers per capita in the UK vs. US but there are way too many in our community for me to be comfortable without effective defense measures.

If everyone would play by the rules it would be easy........

I dont know either but its more of a public perception about drug use and gun crime that its on every street corner when it isn't . Generally druggies shoot druggies and i cannot recalled an incident of a drug addict entering a strangers house and shooting them , its more likely to be a family member . We have had a couple of cases of homeowners shooting unarmed burglers and have gone to prison for it , the public have been on the side of the homeowner . We are told that using reasonable force is ok in dealing with burglars but shooting one in the back is not , the public view is slightly more right wing but not much . The murder rate over here is about 1 per 100,000 and most of them are carried out by those known to the victim ,like a spouse . friend or family member . Gun killings here are less than 1 per 1,000,000 and how that compare's to the US i don't know but with those kind of figures arming myself isn't foremost in my mind . Drugs are the real problem here as with anywhere nowadays just look at Mexico , remove drugs and crime could be halved .But i do find guns creepy , just a euro liberal i guess . Pete

[Sieg]

Originally Posted by pjs65

I dont know either but its more of a public perception about drug use and gun crime that its on every street corner when it isn't . Generally druggies shoot druggies and i cannot recalled an incident of a drug addict entering a strangers house and shooting them , its more likely to be a family member . We have had a couple of cases of homeowners shooting unarmed burglers and have gone to prison for it , the public have been on the side of the homeowner . We are told that using reasonable force is ok in dealing with burglars but shooting one in the back is not , the public view is slightly more right wing but not much . The murder rate over here is about 1 per 100,000 and most of them are carried out by those known to the victim ,like a spouse . friend or family member . Gun killings here are less than 1 per 1,000,000 and how that compare's to the US i don't know but with those kind of figures arming myself isn't foremost in my mind . Drugs are the real problem here as with anywhere nowadays just look at Mexico , remove drugs and crime could be halved .But i do find guns creepy , just a euro liberal i guess . Pete

Meth is a big industry in our county and the number of burglaries/robberies associated with supporting the habit is increasing. Crashing residences and robbing at gun point happens too often, especially in the surrounding rural areas where there is literally no law enforcement protection. In the last six to nine months there have been two incidences that the perp's encountered armed residents and were shot............ in the last few months I haven't heard of one break-in. When the perps realize the odds of encountering armed home owners in a region is common the move to an area that offers less resistance before they'll kick the habit that drives the crimes.

The counting jail is releasing inmates lodged on serious felony charges at an alarming rate due to lack of funding which compounds the safety situation.

Perceptions are based on local conditions and personal experiences. I have worked closely with law enforcement over the last 20+ years and know the realities of our area. Reasonable personal safety in our area cannot be supplied by local law enforcement, the numbers per capita are some of the lowest in the US.