bought a pistol

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Originally Posted by Chris142
Still easier to hit something with a 2 inch spread @ 10 ft than a .9mm bullit.

I'd say, it'd be quite hard to hit anything with with a 0.9mm round. Even I shoot larger calibers than that!
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Yes, 2" spread is still larger, but whenever I don't do my bit at the line, I miss the target by way more than that. With no stress my pattern at 7 yards with a snub is like 12" -- I can only imagine how bad it'd be under pressure.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by Lubener
Shotgun you point and shoot, pistol you have to aim, so if you are not a good shot, go for the shotgun. It would be better for defense in your apartment without hitting someone two apartments down from you.

It would have to be quite the long room to get any appreciable spread on a shotgun pattern. But it should be much easier to aim all the same.

Still easier to hit something with a 2 inch spread @ 10 ft than a .9mm bullit.


Some serious misconceptions in some of the above statements.

Shotgun spread at 10 feet is closer to an inch. You still have to aim the shotgun to get a decent hit on center mass. Hip shooting is Hollywood. Believing that a shotgun won't miss is also Hollywood.

If you're aiming a long gun at 10 feet, the assailant may well be able to close that distance before you're able to bring the weapon up and fire. Grabbing a barrel is easy and your weapon is now useless, unless you've trained in weapon retention and control. Most haven't, and never will, to the degree necessary to be effective in maintaining control and re-employing a weapon that's been grabbed by an assailant.

There are big drawbacks to long guns in tight spaces.

The OP chose a pistol for his situation- and it's a good choice. Telling him that a shotgun is better is like telling him that he should've bought a Jeep after he bought a Civic. It's apples to oranges.

My personal opinion is that the ideal weapon for close quarters/home defense is the .300 BLK pistol. Short, but easier to aim than a conventional handgun, and with a red dot mounted, very quick to acquire the target, and it has a 30 round magazine.

OP - you've made your choice and it's a good one. Be certain that you practice enough with your pistol to know it well. Test/validate function of your ammo choice in your magazines. Speer Gold Dot, Federal HST, or similar quality hollow point will maximize performance of the cartridge. You'll want that with this caliber.

You may find that a full size pistol is more pleasant to shoot at the range. Cross that bridge when you come to it. Not before.
 
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I forgot to mention I'm an ex Marine Viet Nam vet.
So I have had some training and practical experience.
Most of it with rifles and a small bit with the 1911 .45 in boot camp.
I gave some thought to an AR style rifle but cost and confined space in an apartment nixed that.
 
Agree on aim with the hand gun compared to a shotgun. I'm not an experienced shot. Almost missed the target my first time with a Glock...yet couldn't miss with an MP5 and went 5 for 5 skeet shooting with a shot gun.
 
Originally Posted by marine65
I forgot to mention I'm an ex Marine Viet Nam vet.
So I have had some training and practical experience.
Most of it with rifles and a small bit with the 1911 .45 in boot camp.
I gave some thought to an AR style rifle but cost and confined space in an apartment nixed that.


I would've thought you would go with a 1911 in .45...

Everyone needs a 1911, especially a Marine. Semper Fi!

cheers3.gif
 
Talking about the pistol you just purchased on BITOG isn't worth a dime,, get out and shoot the pistol and them come back and Tell us how it works.
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
Originally Posted by marine65
I forgot to mention I'm an ex Marine Viet Nam vet.
So I have had some training and practical experience.
Most of it with rifles and a small bit with the 1911 .45 in boot camp.
I gave some thought to an AR style rifle but cost and confined space in an apartment nixed that.


I would've thought you would go with a 1911 in .45...

Everyone needs a 1911, especially a Marine. Semper Fi!

cheers3.gif


Marines are lean mean fighting machines ,, firearms optional !
 
Would I have recommended that pistol for a person that's only going to buy one gun? No.

But it's the gun you have. Train with it. Practice shooting and reloading. Shoot targets at touching distance and 25 yards away and distances in between. Get the confidence that you really, really know what you can and can't do with your pistol.

Keep practicing with it. Pistols are the hardest type of gun to shoot well and the skills go away quickly when not practiced.

BSW
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
Shotgun spread at 10 feet is closer to an inch. You still have to aim the shotgun to get a decent hit on center mass.


Surely you are mistaken! I have watched enough movies and TV shows to know that a shotgun blast from the hip will send five bad guys flying through the air!
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I patterned my 18" barrel Remmy 870 Tactical open bore shotgun when I first bought it:

With #4 birdshot at 7 yards the pattern was 11" total (with a concentration toward the middle)

With #4 buck shot with a Versatite wad at 7 yards the pattern was 4", 100% went through a 5/8" plywood sheet, and with a second shot 75% went through a 2x8.

With 00 buck reduced recoil shells at 7 yards the pattern was also 4", and 100% went through a 2x8.

With a longer barrel hunting shotgun with a choke the patterns would certainly be tighter.

I agree that a long gun in close quarters can be easily grabbed and diverted, plus the six round capacity in my shotgun is lower than I would like for home defense (not to mention the potential damage to your eardrums with an indoor shot). I do keep one in my bedroom, but my bedside gun is a 9mm CZ 75BD full size steel semi with 17 rounds capacity, and another magazine nearby.
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
Originally Posted by marine65
I forgot to mention I'm an ex Marine Viet Nam vet.
So I have had some training and practical experience.
Most of it with rifles and a small bit with the 1911 .45 in boot camp.
I gave some thought to an AR style rifle but cost and confined space in an apartment nixed that.


I would've thought you would go with a 1911 in .45...

Everyone needs a 1911, especially a Marine. Semper Fi!

cheers3.gif


Kinda' hard to conceal 1911 when eating-out, or attending an event outdoors.
What member marine did is perfect for a first-timer. Now he will become hooked on pistols (like most-all have become) and maybe buy a 1911 next.

Again Marine, you did fine. It's multi-purpose and not stuck to the inside of your residence for protection there. You can use the M&P anywhere and nobody will know you're wearing it.

Good job / Semper-Fi
 
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Originally Posted by Tom NJ
Originally Posted by Astro14
Shotgun spread at 10 feet is closer to an inch. You still have to aim the shotgun to get a decent hit on center mass.


Surely you are mistaken! I have watched enough movies and TV shows to know that a shotgun blast from the hip will send five bad guys flying through the air! :grin2

TV and the movies is the source of the non shooter/minimal shooters education comes from. Myself, I tend to focus on the sci fi movies and their weapons for my education
 
Originally Posted by skyactiv
Get some Glaser Safety Slugs for the .380.
Why?
 
The pistol is just the appetizer for home defense. Carried on person, it's there to return fire and give you enough time to get to your big guns, that's it
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I like and agree with the .300BLK pistol idea, other than ammo cost. My pick would be an AR pistol with 7.62x39 upper, in 7.5" barrel. I watched a chrono test of long/short barrels between .308 and 7.62x39; going from 16" to 7.5" the .308 lost around 800fps. The '39 only lost about 300fps. Blackout subsonic would be much easier on the ears in an enclosed space, and also risk less penetration, though.

Also, the Soviet ammo (Tula, Brown Bear, etc) can be had for well less than half (sometimes 25% of!) of .300BLK and you can shoot steel-cased ammo with no issues.
 
Originally Posted by marine65
I just bought my first pistol.
I get to pick it up tomorrow after the 3 day back round check wait.
I chose this one because I'm old and have trouble operating the slide on full size semis.
I got it for home defense and target shooting.
I know a shot gun is best for defense but I live in an apartment and that just didn't seem right.
I thought about revolvers but they are a couple hundred more.
Anybody have or had one?
Any opinions?
Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard 380 Semi-Auto Pistol with FDE Frame

I think you did good.
Buy a bunch of different ammo and get it out to the range find out what it likes.


https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/products2.cfm/ID/179411/10167/smith-and-wesson-mp-bodyguard-380-flat-dark-earth-(fde)-carry-conceal-pistol
 
im a revolver guy and no recoil junkie. when i rented and test fired a bunch of 380acp semiauto pistols 6 months ago the s&w bodyguard ended up high on my list: accurate, no harsh recoil, very handy (out of that group i chose a s&w shield ez 380acp, but that is another tale). the important thing here and now is that o.p. is now lawfully and peaceably armed, congratulations!

i'm not seeing a run on 380acp ammo. fmj ball ammo is perfectly fine, though i would avoid cheap russian steel case ammo for now. a pistol is much easier to practice alot with than a shotgun. a shotgun maybe fine for larger home protection if you already have alot of shotgun time by way of hunting or sporting clays. an older gentleman in an apartment is much better served with a handgun that is in his pocket when he answers the door or in his car glovebox (if legal there) than a shotgun stashed in the closet. please get in some range time and do get a ccw permit as soon as feasible: you are probably safer at home than when out and about.
 
You can load and shoot out of the box, but I would field strip it, clean the bore, and then put a drop of oil on each lug, and a drop around the barrel, a drop on the locking lug, then shoot it. Standard sort of pistol lube.

I'm not certain what S&W does at the factory anymore. All of my S&W pistols are more than 25 years old...

But usually, they're oiled for corrosion prevention, not lubrication, and you really want to both clean the barrel/bore itself of any oil, as well as ensure that it's properly lubricated for shooting, not storage.
 
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Originally Posted by Olas





withot knowing bullet weight in grains, bullet velocity and bullet material, you canot be definite. more infor is required.



I was referring to a standard .380 Auto FMJ load, such as I have in the closet currently, for the fiancee's Sig P238s - 95g, 980 FPS advertised velocity.

It ain't going through a solid 6" wood log, dude.
 
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