I believe S&W discontinued the Sigma in the wake of the Glock lawsuits, however they now have the M&P model which gets rave reviews from every test I've read. I agree tho that if you're looking at a pistol nothing smaller than .40, .45 is better. The Springfield XD is another good choice. Both of those are generally a good $100 cheaper than a new Glock and neither have that wierd Glock rifling.
Your best bet is a 12 ga. and you can't beat the Mossberg 590 for home defense.. 18" barrel and usually less than $350 NIB.

I'd also be very wary of ever saying to the police that you were "waiting in the garage for them".. never, ever say you were laying-in-wait (even if you were).. that's a ticket to jail time no matter that you're in the right..

this site is entertaining and informative, LOTS of reviews of all kinds of guns and equipment..

http://www.gunblast.com

 

I dont care what anyone says on here but the best feeling pistol "like you said you wanted" I would get a Kimber. They are incredible pistols they just come at a price. They are highly accurate. the first time I took mine out I could shott a rock the size of my fist from 35yds away.

This is mine, I love it in everyway. Kimber Cusotm TLE/RL2 with 8 round mags. Only negative about it, about $900.

 

Go with 12ga designed for self defense. The sound of racking it alone will scare damn near anyone off. Its all that cops have to do most times to stop a situation right then and there.

And if not, well one pull of the trigger sure will end it fast.

 

Determined crooks aren't very impressed when you start shooting at them, I think the spontaneous-bowel-evacuation-from-the-pump-action-shotgun sounds is a little overrated.

 

No, but if you shoot them they arent gonna do much about it. Most are just a bunch of little ****s who will run as soon as they know someone is gonna take them on

 

For me, I wouldn't get a S&W pistol. I've spoken to several people that are in law enforcement that had used S&W pistols, and I can't think of any one of them that had them for much longer than a year. Complaints ranged, but it was a general feeling of dissatisfaction with them. I haven't put enough rounds through any to make much of a judgement on them, but initial thought is I don't like the feel.

I love my kimber as well. IMO the best handgun for the price. They are expensive compared to lots of others, but there are other pistols that are even more. I put them middle of the pack, price wise, but top notch as far as performance.

 

For a first timer, I'd shy away from the 1911 platform.

Yes, they're fantastic guns, but some can be kinda finicky, and for a relatively inexperienced shooter, finicky is something that needs to be avoided.

I'm still in the "buy a shotgun" camp, but if you're dead set on a handgun, the best bet would be to go to a range that'll let you try before you buy. Rent a bunch, shoot a bunch, and buy whatever works for you. Handguns are a very personal thing, and God forbid, the day may come when you need to use one to save your ***. Buy whatever works for you - that's the most important thing.

 

While everyone on here will tell you to buy this and that, make sure that you don't forget that SHOT PLACEMENT is as valuable as what you're shooting. Therefore, the shotgun is a great bet on home defense, but if you are sold on using a handgun instead, then buy a gun and USE it at a range.

My personal favorite is the Glock 19.

One of the reasons is that 9mm ammo is cheap. You can buy thousands of rounds for $100 - $125 bucks for practice, and then buy some Winchester Ranger +P+ rounds for a near ballistic equivalent of a 357 Mag.

Glock magazines are cheap too. I have 6 mags, one 10 round, and five 15 round mags. I bought my Glock, and put about 3K rounds through it to get a good feel for it, and know where my round is going to go when I pull the trigger. I always get the closest grain FMJs to the Rangers for practice, and usually will waste a couple clips of the Rangers too just to get used to them also. They kick much more than FMJs. I shoot as often as I can, and I make my wife and daughter practice too.

I would go with Tritium sites too for accuracy in the dark.

I also have some other pistols for the wife and daughter. When my son matures and shows some more responsibility, he'll join the family at the range on a regular basis.

I hope that I never have to defend my home, but our house is ready and able. My shotgun is just a few steps from my bed, but their are 3 people with 3 pistols within reach from their beds here.

 

I'm going to have to suggest Ruger models with a de-****er on it. These are freaking awesome guns, I have a 9mm and a 45, and my 9mm has been dropped in the mud, ran over and lost in the woods overnight, and it still shot fine...Lost a spring to it when I first got it (yeah, I'm one of those guys that takes brand new stuff apart just to see how it works, or at least I was when I was younger), sent it back to Ruger and they replaced it for free...
X2 on the lasergrips, those things are awesome!

 

No 1911 style if you haven't had training.. and honestly, probaby the best handgun for home defense would be a S&W 686 or Ruger GP100, those are both .357.. Federal 125 gr. JHP is very much proven as a one-shot-stop load.
I may carry a Spingfield in .45 when I DO carry, (thinner and lighter) but a S&W 686 with a 4 inch barrel is what I keep handy at home..

I could tell y'all some stories about the house I used to live in, the reasons I needed to sometimes stick a gun in someone's face.. LOL..

 

Thanks all for the tons of information. I hope to keep my price range somewhere in the $350 range. Although the Kimber TLE/Rl2 sounds inviting, it's just out of my price range. But what I have learned here is to try different guns, get the feel and practice. So that's my next course of action. Find a place that sells guns that you can try out different models. Now I'm thinking about selling my Ole 12 Ga winchester and getting something more useful for home defense and forget about the pistol, Decisions. As for the laser, I'm concerned that I would be a target with a light coming from me in the dark. I would love to have it but something tells me it would be a bullseye for someone who wants to shoot back. Aim at the light source. In a nutshell,
I have a lot to learn in a short time and I appreciate all your replies. I'll let you know soon what I decided. My wife thinks I paranoid, but that's what she thought before the garage was broken into and her new, beloved bike vanished.

 

You can get a Mossberg Persuader pump 12 gauge with an 18.5" cylinder bore barrel for around $260 at your local Academy sports. You can get a Mossberg Maverick pump 12 gauge for around $160, but I don't recommend them.

I personally just bought a used Remington 870 Express Supermag at my local Bass Pro Shops for less than $200 out the door. It was in perfect condition. I spent an extra $120 for a Remington factory 18" police barrel at Cabelas.com. I now have a home defense gun that I can covert to hunting or skeet shooting in about 2 minutes.

Grim

 

I didn't have time to read all the posts, but here's 2 cents worth.

Handguns are nice and easily pointed. Accuracy in a gunfight is based more on pucker factor than the gun - .45 caliber government style is your best bet. .45 is heavy enough to put someone down, even if your accuracy is bad, but a wall will stop the round (you won't shoot your kids three rooms away).

Better for HD is a shotgun, but you need a short barrel and pistol grip - otherwise when the criminal is behind you in the hall, you will never get turned in time. Accuracy becomes a much smaller issue. Bird shot is better than buckshot - the more BBs, the better the chance of a solid hit. Your goal is to stop the perp - you don't NEED to kill them, but shoot twice to be sure.

 

The problem arises in that birdshot won't stop someone. You end up with a really pissed off, injured criminal rather than a dead criminal. I recommend a light buckshot, like a number 4.

Grim

 

Ever see a close range bird shot wound? They aren't pretty and survival wouldn't be likely. Outside of HD range, I'd agree with you, but in a house, you talk about inside of 20'. the other thing with lighter shot is that 2 layers of drywall will pretty well stop it. But number 4 will also work and leave a pretty nice hole as well. Usually when people talk buckshot they seem to want to talk about 00.