Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Favorite Handgun for Self Defense

If you could have only one what would it be? My choice would be my Glock 23 with two barrel 40 S&W and the 357 Sig barrel. Nothing beats the Glock in my opinion.

For home defense,I'll take my Judge, for SD carry, Glock 20 with 17 rounds.

Self defense... from what? Bears? Zombies? Muggers? An invading foreign host? Open or concealed carry? Hmm... I guess for all 'round, general purposes (sort of one-size-fits all scenarios) I'd go with something that starts with a "4" and ends with a "5".

Yep.

Same as I would take for CCW, home-defense, OC, etc.

1911, .45ACP.

Second choice?

Browning Hi-Power, 9x19.

If choosing a revolver:

S&W K-frame .357/.38
S&W Mtn Gun 625 in .45LC
Ruger counterparts of the above.

Ruger Security-Six, .357 Mag.

steel 5" 1911 .45acp

G19

wiley clap colt commander

If I had to choose just the one for all SD (including outdoors) it'd probably be my G29. Conceals fairly well (at bit thick) and the 10mm covers a pretty wide range of applications.

My Kahr P40 carries awfully easily though to be .40.

If it's gotta be concealed I want my Smith M&P Compact 9. If it's like a Wog type situation where everybody is armed, I'll take my Springfield 1911 in 45 ACP.

A glock. Caliber really would not matter but if I got to choose I would probaly pick 9mm.

Dink

On a HOT day like today ...

I go with my starts with a 2 and ends with a 5.

Here I go again. For self defense I would go with one of these in .380:

http://seecamp.com/products.htm

or

a PPK in .380.

Both make good self defense pistols for the pocket and are very concealable no matter the weather.

However, if I know I'm going into harms way such as a police officer, soldier, survivalist than it's the best quality M1911 in .45 Auto I can get and a good quality K-Bar knife.

I have my flame proof suit on so flame away.

I'd like to own a Seecamp and a Rolex for the same reasons. Ultimately though I check the time with a G-Shock and carry a KelTec.

Glock 19--I used to say Glock 23 but Arthur Itis has been bothering my hands after I shoot it.

I have two:

old favorite: H&K PSP 9mm

new favorite: Colt CCO 45 ACP.

Both fit my hand better than anything else I've tried.

That's a tough one. Probably would have to pick the one I carry on a regular basis, and sits beside my bed at night, which is a Kahr P-9. Other close contenders are a Combat Commander pattern .45 ACP, and an FBI pattern S&W K-Frame revolver in either .38 Special or .357 Magnum.

I hate Glocks. They're not natural pointing guns for me.

+2 on the Kahr P9.

Have one with nightsights. It's my all-time favorite carry gun.

Second choice would be my kimber 5" .45

Virgil B.

Browning High Power 9mm with the 3 inch M66 a very close second.

Ernie

Antibiotics will clear that up....

1911 45 ACP/Super no question about it

My 3 1/2 inch pre Model 27. Just because it's the one closest to the bed. Couple of speed loaders and I'm good to go. Besides, to an intruder it would look like a Dirty Harry special.

If I had to pick only one, I'd sacrifice personal comfort during the summer months and stick with my 4" Kimber Crimson Carry .45 ACP:

Before we had kids, a .357 Mag. revolver of one stripe or another was almost always my weapon of choice for the bedside. I don't think you can do any better than a 686 with a 4" barrel.

Over the years, I can remember a couple of 27's, a couple of 28's, about four 686's, a 586, a 681, a Python or two, a GP100...

a beat up old titanium 5 shot J frame smith, and thank all of you for your blasted threads on "the judge" etc etc, I went to look at the governor yesterday, its a big arse horse pistol, my bud shot one with the 45ACP rounds and said it was not half bad, maybe the next step will be to make it with the very common 3 inch 410 shell chamber..big mutha however....a trigger job, the laser..hmmmm it could work for "in the house" however it would be the very very last gun I would ever buy......

1911 in .45 FTW.

A 380, you don't think very much of yourself

Sig P220 .45 acp and in a wheel gun my S&W 66 snubby....

Give me a LW Commander in .45 ACP or .38 Super, and a J frame Smith .38 Special and I'm good to do...That's been my motto for longer than I can remember. I have inserted Browning Hi Power for the LW Commander several times.

But since this is one gun, make mine a good 1911.

Heck a 45 cal something.

I have most everything I want in 45 cal.

So that is my favorite

I think a lot of myself some times to much.

The OP said self defense so I chose a self defense gun. The FBI's offical distance for self defense from their studies is 7 yards that's 21 feet. Some say 5 yards that's 15 feet. A .380 should do just fine at those distances.

Self defense means being a survivalist. Being a survivalist means never being in harms way to begin with. Sometimes the best laid plans go awry and one finds one in a self defense situation. Here in Helena, the most likely self defense situation is with dang dogs while one is out walking. If one shoots a dog that dang dog had better be biting a leg or be about to bite and the distance is likely to be 1 to 3 feet. At that distance a .380 with hollow points will do the job.

So far, I've survived every gun fight I've ever been in because I make sure I'm never in a gun fight. One might survive the gun fight, the criminal charges but will most likely lose the civil fight. I choose to survive by not being where I'm not suppose to be. So far, it's worked well for me. If I had chosen to go armed a .380 pocket or small IWP pistol would have worked just fine.

Either my XD 45 - 5", can't go too wrong with 13 + 1 rounds of .45


or if I'm in a wheelgun frame of mind 7 rounds 0f .357 in the S&W 686 +

Glock.

The very first gun I ever bought was a used 686 4" barrel. Still have it.

Kimber Classic stainless in 45 ACP
Sig 220 in 45 ACP
S&W 4" 66 in 357 mag

Kahr T9 in or S&W 686 3" for CC

FNP 45 if the SHTF and CC is out

Kahr PM9 as a backup

Well it sure wouldn't be a Judge - it's a toy for morons.

I like Glocks, Revolvers and 1911's. If I had to choose one, it would my Kimber SS Pro Carry Series 1.

While I carry a pistol, not a revolver, on a daily basis, my favorite is a 3 or4" S&W Model 686. Old school, I guess... The 686+ is an excellent revolver option.

I'm glad to see that you, like me, distinguish between a revolver and a pistol.

Tell us how many of those dang dogs have you taken out with your 380? How manny animals have you taken with any handgun?

I also try to stay out of harms way, but if god forbid I can't I am least going to try to save my bacon with a big bore 45 ACP in a 1911 platform or an N-Frame S&W in 41 or 44 mag if at possible. My mom had a 380 and all I can about them is "can you say anemic" is the word

I see that you have the Judge pegged precisely. Good choices for carry

I've got no favorites, just a rotating cast of reliables...

Here's what's on the bedstand tonight: S&W M57 no-dash, 41 Magnum.

Very Nice,I love my M-57's

I'm into handguns these days... own a bunch of them and can shoot all I want on my own property... if I was expecting to need a gun I might well pick a full sized pistol that "begins with a 4". The reality is that I live a pretty low key life... I don't generally expect trouble but I ALWAYS have my Kahr PM 9 with me anywhere it is legal to do so...

No disrespect intended for those of you who would choose a larger "only gun"... but can you say the same thing?

you don't mince words! I am curious about the Governor, I may rent one and shoot one against a Kimber 45 Auto, I would not own a Taurus of any ilk if you gave it too me.

I haven't killed any dogs with anything especially in this city. The chit would hit that fan if one killed a dog no matter what the dog is biting. Plus you can't carry a gun loaded in the city even if you have a CCW.

If .22lr kills stuff and it sure does than a .380 within three or four feet should do just fine even out to 15 feet it should do just fine.

I'm not going to get into the game of insults. As a former auxiliary police officer in a wide open gun state, when it comes to self defense you had better be able to prove self defense and that can be done better with a small gun and at close range than a large gun at a longer range.

But hey, carry what you want it's your neck. For me, if I was going to carry for self defense and not for a gun fight, a high quality .380 would work just fine.

The size or lack there of has nothing to do with the justification of the use of deadly force.

In 1986 the FBI armed with 9mm's and 38 Special +P didn't fare very well against to armed fellons and there handguns were a lot better than an anemic 380

I think enough of myself to use a weapon that is at leasat considered adequate for the task

People have been killed with a Daisy BB gun, but I don't know od anyone that considers that adequate.

Your logic escapes me

As the teenagers say, "Whatever".

What makes you think that a self defense action would not ever be a gun fight?


Your logic definately escapes me

Whatever.

Derby, this is a friendly group down here in handguns. Stop trying to make trouble.

Me make trouble? NEVER!

I keep several handguns positioned around the house, so it would depend where I am at the time I needed one - N frame revolvers in .41 MAG & .44 MAG and a 1911 in .45 ACP. I keep a Glock M23 in 40 S&W in my vehicle - that one has a kydex paddle holster in the vehicle too, in case I need to take it with me when I end up on foot (stop by the farm, etc.)

I must apologize for the poor use of the terms "self defense".

After visiting a number of big name firearm manufacturing sites and studying their firearms used by civilians, police back up, off duty police and FBI off duty weapons especially for concealment the terms "personal defense" is what I should have been using. The sites use the terms "personal defense" to describe weapons specifically designed for that purpose.

I realize that any weapon can be used for personal defense but certain weapons are designed for that specific purpose. Sorry for any confuse I caused.

Now I'm really confused.

You aren't the only one

Some of you guys need to study the gun fights of the Old West especially the decades of the 70's and 80's and what worked and what didn't. The guns may have changed, the cast of characters may have changed, but the basic scenarios have not.

The winners were usually not the fast draws, but those who could keep their cool and take careful aim when they fired. As true today as it was then, I'd imagine.

Why don't you educate us? Have you ever killed anything with a 380?

Some very popular wheel guns of the old west didn't have much more energy on impact than a modern .380 ACP.

In Northfield Minnesota Cole Younger was shot 14 times and survived. I would not want to bet my life on an anemic round


The 45 Colt in black powder loadings in the 1800's used a 260 grain bullet at 800+ FPS hardly an anemic round

I have a Glock 20 that I added a 6" slide and a 6" barrel to, and I mounted a Docter red-dot site on it. Where ever that dot is within 25 yards is where the bullet is going to hit. I load Double Tap ammunition 135 grain HPs.

My Surefire M6 Gaurdian is right beside it. I'm considering mounting a light+laser on it, and putting Docter on something else.

True, but Wild Bill Hickok did OK with his pair of .36 caliber Colt 1851 Navy Revolvers. Probably hits about like a .380 ACP. But he probably put his shots where they counted.

Hickok was an extrmely good shot by all accounts.


36 Remington, 1858 6.5 inch 32 grains 3F Pyrodex 130 grains, Conical 976 ft/s

Oh absolutely. There wasn't a whole bunch of quick draw if any at all. I've only seen two rigs from that period that could be called quick draw. One was a shoulder holster and one was the belt slide that a Colt with an over size screw head fit into. I don't know just how fast that was.

Guns of the time period that were used for personal defense were small short barrel hand guns. Some of rather large caliber such as the Store Keeper or Sheriff's model and the Webley. Derringers were of course, popular. The personal defense guns were usually used at very close range and usually in saloons.

Of course, if one was going into a known shoot out such as the infamous OK Corral that's when the big iron came out which included the double barrel shot gun or even rifles.

Personal defense is close range from the end of your arm to about three feet more or less. Big iron isn't needed but if anybody wants to carry it by all means go ahead.

The original OP asked what was a person's favorite self defense or as I have found out personal defense and for me it's going to be a small gun that's light weight easy to carry and something I'll have with me at all times.

This is pretty much the last word as I've covered this every which way but lose.

Gunfights of the "Old West" generally weren't much of a fight, and the only reason they were called gun fights is because a gun was involved. The large majority of them were a sneak shot in the back, or a contact wound from the only armed combatant. Hollyweird has distorted "gunfights" as much as they distort almost everything else.

Who said anything about Hollyweird?

Back to pistols:



A different 1911 might get the nod at different times, but this one shoots well and is totally trustworthy.

That is a nice looking weapon.

Self-defense tactics and handguns for same are two distinct topics. In fact, tactics is a scientific discipline. The more one delves into tactics the easier handgun selection becomes.

The 1911A1 is the only handgun of which I am aware that was designed to be a close quarters battle handgun. It was not designed as a double-action semi-auto and applied to battle situations.

The absolute minimum caliber I would even consider as capable of saving my life is .40 S&W. .45 ACP is preferred. At the risk of heresy, a .357 Mag would be far from my preferred tactical handgun.

Big magnum handguns such as the .41 Rem Mag on up are not tactical handguns. Therefore I would exclude them from self-defense consideration. In a gunfight, you must expect to fire more than a single round while responding tactically. Hence, you'll want a powerful handgun that does not produce excessive recoil thus taking you off sight picture.

Now by my mileage calculations, the single best tactical handgun for self-defense is a Model 1911A1. But I'll be doggone if others don't get different mileage.

In the end, you gotta choose what's right for you.

Finally, remember that in a gunfight, someone is trying to kill you. So if you want to survive one, don't get in one. Avoidance is a good idea to keep in mind. I don't much cotton to the idea of lying supine on a pathologist's examination gurney.


Stay Safe,

R

You did in a way; it was the next logical comment following your post about gunfights. Hollyweird has distorted a one-on-one armed conflict to the point of being ludicrous. If you�re serious about self-protection you not only need to choose the proper tool, you need training, and you need to be trained in realistic scenarios, not the type Hollyweird feeds us. When the schit hits the fan you will do what you were trained to do. If you don�t train, and/or haven�t been trained, then when the moment of truth arrives you�ll do exactly what you were trained to do � nothing, other than get shot and die.

The best self-defense firearm is the one you have with you when you are facing a deadly force encounter.

Well said, and welcome to the Fire.

The best scenario for a gunfight is to avoid it, that not being possible have you gun in hand, not still in the holster. If you know you are going to be in one bring a rifle, also bring friends with rifles.

Shotguns aren't bad either

[quote=bea175]If you could have only one what would it be? My choice would be my Glock 23 with two barrel 40 S&W and the 357 Sig barrel. Nothing beats the Glock in my opinion. [/quote

IMHO, this does!!

Ed Brown Special Forces 1911.

Magnumdood,

I like your analysis. You seem to have knowledge of self-defense. However, there is one area where I disagree. I used to carry a Model 60. It's small and easy to conceal. But it's all but worthless for saving my life. The best gun for saving my life is a 1911A1 or my Sig P-229 in .40 S&W. So in a moment of reflection, which I can do from time-to-time, especially after something bad has happened to me such as dropping a small fortune on a chick whom I thought was going to get lucky only to find out I shoulda left her in the pasture in which I found her, that I was stupid to trust my life to a gun that's likely to get me killed.

If you don't have the best self-defense gun with you when you need it, then by definition, your life is in the hands of one that ain't. Therefore, and this is my usual refrain to my friends, is to carry the gun that causes YOU to feel most secure.

I am teaching my good friend self-defense. He wanted to go shooting with a bunch of handguns. I asked him to choose the one that he feels will save his life (A .45 ACP of course!), and take only it. One of Raisuli's Rules of Gunfighting, I can't remember which one because I ain't bright enough to write 'em down but I know 'em by heart, is to make one handgun your primary self-defense gun and thoroughly know how to use it.

Gun fighting is a deadly business, which is why I don't like it. I'd like to do a lot more above ground activities as long as God allows. So far I have had the good fortune of avoiding dodging bullets, but then again I don't take stupid risks like wandering into LA at night if at all. I stay the hell away from bad areas.

I very rarely carry a gun, but when I do it's one that's most likely to save my life.

Magnumdood, I know you know the following, so please bear with me so that others who might not know it can gain knowledge that might save their lives. Really bad guys train, such as gangbangers. Many can use their weapons as well as cops use theirs. They rarely caper alone, which means that were one foolish enough to intervene, you ain't gunna gunfight just one bad guy, which means you're probably gunna die. Many have knowledge of military tactics. So I'd recommend adhering to Raisuli's Gunfighting Rule Number 1: The only sure way to survive a gunfight is to not get in one; therefore, avoidance assures survival. That's a pretty simple rule to live by, or die by if you violate it.


Stay Safe,

R

The Real Hawkeye,

Thank you.

Many isnstances of out numbered men that survived the confrontation both in Military action as well as on the street

I agree that not being in a gunfighter means a 100% percent survivablity, but being in one doesn't guarenty non survival either

So what were all the others designed to be? Framing hammers? Coffee makers? Jockstraps? If a handgun isn't for hunting or target shooting, what is it intended for? Curious as to what you're saying here.

Hi jwp475,

I like your comments. You seem to have good knowledge of guns.

Please allow me privilege of sharing another of Raisuli's Rules of Gunfighting: 1 good guy vs. 1 bad guy = bad odds for the good guy. That's why cops always confront bad guys in force when possible. While I have confronted armed bad guys by myself, I was always comforted knowing that my buddies were en route to improve the odds equation.


Take Care,

R

RufusG,

Who knows. I am sure that you're able to find the answer. Let us know what you discover.


Take care,

R

I've discovered after reading 9 of your posts there will be no value in reading the 10th.

RufusG,

Then you've found the answer. Good for you!


Take care,

R

That clouds your analysis as far as I am concerned. I also don't understand how you can call a Model 60 "worthless."

I never said that I am against an advantage, just that being at a disadvantge doesn't have to mean defeat

Many of the others were designed partly to avoid liability or the need for extensive training of their users.

Regardless, a design constraint does not erase the primary design objective.

jwp475,

You have the mindset of a survivor. And that is a crucial tactical advantage. Moreover, it is a concept that was reinforced in every firearms course that taxpayers have paid for me to attend.


Stay safe,

R