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Recommend a gun for home defense

Lexicon

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Bear spray repellant. A hell of a lot safer

^As someone who was accidentally pepper sprayed once— can confirm. I dunno about bear spray specifically, but if it’s anything like pepper spray, it’ll stop anyone in their tracks/blind them. It is not freaking pleasant.

Unless you’re a nut who sleeps with a loaded gun under your pillow, chances are, in a home invasion, you’re not gonna have time to access/load a firearm in time to save yourself. A home alarm system and pepper spray. And bedroom locks. All you weirdos who sleep with your bedroom doors open. You’re weird.



Now, if we’re talking zombie apocalypse home defense, you’re better off staying on the move & using a machete, since gunfire only attracts more of the undead. Machetes are like, ten bucks at Walmart.
 

The Cat

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^As someone who was accidentally pepper sprayed once— can confirm. I dunno about bear spray specifically, but if it’s anything like pepper spray, it’ll stop anyone in their tracks/blind them. It is not freaking pleasant.

Unless you’re a nut who sleeps with a loaded gun under your pillow, chances are, in a home invasion, you’re not gonna have time to access/load a firearm in time to save yourself. A home alarm system and pepper spray. And bedroom locks. All you weirdos who sleep with your bedroom doors open. You’re weird.



Now, if we’re talking zombie apocalypse home defense, you’re better off staying on the move & using a machete, since gunfire only attracts more of the undead. Machetes are like, ten bucks at Walmart.

I'm not sure I'd go with a machete if I had other options. Too much range of motion needed for hacking. Machetes work great against people who have a fear of being hacked apart. But the ravening hordes of reanimated revenants care not for being hacked. The range of motion needed would also make it very easy to get overwhelmed in short order. Not to mention those things get stuck in the bone and flesh of a body like a wet tree trunk. I'd go with a kukri over a machete. Maybe a gladius. The trick is to not get attached to any one weapon over another. Versatility, speed, and range of motion are all things to keep in mind when dealing with the shambling dead. Also. Shave your head and learn to love being coated in some form of lubricant they can't swarm and devour what they can't get a grip on.
 

Tomb1

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Unless you’re a nut who sleeps with a loaded gun under your pillow, chances are, in a home invasion, you’re not gonna have time to access/load a firearm in time to save yourself. A home alarm system and pepper spray. And bedroom locks. All you weirdos who sleep with your bedroom doors open. You’re weird.

Obviously the OP will keep his firearm loaded while on safety and in a place easy to access. I personally know of two situations where the homeowner had time to grab their gun when they realized there was a robber in their house. If, sadly, an innocent party were killed by a bullet traveling through the wall and into the wall of the neighbor's house, into the neighbor, the robber would be charged under the felony murder law...unless the robber is dead, the homeowner would certainly not be charged. Cool thing about the Felony Murder law, if two robbers burglarize your house, and you shoot one of them dead but miss the other, the other actually gets charged with the murder of his partner. If he does live in an apartment complex, he can buy smaller-caliber ammunition for his new .357 or .44 magnum or consider something smaller like a .32. A .32 can still get the job done. Also, if the OP hunts big game, shoots skeet, trap or clays, he can use his new Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum for said sporting purposes. Alarm systems are good for elderly people.
 

J. Starke

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Not an expert but I'm guessing it should be relatively small and fast to load. Regulations require it to be kept unloaded right? That's kind of a problem when someone is robbing your house at the moment lol
 

Maou

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Shot gun with rock salt bullets.
 

Tomb1

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I wanted to circle back to this. I shot off about a 100 rounds of 240 grain .44 specials for my .44 magnum last week...there is no risk of over-penetration with those and little recoil, as compared to the recoil on the 240 grain .44 magnum rounds. Over-penetration is largely BS with a handgun imo unless you're loading hollow points (which has a more than 50 percent chance of not disbursing upon impact)...stick with the jacketed hollow points
 

Maou

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Also probably important to point out there is a difference between actually stopping, and just shooting someone. Ive seen a guy take 6 .22 bullets and still fight. Bigger caliburs allow for you to stop someone instantly, and good aim can save their life. Everyone should take gun class.
 

???

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Oh, I kind of forgot about this. I ended up buying this - M&P(R)15 Sportâ„¢ II | Smith & Wesson. I was going to get a handgun, like glock or a 9mm similar to the military ones, with not a lot of recoil, but this convinced me otherwise - Home Defense: Why you should use an AR-15 | SOFREP. It's also what I'm familiar with.

And thanks for the recommendations. A magnum sounds really fun at a range, but I'm not sure I'd want to deal with the recoil in a stressful situation where I think my life is in danger and andrenaline is pumping.

And sorry for the bear spray, rock salt crowd, but it's just not practical. If someone is coming at me with a gun, I don't want to have to rely on something like that. Just isn't practical, as nice as it would be not to have to seriously hurt or kill one another in an ideal world.

edit: And yes, I lock it up when not at home. But when I'm at home it stays loaded in my bedroom. Otherwise it would be pointless to have.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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I'm not sure I'd go with a machete if I had other options. Too much range of motion needed for hacking. Machetes work great against people who have a fear of being hacked apart. But the ravening hordes of reanimated revenants care not for being hacked. The range of motion needed would also make it very easy to get overwhelmed in short order. Not to mention those things get stuck in the bone and flesh of a body like a wet tree trunk. I'd go with a kukri over a machete. Maybe a gladius. The trick is to not get attached to any one weapon over another. Versatility, speed, and range of motion are all things to keep in mind when dealing with the shambling dead. Also. Shave your head and learn to love being coated in some form of lubricant they can't swarm and devour what they can't get a grip on.

Small hatchet or ice pick for zombies. Bowie knife could be good too. I’d still keep a machete on me for fighting Negan’s guys and those whisperers though, or clearing brush.

The key with a machete is to keep it sharp and aim for dismembering strikes.

Vasoline or KY jelly to make for slippery escapes from handsy zombies
 
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Maou

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I am buying a Judge today. :D
 

Ghost of the dead horse

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Why is a trained soldier asking a bunch of millennial nerds for firearm advice? :unsure:

That's my question as well. But having used no gun, I've heard shotgun can be useful for home defence.

I've used plastic gas-operated pistol to shoot some rounds 40 feet away. Pistol seems like the nice format for me. If I were to own a gun, I would start with pistol. But since the OP has far more expertise than me, he is not interested of what a noob would do. But still, I told what I know. There it is.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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Maybe a bit of overkill.


Those movies are ridiculous but gosh I love them. This is campy as hell.
 
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