Best estimates show that more than 40% of US households, over 50 million houses, have at least one firearm. A significant number of these households keep a gun around solely for home defense. For some it might be a shotgun they inherited from their parents or maybe a handgun. Often these guns are kept in a drawer or closet for months or years between uses. Some of these gun owners may have only shot these guns one time when they first took possession. These are the reluctant gun owners. They own and keep a firearm in their house because they know it may someday help keep them safe from a robbery or home invasion.
As firearms purchases have exploded in the last decade and continue reaching all time highs, there are a large number of people becoming first time gun owners. With over 60% of purchasers saying home defense is one reason for purchasing a firearm, there are many new gun owners asking what gun should I buy for home defense. You will be glad to hear the answer is easy. It depends.
It depends on how much time you are willing to devote to firearms training and if you plan on using the firearms for any other activities besides home defense. For instance, if you would like to become a concealed carrier to defend yourself outside your home as well as inside your home, then a shotgun is probably not the correct choice, unless you like wearing a trench coats 365 days a year.
The second consideration is how much training you are willing to take and how much regular practice you plan on engaging in. If you plan on taking one or more training classes a year, practicing at least 6 to 12 times a year, and cleaning your firearm regularly, then you can take you pick of a semi-automatic pistol, shotgun or even a Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) such as a AR-15.
If you do not have the interest to put in the time and money for training and regular practice, then these firearms are not a good choice. With any of these firearms you need to train not only how to shoot them, but how to handle failures as well. What do you do when you get a Failure to Feed (FTF)? How about a Failure to Eject (FTE)? Double feed? Failure to Fire? Each of these firearms has a different method for dealing with these problems. If you are not trained in dealing with these failures and do not practice dealing with them, then you are putting yourself at risk relying on one of these firearms for home defense.
One of the reasons these firearms are especially risky is that a firearm that is not used and maintained regularly is prone to malfunction. A home defense gun that sits in a draw waiting for the day it is needed needs to be simple and resistant to malfunctions. For a minimally trained user, the gun must also be simple to operate. The firearm that best fits these requirements is the double action revolver.
Revolvers have minimal failure modes. There are no Failures to Feed, Failures to Eject, or double feeds. If the gun fails to fire, the remedy is simple, pull the trigger again. The one disadvantage of revolvers is that they are difficult to reload and have a minimal cartridge capacity. This is the trade-off for being simple to operate. To mitigate this trade-off, select a revolver with an expanded capacity. Revolvers with a 7 or 8 shot capacity are readily available. This rules out the snub nose revolvers such as the Smith & Wesson J-frames which typically have a 2″ barrel and a 5 shot capacity. Another reason to avoid snub nose revolvers is that they are difficult to shoot well without regular training and practice.
The Smith & Wesson Model 686 Plus revolver holds 7 rounds of .38 Special or .357 Magnum. With a 3″ or 4″ barrel it makes a great home defense revolver. If you want to go a little bigger try the Model 627 with an 8 shot capacity, available with a 4″ barrel. Ruger recently released their GP100 in a 7 shot version. Available with 2.5″ and 4″ barrels it is also a strong choice.
These medium to large frame revolvers with mid-length barrels are relatively easy to shoot. THe double action trigger makes the gun safe without adding the complication of a safety. Choosing a .38 Special or .357 Magnum caliber revolver delivers a proven self-defense round. A .38 Special +P self-defense cartridge such as the Speer Gold-dot, Sig Sauer V-Crown, or Federal Hi-Shok are all great choices. A shooter with minimal training should avoid the .357 Magnum which has significant recoil making multiple accurate shots difficult.
7 or 8 shots of .38 Special +P are a great deterrent to any robber or home invader. Paired with a rapid access handgun vault, the reluctant gun owner has a solid home defense solution.