As a new gun owner there are a few questions that I have. I think one of the most important ones is for home defense should I grab the shotgun or handgun? I have a H&R pardner pump 18.5 inch barrel or my S&W SD40VE.
I say grab the one closest or more convenient. The shot gun at close range is effective. If you have a tactical light on it even better. At this time I donāt own a long gun so I have to go with the handgun. But either or IMO will work.
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That makes sense to me. The only reason why I was asking, didnāt know if there was a tactical advantage from one gun to another. So I figured asking well-trained people might get a better understanding of what to use. Thank you for your reply.
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My 1911 (Ruger) is holstered on my nightstand. It has tritium but no light. I also have the same shotgun you have (H&R) with a 500 lumen light. It is directly under me while in bed with an easy to remove slip cover. They are both chambered. if I need an immediate firearm, Iāll use the 1911 with a slim 100 lumen penlight to clearly identify my target if needed. If I have time, my shotgun is within reach. I prefer a shotgun for home defense for obvious reasons. I also keep a service pistol (S&W 9mm w/light) ) on a gun magnet in a strategic location. My EDC (Ruger LC9s)is also placed in a location with easy access but completely out of view. I keep another pistol (Taurus 357mag) in a weather proof slide box by the toilet. Too much? Nope. My wife shoots also & knows where all guns are. She keeps her S&W 380 w/built in green laser on her side of the bed. So to answer your question - SHOTGUN prefered
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Nice collection of hardware brother, and the hits just keep on coming.
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I agree nice collection indeed. Where did you get the flashlight with the clip on for your shotgun? Youāre right we do have the same shotgun but I want the flashlight LOL.
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357 revolver thatās a wristbreaker as my dad would put it.lol
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The LC9, that looks just like my EC9S
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Nice piece of hardware brother.
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I agree with @Johnnyq60, whichever one is closest, and both should defend you and your family just fine.
Something to think about (and Iām not trying to be ātacti-coolā here) is thinking about how you will maneuver around the house with each and how it will interact with family members.
For example, you hear the bump in the night and are going to check it outā¦is it easier (and are you more comfortable with), making that trip down to the kitchen/living room and clearing corners safely with your handgun or shotgun (thatās the question for you to answer).
If a break in actually does occur in the middle of the night and youāre wanting to get to your kids room, now not only do you need to consider how youāll clear corners safely/quickly, but how will you grab your kids up and take them back to your bedroom (or execute whatever your emergency plan is) without muzzling family members? Will a handgun or shotgun work better for you there? (again a question for you to personally answer different people I would expect would have different answers, and neither would be wrong).
For me, itās the handgun as my primary on the nightstandā¦knowing that I have long guns in he safe should things get really hinky and the .45ACP isnāt cutting it.
Just my thoughts.
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The answer to your question is, both. The handgun gives me time to get my long gun. Actually thereās a drill and protocol my wife and I practice. In short, itās handgun, shotgun (which is nicknamed/code worded, if required) phone 911!
My wife and I practice room clearing, once a week!
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I notice a lot of people talk about lights on their weapon of choice. Iām old school, no lights. I have motion lights throughout the house. There are 2 basic types of home invasion. You are either up and about or you are sleep. There are three things Iām going to try avoid doing. First, Iām not going ālookingā. Second , Iām not going to announce my location. either by light or sound. No working the action. Third, Iām not going to play fair. Of course there are always caveat s to everything, number of people living in your house, their location, etc. Iām staying in place in a covered position. Iām letting the motion lights give me a sight advantage. Iām calling for LE. If itās a āin my faceā situation, I donāt want to deal with extraās like chambering a round. Iāll have more that enough to deal with. Anyway, thatās what works for this old geezer.
I should add I have security camās inside and out. They are self monitoring/control. I use them āliveā to check outside noise and inside noise. if they havenāt already ānotifiedā me of a problem.
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Well I thank all of you for your comments. It gives me alot to think about. As to doing clearing drills of my rooms in the house. I have a really small house so it wonāt be too hard to clear in like 2 moves LOL. But I do appreciate everything you guys have said. As a new gun owner itās nice to hear different opinions. and now that Iām hearing some of them itās allowing me to figure out that I have to do what works for my family in my house and itās not about necessarily what gun is better but more like whatās easier for my particular household. So thank you very much for commenting on my thread. If you have more, please do. You can never have enough ideas.
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Then seriously, if your home is small, tactically Iāll have to recommend handgun for closest to your body and maneuverability. However, no matter how funny I may be, I donāt recommend clearing your own home unless youāre an experienced operator. Grab your weapon, family and phone. Barricade, keep phone line open with 911, and identify your target!
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How close do you expect the threat to be? How much time will it take for you to respond?
In the dark, in very close quarters a long gun can impede movement or even be leveraged out of your control.
Yeah, that sounds crazy but meth heads are crazy.
If youāre responding to the sound of broken glass or splintering wood, that would be another scenario. You can pick up the phone, open or lock doors, or turn on room lights with one hand----shotguns require two hands.
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Thank you for that Scott. Yeah I didnāt figure you were meaning for me to clear rooms LOL. I guess I was figuring that maybe the sound of racking a shotgun might have been a good way to scare somebody off so I donāt have to use it but meth heads in mind like you said John they are crazy and I donāt know the sound of a shotgun would scare them. So Iām going to go with handgun. Thank you for all your good points.
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If itās a home invasion, nothing scares them! And you most certainly wonāt be able to talk him/her down. If you plan to draw a weapon, remember the 4 rules of gun ownership. Stay safe!
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I have handguns staged throughout our spread out ranch style house. I do have my old Rem. 870 ready in the gun cabinet.
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