Top 5 Firearms for home defense

If you are wondering about what guns are best for home defense, then you are in the right place.

There has been an ongoing debate about the type of gun a responsible home owner should have in their home.

The truth is, there really is no “One Right Answer” to this question since it comes down to personal preference.

But there are some principles to be considered along with the environment that the gun will be used in.

In short, a pistol, a shotgun, and a rifle might all have a place in your home defense plan.

So, let’s start with the Shotgun

I have always been big believer that the shotgun is the best firearm for home defense. mainly because of the fact that most encounters in a home defense situation will be in close quarters.

Shotguns give a bigger spread of pellets from their shells allowing more flexibility in quick aim situations.

Another thing I like about shotguns is the safety of them when it comes to penetrating walls in the home. With many types of shotgun ammo, the shot stops at the wall. This is important because you will have to keep in mind where your family is in your home while tracking the intruder. Knowing that the shot stops at the wall gives another layer of confidence while you move in on your target.

And we can never discount the FEAR created by the distinct sound of pumping a shotgun. That sound alone can do more to protect your family than any other tactic.

The disadvantages to a shotgun include:

They are larger and bulky. When you are moving through your home, wielding a long barrel shotgun can feel somewhat clumsy.

Shotguns notoriously kick, big time. Especially a 12 Gauge, making them more challenging for smaller framed individuals.

Because shot guns use larger shells than other firearms they are more difficult to load. You will wan to make sure that, at a minimum you have a 4+1. A 4+1 will settle most home intrusion situations, but a 7+1 will give you that little extra to make sure you are able to take care of the situation.

If you decide that a shotgun is the right tool for you, then our number 1 choice is the Mossberg 500 series.

This is one of the longest serving police and combat shotguns around and because of it’s popularity, Mossberg has created a lot of options that go with this gun.

If you want something more hardened that the traditional 500 then take look at the Mossberg 590A1

This gun is a TANK. There are so many options including an upgrade to 9+1 magazine, the ability to fire all ranges of ammo, and You can even add a Bayonet to it if that’s what you’re into

Don’t want a Mossberg then the next shotgun n our list is the Remington 870 Top Folding shotgun

Again, this line of gun is so popular that there is no shortage of accessories and options you can get for it.

We really liked how yo can swap out the barrel with any other 870 barrel without any modifications.

This is a heavy duty workhorse that will do the job.

Rifles are a somewhat popular choice for home invasion defense but in our opinion, there are more cons to using a rifle in the house than there are benefits.

Rifles give a similar level of bulkiness and clumsiness that a shot gun has, so we see this as a con.

Rifles do ave a higher level of accuracy when shooting which is a pro

However you are going to need that accuracy since a bullet can travel through walls in your home and have a higher potential harming innocent family members in another room out of view.

Rifles do offer higher magazine capacity over any other weapon on the market.

The most popular rifle is by far the AR-15. These are a great rifle and because of their popularity there are a ton of options and upgrades.

With multiple manufacturer that have entered the market, they are also affordable. You can get an entry level AR-15 for around $400.

To address our concern with wall penetration, there are some special rounds that you can use to help offset this problem if you want.

Now onto hand guns.

Hand guns are split into two categories…. Semi – Automatic and Revolvers (for the most part – there are also the single shots but we will leave those out of this discussion)

Since we are talking about home defense we will focus on the semi-automatic that have a higher round count and take their ammo from magazines.

Pro’s For Handguns Are:

The are smaller. This is probably the main PRO for home defense because you are able to easily maneuver tight corners without being compromised by a larger bulkier shot gun or rifle.

They have higher ammo capacity and much more convenient and faster reload speed

There is a large selection of ammo as well as accessories

There is a large number of calibers to pick from as well when choosing your weapon

Pistols come in a price range to fit any budget

CON’s for Pistols include reliability. Because there are some moving parts there is always the possibility of it jamming. This can be a deadly mistake if it happens at a critical moment.

The small size of a pistol means they are harder to aim. You need to practice with your weapon a lot to make sure you have the skills and accuracy needed, especially when the pressure is on.

Our choices for the best two pistols to use for home defense are …

Sig Sauer P365: what we love about this pistol is that it is small and compact, but holds a LOT of ammo. It is a micro-compact but is a 10+1. It uses a single stack magazine, which keeps the width slim and it has a rail if you wan to add any accessories.

Glock 43. We picked this one for Glock’s reputation of reliability. When you pull the trigger it will fire. This model Glock is also compact. It’s only a 6+1 and has a decent grip for a small 9 MM. If you are a concealed carry, then this is also a great gun that hides out of site very well.

So those are our choices for the best 5 firearms for home defense.