Why a Revolver for Home Defense

a reply to: KyoZero

1. I have an FNS-9 as my CCW but I heard a rumor at some point and want your opinion. Is it true that keeping a magazine loaded all the time can wear out the spring and increase odds of a jam in a semi-auto?

This entirely depends on the manufacturer of the magazine.

My Glock 19 mags spend most of their time loaded and have had no issue with failure to feed. Same with my Croatian steel mags for my AK.

My Pmags from Magpul are also made extremely well and I keep them loaded for my AR. Not once has this created an issue.

That said, Promag makes awful magazines and if you keep them loaded their weak springs will develop a memory pretty fast.

Most of the springs I use are either magpul, chrome silicon, or Wolf springs.

a reply to: semperfortis

I agree with you almost entirely, except for the caliber of choice. I would recommend using a .380 load instead of the .357 magnum. You can put a .357 magnum slug through an engine block. Drywall, insulation, and aluminum siding aren't going to do much in the way of stopping it. Windows, curtains and foliage, even less.

In close quarters a .380 will do just fine as far as stopping power. What you do not want to do is send a .357 magnum through your target, your wall, your neighbors wall, and ultimately - your neighbor.

It applies to anyone, but especially people who live in apartments, condos, or houses that are just a few feet from each other. Opt for lower caliber ammunition less likely to injure innocent people next door or outside.

"Line of sight" should always be taken into consideration when using firearms. If your line of sight is obscured by walls, curtains, foliage, etc, you may not have a safe line of sight when you fire. Hitting your target doesn't mean the bullet will stop there.

This is one of the pieces of advice I usually give people when talking about firearms for self defense.

Better safe than sorry.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

To be honest, I can't imagine lighting off a .357 in an enclosed space. I can usually manage about 20 full power 357s before its starts hurting my ears...outdoors...with both over-the-ear AND foam earplugs on (and I have significant constant ringing in my ears from my young and stupid days of not wearing hearing protection). I do like shooting them, but damn, its loud. I've largely switched to using .38 +Ps instead because of that. Still loud, but not quite as bad.

a reply to: vor78

Very good point.

Another thing I usually tell people when discussing firearms is that they should fire a round or two with minimal hearing protection while indoors at a gun range. It also helps if you ask the range manager if he can dim the lights to help simulate conditions at home in the middle of the night. Another thing I advise people to do, especially with a revolver, is put one .357 in with a bunch of .380. (if that is possible with your particular firearm) Spin that wheel and do not try to determine where the .357 is. Just shoot like you normally would. The idea is to get used to, and not be stunned, by things that might surprise you while firing. Learn what is normal and what isn't. Don't be alarmed by the loud noise and big flash a gun makes. In other words, practice is good but practicing in real world conditions where things may surprise you once in a while is invaluable.

The noise as you mentioned is quite loud. The muzzle flash is also much bigger than most people realize. The time to be amazed and slack jawed at the noise and flash of a firearm is not when you are in the middle of defending yourself and your family. You want to experience, and get past, the shock and awe of that moment under controlled conditions when you are safe and your delayed reaction to the noise and flash wont cost you your life. Let the other guy be amazed at the noise and fire...that serves your purpose quite well.

a reply to: semperfortis

This is an opinion thread I figured I would toss in my opinion. I'm assuming you are shooting a double action revolver, because a normal person is probably going to die before they pull the hammer back fire, and repeat the cycle.

The win for a revolver is most do not have safeties. I keep a revolver as my front door gun (judge with 45 long colt with a couple 410 defender rounds), and a bathroom gun (colt 44 mag). I have a wall safe at my front door with my judge that is loaded and ready to go. Yes, I answer the door with a revolver in my right hand behind my door between me and my security door. I live in a very dangerous town, even though I am in a nice area I still am a target for that reason.

In my bedroom I have a G17 9mm Glock. It is loaded the round is chambered. I also keep loaded firearms in my closets (tactical rifles). If someone was to get into your home, the bathroom or closet can be a decent place to retreat to. I also keep level 3 vests in my closets. If I have to retreat to a closet I will have additional protection while in there.

I have a 100 lbs giant schnauzer that will give me some time to get into a superior position.

You might say has anything happened to you already, and the answer is yes. I was present for a break-in at my parents house, and I was robbed a gun point in a restaurant. A guy last week was on the main street of our town shooting an AK47 at a car in the middle of the afternoon. This place is pretty crazy at times. With that said I hope my preparations will never be needed.

Hate to say it, but it's all too apparent gun rights are going down the tubes. I think it started with infrastructure like highways and telephones. These things enabled law enforcement to cover larger areas, meaning guns had less value to a someone within that range. And because more people were able to live in closer spaces due to agriculture and city building, there was less need for protection against wild life. And wild life predators aren't as pervasive as they used to be either. I know a cop can't save you if seconds count, but generally these things are true. It means people don't know how to use guns and fear them. Guns are becoming a threat because people don't use them enough and because technology has made them increasingly deadly. While the general population is less and less able to defend itself, law enforcement is encroaching on every aspect of our life to defend us against the criminals, leading to 1984-ish conditions.

I do think hte answer is for people to learn how to defend themselves, including possibly owning a gun. Don't rely too much on law enforcement. We have to defend our rights--in a peaceable manner--or lose them. And if we lose it, it's much harder to regain them. It's harder because the way of things becomes ingrained. People lose prior skills and traditions. People start to believe what's in the past belongs in the past. So don't loiter or it's too late. Many of us will. I probably will. I'm ashamed that I will.

If you look across the world gun rights are tighter and generally being lost. It's a pattern which I think is occurring in the US too. So will we one day reach a time when nobody owns a gun, except law enforcement or military? Maybe. Or maybe guns sold to the general public will be less deadly than the ones used by cops and military. Either way, I think it's a world much more like 1984 than ever before. And I'd say it's not necessarily bad. I don't think the government wants to kill us. It needs us; it's us. I think it's bad in the sense we'll lose some of our independence and operate more like a bee hive. That bothers me because independence is what has always defined america. We do work together when necessary, especially in times of war. But to ALWAYS work collectively is something alien. Who knows, maybe working collectively on almost every level is common in the cosmos and is what happens when a species advances to our level and beyond.

a reply to: semperfortis

I own both revolvers and semi-auto's. For me the decision is the semi-auto. I train with a G19. I carry a G19. I compete with the same G19. I always have my G19 with me. When I go to sleep I always know where my G19 is, and how to use it.

None of you guys have 50 Mags? No smith and Wesson 500s? Actually I would never shoot it in the house. It hurts to shoot.
You know what is fun? On a camping or backpacking trip hand someone the 12 gage. Load it full of short shells with one Mag shell at the end. A mag slug is always nice. Dont tell them about the mag shell...... Watch them fall on their azz. When people see the 50 mag, most will refuse to even fire it. It pulls muscles in my hand if I fire it with one hand, even with a padded glove

a reply to: KyoZero

Yes it can cause issues as the spring will build a memory of being compressed and over time it loses its...well...spring. I usually cycle my mags every few months, but if you don't have extras like that you can take them apart and stretch the springs then put it back together.

I take my wife and daughters to the range as often as possible. They are damned good at shooting. My wife and daughter chose my SCCY 9mm as their favorite home defense weapon. I bought it for my EDC but since they are comfortable with it it is now theirs. I have others that I can carry but to me it's important that they are comfortable. It's an American made firearm with a 9 pound trigger pull, it holds 10 rounds per magazine. Many many rounds through this little 15 ounce 9mm and no issues yet.

a reply to: aceshootn

I agree with the reasoning for the revolver and appreciate all the great insights in this thread.

For me personally I have a sig P226 in 9mm, tritium night sights and hollow points for home defense. I keep a round in the chamber and that gun is SA/DA. I train with it, shoot IDPA with it, and have shot a couple thousand rounds through it using real tactical training techniques (not just point and shoot at the range). I feel confident in my muscle memory.

As a back up and for my wife we have my Remington 870 in 12 gauge and her revolver in .38 special because she is not nearly as much of a gun enthusiast as I am. That plus our two dogs (one german shepherd / Aussie mix) will give me good lead time.

It's all preference, but my preference is more than 6 rounds and I am confident in my gun and skill set. To each their own and I hope none of us ever have our preparations tested...

a reply to: avgguy

This is one of my "home guns". Smith & Wesson model 686 .357 magnum.
A pleasure to shoot, very accurate and not too much recoil, depending on the load you're shooting.
There are a lot of ammo selections out there, but Hornady Critical Defense and Winchester PDX1 are my favorites. The 125 grain PDX1 is a wicked round.

a reply to: DAVID64 Thats my exact gun too! It is so sweet. I wasnt sure if we could post pictures of guns on here. I have some comparasin pics with all my pistols including the S and W 500. Im not sure how to post pics on here. The gun you have is very reliable, and beautiful too. It is not made of plastic, and can be passed on for generations to come

a reply to: semperfortis

Shot. Placement.
I have drilled that in to my son's head from the time I started teaching him. You can throw a thousand rounds at someone, but if you don't hit something vital, they will keep coming. Hits in the arms or legs and they are still able to shoot back....2 rounds in the heart/lungs are going to be very distracting to someone wanting to shoot you.

I have a great pic of 3 of my pistols including the 357. Tell me how to post it and I will. The 50 mag is right next to it, and so is the 45 Kimber

a reply to: DAVID64

Right back at you...

My Taurus Tracker 357





(That Smith is a sweet shooter; I've owned a couple just like it)

a reply to: semperfortis Is that a single or double action?

Revolvers are difficult to load in the dark and under stress, where as semiautos, have more than 6 shots, plus ive yet to ever see a glock jam or misfire with name brand brass ammo.

15 to 18 round clips will give you enough sustained firepower, whoever is bothering you will either..be dead, or getting the hell away from you.

Buy a glock 19 gen 4 and you'll be just fine

originally posted by: Realtruth

originally posted by: TinkerHaus
On top of what I posted above - the argument that if you need more than 6 rounds you're out of your element and not even 200 rounds would help is kind of a stupid one.

Not stupid at all.

What he is stating is if you can't take someone down with 6 rounds, then most likely you won't get the chance to do it with additional ammo.



The intruder will flee most likely.

Multiple target scenario...in the dark...with 6 bullets

you better have a full mag with some plus P in it

a reply to: visitedbythem

Double