Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Recommendations for home protection-Novice user

In the last month I have had three different relatives contact me asking about what to buy for home protection.
All three are couples who have never owned a firearm previously, and never felt the need.

Seems the Wuhan virus has made people very uneasy, and those that werent affected by that have become uneasy with the recent riots.

Two of them purchased prior to talking to me, making my advice kind of moot. The third I will talk to later today.

Both selected 9mm pistols, one a Glock and one a S&W. Probably whatever the salesman recommended.

My advice would have been a Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 but in talking to both they wanted something smaller.

(Probably interesting psychology- they want something to make them feel safer, but a shotgun seems to feel like they are over reacting. They almost seem embarrassed they are arming themselves.)

I talked about the importance of the right ammuntion, but both had already gotten FMJ 9mm loads, probably the only ammo the store had in stock.

I also talked with both about the importance of learning how to safely load and shoot whatever they get, but I think in both cases the guns they bought will be rarely handled or shot, that is the reality.

Wondering if many others here have gotten similar recent calls?

Also wondering what people here would recomend to someone in similar circumstances.

My issues with a shotgun are these:

1) a 12 ga can pound the tar out of a shoulder especially with buck shot; perfect recipe to make someone afraid of the gun which is bad from a home defense perspective

2) I worry about over penetration if there are a lot of people in the house; this recognizing the basic rules of gun safety apply in self defense scenarios as anywhere else and I don’t want to fling lead in any configuration toward my kids’ bedrooms

I like an AR or high-cap 9mm. Both are easy to operate, the former is relatively easy to learn to shoot well the latter easy to maneuver through the house when executing a sweep.

Obviously range time is critical no matter the choice. I have both and use them a lot; I’ve also trained my boys on them.

Truth is the worst choice is to be unarmed.

So you worry about over-penetration with the shotgun but not with an AR?

Glock 17, 19 or 26. Magazines up to 33 cartridges can be used for HD.

Ruger LCR 3 in 38. Does not get any simpler than that.

The Ruger PC 9mm Carbine looks like something easy to learn, and reasonably powerful.

For someone who's not going to become a gun enthusiast, but wants a good defensive gun around the house, a good pre-82 K-Frame S&W .38 Special with a four or six inch barrel stoked with premium +P ammo. Super simple manual of arms. Maybe have a gunsmith remove the hammer spur, just to make sure they never cock it manually.

Current events suggest a duffel bag full of LCRs might be needed, kind of expensive proposition.

S&W 640. Shrouded hammer, DAO. As simple as it gets.




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Protecting your home and your possessions is racist. Because the person who comes in your house uninvited may be of color.

If they don't like a shotgun, even an 18" barrel with pistol grips, what about a Judge? A 410 with buckshot won't make the mess a 12 gauge will, but it sure will get someone's attention. And I like the simplicity of a double action revolver. In a full blown stress situation, thinking isn't easy. A DA revolver is simple, point and pull trigger. No slide, no safety to take off, no first shot long pull, the rest quick pulls.

I still like the 18" shotgun. And I agree, range time is a must.

Guns similar to M1 .30 carbines are very much underappreciated as HD guns. These type of weapons are a great choice.

It only holds five cartridges and has long, relatively heavy trigger pull.

From what I see, the Ruger is typically a couple hundred bucks cheaper. In my limited experience, there is a good chance the LCR will have the better trigger out of the box. The LCR will surprise most Smith aficionados, including myself.

"who have never owned a firearm previously,"

If that is the case, I would recommend a .22LR. Either a Ruger 10-22 or a Marlin 60.

Cheap to shoot, low noise, so they will hopefully get out and learn to use it.
If they don't get out and learn to use it, it is a liability.

Handguns are very sorry substitutes for rifles or shotguns.

I have that covered with a 10 shot lever action in 327 mag. Or its bigger cousin in 41 mag. True Old West assault rifles. The 327 is the 30 carbine revitalized.

I would definitely recommend a shoulder fired weapon, be it a 20 gauge or even .410 gauge shotgun or some sort of carbine. A handgun is ridiculously easy to miss with and especially in the hands of a novice, and doubly especially so in an adrenaline filled situation. Cops (yeah, I know), but cops are at least trained with them and more importantly should have some experience in stressful situations, and many of them still have trouble hitting attacking barn sides.

A 10/22 is still a great weapon for a novice. It doesn't kick and if they have any place to plink with one or even just shooting on a public range they quickly find out how much fun it is and how little it costs, and that is conducive to a lot more practice.

I know you’re joking , but I truly believe a lot of Americans seriously think like this. F.uck them and anyone coming into my house uninvited.

For people with NO experience, a revolver, 38 sp. is the simple solution. Whatever they have, will probably be a disaster anyway, without the proper mindset !!!