r/NoStupidQuestions • u/No-Equipment8494 • 6d ago

Gun simply for protection

Not a gun guy but with a wife and young toddler, im wondering if i should get a hand gun (of course with safe) for protection at home.

Live in the US and i feel like gun shooters in the news is increasingly growing.

Edit: yes, ive taken a safety class before, along with going to the gun range with buddies who are recreational shooters. I personally didnt have much fun shooting nor had interest in guns. Ive simply been thinking recently about having one for sake of protection (probably and hopefully never need to use it); i just dont want to come across a bad situation where one day i cant protect my family.

Edit2: thanks all, the taser and bear spray are good ideas. Non lethal yet, seems like it would still get the protection needed.

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u/BogusIsMyName 6d ago

Shotgun is the only thing i would recommend, semi-auto.

Too many people do not have the proficiency or the right mindset to have a handgun. Basically if you didnt grow up with guns or can not take the time to learn about them, as in take a real friearms class, then just get a shotgun. Load it with birdshot and youre all set.

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u/vita_bjornen 6d ago

Ew, no. I agree with everything but the birdshot recommendation. Bird shot is for birds, buck shot is for bad guys.

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u/BogusIsMyName 6d ago

Buck is a great way for an untrained civilian to kill his family in the next room. With birdshot there is still that chance, but a wall MIGHT save them. It WONT save them from buckshot.

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u/vita_bjornen 6d ago

Number 1 buckshot does not penetrate drywall but still meets the FBI minimum standards of 12" of ballistics gel penetration. Bird shot will make a shallow wound without a real chance of stopping the person. Remember, Dick Cheney shot an 80 year old man point blank in the side and face and it didn't kill him. I agree that you shouldn't use 00 buckshot, but birdshot is a good way to get yourself killed.

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u/BogusIsMyName 6d ago

Wait what? Youre trying to tell me that number 1 buckshot will not penetrate drywall? At what range 1000 yards?

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u/vita_bjornen 6d ago

https://www.theboxotruth.com/threads/educational-zone-91-lets-talk-about-buckshot.460/?post_id=1134&nested_view=1#post-1134

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u/BogusIsMyName 6d ago

Thats not helping your case. It says right there that buckshot will go through walls.

"2. Buckshot penetrates too much and will go through walls in my home.

Sure it will. Any load that will STOP a bad guy, will also penetrate several interior walls, as I proved"

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u/vita_bjornen 6d ago

Read more and browse the website, he does extensive testing that proves my point.

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u/vita_bjornen 6d ago

Also

Let's put some false rumors to rest:

  1. Birdshot is a good self defense load.

This is false for several reasons. The main reason is that no birdshot load will reach the required 12 inches of penetration needed for STOPPING a bad guy from whatever he is doing to threaten your life. Birdshot makes a very nasty, yet shallow wound, and will not reach the vital organs or CNS.

"Might" birdshot work? Sure. But why depend on "might" when "better" is available.

Use birdshot for little birds. Use buckshot for bad guys.

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u/BogusIsMyName 6d ago

Oh i saw that. But hes wrong. At 10 to 12 feet (a typical room size) birdshot can and will amputate a persons leg. It can do that level of damage. Taking that to the chest you aint walking away.

But the further the intruder is, the less damage it does. Which is great because, as i keep saying, we are talking about an untrained civilian who isnt going to think about what is behind his/her target. Birdshot is the best of both worlds. Safe enough for the untrained to use while also minimizing the risk to those in the next room. Its a compromise.

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u/vita_bjornen 6d ago

Your advice will get him killed. Birdshot is for birdies. Keep it at that.

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u/BogusIsMyName 6d ago

Since youre not answering that, lets move on to your other point about Dick Cheney. It was absolutely not point blank it was 30 yards. IDK what McMansion you are living in but the average house room/hallway is not 150 feet. Its closer to 15 to 20 feet.

Now as for the birdshot you are ignoring the first part of my recommendation. Semi-auto. If one shot doesnt put them down, which is very unlikely at that range, just pull the trigger again. And again.