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The debate over the best firearm for home defense has raged for years and is going to rage for many more of them. This article is unlikely to settle the matter entirely, but will help in outlining the pros and cons of the pistol and shotgun in regard to home defense. The intent of this contribution to the best firearm for home defense debate is twofold: To discuss some of the practical realities of home defense that can get lost in the more clinical analysis of stopping power, mag capacity, accuracy, effective range, etc. To outline some pros and cons of pistols and shotguns for home defense, and the pros and cons of the pistol caliber groups, split into large and small calibers, and the different loads for shotguns. (Yea or nay on rifles for home defense is another article entirely.) Pistols The fundamental truth that dictates the answers to these questions is: Everyone’s situation is different. The home defense firearm priorities, concerns, and choices of a s...

There’s a wealth of information and opinions available regarding the best weapon for home defense. However, there’s a surprising lack of relevant info specifically regarding the sort of defense weapons that work best for defending an apartment. It’s an odd oversight considering that there are more people renting right now than there have been since 1965. Basically, the issues that apply to any home defense situation apply to apartment defense—except that there are more shared walls and more people behind them in an apartment complex. The population dynamics of apartments make choosing a weapon with a lower likelihood of over-penetration far more important. The last thing anyone wants to do is inadvertently endanger the safety of a neighbor should the worst-case scenario require firing a gun to protect yourself in an apartment building. Of course, there are way too many specific calibers, loads, and variations (not to mention the thousands of brands and models) to pr...

For the majority of gun owners, for a long time, the prospect of an AR-15 (or one of its variants) for home defense was regarded as dangerous overkill. Not only were they too long and unwieldy for practical protection of your home, the risk of over-penetration rendered them an unacceptable risk to friendlies. One wit suggested that they were the perfect firearm when an intruder called beforehand to let their intended victim know that they’d be charging toward their target’s home from 200 yards away. It was taken as a simple certitude that for protection of the homestead you went with the handgun (or scattergun, but that’s another article), and the AR was strictly a plinking or hunting tool. However, recent improvements in both rifle and ammo technology have opened up legitimate debate about the viability of .223. So, with that in mind, which is the superior home defense firearm: the 9mm handgun or .223 long gun? Pros and Cons of the 9mm The 9mm is the most c...