Whaddya Use? SG, Rifle, or Handgun for HD?

[skb12172]

I've gone back and forth on this over the years. I live in a suburban neighborhood. Generally, all houses are on 3/4 - 1 acre lots. Currently, my HD firearm of choice is my SKS. A Taurus .357 is on my hip for backup. The Taurus is loaded with .38 +P.

[Ben Rumson]

I used a twelve gauge before the kids were born.

Now I use an XD40 pistol locked in a safe next to the bed. Takes me about two seconds to get the safe open and gun out. I don't have that speed option with a stored rifle or shotgun.

I have plans in place to round up the kids and get them secured time permitting. Also have predesignated shooting lanes upstairs if I can't get to the kids in time. Beds away from the hallway walls etc which wasn't by design, it just worked out that way.. But of course, nothing goes as planned.

[Aglifter]

I don't know that an 7.62 Commie is the best choice for inside a house -- just a guess, but I'd think it might over-penetrate pretty badly. Might be OK w. the proper bullets.

I use a 12 gauge, but as I get more familiar w. an AR-15, I might switch to that.

[sam]

The answer is yes.

[skb12172]

HA! I like Sam's answer. As for the SKS, I'm not using FMJ, plus the outside of the house is stone. Other than the deafness factor, which is almost unavoidable with any longarm, I think I'm ok.

[Termite]

All of the above.

[cu74]

I've gone back and forth on this over the years. I live in a suburban neighborhood. Generally, all houses are on 3/4 - 1 acre lots. Currently, my HD firearm of choice is my SKS. A Taurus .357 is on my hip for backup. The Taurus is loaded with .38 +P.

Tough decision. We two elderly folk living out in the countryside don't have to worry much about wall penetration causing collateral damage - closest neighbors are outside of pistol range and we don't use a rifle or carbine - we use 12 Gauge, 9mm and .38 Special. Nor do we normally have to worry about other people in the house. We have a dual alarm system, (Electronic and Canine at night and Canine-only during the day) and the alarm situation determines which firearms are grabbed first.

If we were in suburbia, I think we would probably go for only shotgun(s) like Ben did. Even something as "weak" as 9mm or .38 Special could be dangerous to relatively close neighbors. (Folks always go on and on about wall penetration - don't these people have glass-paned windows in their homes?)

If you have children in the house, balancing child safety, that "collateral damage" thing and ready access to the defensive firearm really complicates the decisions. I don't have a ready suggestion for that situation.

[Lokidude]

There's a 12 gauge under the bed, stoked with 00 buck. There's a loaded .30-06 in my closet, but God save me if I need 15 rounds of '06 for anything. I keep my 10mm on my side of the bed, and the better half keeps the .357 and a pair of speedloaders on her side, all stoked with .38+P. Overkill? Sure. And when we have kids, the layout will, necessarily, change. But for the time being, that's our loadout. It's more a matter of convenience (my bedside gun is one of my two usual carry guns. Her bedside gun is the other, ATM.) than anything else.

[Combat Controller]

All three.

[Denis]

I have a very heavy gunsafe. Belgian law requires me to keep my guns in it. Perhaps I could bludgeon the baddies' heads against it, if I can persuade them to accompany me to the basement...