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The ideal home defense weapon for one person isn't necessarily the best for another. Like everything else in life, it is all about compromise. High powered rifles will be the best stoppers and where legal can use very high capacity magazines but the downside is the size of the weapon and the amount of penetration. Shotguns also perform great and generally with less overpenetration but again, the size of the weapon can be an issue. As for 223, penetration depends GREATLY on the type of ammo used. Remember, some loads for these things are designed to open violently inside a prarie dog. Handguns have less power but are much easier to manuever with and can be used with one hand.

CC Italian wrote:Like I said it depends on your situation but don't kid yourself and think that a handgun is as a good stopper on an attacker as buckshot or a rifle round.

I absolutely agree with this. The effectiveness of handguns is nothing at all like what you see in the movies. Anyone who thinks otherwise should take it to the woods and be humbled.