Another top 5 guns for home defense (of any kind)- author's choices
- Michael McCandless
- Oct 2
- 9 min read
If your home is really your castle, you might want to consider one of these weapons for defending it.
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Table of contents
Introduction
Chances are, if you're here reading this article, you are seriously considering a firearm for home defense, and not as a range toy or collector's item etc.
You aren't wrong for wanting to be prepared for such a possibility, either- human beings- and the societies we live in- are inherently volatile, unpredictable and prone too violent conflict by nature, and regardless of who you are or where you live in the world, the threat of crossing paths with someone who is willing to harm you or your loved ones- perhaps as collateral damage for material gain, the fulfillment of some ideological or personal vendetta, or maybe even for their own twisted enjoyment- never really goes away.
And your home is perhaps the most obvious- and most likely- target.
Unfortunately, home defense- like self-defense in general- is a messy and surprisingly complicated affair, with factors going well beyond firearm choice coming into play, but regardless, having the right one at your disposal is still one of the most critical components in your home defense plan (as long as you have access to them, that is).
In this article, we'll be delving in-depth into this specific question, and hopefully, you will be better informed and ready to make the right choice. We previously made a list of the top 5 long guns specifically for home defense, but now for this new list, we're specifically trying to be more all-inclusive and are including pistols, seeing as they have their own merits as well, and seeing as not everyone may be comfortable handling a long gun.
Without further ado, let's read on.
"But what exactly makes a good home defense gun in the first place?"
Good question.
Simply put, the best home defense gun will be the one that you personally are the most comfortable with, and have the most training with, in tandem with a few other factors, namely:
Reliability. This one's a no-brainer- a gun that won't go bang is almost entirely useless in most contexts, and a firearm's track record of going bang is definitely something too bet your life on, should you need too.
Ease of operation. This is also extremely important, especially if you don't regularly train. Think about it- someone is trying to break in- or worse- already IS inside of your home, and it obviously isn't a good scenario too be in. That alone is enough to send most people's adrenals into overdrive. You're going to want something simple and easy to use in the worst pinch of your life. While this ties in somewhat with reliability, an extremely reliable gun may still malfunction, for example (God forbid), and quickly clearing a jam is probably your only way out. Also, you may have to reload if you're fighting zombies or are just incredibly misfortunate (the latter scenario may be somewhat more likely). Do not ignore this. Bad things happen too people who ignore this.
Ease of handling. You'd only keep a minigun under your bed because you live in Texas and therefore you can, or because you have the self-esteem of a wet piece of bread in a kitchen sink, or because you're a "collector" (i.e, a prime Arnold Schwarzenegger fanboy with a lot of money), or for some reason other than "it makes a good home defense gun". Look, it's not complicated- just get something you can point and shoot reasonably well and is maneuverable in tight spaces. Again, your adrenaline will be working against you, so don't carry anything that bumps around into things in a rush.
Balanced lethality and penetration. Ammo selection is particularly crucial for this, but the chambering of your weapon in the first place cannot be overlooked. In general, most self-styled "defense" ammunition in common handgun calibers, shotgun chamberings and assault rifle chamberings (namely 5.56 and .223 Remington) will do, but you'll probably want to avoid large-caliber rifles and the like- the recoil and risk of overpenetration is likely too great. You'll specifically want ammunition that, when fired from your weapon at close range, will penetrate between 12 and 18 inches in ballistic gelatin (which roughly simulates the tensile strength of human muscle tissue- the science behind that is for another article) to ensure maximum effectiveness against anything living that you don't want in your home. Anything falling short of 12 inches may not reach vital organs in a target, and anything over 18 inches risks an exit wound, and you certainly don't want a bullet too to fly through an intruder and into someone behind them (or if you miss, through a wall into someone's bedroom, for example- it might wake them up.). This regularly happens, by the way- and while unintended deaths as a result are rare, you do not want to take this risk (we'll go more in-depth on ammo selection specifically another time. I told you this was a complicated matter.).
Additionally, some other things you may want to consider include things like balancing ease of storage with quick accessibility or the availability of aftermarket parts (e.g, lights or lasers or something to improve ergonomics), but I would consider the aforementioned factors to be the most important when choosing a home defense weapon. So, with all that out of the way, he's our rudimentary, non-authoritative list of the best weapons for home defense. Keep in mind that these are our picks only- the right choice for you is for you alone to decide.
Number 1: Any AR-15 pistol
Ok I'll admit that the "any" part of this might seem extremely lazy, but I fully stand by it for the most part- I spent about an hour trying to come up with what I think might be the best, but they're really all pretty much more or less the same, minus occasional differences in caliber and materials and the like.
They'll all do everything what we previously discussed perfectly, but because there's so many options too choose from, it'll probably be overwhelming (so if you're particularly indecisive, my apologies.).
Some things too be keenly aware of, however- most AR pistols do not come with any sort of brace, which, bluntly put, will probably greatly affect your ability to control and handle the weapon. However, the ones that do have braces are sometimes considered too be walking on thin ice between being a "pistol" and being a "short barreled" rifle (depending on who you ask- the ATF has issued conflicting rulings on this over the years, although at the moment my current understanding- which is by no means definitive- is that they are legal on a federal level).
Without going into all the terminology, legal jargon and such, this basically means that owning one could- in some instances and in some areas- be considered "barely legal", or even outright illegal altogether. Again and again, definitely pay attention to both local and federal laws surrounding this, as this is currently a contested area in firearm law, and seeing as laws can change overnight, either keep up with them, or get a tax stamp for an SBR (a less risky but much more tedious route). I'm not a lawyer, and if you aren't either, you might want to treat going this route carefully.
Number 2: Mossberg 590
It's my favorite shotgun, as well as the favorite of military, law enforcement and security professionals around the world. It's also quite popular with civilians in general, and for good reason- it's basically the perfect shotgun.
And why not? Its reliability is essentially guaranteed, and the pump-action shotgun is such a simple design it's basically impossible to mess up. Furthermore, there's all sorts of neat variants of the 590 too choose from- some models have barrels as short as 14 inches, although the much more common 18.5-inch barrel length will be a plenty decent size for home defense, as well.
As far as downsides, there's really only one I can think of (besides the usual stout recoil all shotguns are known for)- that being the somewhat limited rate of fire due to the pump-action. While magazine capacity may put off some, empirical evidence suggests it's not an issue, really- pretty much any 12-gauge load is easily powerful enough to put down any unarmored man-sized target with a single shot, and when milliseconds count, getting off one well-placed shot with one is all you need.
Number 3: Kel-Tec Sub 2000 Gen 2
Pistol-caliber carbines are yet another topic I'll get around too writing an article about specifically sometime, but I've really only had extensive experience with 3- The Beretta CX4 Storm, the Hi-Point 995, and the Kel-Tec Sub 2000.
I've gone with the final option for the following reasons- the Hi-Point is heavy, bulky and generally feels awful, and the Cx4 Storm can feel a little clumsy at times (this is subjective, but I needed a winner).
It's obviously lightweight and handy, and it's incredibly simple and intuitive to use- bolstered by the fact it takes Glock magazines rather than anything proprietary and uses the simple blowback design, it's basically perfect for home defense.
But why then is it number 3 on our list? That really boils down to what it coughs up downrange- handgun cartridges, while a good choice for home defense as previously mentioned, are somewhat unpredictable in terms of performance and in any case, lack the raw stopping power of rifles and shotguns. They're still plenty deadly, just not quite as deadly by virtue of having less kinetic energy (~300-600 foot-pounds at the muzzle for most handgun cartridges vs anywhere from ~900-1,600+ foot-pounds for rifle rounds, for example).
One area where they will definitely have an advantage, though, is in controllability- despite their extremely light weight, they have little recoil or muzzle rise when shooting rapidly due to the comparatively "weak, low-velocity handgun rounds they shoot- even high pressure 9mm rounds (often labeled "overpressure", "+P" or "+P+", for the uninitiated) don't really move around much, which can definitely be beneficial where accuracy and shot placement count.
Number 4: Glock 21 Gen 5
As we stated in the beginning of the article, not everyone is comfortable with long guns. Or maybe you are but are more comfortable with a pistol besides your bed at night. Either way, if you want to catch up with the previous contenders on this list, you'll need something that bites.
For our 4th place entry, we've chosen the Glock 21 Gen 5 (although earlier Glock 21 iterations will do just as well for the most part).
Chambered in the legendary .45 ACP, this is pretty much the best handgun you can find for home defense that I know of- the .45 ACP is the most powerful "common" semi-automatic handgun cartridge available on the market today, and in many cases has more than 50% more energy than most 9mm rounds do- and accordingly, it also leaves a bigger hole in its target. And the Glock 21 holds 13 of them in factory magazines.
Glocks are well known for being simple and extremely reliable- there's no manual safety on them, and they will go bang as soon as you rack the slide and pull the trigger. Just keep that in mind if you plan on storing your gun loaded in someplace that's not under lock and key, however- any gun will get people hurt if they mishandle it.
By the way, recoil isn't terrible, either, but still noticeably greater than a 9mm handgun. It won't throw your aim off by much- even in rapid fire, however, and considering you'd probably only be shooting a few yards at most inside your home, it shouldn't be off the table as an option.
All in all, of all the handguns I've actually shot, I'd say the Glock 21 is the best for home defense (there are other high-capacity .45 ACP pistols I've yet to try, however, that may be better).
Number 5: Taurus Judge series
Our final entry may be where personal bias becomes the most obvious.
The Judge series by the Brazilian firearm firm Taurus, is, in my opinion, one of the greatest revolvers in existence.
It just so happens to also be a decent option for home defense owning to its incredible power- firing either the .45 Long Colt cartridge (which has anywhere from 1.5 too 4 times the muzzle energy of the .45 ACP, by the way) or .410-gauge mini shotgun shells, this unorthodox but very successful revolver kicks like a mule and gores like a bull.
Either round will result in a very, very bad day indeed for those with the misfortune of being on the receiving end one, and if you can effectively control the recoil for a follow-up shot, you'll have a gun with power leaning towards that of a rifle in a handgun-sized package.
About the recoil, though- that's the big, ugly catch. It's very hard to shoot the Judge accurately in rapid succession, and with only 5 shots at your disposal and a slow reload time, you'll be at a disadvantage against anyone with any sort of semi-automatic firearm entering your home.
It's probably better for natural, unarmed intruders like bears, but even so, you'll have to make every single shot count for the Taurus Judge too be an effective and reliable home-defense weapon.
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