What is your home defense load or preference?

[KD5NRH]

Pretty much depends on what I trip over first. The 1911 with a 10rd mag of Golden Sabers, or the Blackhawk with whatever hot .357s I have on hand should both be able to get me to the 12ga with #4, low-recoil 00, and 3-1/2" magnum 00 loads. If I'm at the main computer desk I might have to make do with some 148gr .38 wadcutters, but then it's only three big steps or one dive to the shotgun.

I guess I should get an extra fire extinguisher just in case I ever have to use the .357 indoors.

[Tactical_Texan_CHL]

I've tried the Hornady XTP in 230 and 200. They both feed like champs, no hiccups or burps in any of my .45's. And they've been very accurate, even from my Glock 30. I just don't have any at the time. My brother was given a ton of brand new Ranger SXT's by their range Sgt. when they switched ammo to Gold Dots. (Their issue gun is the Sig 220.) He gave me 4 boxes of the things. So they're pretty common in my guns right now! I'd like to keep an AR handy, so I'm thinking about putting one under the bed in a bag with a trigger lock on it. TXI, what ammo do you have in the AR? I've got it loaded in the safe with the 60gr Hornady TAP rounds. It looks like we all have pretty comparable load outs for the house. Thanks for everyone's answers! This turned out to be a good thread! I've seen other boards where a question like that would have turned into a "Your choice is crap, mine's better" type thing. You guys are great.

[txbroker]

May god have mercy on the person whom invades my home, besides the alrarm, I have 3 large dogs that have been trained and are loyal.

The wife and I are both CHL holders, she has a Tauraus Pro9m with 100Gr Corbon in her nightstand and I have a Colt Defender .45 with Corbon 160Gr in mine, on the way out of the bed room I have a Winchester 1300 12 guage 000buck, slug 00 buck and so on. I have in the utility haul my Baby Eagle .40 stashed with 180GR winchester with 2 mags for the 45. Behind the fridge I have a 0/0 browing 12 guage with 00buck and upon entering the living room I have 2 mags of .40 for the Baby Eagle.

I have boxes of ammo stashed throughout the house for the Shotguns and the pistols. My daughter is to hide in her closet until the shooting stops. My wife is to stay one room behind me as I clear the house. We own a business that is on site so we know we may be a target someday. We run drills every month

[anygunanywhere]

12 ga 3" 00 buckshot from Winchester pump.

Carry handguns always close by.

Anygun

[Liko81]

My daughter is to hide in her closet until the shooting stops. My wife is to stay one room behind me as I clear the house. We own a business that is on site so we know we may be a target someday. We run drills every month.

A very prepared family. Definitely a good idea to have drills, but I see some flaws in your "a problem arises plan". What you said, however detailed, lacked clarity so I'm assuming the worst.

It's chivalrous of you to keep your wife out of immediate contact, but as she's a trained handler, from a tactics standpoint it makes more sense to be able to point guns in two directions over one; she should be right behind you as you go through each door. That gives her the ability to fire where you are not facing, turning a situation where she would be avenging you against a BG stepping over your body into one where she would be protecting you from a BG about to blindside you. She should still use you as cover as much as possible; I'm guessing you're the larger of the pair

Regarding your daughter, whose age you did not mention; she should take a cordless or mobile phone into that closet, call 911 and report a breakin and shots fired, and should not leave the closet until you or a police officer says a pre-arranged code phrase. That phrase or another could be told to the dispatcher to relay to officers. If she is of a competent age to handle a weapon I would give her a bedside pistol, knife or baseball bat, and if someone approaches her closet door without first having said that phrase (or identifying themselves as police/EMS) she is to use that weapon. If she's surprised by a BG in her room before she makes it to the closet she is to scream as loud as she can whilst going for any weapon available.

If your daughter is not of a competent age to handle firearms the guns should all be in quick-access lockboxes or within your reach. The ammo and mags are harmless if your daughter is old enough to have been taught to hide in the closet when she hears shots, and so should be immediately ready. You didn't mention security so I have to assume the guns are simply concealed and not secured.

Boxes of handgun/rifle ammo are little more than throwing weapons. If you're planning to have to use the ammo it must be in a mag, ready to go. You may not have the time and/or physical ability to load an empty mag in a defense situation. Yes it's expensive, but you seem to have invested heavily in home defense firearms already; if you plan on needing the entire arsenal it must be instantly useable. For shotgun shells of course this doesn't apply; just empty the box and start stuffing.

--------------------------

As far as my home defense plan, I only have myself to worry about, in an 800sqft apartment with 5 rooms, most of which are open to each other. I keep my Ruger P95 9mm loaded with Federal 124gr HS either on my bedside table or next to my pillow, with an extra mag of Federals on the bedside table and two mags of FMJ in the living room. I am looking at a Mossberg Persuader 12G as heavy artillery but currently the 9mm is my primary weapon.

I have no dog, but there are keyless devices on every door so a breakin will make a LOT of noise, either 3/4" plate glass patio doors shattering, the front door being ripped out of the frame (it cannot simply be kicked in; it's steel-boxed and the keyless device is hard to describe, but it's a metal plate that fits into a shackle bolted into the door frame and is rated to withstand a police battering ram) or the window in my bedroom being shattered (and the lower half of that window is covered by a bush making it VERY difficult to enter that way).

I leave a lamp on in the living room at all times (I often get home after dark especially during the winter) so I do not keep a defense flashlight handy; might be a good idea though. For me a weaponlight would be ideal as nobody and nothing else is supposed to be in my apartment, so drawing down on anything that moves after dark is tactically sound.

[Skiprr]

May god have mercy on the person whom invades my home...

Yeah; ya know, actually, I think there probably aren't many targets on this Forum that would make a good choice for an occupied home invasion attempt.

There are some choices on this board that would make real beauties...like the urban legend of the IPSC Grand Master shooter who was upstairs when a burgler kicked his door open; the police supposedly arrived to find the bad guy about a step-and-a-half inside the doorway with two to the heart and one to the sinus cavity, lying right at the foot of a two-story collection of shooting trophies the homeowner had mounted in his foyer.

...But as she's a trained handler, from a tactics standpoint it makes more sense to be able to point guns in two directions over one...

I'm not gonna second-guess txbroker's wife or her confidence level, but your point is very clearly illustrated when you watch Clint Smith clear a structure by himself, and tell you what he's doing, then watch him do it again with his wife, Heidi. It's quickly apparent that it's about three times more efficient when you have two trained gunmen who know how to work in tandem. It changes some of the geometries dramatically. We all know there's a very good reason you never see a single SWAT officer clear a structure by himself, but I think Clint's demo really brings it home...no pun intended.

[KC5AV]

when you watch Clint Smith clear a structure by himself, and tell you what he's doing, then watch him do it again with his wife, Heidi. It's quickly apparent that it's about three times more efficient when you have two trained gunmen who know how to work in tandem.

Saw that very thing on Personal Defense TV last week (I think it was last week... with the DVR, there's no telling when it aired). It was pretty amazing stuff.

-John

[CompVest]

Skiprr +1

SRVA and I had the honor of going to Thunder Ranch for Team Tactics. WOW what a class. A great way for a husband and wife to learn to work and communicate with each other. Clint and Heidi are terrific people.

I will NOT be behind my husband. We will work to our strengths and as a team.

[tboesche]

Years ago, When I was still on Active duty and deployed frequently, I had the master bed room closet door equipped with inside dead bolt Inside the closet were a 12 Ga. Loaded with 00, my Ruger P95 DC Loaded with 2 spare mags and an SKS with removable mags(not loaded but mags ready). My wife, all 5.0" 120 lbs of her had instructions if she ever heard a break in or unusual noises down stairs to grab the girls, and the phone and get in the closet, lock the deadbolt and grab the 12 ga. I taught her if the door started shaking or appeared to be opening to point the SG at the door and start firing. If she ran out of shells, grab the Ruger. We had a code word, The name I had for my jeep, that she would give to the cops over the phone as well as the location of the stashed key to the front door. We practised her getting the girls and getting barricaded. We usually started about a month before I would deploy, and would practice a couple times a week. The only time she ever came close to having to use the procedure, She was downstairs washing the carpet in the family room, All the furniture was moved against the door to the back yard. BG was running from the cops, jumped our fence and tried to get in the back door. He kept screaming at her to let him in the house. She ran and grabbed the girls, 10 and 6 at the time, gave the phone to the 10 YO, grabbed the shotgun and went back downstairs. The guy was still trying to get the back door open when she pointed the shotgun at him. She says his eyes got as big around as a plate. He turned and ran and jumped the fence again just about the time that two cruisers were coming down our street. They caught him a couple blocks down the street.

[lawrnk]

Glock 22 loaded with Hydroshok .40 S&W

[LarryH]

Years ago, When I was still on Active duty and deployed frequently, I had the master bed room closet door equipped with inside dead bolt Inside the closet were a 12 Ga. Loaded with 00, my Ruger P95 DC Loaded with 2 spare mags and an SKS with removable mags(not loaded but mags ready). My wife, all 5.0" 120 lbs of her had instructions if she ever heard a break in or unusual noises down stairs to grab the girls, and the phone and get in the closet, lock the deadbolt and grab the 12 ga. I taught her if the door started shaking or appeared to be opening to point the SG at the door and start firing. If she ran out of shells, grab the Ruger. We had a code word, The name I had for my jeep, that she would give to the cops over the phone as well as the location of the stashed key to the front door. We practised her getting the girls and getting barricaded. We usually started about a month before I would deploy, and would practice a couple times a week. The only time she ever came close to having to use the procedure, She was downstairs washing the carpet in the family room, All the furniture was moved against the door to the back yard. BG was running from the cops, jumped our fence and tried to get in the back door. He kept screaming at her to let him in the house. She ran and grabbed the girls, 10 and 6 at the time, gave the phone to the 10 YO, grabbed the shotgun and went back downstairs. The guy was still trying to get the back door open when she pointed the shotgun at him. She says his eyes got as big around as a plate. He turned and ran and jumped the fence again just about the time that two cruisers were coming down our street. They caught him a couple blocks down the street.

Your wife is cool.

[jbirds1210]

I have a Winchester loaded with 3" 00 buck.....I will put the poor person out of their misery once my wife gets through with them

[txbroker]

To address liko81's concerns, I purposely left out a few details. No offense to anyone on this board but I know you guys from Adam. As for the wife following me. I have my reasons but agee 2 would be better. On the flip side I know my house well and know where the BG would look for cover and have strategicly placed decorative but effective mirrors in the home for clearing rooms on my own. Remember most BG's dont have a plan other than to gain entry, you have a strategic advantage if you have a plan, and a back up plan. We do not allow people in our home we do not know. We never have parties. Our only guests are family and my daughters friends.

Anything is possible and no plan is 100% but with my daughter 13 who knows the rules of gun ownership and we are just starting to teach how to use handhuns. In the closet on the phone with the police and my wife a room behind me with her 9 and a home defender (left that one out) loaded with 000 2.5 I think we have a good chance.

Oh and the extra ammo in boxes are in case it takes longer than needed and or I do run out of full mags, I would have to fire 120 rounds of .45 .40 and 12 guage before a reload. That does not include the wife's arsenal.

[Skiprr]

Skiprr +1

SRVA and I had the honor of going to Thunder Ranch for Team Tactics. WOW what a class. A great way for a husband and wife to learn to work and communicate with each other. Clint and Heidi are terrific people.

I will NOT be behind my husband. We will work to our strengths and as a team.

And the two of you also have a natural Y-axis advantage. Seriously; not joking. An advantage Clint and Heidi don't have.

Really! I'm being serious...

[HighVelocity]

Which load depends on which weapon ends up in my hands.

Pistol: 230gr Winchester Ranger RA45T or 200gr Hornady TAP CQB
Rifle: 75gr Hornady TAP
Shotgun: 12ga Winchester Ranger 00 buch.