The Ultimate Home-Defense Handgun Guide

So you determined that a pistol is the ideal home defense weapon for you, but you’re unsure of what make or model. Fret not, dear friend.

The first thing a new buyer needs to consider before stepping into a store is who will use the handgun. Obviously you, the buyer, are the primary user (unless it’s a straw purchase and if so, that’s illegal and you could wind up in prison), but what about when you’re not at home and your spouse needs to defend themselves?

If they are an avid shooter who is familiar with a wide variety of weapons, buy anything and they’ll adapt. On the other hand, if your spouse finds firearms and their loud dangerous nature frightening, they are less likely to train. Meaning, you need something simple and reliable, like a revolver.

While it doesn’t carry much ammo, your body will quit long before the Ruger GP100 will (Photo by Jim Grant)

Before you run to the store to buy the smallest revolver in the biggest caliber, think about the difference between an assault rifle — a real one with the happy switch, not the buzz word used by politicians — and a heavy machine gun. An assault rifle works well in a defensive situation, easily suppressing a fire team of four guys, but an M2 .50 caliber HMG can keep a platoon at bay.

If the HMG is vastly better, why doesn’t every soldier carry one? Weight — they are far too heavy for one person to carry. In addition to being a crew-served weapon, think of your home defense weapon selection accordingly. [amazon asin=1936120437&template=*lrc ad (right)]It doesn’t matter if you choose a 6-pound pistol for home defense since 99 percent of the time it will sit dormant on your nightstand.  In the same way the weight of the Ma Deuce doesn’t matter when its used as a fixed weapon, your home defense setup can weigh as much as you can comfortably lift. With that in mind you should choose a weapon with the greatest  power and capacity that you and your spouse can handle. This means you can buy a revolver that is too large for concealed carry, giving you the advantage of reduced recoil due to the weapon’s heft or an all-steel semi-automatic pistol with a magazine that doubles its weight. Additionally, stash as many spare reloads for your big six-gun as you can afford next to it.

Maybe your spouse has their own weapon and you’re picking one up for yourself. First major question: “Do you carry?” If the answer is yes, the question becomes, “Do you train often?”

If you are proficient with your carry gun you may want to buy a similar firearm that those skill will translate to. In other words, if your daily carry weapon is a Glock 27 subcompact 9mm, an excellent home defense companion would be the Glock 17 or 34. These full-sized pistols use identical controls to the G27 with the added benefit of reduced recoil and increased magazine capacity.

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