Handguns

While the size, weight, and design of the handgun makes them the most common choice for personal defense (they’re carried with minimal discomfort or exposure), this forces them to use a weaker cartridge for repeated shots with relative ease.

• The concealability of handguns lends them to be the most used gunfight weapon. If you aren’t expecting trouble, you bring something easy to manage.
• Reliability is the number one aspect to look at when selecting a personal or home defense weapon.

Long Guns

It has been said, “Pack a handgun for the unexpected, but if you know you’ll be in a gunfight, always grab a bigger gun!” Handguns lack power. A high-end .44 Magnum pistol will produce about 1,000 ft/lb of muzzle energy; a traditional “varmint” caliber, the .223, will produce about 50% more energy, and high-end rifles produce over 10,000 ft/lb!

The main advantages of long guns are power and accuracy. With a bit of practice, a decent shooter can hit a man sized target at greater than 300yds with the proper rifle, due to the more powerful round, longer barrel and the longer sight-base (the distance between the front and rear sights).

Shotguns

Shotguns can have either smooth or rifled bores. They are used to fire large caliber “shells” that contain either shot (a multiple quantity of metal pellets) or a single large slug.

• The advantages of a shotgun:
  1. The biggest benefit of shotguns is their ability to shoot shot (and just about anything else). The spreading out of the shot when fired allows a larger area to be hit with each trigger pull, reducing the requirement for precision shooting, and, depending on the type of ammunition and range, can cause greater damage than a single bullet from a handgun.
  2. Some shotguns have the flexibility of shooting shot or bullet-type projectiles (known as “slugs”). This allows them to have the characteristics of rifles but also the option to use shot depending on the situation.
  3. Shotguns, like many long guns, are also customizable and versatile. Most modern shotguns can be outfitted with different length barrels, stocks, fore ends, sights and many other accessories to fit your needs.
  4. The use of chokes, a narrowing “funnel”-like section at the end of the barrel, allows you to control how much the shot disperses out of the end of the barrel. Some shotguns have threading or another method at the end of the barrel to allow you to easily change a choke depending on your needs. For defensive use, cylinder bore (or basically no choke at all) and sometimes improved cylinder (IC) chokes are most common. These allow the shot to spread out quickly and increase the chance of hitting your target. However, at longer ranges (greater than 20yds or so) the shot spreads out too much and will not be able to guarantee a good hit.
  5. Another benefit of shooting shot from a shotgun is the inherent lack of penetration. For home protection, lighter shot will likely become less than lethal once it goes through a wall, protecting innocent family members or neighbors. Typically, the penetration is proportional to the size of the shot (for example, large buckshot is still capable of substantial penetration.) Although the “best” size is a hotly debated topic, smaller birdshot and skeet/clay target sized shot at close range can be very effective.
• There are some disadvantages as well:
  1. Although a shotgun firing shot will produce a spread much larger than a solid projectile, it does not preclude the need to aim. At normal household room distances, the shot spread, even with no choke, is barely the size of a softball.
  2. Unless you are using slugs, shotguns are useless at longer ranges. Between the spreading of the shot, and the light weight of the pellets, the power of the weapon drops off precipitously as range increases. That said, most self defense encounters happen well within range of a shotgun.

Rifles

Rifles are what most people envision when they think of a long gun. Rifles are designed to fire a single projectile, often smaller than most pistol bullets, at a much higher rate of speed.

Rifles have a smaller cousin called a “carbine”. Carbines are usually lighter in weight, and are shorter barreled (and stocked) than full blown rifles. They often fire the same cartridges, however due to their length they are often chambered in smaller, less powerful calibers.

• Rifle Advantages:
  1. Unlike pistol bullets, which typically create narrow permanent wound channels, the greatly increased speed of rifle bullets create a shockwave that can permanently destroy large amounts of tissue, greatly increasing your chances of stopping the threat with a single reasonably placed shot.
  2. Rifle cartridges are far more powerful than handgun and shotgun cartridges. This greater power means you can shoot effectively at a much longer distance.
  3. Rifles still require a good deal of precision, but the dexterity needed for a pistol is not necessary, and stopping power is much improved.
• The disadvantages of a rifle:
  1. As with any long gun, maneuverability it greatly reduced due to its overall length. Home defense situations may require you to place the stock below your shoulder, reducing your accuracy. Movement around corners and through doors may be hampered by your barrel preceding you through the door, warning an enemy that you’re there.
  2. Rifles are also more capable of “over penetration”. This is where the bullet passes through an object, such as a wall, or your intended target and continue on with enough force to injure or kill. Over penetration can be mitigated through proper ammunition choice, but is always a serious consideration with rifles.
  3. Rifle ammunition is much more expensive than handgun ammunition. This can mean that it is more expensive to practice with your rifle, and reduce the amount of training and practice you can afford.
  4. The overall length of rifles also means that they are slower to aim than a handgun due to their weight. Compared to a pistol, swinging a rifle around to engage a threat can take longer, and in a self defense situation, lost time can be deadly.