UPDATE 6.30.2025: In February, I posted the piece below about what type of firearm is the best for home defense. And everyone will have their own preferences. But what about the real world? What gun are Americans using more than any other to defend themselves and their families? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the answer is handguns, with pistols employed in 65.9% of defensive incidents, according to William English, PhD of Georgetown University, who published a report on firearms ownership. He wrote in the abstract:
Handguns are the most common firearm employed for self-defense (used in 65.9% of defensive incidents), and in most defensive incidents (81.9%) no shot was fired. Approximately a quarter (25.2%) of defensive incidents occurred within the gun owner’s home, and approximately half (53.9%) occurred outside their home, but on their property. About one out of ten (9.1%) defensive gun uses occurred in public, and about one out of thirty (3.2%) occurred at work.
This makes sense because of handguns’ portability and concealability. But when choosing a firearm to defend your home, you don’t need either portability or concealability, so consider your own measures of comfort, including accuracy and ease of use. Read more on different firearms for home defense below, but more important than anything else, no matter what firearm you own, please get proper training from a qualified instructor.
Originally posted February 13, 2025.
This month, America’s 1st Freedom magazine is running a series of stories on “What’s the Ultimate Home Defense Gun?” The NRA magazine examines pistols, shotguns, and semi-automatic rifles in an effort to find the best option. Your Survival Guy owns all three, so I read the following with interest.
PISTOL
Arguing for the pistol as the best option is Richard Mann, who writes:
One of the things I like most about a handgun for home defense is that you can accurately and effectively shoot it with one hand, leaving your other hand free to do things like operate a flashlight, call 911 and help move or direct family members to safety; however, if a confrontation becomes hand-to-hand and your home-defense firearm is a shotgun or carbine, you’ll need both hands to keep your attacker from taking it away from you. But, if you’re armed with a handgun, you’d likely be able to still shoot your attacker. This is measurably more difficult to do with a shotgun or carbine, particularly if you’re engaged in a struggle to retain it.
SHOTGUN
Jeff Johnston supports the shotgun as the best option, writing:
Primarily because a shotgun shoots a spreading swarm of pellets rather than a single projectile, the shooter’s margin for error is increased, and this is very important in actual life-and-death situations where adrenaline is pumping and the lighting is usually poor. A shotgun’s pattern, or its “spread,” ranges from approximately 2 inches in diameter at 2 yards to 20 inches at 20 yards. This is not to imply that you can’t miss with a shotgun—you certainly can—but if your aim is off by a couple inches at seven yards, you’ll likely still register a debilitating hit, whereas you’d likely miss altogether in the case of a rifle or handgun. And for masters of the shotgun, stationary targets are not only easy, but in fact a shotgun makes them seem hard to miss.
SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLE
Making the case for the semi-automatic rifle is FrankMelloni, who writes:
Though short on length, the AR-type rifle can easily outperform pistols and shotguns with respect to effective range. While we typically associate home defense with close-quarters shooting, those with acreage often have to consider the possibility of a predator attack, particularly on pets or livestock. Although a shotgun slug can reach 200 yards, your typical AR-15-chambered cartridge will produce better accuracy at that distance with the ability to strike targets more than twice as far. Moreover, the AR better hosts low and mid-power optics, which drastically improves hit probability while ensuring positive target identification. Being able to differentiate between a coyote and somebody’s German Shepherd is going to make you far more popular in the neighborhood should such a situation arise.
Interestingly, the AR complements its impressive, effective range with equally adept short-range capability. The 5.56 NATO/.223 Remington cartridge does not have as much penetrating force as you might think. Testing has shown it penetrates fewer interior walls than much of the shotgun ammunition available today while being on par with most pistol cartridges. This becomes even more true when the defender chooses frangible or hollow-point fodder to deal with an attacker. Although it leaves the muzzle at more than twice the speed of the average pistol or shotgun round, .223 ammo just doesn’t have the weight to carry that energy after it strikes a threat or intermediate barrier. For those who don’t have faith in this cartridge, there are several others that are up to the task. The AAC .300 Blackout was built specifically for close-quarters work, particularly when there is the risk of collateral damage. The same holds true for Hornady’s new 8.6 ARC cartridge. There are also plenty of AR carbines and pistols that run conventional 9 mm Luger or .45 ACP ammo, which also opens them up to shooting ranges that are limited to traditional pistol cartridges.
Using the right ammunition is important, but if your gun runs dry, it doesn’t matter what it is chambered in. A standard AR-15 magazine offers a capacity of 30 rounds, whereas the average pistol magazine only holds roughly half of that. Further, your typical shotgun holds less than a third of what an AR does. Will you need 30 rounds to handle a single threat? Probably not, but home invasions where there are several bad guys happen all the time.
Each author makes a powerful case for their preferred home defense firearm, but my favorite firearm for home defense is the one you own and will train with. Training is the ultimate predictor of how well a firearm will work for you.
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