Question for the handgun owners...

ResQue

I am picking up a Glock 22c one week from today and have a question for you handgun owners. This will be my second handgun (the first was a Glock 23, which I sold to a fellow Marine) and it will be used primarily for home defense. My question is whether or not to buy a tac light/laser for the gun. I have used tac lights on MP5's and M4's when I was still in the Marines. I have never used one on a handgun. What are your opionions on the light/laser for home defense?

Fidel

Laser is nice, but I would only recommend the light if you understand that it actually makes you a target. Proper MOUT training should teach you to keep your light separate from your firearm and held to the side away from your body so if the enemy shoots toward your light they will, at best, hit your arm/hand holding the light and not hit you center mass or in your shooting hand/arm causing you to lose control of your weapon and ability to fire back.

And in my opinion, if you are serious about home defense and not just wanting a cool weapon (trust me, I have both and then some) the absolute best choice, bar none, is a short barrel shotgun, like a 20ga coach gun. Quick to turn and acquire targets, major spread damage, and unlikely to penetrate walls and cause collateral damage. Or you could opt for a pump action shotgun. The psychological effect of that very unique sound gives you a good advantage and opportunity to avoid conflict altogether.

I'll reserve most of my opinions about your choice of handgun and just say recommend you look at offerings from Sig Arms and Heckler & Koch.

ResQue

I have a shotgun (short-barreled) for home defense right now. Problem is that a have a little one on the way and a handgun is the best choice because I can lock it up next to my bed. Right now my shotgun is sitting next to the bed but I won't be able to leave it out once the kid is here. I have been trained in MOUT and went even further to being trained in CQB. We only used the lights (mounted under the MP5) to blind the "target/tango" Of course we used frag's and flashbangs before entry. In home defense, I am not worried about giving my position away, as the tango will be on the ground before he has a chance to react.

I like the HK but they way too expensive. Sig's aren't bad either. I just like Glock. To me they are like a Ak47 in the sense that they are one of the most reliable guns out there.

Fidel

the tango will be on the ground before he has a chance to react.

Dangerous assumption, but I get what you're saying. Just remember that "bump in the night" can often hear you get out of bed, come down stairs, etc.

You do know that .40 S&W stands for short and weak, right?

I have one motto for handguns - I carry a .45. Why, because they don't make a .46

ResQue

:laugh: That's pretty funny about the S&W, I have never heard that one before. I looked at the .45 but I need something my wife can shoot. I also understand that is a dangerous assumption but I am very confident in my abilities. Hopefully (fingers crossed) my dog will hear the intruder and wake us up in time for me to take action. Do you have a carry gun separate to your home protection?

fishlessman

must be dangerous down there, i cant even get kids to steal the beers off the front steps :laugh:

ResQue

Nah, not too dangerous. We do have a junkie that likes to roam up and down the street every now and then though. I leave my beer on my porch too and no one has stolen it.

Fidel

I have more guns than a rational person should. Home protection, vehicle protection, office protection all present and accounted for in various calibers and capacities.

Spring Chicken

Depending on your source of information, home invasions appear to be growing in number. 1 in 5 homes will be invaded seems to be the preferred number by various agencies and home defense providers. One thing is clear though, no home is exempt from an invasion.

Strangly, 'home invasion' is not a crime in many states and countries. Only what the person does after invading the home is the crime.

So the home owner is usually cautioned to take steps to protect and defend themselves 'before' and 'during' an invasion. That's often easier said than done.

I did not purchase this program but I read what his site has to say and thought he brought up some good points to keep in mind while planning your actions before and during an invasion.

http://homedefensetactics.com/

Everyone has an opinion about how they will react to a dangerous situation but until it actually happens to them they really don't know. Understanding some of their options and developing a workable plan may help, assuming everything works according to the plan.

Determined criminals seem to always find a way to do what they want to do with little or no thought as to the scope of their actions or consequences, including capture. In the process they destroy lives and property at will while making a mockery of our values and system of justice.

Good luck with your plan.

Spring "You Lives Your Life And You Takes Your Chances" Chicken
Spring Texas USA

FlaPoolman

Aaron,, check out the Walther p99 40 cal. It's my favorite for the range but I agree with Fidel a shotgun is best for home defense.

psalzer

A laser is a great addition!!! As for home defense .. "The Judge" is a good choice!!

stike

"1 in 5 homes will be invaded"

10,000 homes in my community, so we can expect 2000 home invasions? will this be per year :laugh:

perhaps 'burglary' is being equated with home invasion?

fishlessman

beers on my front steps arent much of a problem, if they were donuts they wouldnt stand a chance, 3 out of 4 abuters to my property are police officers, the fourth are teachers. my dog barks and everyones looking out the window with guns :laugh: scares me to walk out there at night

ResQue

I already have a tactical shotgun and I already purchased the Glock. Thanks though.

icemncmth

Ditto on that. I have way to many guns and lots of ammo!

I use to teach gun safety to people trying to get the carry permit and most couldn't shoot a life size target 5 feet away, add to the fact that if they were in an environment where they needed to use the gun the heart rate would be so fast they couldn't hold the gun still.

One of my exercises I used to demonstrate this was have people run in place for a min then try to hit the target.

My suggestion to most is a shotgun or if you want a pistol get one that shoots a 410 or load a revolver with shot shells. That way you won't kill your neighbor.

Also the size of the caliber is only as good as the person pulling the trigger.

I would demonstrate that by setting a my 22 comp pistol down and have a person next to me do the same thing with their gun. I would have someone say go and every time I could head shot the target 3 times before most people could get their gun up and fired.

Now to be fair I did competition shoot for many years.

ResQue

Nice, that's too funny. My area is pretty good. I have woods behind my house. Across is a fellow firefighter and I have two NRA member, Redneck hunters on either side of me. No other homes are close and we have the Sherriff's patrol our road fairly regularly. We all have dogs and they ALL bark. They see me almost every day, but when I go warm up my truck, they bark.

icemncmth

It's not. Home invasion can be someone stealing a bike out of your yard.

Problem is that most states have pretty weird laws regarding killing someone. I live in Oklahoma and it depends on the town. Some towns will allow you to kill someone with a gun but if you shoot them too many times than it is considered excessive force.

That is why I prefer a shotgun. I can shoot twice and inflict a lot of damage.

ResQue

I have many guns too, just not handguns. I would love vehicle protection, but the state of Maryland is too strict. I had a conversation with a couple of police buddies and they told me to carry one anyway because I don't look suspicious. Sounds like profiling to me. I just kind of gave the :blink: :ermm: look.

ResQue

I have multiple pistol and rifle expert badges that I earned in the Marines. I also have combat experience using a pistol(M9), shotgun(M1014), MP5, M4, M16A4, M14, and a M40. I am out now but I hope that my training and experience will influence my first instinct. What did you compete with? I used to compete with the M1 Garand.

fishlessman

in mass home invasion is entering armed when someones home, i thinks its an automatic 20 years

ResQue

Interesting. I have never heard of him before. I have most of the same training he has and I hope that I would fall back on my training if I was faced with a home invasion. It is not likely that my house would be targeted (there are much more softer targets around) but I am also smart enough to know that it is not impossible. That is why I am trying to prepare now. Like I have told others, I have a shotgun in use right now, but I have a little one on the way and don't want my guns out in the open so I opting for a handgun in a safe next to my bed. Just wanted to get different opinions on the laser, light, or combo on a handgun.

Fidel

One in the head two in the chest. Period.

I was trained that way, did it that way for many years, and continue to do it that way at the range.

Besides, a dead body can't testify against you.

stike

Home invasion is not someone stealing a bike out of your yard

Even the histrionic web page Leroy linked to maintains true home invasion is rare

Let's not wig out people mom all for being prepared. But not for being irrational

stike

Coming on the heels of iceman's comment that "home invasion" is equal to someone stealing a bike from your yard, I'm not sure you meant that I should have shot the kid who stole my son's bike once in the head and twice in the chest.

But I will try that the next time

ResQue

You have to shoot them in the chest first (twice) and then once in the head.

Fidel

Well, my comment was more directed to the excessive force issue, but yea, if someone is stealing your bike and you decide to shoot, then my instructions are valid.

If you pull the trigger once you should pull it three times. If you're right then you will effectively neutralize the threat and if you're wrong the penalty is generally the same as if you only shot them once.

Jeffersonian

If you're looking for something the missus can use and she isn't as proficient in firearm handling as you, I'd suggest a wheel gun instead of a semiauto, maybe one of the titanium-frame models available today. A good, lightweight, SA/DA .357 will give you flexibility and reliability for everyone intended to use the weapon.

ResQue

Good idea. Thanks. The Glock is already purchased, but I can llok for one when I go buy a carry gun.

ranger ray

i absolutely concour! thanks for writing what i was thinking....ray

ranger ray

i'd pick the lazer over the light... nevertheless, practice... practice practice... till you become an instinctual shooter.... matt dillion( if you're old enough to remember ) never used his sights!... if your a good shot you don't need sights.... the bullets go where you intend for them to go... rr

stike

thanks for the tip :laugh: