Mechanical reliability is a wash between the quality handguns available today, be they revolvers or pistols. What I'm trying to emphasize is ease of operation for anyone in the house that may need to use it. Revolvers win, hands down.

Denis mentions the Glock, which is certainly a fine pistol and favored by many police departments. It is very close to a revolver in ease of operation, depending on how you feel comfortable storing it. It has no safeties to manipulate (and confuse you) in times of great stress. You can literally pick it up and just pull the trigger, like a revolver, if you store it with a round in the chamber. That's a big "if" for a lot of gun owners for a number of reasons.

Many think it is somehow "safer" to store a pistol, even one intended for defensive use, with an empty chamber. Some well-meaning but clueless gun safety instructors will teach this, many spouses will insist upon this, and social pressures have begun to influence this. Nothing could be further from the truth; the only one "safer" is the bad guys. If you do choose to go with a pistol, at least don't fall for this one. A loaded chamber is the only way to store a pistol if it is intended for immediate use. There is nothing worse than forgeting to rack the slide when you need it most - and you will. Keep it loaded. Revolvers, by the way, do not seem to suffer the bad advice given about pistols in this regard.

In the end, it is up to you. Lots of guys have chimed in with great advice. Rent guns and shoot them until you have formed some basis for your choice. Having made your choice, practice until it bores you - then buy another gun (just kidding). Make everyone that will potentially need it do the same. Seek their input on your choice before you make it. Everyone in the house will have to be comfortable with it; it makes no sense to buy one you can use, maybe only after a lot of practice, and then expect anyone else to use it under stress.

One last note. You keep seeing me mention "stress". I can't imagine a higher level than when the lives of your loved ones are threatened enough for you to reach for a gun. I can't imagine what that must be like. The bigger shooting schools - and I've been to several - ask you to fire rather simple scenarios under a great deal of stress. EVERYONE fails the first time, including "seasoned" shooters, myself included. And that's all "make believe". The one salient point taken away from all of that is the less you have to fool with and remember, the more likely is your success. Pick it up, point it, pull the trigger. Repeat as necessary. What could be simpler?

Nostatic and Matt, James has a list of a TON of FFL dealers and he has their FFL's on file. No doubt he has one just down the road from Matt. He takes care of it all. When you get that far, let me know and I can explain some more. You can get a nice gun for $500 if you really know what your doing.

Smith & Wesson seven-shot .357 revolver with 4" barrel.

powerful & reliable.

Jeff, I'm as much a right wing gun nut as they come....but WTF are you thinking? Storing a gun with one in the chamber?!?!?!?! I carry frequently and still keep the chamber empty. If you have kids and don't use a trigger lock, I can't imagine keeping one in the chamber. I was probably 10 yrs. old before I was strong enough to rack the slide back on my dad's Commander. Still, he kept the magazine between the materesses. A loaded chamber, unless you live alone AND your gf knows her way around guns, is just asking for it.

Is her name Charlene?

But seriously, if you need a FFL for transfer go to Gunbroker.com

http://www.gunbroker.com/User/DealerNetwork.asphttp://www.gunbroker.com/User/DealerNetwork.asp

They have an extensive list not only of the FFLs, but the cost to do a transfer.

This guy appears to be cheapest.

George
Filcramar,west
Wichita, KS 2944
fax: 316-393-6610

Hours: 10:00am-6:00pm
Transfer fee: $20.00

An ex deputy sheriff with his own FFL sold me my Browning Hi-Power 9mm and my Colt .357 Python umpteen years ago.
He told me a story when I asked about the best home defense weapon.
.
He passed through his dark kitchen as he headed up the stairs to go to bed. A while later, he awoke to sounds downstairs.
'Grabbed his .357 Python - his shotguns were down for cleaning - and slowly headed down the kitchen stairs. Moonlight coming through the windows showed the neighbor's dog rummaging through his garbage bag. Dog came in through the unlocked screen door - warm summer night - and he didn't notice it earlier.
.
He said that even with all his military (Nam vet) and LEO training/experience, his heart was pounding so hard he questioned hitting anything w/the Python.
He advised a short-barreled shotgun - and even then, there's no certainty - also suggested a revolver.
.
A while later, I bought the 12 ga. Mossberg 500 Persuader Maxi-Combo on sale at Big 5 for $199.
Standard 28" barrel w/stock and 18" barrel w/pistol grip, etc.
Like many of you, I have a variety of hand guns/rifles/shotguns.
This one is fully loaded/safety off, and lives next to my bed, on the floor under a towel.
No kids in the house.
.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1135663064.jpg

I second a shotgun, one with a short barrel and a pistol grip like the one shown above. Racking it will scare the **** out of most intruders.

Racking implies you are not ready. The first sound they hear should also be their last. I hope that any of us here never ever have to use one of our weapons in self defense.

If you stash a scatter gun in your home with a round chambered....'ready' as you put it...you are begging for a tragic AD...aka...accidental discharge. DON'T do it. As alf put it.."the sound of a round being chambered in a pump shotgun is a sound that any intruder will understand" and quickly leave the scene. As much as you think you might...you really don't want to shoot someone and deal with the consequences even if you're in the right.

Sorry Rick, but I couldn't dissagree with your position more strongly. I have two boys, now 15 and 18. I have never used a trigger lock of any kind, nor a lock box. Both boys knew how to operate any firearm in the house well before they were ten; both knew exactly where the home defense gun(s) were and how to use them. I grew up in a home with loaded guns everywhere. So did most of my cousins. So did my dad, and his dad.

This lock box, store the gun seperate from the magazine, carry with an empty chamber, etc. mentality is utter foolishness of the highest order. I hope to God you will never have to defend yourself or your family. Let me explain, and I hope you do not take this personally. Your views are held by many, but they are dead wrong. Pun intended.

You need to take some serious firearms training and open your eyes just a bit. I'm not talking about the calm, relaxed, basic familiarization, handling, maintenance, and local laws type of training (although that is the best place to start), but rather some serious defensive training. Believe me, they will shortly impress upon you the sheer folly of carrying in condition three (empty chamber) or making your home storage so "safe" that your firearm is rendered useless to you in a crisis.

When the ***** hits the fan you may very well find yourself somewhat pressed for time. At home, the guy may already be on his way down the hall, or even be in your room before you are aware of his presence. Searching in the dark for a trigger lock key, a magazine between the matresses, or anything like that is likely to lead to nothing but trouble. Your hands will likely be shaking too much to put that little key in the lock. They may be shaking enough to make it difficult to insert a magazine. They may be too sweaty to rack a slide. You may forget a lock box combination. You may not be able to position your fingers properly, and quickly enough, if you have an electronic lock box.

When carrying in public you will seldom be afforded the luxury of taking the time to rack a slide. You may even find yourself holding your assailant at bay with your weak hand, while drawing with your strong hand. You may be knocked to the ground and scrambling to escape further blows. You may have held your hand out to block a knife, and have had that hand incapacitated. It is best to not have to rack a slide under any of those circumstances, or countless others that may occur.

At least a couple of the bigger self-defense schools run you through some very stressfull exercises to illustrate just how difficult it it to navigate these self-imposed obstacles. Every graduate of every class I have ever attended that came in initially touting the virtues of all of these new PC contrivances had sworn them off after they were made to use them in a training scenario. They do little else than slow you down.

The answer for the kids is to take the mystery away. The "forbidden fruit" can be dangerously attractive. This has worked for generations prior to the new PC "safety" devices. Teach the kids about the guns, let them shoot them as much as they like, and lay down the law about them. They will soon develop a healthy respect for them, rather than some potentially unhealthy, but entirely natural, curiosity.

U Boyz are crackin me up....

Revolver...4 inch barrel, 357 mag loaded with 38 spl hollow points. In the dark I want to point and shoot knowing I got 6 quick SURE shots, and don't have to worry about safetys or pulling back the slide to chamber a round. end of story and thats my 2 cents worth.

No, they are absolutely not more reliable than a quality semi auto pistol.

Try shooting 1000rds through a good quality semi and any revolver without cleaning either and see which one gums up and seizes on you first.

I promise you wont be pulling the trigger again anytime soon when a piece of a brass jacket or lead gets shaved and lodged between the barrel-cylinder gap of a revolver. However, a revolver does make for a better club than a semi in the event of a malfunction :)

No handgun has a simpler manual of arms than a Glock.

Dont take anything above as a knock on revolvers or a nod towards tactical tupperware. Ive owned, carried, and shot both revolvers and Glocks enough to have an opinion, and Im not a Glock or a revolver person. There are some neat revolvers out there and there is nothing wrong with a Glock at all. A quality version of either will work fine for home defense and range work if you practice enough to become capable and competent with it.

If you want to learn about guns, there are probably better places than the off topic section of a car forum to do so. Sometimes I cant help but cringe when I read some of the gun advice that gets posted here.

Thanks again guys for all the advice. Sounds like I really need to get to a range and just rent a few. I haven't shot anything larger than a .22 in a revolver or semi-auto, so I just need to try a few and see what is the better fit. A shotgun would be nice, and I'm comfortable with a 12 gauge from hunting, but it's just too big to conceal from kids.

The lockbox issue is a tough one, because let's face it, if you have kids the odds are better of them getting into the guns than an intruder breaking into your house. I don't think I would ever forgive myself if something happened. I plan on teaching my kids to shoot when older, and they'll get plenty of time hunting with my father in law, so gun familiarity won't be a problem. I just think back to my childhood, and a friend of mine's dad's .357 Magnum. We used to get it out and look at it, and if he hadn't kept it unloaded, I probably wouldn't be here asking questions today. I have been eying the small lockboxes that have fingerprint recognition, no codes or keys to worry about, and up to three people can operate it. Then I wouldn't worry about keeping one in the chamber.

Jeff, I probably had a similar upbringing to yours. I knew how to field strip most auto pistols by the time I was old enough to rack the slide back and gun safety was a religion in my house. Still, a chambered gun, especially one like a Glock, with no safety and no visible hammer, is a huge hazard. Your kid may not find it, but his friends might. I know I sure came across friends' dads' guns when I was playing at their houses. We lived way out in the sticks in TX and guns were everywhere. When I carry, I do keep it chambered. When it's at home, it's unchambered, but with a full magazine inserted.

But is this really a valid test? Shooting 1,000 rounds through a handgun without cleaning - I've done it with one of my guns, just to see what would happen, but you normally wouldn't ever do it. It's like deciding to drive a 911 and a Chevy 100,000 miles without changing the oil and see which one seizes first - what does it prove? It not normal use.

My point is there are many ways that even the best semi-auto can malfunction, even with normal use.

You can grip it too weakly. This actually isn't all that uncommon, we even have a word for it, "limpwristing" - but notice that no revolver shooter ever uses that word.

You can bump the slide lock lever. With your weak-hand thumb, for example.

You can fail to fully seat the magazine. If you store with empty chamber, or if you chamber a round and then top-up the magazine, this problem could go undetected.

You can obstruct the slide. For example, by incorrectly bracing the gun on a door frame.

You can fire bad or really old ammo in it. I recently shot some 9mm that had been sitting around since appx 1995. Had 2 misfires - the bullets exited the barrel, but there was little recoil, the slide failed to cycle, the (manually) extracted cartridges were blackened, and I actually saw an orange flash between the Glock's slide and frame.

These can cause any semi-auto, cleaned or not, to malfunction.

These will not cause a DA revolver to malfunction (except the bad ammo, and then you simply pull the trigger again).

For a moment there, my handgun thread was right next to my stupid drunk stories thread. Perhaps not the best combination.........

I thought they made handguns illegal in San Francisco?

I got my wife a little Airweight Smith & Wesson, 5 shot .38, very compact. Literally will fit in the palm of your hand. It is the perfect carry piece to me, shrouded hammer so it is not gonna snag, plenty loud, which is not bad. She used it when she was making house calls(nurse), fit right in her boot.

I don't live in SF proper.

The SF ban is not going to be enforced until March or April, is most likely pre-empted by state law, and the NRA has sued to block enforcement, so hopefully the ban will never actually become effective.

Kimber .45 auto. All you need to know...

Joe A