Ideal home handgun

Question
I am a retired civil Service employee who lives in a senior community in California.  I was an early NRA member, served as Shore Patrol in the Navy, and understand weapon safety rules and procedures. My question: What are the best two or three options for a handgun for safety if needed in my home?  I will lock it away when the grand kids come visit, but otherwise I would like it nearby in case I should ever need to use it.  For me, low maintenance requirements and reliability are more important than anything else.
Thanks for your answer.

Answer
Hi George.

Thank you for your service to this country.

There are many other factors to consider before chosing the best handgun for your situation. Your skill level, amount of practice, hand strength, hand size, arm strength, budget, ammunition availability, home layout and construction, anticipated threats, lighting conditions, nearby homes or people, other potential shooters, etc. etc. The list goes on and on. We could talk for hours before covering enough information to help you make the best decision. I realize you just want some quick tips or advice so I will give you some general ideas to consider but please do not take my ideas as a mandate or your only options. The best thing to do is take an NRA Pistol class and then take one or more carry permit or defensive shooting classes. If you can't afford the time and money to take classes then buy several gun magazines and read them for a few months. Now that the background is out of the way, here are some thoughts:

Revolvers are almost always much simpler and easier to use and maintain. They tend to be more reliable as well and they are often a little cheaper.

If you are not carrying the guns around then size may not be a big issue but you need the grips to fit your hand well and allow you to perform a smooth and comfortable trigger pull.

I tend to use revolvers with barrels ranging from 3" to 6" for my house guns. Too small or short and they can be too loud, recoil more severely, or have more muzzle flash which is a problem at night.

Caliber is important so you can stop an attacker however you must not sacrifice accuracy. Too big or too loud will make the gun much more difficult to shoot indoors and thus you are likely to miss more often. Several hits from a smaller caliber are better than no hits from a larger caliber. I like to use .357 magnum for my house guns. Plenty of good loads to choose from, ranging from the cheap and light .38 special for target practice or low noise / recoil all the way up to the hottest and heaviest .357 magnum loads for the most determined attacker. You simply must practice and shoot whatever you pick to make sure it will work for you.

Capacity can be an issue because revolvers tend to hold less rounds than other guns, especially the big bore calibers. Reloading under stress is difficult at best and may be impossible at night or in close quarters with a violent attacker. I like to look for the revolvers which will hold at least 6 and preferably 7 or 8 rounds in the cylinder.

Quality is important too. The gun needs to work all the time. Don't skimp on brand to save money. Buy a used gun if necessary but make it s good brand.

Considering the above points I really like to buy the Taurus revolvers. They have some 7 and 8 shot .357 magnum models and they all come with lifetime warranties. Look for the frame and grip size which fits your hands. Consider the titanium models with barrel porting and ribber grips to make them more comfortable to shoot. Good alternatives are the Smith & Wesson airweight revolvers or the Ruger GP-100 and SP-101.

One final comment in closing: sometimes the best primary home defense gun is a shotgun with a handgun for backup. Take a few classes and they can explain all of these factors in more detail.

Take care, stay safe, and God bless!

Bob

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Update:

The article you linked to in your comment is just one of thousands of articles on Taurus firearms. If you read thousands of books, magazines, and articles like I have over the past 30 years then you will realize that there is always someone with something good to say, someone with something bad to say, and a lot of people that don't say anything. Taurus revolvers are generally regarded as a very good value for the price and they tend to be very reliable. They may not be as perfectly polished or slick as a Colt or S&W but they won't cost as much either. And after owning and shooting hundreds of different guns I can tell you that all of my Taurus guns go bang every time I pull the trigger. I have never experienced a defect or failure to function with a Taurus.

Now I am not saying Taurus is the only option. I also suggested you consider the Ruger and Smith & Wesson models. But don't go searching for information on those and then fire off another comment to me when you find something negative about those guns. Do a lot more reading and research for yourself, then shoot a few hundred revolvers over a 30 year period and form your own opinions. The features which I mentioned are important to consider regardless of your firearm brand or model choice so I hope the tips are helpful to you in some regard.