.44 Special for Home Defense

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Originally Posted By: Skid
About 300 million guns in the U.S. About 259 justifiable civilian homicides per year. We're talking lottery type odds.

Basically saying that for most of us, guns for protection = snake oil.


I'll accept your data but have no idea if it's accurate but it disregards situations where the gun prevented an assault and where the bad guy was injured and not killed. But I agree with the general sentiment that it's not the wild west and it's very improbable I'll need to shoot anyone in self-defense.

I keep a loaded gun next to my bed. Gives me piece of mind. I hope I never need it. I fully understand the probability is that I'll never need it. That's why I don't waste time worrying about ballistics and gelatin tests and whatnot. I've never fired my self-defense ammo through my pistol. Some folks will say to fire hundreds of rounds through to make sure it works and all that jazz. Meh, I'll take my chances and not worry about about such, as you say, lottery like probabilities.

I'd recommend a 9mm semi but if she wants a revolver, she wants a revolver. Shooting 38spl out of a 357 is a good idea. I'd even go lower caliber than that if needed to make her comfortable. Better to shoot a .22 accurately than miss with a large caliber round.
 
Originally Posted By: Skid
It's not sufficient to have a gun. You really have to know your surroundings, you need to know how many assailants you're facing, or you need enough backup that it doesn't matter.

Here's an example of a gun getting someone killed. The guy tried to help, but didn't realize that there were two assailants, and it got him killed.

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/vegas-c...rampage-n127361

Snake oil.


A gun is merely a tool. Knowing how/when to take cover is important, too. If you're at home, you do what you can to keep you and your loved ones alive.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: Skid
I got the lottery numbers from here:

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-guns-self-defense-charleston-20150619-story.html


Like I said, it ignores every instance of when the good guy's gun prevented an assault from happening.


67,740 is the number from the article.

I did say "most of us." Most of us live in cities. I own guns btw, but for fun. If I had to do something, I'm doing it with pepper spray, baseball bat, ballpeen hammer, machete.... I have those at my disposal.
 
As a gun owner and also a gun control advocate, I mildly disagree. How many situations were averted by the sound of a round racking through a pump shotgun?

That said, a high-powered handgun is obviously an inappropriate choice here.
 
Skid, I get what you're saying but I'm also going to guess you're more physically capable of hand to hand fighting or wielding a ball bat against a [likely male] intruder than my 61 year old sister probably is. I'd rather her have a gun than not. And a LOT of thugs know how to fight. A home invasion intruder is likely to have already spent time in a correctional facility where knowing how to fight can be key to survival. I'm athletic for my age and 220lbs, but I'm not going to go up against an intruder in my house with bat or a hammer even if he looks wirey. He has the advantage. He is alert and stoked, I am probably roused from bed and coming up to speed. He is going to get shot if he doesn't get to me before I can bring my .40 or .45 to bear. Lottery chances of happening? Probably. But as stated above, peace of mind.
 
I think a .38 snub nose would be a perfect Gun for this lady. .44 anything is so darn big. Also, I am seeing ALOT of revolvers coming out chambered for 9 mm. That would also be a awesome choice. My wife decided she wants to carry a gun and wants a revolver. I bought her a Smith Wesson 639 Airweight. It's a +P .38 Special. The thing is if you get too big and too heavy Gun, they won't carry it. Nice lightweight and its better than mace.
 
Back on topic.

Agree with the comments that a .357 mag is not a good choice. I have one (S&W 686), and while the muzzle blast is fun at the range, I'm sure it'd cause hearing damage if shot at home. I would not want to load 38 special in a 357 just because if there is a shooting, some idiot lawyer will say that she was shooting a .357 magnum, and make a big deal out of it (and not everyone on a jury will appreciate that a .357 can shoot a .38 special as well). Too much liability.

.45 auto is relatively quiet, might be practical to shoot in a rush w/o hearing protection. Has your sister shot before? Some people don't like the muzzle flip of a revolver (higher bore axis).
 
Originally Posted By: jimbrewer
As a gun owner and also a gun control advocate, I mildly disagree. How many situations were averted by the sound of a round racking through a pump shotgun?

That said, a high-powered handgun is obviously an inappropriate choice here.
. I would not be deterred by the racking of a shotgun if I was armed. It would simply give me warning to be prepared to engage. I probably spray through the wall of the racking with my high powered pistol. Clearly, you do not know what type of goblins you may encounter and actually draw fire from your scare tactics.
 
Can you go to a local gun range and try out some different calibers and get a better idea that way? Also, you can try a shotgun.

My wife prefers a double barreled coach style shot gun. External hammers leave no doubt as to the gun being ready to fire. In practice she's very comfortable with this gun and is very accurate especially in night and low light practice. It's a 20 gauge and we use number 4 shot with brass shells, hand loads, really stout ones, from a friend.

For a backup she has a 357 revolver loaded with 38's.

We live out in the sticks and if you get past our guard dogs it's fight on.

Statistically it may never happen but one time is enough to change you life forever. The police will arrive in time to do the paper work.
 
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
Originally Posted By: jimbrewer
As a gun owner and also a gun control advocate, I mildly disagree. How many situations were averted by the sound of a round racking through a pump shotgun?

That said, a high-powered handgun is obviously an inappropriate choice here.
. I would not be deterred by the racking of a shotgun if I was armed. It would simply give me warning to be prepared to engage. I probably spray through the wall of the racking with my high powered pistol. Clearly, you do not know what type of goblins you may encounter and actually draw fire from your scare tactics.
So what's a "high powered pistol", Clint? Something you read about in the NY Times?
 
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BTW, even if a shooting is justified in California under criminal law, some ahole contingency fee tort lawyer is going to come after you and you're going to spend 100-150k just defending yourself in civil court. If that lawyer gets to use the word "magnum," good luck.
 
Since this is for home defense, and no need to conceal, how about a .45 long colt revolver. Not as hot as a .44 , and the heavier gun might help with recoil. The only problem i see is , how small are her hands? I have small hands so fit is important.

The .357/38 might be a good fit as suggested above. She needs to shoot several revolvers before buying.
 
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Just about any center fire pistol round will penetrate a wall. I am saying you rack a shotgun to give away you up and at em, you gave away any surprise you had. Lets say I have a 9mm. I have at a minimum 12 little bees, I can launch your direction and reload in seconds. What you don't understand, I don't have any rules of engagement. You may be dealing with someone who already entered your home. Now you let him know where you are and your armed. He doesn't care if he shoots you, your wife or your kids. He could unleash a [censored] storm of fire your way and you just drew fire with your "racking Tactic". Seriously these aren't the people you go to church with and shooting clay pigeons. These are bad people. They broke into your house right?
 
Has anyone noticed the OP is asking about the .44special, not a magnum?

The .44 special in a large frame revolver should be pretty tame just as a .38 special is tame in a medium frame revolver.

Probably easier to obtain 38 special ammo rather than 44 special.
 
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
Just about any center fire pistol round will penetrate a wall. I am saying you rack a shotgun to give away you up and at em, you gave away any surprise you had. Lets say I have a 9mm. I have at a minimum 12 little bees, I can launch your direction and reload in seconds. What you don't understand, I don't have any rules of engagement. You may be dealing with someone who already entered your home. Now you let him know where you are and your armed. He doesn't care if he shoots you, your wife or your kids. He could unleash a [censored] storm of fire your way and you just drew fire with your "racking Tactic". Seriously these aren't the people you go to church with and shooting clay pigeons. These are bad people. They broke into your house right?


I hear what you're saying but reject your overly tactical analysis and think the perp(s) would rather escape unscathed and go after a softer target than engage in a firefight. The perp(s) running away is also preferable to me as I don't want to engage in a firefight. There's just not a good outcome to shooting a gun in your home. I'm not going to rack a shotgun. A. I don't have a shotgun and B. if I did, it would already be loaded. But I would want to scare people away rather than engage them.
 
Originally Posted By: Skid
About 300 million guns in the U.S. About 259 justifiable civilian homicides per year. We're talking lottery type odds.

Basically saying that for most of us, guns for protection = snake oil.




Kind of yes, the odds of needing it are surely not in your favor. Though 259 is not the number I would focus on. People shooting at others hit their target about 10% of the time, and of that 10% hit only about 10% die. Applying that to the 259, about 2,590 would be justifiably shot and 25,900 were fired at. Not sure where the fraction goes as far as those deterred just by the statement "I have a gun" or from seeing it pointed towards them. There are over 3 million home invasions each year.
 
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