In part that depends on your experience with firearms in general.

The shotgun has an advantage in that you do not have to gain absolute accuracy to disable an attacker. I'm assuming you are talking about protection inside your home here. Number 2, do to the nature of the shotshell a wild shot is not likely to leave your house and injure a neighbor. My suggestion is that you do some local research and find courses tailored to your needs.

Two things that are absolutely necesary before you decide to own a firearm for protection: No firearm is of any value if you are not going to practice using it. You must become competent with whatever you own. Second, while you should research all the potential ramifications of using firearms for protection the last thing you want to do is shoot somebody UNLESS your life or the life of a loved one is threatened. It makes no sense to kill or maim someone over stealing a TV set. In most states unless your life is in jepardy you will end up in jail if you shoot someone.

 If your state allows it's citizens to carry firearms concealed (35 do now) I recomend you take the class to qualify for this even if you do not want the license. The classes cover important legal issues related to using firearms for protection. Every state and many localities are different so don't go by what other people say, Do your own research locally. 

Just my 2 cents .....

pm

the main thing:.

Make sure a failsafe lockabe trigger guard is available for it.

Regards,

Bob

Handgun:   K-Frame Smith & Wesson in 38 special or 357 magnum ... barrel length could be 2.5-inch, 4-inch or 6-inch .... lean toward the 4 or 6 inch.  The Model 15 or Model 19. 

Shotgun:   Not sure it is a good choice and the idea that it is a "scatter" gun is not really true at close quarters.  Still for some it could be a good choice and I would suggest the Remington 1100 auto.  

Safety:  You can buy a steel locker and put a lock on it and you can buy trigger locks.

skillet,

Have you ever considered owning a big dog instead? When I married my wife, I knew she had a terrible temper and for my own self-protection, I felt buying a dog was a safer choice.:)

I'm not sure you need both.  In the scenario I think you're describing, a handgun has some limitations mainly due to the aiming accuracy you need to maintain to inflict serious injury or death.
I know someone will respond with "Well, if the intruder just sees a handgun, or hears it go off, that will be enough . You don't necessarily need to hit him.  He'll be taking off."
I am from the politically incorrect camp that says you don't want to take chances when protecting property, or especially family.  Any intruder/criminal needs to be neutralized.
In the dark, or in a situation where your adrenaline is going and hands may not be steady, you may not get the aim you need with a handgun.
I recommend a shotgun.. Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 will do.  And you don't need or want the normal, longer barrels (i.e. 28").  For maneuverability and "close quarters" action, you want an 18 or 20" barrel.

 Regards - Big Steve

Handgun    -   Glock Model 22 in 40 Caliber

Shotgun     -   Reminton Model 870 12ga with 18 - 20 inch barrel

For home defense, I would strongly suggest a handgun.  Something on the order of a medium frame revolver with a 4" barrel.  S&W, Taurus, Rossi, Ruger are all good quality.  Rossi and Taurus are at the lower end of the price range.  Shotguns are impressive looking but not so good for home defense.  Try this, take a broom, hold it to your shoulder and move through your house pointing it at every door, window and down each hallway.  In most houses, this will be quite cumbersome and leave you in an exposed position.

 Also, the "Aim in the general direction and a shotgun will hit the target." is wrong.  At 25 feet, the pattern on most shotguns is just 3 to 6 inches in diameter.  I know as I have fired test patterns on many shotguns with various amounts of choke and various loads.

 The noise and muzzle from a .357 indoors in the dark is blinding and incredibly loud.  A .38 special loaded with +P ammunition is noticibly better, but still loud and bright.

 Glaser and Cor Bon both make handgun loads designed to prevent over penetration.

 http://www.dakotaammo.net/products/glaser/glaser.htm

Also, for several years it was popular for some in the media and Brady types to bring up a "statistic" that people with a gun in the home were 43 times more likely to be shot than someone without a gun in the home.  That "study" was done by a Dr. Kellerman at Emery University and was shown to be wrong as Kellerman was data mining. 

A big dog is fine unless the intruder isn't afraid of dogs and/or has a gun.  If Mr. badguy shoots your dog, what do you do next?

 A trigger lock is really not necessary.  If you want to make your gun inoperable, just take it apart.  If it is a revolver, put a pad lock through the top strap.  There was a gun lock that worked similiar to a thick rubber band that could be removed by an adult in a second or two.  If those are still available, they might be worth a look.  My wife and I have each used a handgun for self defense, one incident each.  I would not have had time to remove one of those key ooperated trigger locks before the bad guy could have done his harm.  My wife might have had time, assuming the key was right there by the handgun when she needed it.

If you do get a gun, practice, practice and practice.  Practice in good light, bad light, with either hand, sitting, standing, kneeling.  Run a 50 yard sprint or do 20 jumping jacks then shoot.  The sprint gets your heart racing and simulates the adrenaline rush you have to deal with when using a gun for protection. 

Best wishes.

JA

Get a dog and a gun.  Cant have too much protection.  ALthough i dont like dogs.  Too much dog hair, slobber and mess.  Go with the shotgun. 

For a pistol, I like the Sig P226 .357. 

Yes you do need both guns.

By the time you determine beyond a reasonable doubt that your life is in danger, it could very well be too late for you.

So blow the scumbag away with your pistol grip Mossberg for waking you up in the middle of the night.  If he is still breathing, pump some more shot into him.  Do this until all life has ceased!  THEN, take your handgun and put it in the culprits hand, so you dont dont have to go to jail because of HIS rights!

Wild, Wild West.....yee haw! 

Thanks, but I would rather count on my firearms then the gov't to protect me any day of the week.  Its a jungle out there.

Good Luck

Brian

Check out “The Judge”, a new offering from Taurus which won the Handgun of the Year award.

The Judge has a 3 inch barrel and can handle both 45 Colt and 2 ½ inch 410 shot shells.

Rossby

Hi,

Read up on what a good saferoom is,  Do the best you can.  Don't go wandering around the house looking for anyone.  Get safe, stay put, and have a shotgun.  Remington and Mossberg are both fine.

You need to train.

I second most of these suggestions.  People sometimes ask me what kind of gun, and I always say, whatever you get, shoot it and shoot it a lot.  In other words, practice, practice, practice.  In a real situation, with adrenaline pumping, you do not want to be fumbling with your gun, you want to know it and know it well.

If you have a range nearby that rents pistols, that's a good choice.  We have one close by, you can rent any gun for $5 (you have to buy their ammo and that's at a premium).  That would allow you to try a number of guns and get an idea of what you like.

For me, I have a Sig P220 .45 under my bed in a pistol safe mounted to the bedframe (it's a heavy hardwood bedframe), and a Mossberg pump in my closet, in a shotgun cabinet mounted on the wall.  Most importantly, my wife and I have a plan if something should happen.  Generally, she grabs the children, while I cover, and we all retreat to the master bedroom as a safe room, lock the door and call police.  The Mossberg is the backup gun, once we are in the locked bedroom.  We also have a top shelf alarm system, which I also think is important.  I'm relying on that alarm system to wake me up.  I can get to my Sig in less than 10 seconds, I've practiced.  Again, practice.

It's too bad we need to be this way, budget cuts have allowed the police service to become unreliable. We have to protect ourselves in these violent times. 

Proves nothing of the sort, ripper!  Whats the problem, its posted in ShopTalk?

Guns dont kill people, People kill people!

Only shows that people on this board are smart in more than just finances!

We work hard for our future and family, and we are not about to let some scumbag take that away from us.

You can count on the mercy of your attacker and the police if you want, but I would rather have more control then that.

Just think about some guy raping your wife while you sit in the corner and watch.

Great post M.ray and good plan!

For the record, I am all about responsible gun ownership and training, just did not feel the need to repeat what was already said so well in prior replies.

Allow me to digress to a little humor..... 

I read a funny T-shirt:

"Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms

Should be a convenience store, not a govt agency"

Best to all

Brian

Ripper, There can never be to many guns, the problem is bad people. That's why people need guns.

 On the investment side you might want to look up Smith&Wesson Holding Group (SWHC) and/or Sturm Ruger and Company (RGR).

pm

The Glock and the 870 are fine if you have no children or grandchildren in the house.

If you do, be very careful.

Re your questions - I don't have any experience with shotguns - though I do do know that if the range is 25 feet or less, the shot load will not scatter very much.

On the hand gun -- I always recommend buying a 22 calibler pistol and 500 rounds of ammo (sometimes referred to as a brick of ammo) as a starting point. After shooting off that much ammo, you'll be rmuch more comfortable figuring out what kind of hand gun to buy for defence.

Most people can be taught to fire a rifle with fair accuracy, at ranges of  several hundred yards at people size targetrs, after firing 50 to 100 rounds in four or five practice sessions.  Hand guns have a much tougher learning curve even for distances of 25 to 50 feet.

Shoot the 22 until you can hit a target at least nine times with your first ten shots (assuming ranges of 50 feet or less)  You can use a standard sheet of typing paper as a target - no need to spend money on fancty targets, spend it on ammo instead.  If at least nine of ten make holes in the target you are doing well enough to protect yourself and to stop the predator.

After that, either keep the 22 for inexpensvie target practice, or sell it to raise money for practice ammo for the hand gun you replace it with.  A 22 with less than a thousand rounds through it is as good as new and you should get most of your purchase price back.   Learning to shoot with a center fire pistol (38./9mm/357) is expensive -- you can learn most of what you need about grip/sight alignment/sight picture much more cheaply with the 22.

.

.

It's true about the .22.

My brother shoots competition .45 and .45 super in IDPA.  Shooting .45 is expensive.  Of course, he has a couple of presses set up and he loads his own.  What a lot of the real competitors do, however, is get a .22 caliber set up in the configuration they normally shoot.  For instance, if the competition is IDPA and the shoot is .45 carry, like a 1911 style, they get a .22 caliber set up in 1911 and practice with that (A lot of folks are shooting .40 and .38 super, but same idea).  Of course, the recoil is no where near what a .45 is, but they can practice drawing the weapon, acquiring multiple targets quickly, and build hand-eye speed at a fraction of the cost of shooting .45.  Some of them shoot Airsoft also, since you can do that in your backyard.  So, it's not a waste to get the .22, but get one in a practical configuration, not one of those .22 target pistols, that won't help you.   

A hollow point .357 will stop anyone. Don't pull the trigger unless you intend to kill, because that's what's going to happen.

I like revolvers, a jammed auto is the worse case scenario if you are ever where you need a gun. I also like Rugers, but Smith and others make great guns.

Shot guns are for shooting feathers and it's illegal to make them useful for close contact except as a club. You see these guys on shows hip shooting with them, that would probably break your wrist if you had a load of buckshot in them. JMO 

I think handguns are handier, personally, but I do plan to buy a Remington 870 12-gauge from a friend this summer. Don't know where or how to store it, though.

On the bed-stand is a S&W J-frame, Surefire flashlight, and cell phone. In the bed-stand (in a touch safe) is a Sig-Sauer 9mm loaded with +P hollowpoints and an extra magazine of the same.

In the basement touch safe is a Ruger GP-100 with FBI loads, plus extra speedloaders holding 125-grain .357 mag. hollowpoints. 3 other handguns are in there, too, for safe storage.

Our dog is sensitive to noise, explosive, and scares the pee out of people who don't know her. Our doors are always locked. If I even have to present a gun, that means I'm dealing with a dedicated criminal who doesn't respect things like a person's home and well-being, locked doors and scary dogs. If it's 2am, and someone gets past my locked doors and dog, they're going to get shot.

Yeah, I'm a tough guy. I like to feel safe in my own home, and I feel responsible for its inhabitants.
 

Check out my blog

9mm, .38 special, or .45 ACP for city living. Shotgun if you have an acreage and outdoor dogs. Just my opinion.

If you are going to get one revolver, I would suggest the S&W model 649. It is 5 shot, stainless steel, with rubber grips. The hammer is shrouded, which is a lot more important than it sounds because hammers tend to get hung up on anything they can. It used to be called the FBI backup. You can use .38's, .38+P's, or 357 magnum. However, .357's coming out of the small barrel will scare you or the bad guy to death. A lot of flash and bang. Being a wheel gun makes it just about 100% reliable. I have a small zipper case with two speed loaders. It's good to keep nearby in the home, or in the glove box on a trip. If you want to slip it into your pocket, the hammer shroud will make it easier to remove quickly. Using .38's for practice is relatively inexpensive and +P's with hollow points will be effective.

Mark 

[quote user="ripper1"]Boy, somebody talks about guns and their is all kinds of replies. Just goes to prove their is too many hand guns on the street. I thought this was a financial web site. All I want to know about is what is a good investment vehicle for a 15 year withdrawal rate?
[/quote]

 yeah, I thought maybe the post was something satirical about the market going down (except it's easier to commit suicide by handgun than by shotgun, so why ask the question?)

If you are not familiar with guns, don't mess with a semi auto of any kind.

Stick with revolver.  Snap it open, then you see how it is loaded.

A double bbl shotgun is OK, snap it open, what you see is what you got.

Auto's are great if you practice a lot, I mean a lot.  If not they are very dangerous as you never know if you have one in the pipe and always mess up with the safety.

Your best bet is the police.  Ask any home intruder to stand by until the police arrive.  Or, if you are shot, the police will investigate to find your killer, for about 3 days.  Yep, those darn guns.

My opinion is much like Maxim's

If you are not experienced with firearms, go with a .38 revolver, 2" barrel if you'll ever carry it, 4" if it's always kept at home.

The great advantage to a hangun is no long barrel to bump into things in the house. Most encounters are at close range, so practice at an across the room distance, say 12 -15 feet. Practice with low powered wadcutter target ammunition, keeping standard power semi-wadcutter ammunition it the gun otherwise.

Lots of good advice...  I'll try to hit some high points: 

If you fire your gun without good cause, you are in deep do-do.  You don't chase (and shoot) someone who is running away, you do not shoot someone who is not a threat.  Shooting someone to protect property (or recover it) is generally frowned upon.

A revolver is a better choice for reliability reasons, but you don't want something that punches through walls.  It used to be that a 45 was an optimal choice.  A slower, heavier bullet has good stopping power, but less penetration - both good things.

Shotgun with #4 or #6 shot is a good choice.  Double barrel or pump, short barrel.  Disadvantage is its length which makes it clumsier.  Its advantages are that it is probably easier to aim "naturally", and at short range it throws a pattern about 1" across, where a bullet has a smaller footprint - You're more likely to hit your target.

Practice is vital.  A gun escalates almost any encounter.  If you are not "expert", you are putting yourself into a life-threatening situation while at a disadvantage.  The more powerful the gun, the more difficult to control.  It's loud, kicks a lot, and scares the user almost as much as it does the target.  You need to be comfortable shooting.

Finally, do some of your practicing in very low-light conditions; if you can hit your target reliably even when you can't see your gun, you're better prepared than the average gun user.

A relative of mine, African American, used to practice loading his snub nose 38 in the dark.  He just did not want it lying in his drawer loaded.

He was from Cleveland, Mississippi.  His family had to escape in the 50's.  He was very aware of needed a gun for personal protection of his home.