Brain Fertilizer

As far as hand guns go, a great choice for home defense is the Smith and Wesson Sigma. Imagine the look, feel, and style of a Glock with the S&W name to back it up, and to top it off they're on the lower end of the cost spectrum. I know that they come in a 9mm and 40 Caliber model, both of which have their pros and cons. 9mm rounds have less "knock down" power, but you can fit more of them in the weapon. A 40 caliber is the opposite. More stopping power but you sacrifice the number of rounds you can fit in the weapon. For my money, personally, there is no better weapon than the Heckler & Koch USP 40 Caliber. I used this weapon on duty as a police officer for 5 years, and never had a jam or malfunction, and the weapon is designed to be "idiot proof" and super-safe to handle. To quote a great mind "...but that's just my opinion, I could be wrong."

I'm no handgun expert, or even a handgun amateur fanatic, but from everything I've heard in discussions of stopping power, the .40 is about the best there is. The carrying capacity and recoil is much closer to the 9mm (which is about .38 in size), so it's easier for smaller people with smaller hands and has enough ammo for follow-up shots....but the stopping power is much closer to that of a .45 or .357.
FWIW, I guess.

I'm fond of the Saiga, myself.

I prefer my trusty Mossberg 500 12-gauge pump.

Question: how effective is #7 birdshot in a home defense situation? Just wondering because after the Brian Nichols incident here in Atlanta, I broke down and got some 00 buck. I would have preferred #4 buck, but couldn't find any. Just don't want to get caught with the wrong ammo in a self-defense situation.

Dude, we are so far out of my area of expertise....

...but if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that birdshot would stop most people, and even if you missed, I think the invader might be a little intimidated seeing the lamp next to his head explode! But anyone on drugs wouldn't be knocked down or disabled by just birdshot, and might keep going for several minutes until bloodloss set in.
I could be just talking out of my butt, but if I'm at all close, then I'd load shotgun with a series of shells, the first two being birdshot, and then moving up to buckshot and maybe even a slug. That way, if birdshot is enough, you don't risk penetration of the heavier slugs...
Sound good? Check it with an expert, though, okay?

I am by no means an expert, but agree with Nathan. Load the first or 2nd rounds with birdshot, and the rest (most likely 3-5 more) with 00 buck. If you want to minimize the collateral and property damage, get 9 pellet instead of 12. If you use a slug, chances are the round will go through whatever you're shooting at, the rest of your house, and half of whatever house is adjacent to you. The simple act of racking the round into the chamber of a shotgun is enough to make MOST people require a change of underwear. And unless you have a person who is after more than just the stuff in your house, he's not going to take the time to try and figure out if you're peppering him with bird shot, salt shot or a slug. You're best bet (in my ever-so-humble opinion) is to contact your local law enforcement agency or gun club, and take a home defense course. These usually cover hand guns, long guns, and in some areas unarmed and "opportunity" (whatever you can get your hands on) defense.

Also in my humble opinion: my wife and I have numerous makes and calibers of handguns strategically placed around the house, from a .25 to .357s. (inherited the .25, so we keep it around as it's better than nothing when tshtf) We carry s & w .airlight .38s on our persons when we are out together for easy replenishing of ammo if nessesary, otherwise I carry a s & w .40 when by myself. We practice with most of our weapons regularly. I guess what I'm getting to is that the more versatile one is ,the more likely it is that one can defend one's life, honor, family and home. If I had to choose just one hand gun, I would go with a .40 dao, with a 4 inch .357 dao coming a close second. As far as shotguns go, I agree that just about any type of shot is probably going to get the job done. However, I would recommend a 12 gauge auto; regardless of the fear factor of hearing a round racked, I prefer shooting first and fast and not concerning myself with the possibility of inadvertantly ejecting a live round in the heat and excitement of the moment. Remember KISS: keep it simple, stupid. I keep 00 buckshot in my home defense 12; I can replace furniture and sheetrock, but I want the bad guy down and out. Besides, the wife is always talking about remodeling anyway. Let's just hope and pray that none of us has to ever face a life threatening situation and we can use our weapons for more enjoyable purposes. Thanks for hearing my humble opinions on this. God bless America and our Troops and of course all y'all reading this

Sounds good to me, Jeff.