doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Need to pick firearm please help with big dilemma

Sorry, I misunderstood the original question. I thought two Lugers were involved hence my rather inane reply about 'collectability'.

So, my personal choice would be the S&W 940 with several loaded moon clips at the ready. It is the fastest way I know to reload a revolver. Nothing against the R9; it's an unknown to me and I'm just more of a revolver kind of guy. That said, I do own a handful of 1911's and I carry a Ruger LC9s. It's sometimes hard to figure out what all goes on in the squirrel cage of my head.

Is there a specific reason you have to choose between those tow guns? as in; they are offered to me for free or that's all you have etc?

You are asking a question akin to asking whats better a shovel or a broom. makes no sense since neither is similar. both do clean things up but are different tools.

to me, training is much more important than which pistol you end up with.
Formal training obtained through a recognized professional firearms instructor or school. not Billy Bob the "tactical guru" at the local gunshop who was deployed to Iraq as a truck driver or was involved in "black ops".

having spent the past almost 30 years as a student of the gun as a defensive and offensive tool and as a formally trained instructor, I have my own beliefs and opinions. and they are worth nothing. But I look at a few things when making a recommendation.
1. are you prepared to use deadly force?
2. are you willing to get professional training to effectively use a firearm for personal defense and understand the legal issues when carrying and using a firearm?

3. what is the environment in which you will most likely be carrying the firearm? on you , in a vehicle, in a home, in a business, or a combination.
4. will you be the only person using it?
5. will you train at least monthly (meaning will you shoot 100-200 rds a month to maintain proficiency?

once these questions are answered, I can start to make some recommendatioins.

on the surface, when asked the generic question of what is a good gun for self defense in the home? I ask what the person experience is.
I tell them that it isn't som much the firearm but the training and willingness to use it.
but , that being said,
for the average person who doesn't shoot much, has minimal training, in a revolver I recommend a Smith & Wesson Model 10 M&P 38 Special revolver or its stainless equivalent. with 158 gr semi wadcutter hollow points.
for a semi automatic, I recommend the !SIG P250 in 9mm with Speer 124 gr Gold dot HP. the P250 is a smooth light double action only auto pistol. It has about a 6lb double action pull, you have to deliberately pull it to make it go off.
at least 2 good flashlights and a cell phone.

other semis that are sufficient would be a Glock 17 or 19 , S&W M&P 9mm , SIG P320 9mm.

I know there are lots of "a 45 is the thing" crowd but if you don't shoot much, shot something that you will have a better chance of hitting with. the 9mm with modern expanding bullets is the standard. the FBI is dropping the 40 S&W for a number of reasons. see their report for the details
. The FBI is pretty much the burning bush when it comes to caliber choice; they have the forensics and the staff to collect, collate data to develop viable and practical conclusions.
The bottom line is shot placement and penetration.

There is no magic bullet.
when you hear that guy talk abut how the 45 is the only reliable stopper, ask him how many people he has shot or has seen shot with one. even the experts have all only witnessed a few shootings themselves. they rely on data like everyone else does. But you can read and see what has been collected and what the results are.


I used to be a 45 guy but I have evolved into carrying a Glock 19 with Speer 9mm 214gr +P Gold Dots.

this is the very short answer.

hope this helps and does not muddy the waters

Get the 940. Perfect for close up defense.

If I'm not mistaken, Jm may already have a bunch of odds and ends that fit the bill, or at least there're pictures. I'm sort hoping he comes back and thanks you for the thought out response.

If collectibility is at issue I have no idea on pistols, this is a double gun website.

If shooting someone is at issue previous posters hit much of what counts is whatyou shoot best. That said I shoot the 1911 .45 best, but have revolvers for home defense for the simple reason, less to go wrong.

Magazine springs left loaded over years weaken and feed although likely is not guaranteed. By comparison revolvers always work and in the situation of rapidly picking up and shooting I go with the higher probabilities of a revolver over Auto, especially an old Auto.

For planned social work, the 1911 is hard to beat.

My great uncle brought home a couple of Lugers from the war and used one of them to fend off 3 bad guys who tried to rob the gas station he worked at.Killed one outright and one other died later and one escaped.He swore by it and another relative has it yet.

"Jagermeister," my suggestions are similar to those made by others but with some variation: My choices for a home defense firearm would be (1) a 20-bore pump-gun, say, a common Winchester or Remington, loaded with standard trap / skeet loads of no. 7-1/2 or 8 lead shot (At short range, density kills not shot size.), which provides one the power of an old black powder elephant gun at close range; or (2) if under the circumstances a handgun is absolutely needed, then my choice would be a revolver over any semi-automatic pistol, in .38 Special caliber, using 148 grain wadcutter bullets that have been turned bottom side up so the entire flat face of the bullet's base is presented, which full caliber (.356-.358, depending on the manufacturer and age of the handgun) projectile creates a more massive wound channel than the hollow point or soft point projectile that require more velocity to perform than the standard handgun cartridge is capable of producing, in order to match their 'billing' (or the weight of the bullet used is abnormally light for the caliber, so to achieve the needed velocity). If you do not hand-load, then a custom maker can provide you suitable cartridges, or perhaps a friend familiar with reloading can make the cartridges described above for you.

The suggestion of the 20-bore is made because guns of that bore are generally lighter and more maneuverable than larger bores. The gun's magazine can be loaded and then the slide and bolt drawn back until the carrier starts to pick up a cartridge, which allows for the bolt to remain open while stored for potential emergency use. When needed, the gun can be raised to shooting position, the slide simply pushed forward to chamber the cartridge, and the gun is then immediately ready to shoot. The gun can be stored where best accessible.

The revolver can be loaded and stored at the owner's discretion in a safe but readily accessible place. Shoot the firearm selected until proficient at the range anticipated.

We wish you every success in your search.

Regards,

Edwardian

Edwardian's suggestion of using specially concocted loads for home defense is a terrible one, IMHO. There is a plethora of suitable loadings available for any caliber that would be useful for this. I never want to have to defend myself on a witness stand against a prosecuting attorney trained to make me look like a bloodthirsty white man with an itchy trigger finger. But, how much harder would it be to do so when he says to you something like "You WANTED to kill somebody didn't you? You wanted to so bad that you went to the trouble to load the bullets UPSIDE DOWN! You couldn't wait until you got the opportunity to shoot somebody with one of your specially prepared MAN-KILLER LOADS, could you? It's an obSESSION with you, isn't it?"

Don't for a minute think that this scenario couldn't happen to you. I know it's better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6, but there are plenty of good s.d. loads that can be bought over the counter.

Personally, I'm a "shotgun man", for defense. Jeff Cooper, the great .45 ACP guru once wrote that a pistol should be used to fight your way to the closest shotgun, or something to that effect. I read, yesterday, a report on findings of a lengthy investigation of about 1500 shootings, with everything from a .22 RF, up through .44 Mag., and including centerfire rifles and shotguns. No pistol caliber had a good record for one shot incapacitation, not even the old vaunted .45 ACP. The centerfire rifles and shotguns, however, were upwards of 80% in effectiveness. It went on to say that many "one shot incapacitations" are not the result of death, or complete immobilization, but rather the result of the "shootee" giving up in surrender. Whatever ....... the idea is not to kill a man, it is to prevent that man from doing you harm. If he takes a round and gives up the fight, fine with me. I'll hold him 'til the law arrives. I'd rather bet my life on my being able to put 1 1/8 oz. of lead shot in him than my being able to put a well placed bullet in him, and I'm an old pistol shooting competitor. And, I sure feel better about stopping him with one round from a shotgun.

SRH

I was refraining from answering a Socialist/Communist foreigner living in our country and posing as an American in real life and on this board....

But since you brought me up I really don't care what you do.

Brian, or other knowledgeable posters who care to weigh in, what is your opinion of the HK P30?