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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » Pistol for self defense?

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Dec. 1, 2011 9:18 a.m. joey48442 SuperDork

Osterkraut wrote:

N Sperlo wrote:

Hungary Bill wrote:

I've also found that if the slides on automatics are pushed back a bit, the gun doesn't always "go off". I like the idea that if the spit really hits the fan, my wife can jam the revolver into the assailants gut and "let a few fly". (of course I hope that never happens) Furthermore, I feel more comfortable keeping 5 or 6 in a revolver than I do keeping 6 or7 in my 1911 (back to the magazine spring issue)

Thats a trigger or hammer problem. Likely a lose pin. Sometimes a pin in the side slides out a little with those .45s. Its a good idea to keep the revolver around though.

Unless, of course, the bad guy grabs the revolver blocking the hammer, or freezing the wheel so it won't turn.

I've tried to hold the cylinder and keep it from turning, and I cant. And besides, if someone can grab the hammer, they could easily grab the slide of an auto.

Joey
Dec. 1, 2011 9:22 a.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork

I own and carry a firearm (rarely) but for home defense I'd prefer not to have to be awaken by a situation where I need to be clear about a target. I would definitely have shot the wife at least once by now if I kept anything loaded under the pillow.

I think installing trap doors in the floor is a better strategy. If you are in an apartment maybe some spring loaded netting.

You have time to get up, shoot into the trap and then call the police.
Dec. 1, 2011 9:24 a.m. rotard Reader

alex wrote:

Slight tangent, since shotguns have come up as home defense weapons, and I'll likely be shopping for one after the holidays: 20 ga with full power loads, or 12 ga with low recoil rounds for a gun to possibly used by my delicate flower of a girlfriend? Discuss.

Either should be fine if she knows how to fire it properly. I'd go for the 12 gauge, because she should be trying to kill whatever she's shooting at.

On a side note, I've got a bunch of M4 stuff that I don't need anymore. Should I buy an AR-15 to compliment it, or should I just ebay it?
Dec. 1, 2011 9:24 a.m. N Sperlo SuperDork

joey48442 wrote:

Osterkraut wrote:

Unless, of course, the bad guy grabs the revolver blocking the hammer, or freezing the wheel so it won't turn.

I've tried to hold the cylinder and keep it from turning, and I cant. And besides, if someone can grab the hammer, they could easily grab the slide of an auto.

Joey

As for that, mine is loaded and I'm not about to try.

Catching the slide is possible, but only after it has been fired. You're not stopping the pin. You're also risking blowing bits and pieces of your hand off. I do know someone who has done it. It did not allow the second round to cycle in. The perpetrator spent two weeks in the ICU before going to jail.
Dec. 1, 2011 9:24 a.m. scardeal HalfDork

An Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time!

Best gun ever for home defense or taking out varmints.
Dec. 1, 2011 9:30 a.m. Joshua HalfDork

Buy her a shotgun for home defense and a .22 handgun for the range.
Dec. 1, 2011 9:47 a.m. joey48442 SuperDork

N Sperlo wrote:

joey48442 wrote:

Osterkraut wrote:

Unless, of course, the bad guy grabs the revolver blocking the hammer, or freezing the wheel so it won't turn.

I've tried to hold the cylinder and keep it from turning, and I cant. And besides, if someone can grab the hammer, they could easily grab the slide of an auto.

Joey

As for that, mine is loaded and I'm not about to try.

Catching the slide is possible, but only after it has been fired. You're not stopping the pin. You're also risking blowing bits and pieces of your hand off. I do know someone who has done it. It did not allow the second round to cycle in. The perpetrator spent two weeks in the ICU before going to jail.

True... But at least on my keltec and walther if the slide is pushed back part ways the gun wont fire.

And definitely wait till the revolver isn't loaded!!!

Joey
Dec. 1, 2011 10:23 a.m. Woody SuperDork

Canute wrote:

Glocks are easy to shoot. .38 snubs aren't. You would need a lot of practice to be able to hit anything at more than point blank.

First target on day one with my Smith and Wesson Bodyguard .38 at 10 yards (although it's worth noting that revolvers are not pistols).

I guess I have had what you would call "a lot of practice".

(No yellow paper was harmed in the making of this photo)
Dec. 1, 2011 10:30 a.m. N Sperlo SuperDork

Woody wrote:

Canute wrote:

Glocks are easy to shoot. .38 snubs aren't. You would need a lot of practice to be able to hit anything at more than point blank.

First target on day one with my Smith and Wesson Bodyguard .38 at 10 yards (although it's worth noting that revolvers are not pistols).

I guess I have had what you would call "a lot of practice".

You're in good shape for when those mean men with orange dots on their chest attack you!

Good shooting, though.
Dec. 1, 2011 10:57 a.m. Salanis SuperDork

alex wrote:

Yeah, but they don't all snarl and bark.

...

So, just any dog ain't a guard dog, despite breed and/or assumed disposition.

The most important thing with a dog isn't so much it's ability to stop someone once they've gotten in, but the power to dissuade them. Even a small dog will, at the very least, alert anyone home that someone has broken in, and be irritating enough to slow you down a bit.

And obviously it is not 100% effective. At the very least it gives you the heads up to grab whatever weapon you have handy.
Dec. 1, 2011 11:39 a.m. wlkelley3 Dork

slantvaliant wrote:
wlkelley3 wrote: if she needs one where she lives then move her to a different part of town where she wouldn't need one.

And where, pray tell, is this place where bad things never happen? I keep looking ...

I live in the same town as the original poster and know him. Where we live there are lots of places like that. Where I live I can leave the garage door open all the time and nothing would disappear. Besides the neighbors keeping watch for strange occurrences and taking care the subdivision is tucked away where not too many know it's there. The only crime that's occurred in the 20 years of my small subdivision has been from ex's breaking in to their old homes to try to get their stuff.
Dec. 1, 2011 12:43 p.m. Osterkraut SuperDork

joey48442 wrote:

Osterkraut wrote:

N Sperlo wrote:

Hungary Bill wrote:

I've also found that if the slides on automatics are pushed back a bit, the gun doesn't always "go off". I like the idea that if the spit really hits the fan, my wife can jam the revolver into the assailants gut and "let a few fly". (of course I hope that never happens) Furthermore, I feel more comfortable keeping 5 or 6 in a revolver than I do keeping 6 or7 in my 1911 (back to the magazine spring issue)

Thats a trigger or hammer problem. Likely a lose pin. Sometimes a pin in the side slides out a little with those .45s. Its a good idea to keep the revolver around though.

Unless, of course, the bad guy grabs the revolver blocking the hammer, or freezing the wheel so it won't turn.

I've tried to hold the cylinder and keep it from turning, and I cant. And besides, if someone can grab the hammer, they could easily grab the slide of an auto.

Joey

My point was more that most guns are "vunerable" to be grabbed, not that semiautos are immune to it. And maybe it's just because I do a lot of fingertip chinups and have a Superman grip (or my narrow ladyfingers), but I can easily stop my dad's Colt Detective Special from advancing.
Dec. 1, 2011 1:04 p.m. Woody SuperDork

Osterkraut wrote:

My point was more that most guns are "vunerable" to be grabbed, not that semiautos are immune to it. And maybe it's just because I do a lot of fingertip chinups and have a Superman grip (or my narrow ladyfingers), but I can easily stop my dad's Colt Detective Special from advancing.

It sounds as if you and your father have a few issues to work through.
Dec. 1, 2011 1:07 p.m. Osterkraut SuperDork

Woody wrote:

Osterkraut wrote:

My point was more that most guns are "vunerable" to be grabbed, not that semiautos are immune to it. And maybe it's just because I do a lot of fingertip chinups and have a Superman grip (or my narrow ladyfingers), but I can easily stop my dad's Colt Detective Special from advancing.

It sounds as if you and your father have a few issues to work through.

I lol'd.
Dec. 1, 2011 1:26 p.m. slantvaliant Dork

Woody wrote: First target on day one with my Smith and Wesson Bodyguard .38 at 10 yards (although it's worth noting that revolvers are not pistols).

FYI: Samuel Colt referred to his products as revolving pistols. I think he gets some say in that discussion.
Dec. 1, 2011 1:32 p.m. Woody SuperDork

Fair enough.
Dec. 1, 2011 1:46 p.m. Brett_Murphy HalfDork

slantvaliant wrote:

With long guns at close quarters, it is easier for a bad guy to deflect or control the muzzle. There's just more to grab.

That's when you kick them in the fork or give them the butt of the shotgun in the face.

No weapon is going to be perfect. I'll stand by the shotgun for ease of use, cheapness, reliability and stopping power.
Dec. 1, 2011 2:06 p.m. Hungary Bill New Reader

On the issue of "over-penetration" (going through sheet rock etc) and the previous topics of the 1911. When I gave the "Bill Home Defense Contract" to my 1911 it was because I had heard from a couple LEO's/friends that the .45acp tends to use most of its energy in the human body, and in the off chance that it does carry through its target, then its usually found on the ground not too far away. I never had any personal "first hand" experience with that but I felt the info was reliable enough to base part of my decision on it. (reliability, aftermarket, accuracy, etc also played a part)

I believe the "Judge" was brought up earlier. That was another one I was thinking of for home protection. I thought the .410 00-buck option would be kind of nifty. I think of the .410 with the buckshot as "enough" for the bad guy, but not so much that it'll carry much energy after going through the wall. I also heard (but have not seen) that they make "personal defense" loads for the .410.

Speaking of .410's they DO make a .410 upper receiver for the AR-15 nothing like hunting quail at 100mph. And the flashlights, fore grips, laser dot sights, coffee makers, and blenders people hang off of them may be useful for the house too. I skipped over it in part because of all the switches and levers I would have to show my wife. (Keep It Super Simple)

Now for the mandatory Col. Jeff Cooper quotes:

“Owning a handgun doesn’t make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician.”

“Remember the first rule of gunfighting… ‘have a gun.’”
Dec. 1, 2011 2:13 p.m. pilotbraden Dork

The Judge throws a strange pattern with shot, as do all rifled barrels.
Dec. 1, 2011 2:19 p.m. Bobzilla SuperDork

I have a handful of .45 ACP bullets that fell out after passing through a 4x4 board. I had made a "backstop/target holder" to use in the yard for pistols and it stopped the .38's and the .45's would barely pmake it through and just fell to the ground on the back side. the 9's and .40's both passed through and into my permanent backstop.
Dec. 1, 2011 3:24 p.m. slantvaliant Dork

Hungary Bill wrote:

Now for the mandatory Col. Jeff Cooper quotes:

“Owning a handgun doesn’t make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician.”

“Remember the first rule of gunfighting… ‘have a gun.’”

And some other quotes on the subject:

"If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck." - Clint Smith

"The two most important rules in a gunfight are: always cheat and always win." - Clint Smith
Dec. 1, 2011 3:36 p.m. slantvaliant Dork

wlkelley3 wrote:

slantvaliant wrote:
wlkelley3 wrote: if she needs one where she lives then move her to a different part of town where she wouldn't need one.

And where, pray tell, is this place where bad things never happen? I keep looking ...

I live in the same town as the original poster and know him. Where we live there are lots of places like that. Where I live I can leave the garage door open all the time and nothing would disappear. Besides the neighbors keeping watch for strange occurrences and taking care the subdivision is tucked away where not too many know it's there. The only crime that's occurred in the 20 years of my small subdivision has been from ex's breaking in to their old homes to try to get their stuff.

At one time, people in Holcombe, Kansas, Bennett, Nebraska and Portage La Prairie, Manitoba could say that nothing really bad had ever happened there either. Point being, chose a good neighborhood, be a good neighbor, and keep your eyes and options open.
Dec. 1, 2011 4:00 p.m. Drewsifer Dork

rotard wrote:

alex wrote:

Slight tangent, since shotguns have come up as home defense weapons, and I'll likely be shopping for one after the holidays: 20 ga with full power loads, or 12 ga with low recoil rounds for a gun to possibly used by my delicate flower of a girlfriend? Discuss.

Either should be fine if she knows how to fire it properly. I'd go for the 12 gauge, because she should be trying to kill whatever she's shooting at.

On a side note, I've got a bunch of M4 stuff that I don't need anymore. Should I buy an AR-15 to compliment it, or should I just ebay it?

29 gauge #2 buckshot will kill a man just as dead as anything else. 75% of the lead for around half the recoil of a 12ga. What are you selling? I could be interested.
Dec. 1, 2011 5:49 p.m. redrabbit Reader

Im not a fan of revolvers ( I suck shooting revolvers) I like my Baretta Model 92 FS (9mm) but I would like to replace it with the newer Baretta PX4. My son has the Ruger Judge. I havent shot it yet. It looks like fun. Good luck.

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