Best choice for home defence: 9mm or shotgun?

Both have their roles in home defense.

The shotgun's role is holding down the fort such as a safe room where only one door has to be guarded.

The handgun's role is searching the home, gathering family, etc.

A handgun requires one hand to operate making it usable while on the phone with police, finding family, holding a flashlight, opening doors, etc. A shotgun would have to be lowered and hard to raise and then shoot and still control it.

Also the handgun does not need to be lowered or raised to look around corners (you would not want to have the barrel of a shotgun peak around the corner giving away or position and then stick your head out). A handgun also gives less to the intruder to grab onto if they get close enough to grapple with you and the weapon. A shotgun will give him or her more to hold onto.

I hope this helps. The Shotgun v. Handgun came from Guns and Ammo: Book of Personal Defense; The Role of the Handgun. I forgot the authors name and the page number. I lent the article out to a friend.

http://www.dakotaammo.net/products/glaser/glaser.h...

Will not go thru walls.

Mr. both of those weapons you have are very nice, but I wouldn't use them for self defense.

I'd spend a little money (you don't have to spend alot). and get a self defense gun.

A shotgun is definately more powerful, but the one you have is too long (making it clumbersome) and a side by side. A pump action shotgun with a 18" barrel ( I don't remember is it has to be 18 or 18.5", but shorter the better).

That pistol is a nice gun, and it looks like it is selling for about 1400 dollars on a website.

Nothing wrong with a 9mm. A nice hollow point won't have too much penetration. If you are worried, go to a gun store and ask about ammo. You will probably have to order a nice round. I'm personally a little skeptical of the franible ammunition like Glazer bullets. I hear they are innaccurate and hit or miss.

As far as power is conserned, I'd get a shotgun, but I'd stay a way from the one you have. I like pistols, but I realize they are underpowered.

The nice things about pistols is the number of shots. Most of my pistols carry 15 shots in the magazine (though you live in CA, so only ten is legal)

A cheap shotgun will cost you 200-350, and a nice, cheap pistol will cost you 350-500 right now. You really don't want to go too cheap on pistol because you get what you pay for. I know you don't want to buy a new gun, but these really aren't goin to be that much of a burden, but the stuff you have really isn't what you are looking for.

Id go with the shotgun. i have 2 side by sides for my home protection a 12 gauge and a 20. I currently don't have any 12 gauge ammo but i have 20 gauge #6 birdshot . Ive been messing around with the 6 shot and im sure it would be enough to stop and intruder especially if you hit em with both triggers. I don't think the birdshot will penetrate the walls. Id say go with the shotgun. and have the 9mm as a backup for reloading or other problems. If you don't know what ammo would have the perfect stopping and penetrating power im sure your local gun shop will give some great advise on the type of shot.

The shotgun with 00 buck shot. The buckshot will still go through walls but will lose it's energy a lot faster than a hollow point 9mm. HOWEVER - you can get 9mm frangible ammo. It is much more expensive but it does do the job. Frangible ammo is basically lead powder behind a thin case. If it hits soft tissue of a bad guy, it delivers it's energy like a regular bullet....no more bad guy. If it misses and hits something harder, like a sheetrock wall, it basically explodes and does not penetrate into the next room with any more than harmless debris. Or even better, Frangible Shot Shells for the shotgun.

Hands down, the 12Guage shotgun is the way to go! I use #4 Remington Nitro Steel in mine. You only get six shots but you will only need more than six if there is more than six intruders in your house at once.

As far as the 9mm, it is hard enough trying to hit a dam target standing still in the day time, let alone getting awoken at night and having to prowl around your own house with the lights off.... The shotgun is just as easy as using the mouse on your computer, Point and Click....you will hit something!

Remington Nitro Steel IS birdshot!.....Long live the Shotgun!

You should reconsider the #8 Birdshot. That is good if you are close but any kind of distance and the chance of killing is significantly reduced. Remember, shoot to kill! Dead people make terrible liars.

Its really all up to u, the 9mm has good ammo capacity and a good fire rate, but its downfall is that it will penetrate and go straight through the body....this may not disable an intruder but only wound him.....and the shotgun has excellent stopping power, and is a one shot one kill weapon.....but it is rather bulky and can be hard to maneuver around....

But personally, my choice would have to got to the Shotgun....

As you know dry wall is pretty thin. I'd just get frangible ammo for that 9mm such as what Glacier Ammo loads. These are not supposed to penetrate dry wall and have plenty of stopping power even in a 9mm. Keep that double 12 gauge for backup. I'd have something like #4 turkey shot handy just in case.

H

Use your shotgun as a primary and the pistol as a secondary weapon.* Use number 4 bird shot for ammo in the shotgun. Use 115 grain jacketed hollow points in the Luger.* If you ever want to sell that Ithaca let me know.*~

Allow me to provide you with a solid answer. In May of 1981 while I was on the road my townhouse apartment was broken into by a serial rapist. My girlfriend did just like I taught her when she heard the front door slam open. She grabbed my Mossberg 20 gauge pump shot gun and ran to the top of the stairs. she racked the action and pumped in a #4 birddshot round and screamed down the stairs "Leave here now" ! The intruder was still standing in the doorway at the foot of the stairs and lunged to run up them, She dropped the muzzle to center of mass like I taught her and squeezed off a round. One was all it took . from about 5 to 6 feet away 7/8 of an oz of led shot hit at the base of the throat. The cops arrived about 6 minutes latter to find the intruder's head laying on the porch outside the front door. The interior of the stair well was "splashed" with intruder and my girl friend was quietly having hysterics. Nine rapes in Hayward CA closed that night. No charges filed. When examination was carried out 8 pellets missed intruder and only one completely penetrated one 1/2 in layer of sheetrock and it stopped in the pink insulation.

No charges filed against my girlfriend or myself.

use the shotgun with double 00 buckshot youll blow the living **** right out of them if your close and you wont be shooting that far cause its most likely a robber or something in the house. and you will have alot better chance of hitting them cause its 8 pellets going instead of 1 shot.