Oh oh, someone got Fusor started, again.
For ref, I'm a gunsmith, competitive shooter, and own a firing range (handy for practice). So not only do I know my guns (many) but those people bring to the range. I also teach the CCW cource in VA.
But let's talk about not-guns first. There are some good reasons to start here. One is that simply pointing even an unloaded gun at someone is "brandishing" and illegal, and that someone might press charges. Second, you really don't want to kill anyone if its avoidable - even if you claim self defence - you've just admitted to a homicide, and now the only question is whether it was justifiable.
So you'd rather have them run away, or get them gone in some other way if possible, and often it is.
Killing someone is always a huge mess, psychologically, legally, and well, just a mess. Some if it can take a lifetime to recover from.
A friend recently (almost) suffered a home invasion - some drunk thought his room mate had locked him out (wrong house) and he broke into the basement door. My friend met him with a million candle power flashlight - the kind that weigh ~~ 10lbs. That did the trick, it's legal, no one can come at you with the skin peeling off their closed eyelids (they usually have to put their hands over their eyes as well), and if that doesn't work, the thing makes a real decent club. Keep one at hand and in working condition. I also have a pair of sawed off pool cues, but that's a special skill (Japanese short swords, or real fat drumsticks, and yes, I play drums too, so I know how to work sticks quite well). One strike, one broken bone. They stop pretty quick at that point. You can throw one, then break bones with the other while they put up their hands to stop the thrown one - and close the distance while that's happening. A hard throw will also break bones, particularly fingers. It's a real fight-stopper. Hint - breaking the smaller bones hurts more...ask anyone who's been shot in the hand or foot.
Anyone who has "seen the elephant" will tell you - your handgun is how you fight your way back to your rifle. Any expert will also tell you that almost any revolver is FAR more reliable than almost any pistol, and this wisdom is borne out at my range all the time. The downside is that a revolver is in general harder to conceal (if you have the permit). Further, short (snubbie) revolvers and pistols just don't have enough barrel for commercial loads (speer makes an exception to this) to get any decent performance - no velocity, the bullet is gone before the powder is burned...real low velocities, and even especially with +p loads that tend to use even slower powder. We're talking stupid low muzzle velocities here - often < 500fps, unless a custom built load is used with a heavy bullet and a small amount of fast burning powder (I reload, so no troubles there). Else what you have is an impressive boom, an huge muzzle flash, and a bullet you can almost catch out of the air with a mitt. Not very useful unless you just want to set their hair on fire and deafen them (but that deafens you too).
There is only one pistol here that has only misfired/jammed once, and that was in the hands of a beginner who "limp wristed it". It was a CZ-97B in .45 ACP. That thing seems to shoot bulls-eyes for almost everyone I hand it to.
I can't say the same for the endless 9mm's that have come through here (and don't even ask about .380s, which are in general, a joke in bad taste, though they are easy to conceal). IF you can stick a .380 into contact with someone, it'll do the job, but that's damn dangerous - they might be strong, or know that you can stop almost any pistol from firing by pushing back the slide just a little, turn it around and shoot you with it - with your own trigger finger. Keep some distance!
One guy - a fastidious type who always keeps his gear "perfect" has had good luck with a Glock 9mm - it shoots quite well for me too. Being a lefty (I am too but mostly shoot right handed for reasons that will become obvious, including right-eye dominance), he got a special barrel for his that twists the other way so the rotational recoil (that other kind than straight back or kick up) slaps the handle into his palm, rather than jerking it out. He has a 9 and a .40 that both shoot well for lefties.
In fact, I tried it with both hands, and can't shoot either one well with my right hand, with those special barrels with reverse twist - grip really matters on a handgun, since recoil begins the instant the firing pin drops, and at the slow speeds of things, the gun moves between when you think you pulled the trigger and when the bullet comes out - which is the ONLY TIME IT MATTERS.
I can attach some NRA diagnostic targets that show where the bullets go if you flinch, anticipate recoil, don't hold tight, "rub wood" and so forth, if asked. They help with training.
You really need a tight grip on a handgun, of any kind. One instructor demo's this by holding a shovel - and pushing it into the ground at arms length. There is a reason that all the winning handgun competitors have forearms like popeye. There's just too much motion between the time you think "shoot" and the actual bullet leaving.
All of the other 9mm's that have come here, including Glocks - rarely hit even the correct piece of paper on the backstop at 7 paces (the so-called self defence distance). Even if I shoot them, much less their owners. I have no clue why they all stink so badly, but experience says - most of them do.
And most are worse than glocks, even high-dollar names like Sig. An exception to that is the S&W M&P special in 9mm - that thing works like it should, period - it belongs to a shooting buddy and I wish I had it. It's the only 9 I can say that about.
I have two "carry" guns. One is a snubby .38, Taurus ultralight. It hurts to shoot it with the desired heavy bullet/fast powder load, which gives decent performance, but if you need a gun...you don't care about that, and this one fits in a pocket without "printing", and has crimson trace laser grips.
"Do not look into laser with remaining eye". That's the point - they run, you don't have to shoot.
The other I don't actually carry, and it's the CZ which weighs even more than a 1911. Just too heavy for me (I only weigh 107 lbs) and too big, but it stays in reach in my truck. It's very intimidating, as you can see down the barrel and see that chambered round that's gonna kill you.
Note - the .38 need not be too wimpy, and has some psych advantages. Most self-defence instructors will tell you to for sure kill the guy. The reason is, if someone needs killing, you don't want to face them and their lies in court - they are generally expert at the court system for some reason, and make up the most fantastic stories...urban myth says a .38 won't always stop someone, yet a .45 always will. Well, that's myth, and if the cops I train here are any indication, the issue is shot placement, and missing. The ones who carry the biggies know how to shoot - which is a bigger factor than the size. The upshot is - you hit someone even in the arm with a .45, and the courts will say you should have stopped right there - it really is a fight-stopper. But a .38 you can empty into the perp without anyone thinking anything special if you say he kept coming....ain't it crazy how the legal system works? A .22 isn't really that great unless it's high cap - I'd rather have my lighter 5 shot .38, even though I do have both.
The above advice on how it feels in the hand is actually critical, but incomplete. As a shooting coach, one of the things I do is have the student pick an aimpoint, close their eyes, draw, and then either shoot w/o looking or just look at the resulting sight picture (it's easy to cheat, so I usually do this with an unloaded gun with a laser on it so we can all see the dot). It's a funny thing - I went through 5-6 guns before I found one I naturally pointed right at the target under those circumstances, and that's the kind of thing that matters when you're not at the range - where the targets can't shoot back. In real life, the stress level means you need to have it just work, muscle memory, because if you miss, it doesn't matter what the gun is, and you've given the other guy time and warning.
Shotguns, particularly pump actions, are nicely intimidating but not that useful at range. If you're going to hoist a long gun, I think there are better choices, but that's me. I know that sound of racking a pump has been known to end the fight with no shots fired - that's always good - but you might face a charge of "brandishing" if the guy has the guts to bring that charge. And some do.
For rifles, well, I'm an AR guy, and have two 15's and a 10 (in .308). I love them, they are reliable for me, and accurate enough that I sometimes use one in long range competition - it took some tuning and good ammo, but it's nice. Ammo is ubiquitous, but milsurp isn't accurate by design.
7.62x39, as shot in AK's and SKS's (and that's all there is in this country legally - SKS looks the same but is semi auto and can't be converted without more work than its worth to an AK), are OK, but "miniute of milk jug at 70 yds - about the effective range, even with a scope. They are just not very accurate, or very reliable unless you get a high quality one made in eastern Europe. The asian ones - don't waste your money, they shoot every which way, and jam all the time. While ammo is all over, the quality tends to add to the in-accuracy and some is so dirty burning that it will require cleaning before you even run a full clip. Stay away from the steel case stuff... I do most shooting long range, and live way out in the sticks, so for me, an old .308 (single shot) or the equal bolt .223 is my choice if I want to keep my distance for a zombie apocalypse situation. But that's me, and my situation. Bolts are always far more reliable than other types, period. And pretty fast if you practice.
And you MUST practice. Shooting is a very perishable skill, and this is your main chance to win over the average perp - he doesn't practice, and you did. It's the first hit that wins. Sometimes taking that extra 0.1 second to really aim is the key.
One thing I do as a teacher is to use a gun with a laser or red dot, and show them how the dot is bouncing all over the place when the iron sight picture looks fine - you have to be unbelievably picky about that sight picture with irons, and for most, there just isn't time in a "situation" for that - it has to be muscle memory. Students are uniformly astonished at seeing that dot go on and off the target with almost no apparent change in sight picture, even at a single digit yard range. And when they think they're holding still as is possible. They all find they've got a lot to learn.
Note, if there are kids or irresponsible types around, it's kind of a hassle to keep a gun safe, yet ready. An unloaded gun is a poor club - you're better off with a real club (but not too heavy - those movies where someone swings a 20+lb wrench are a joke - you see it from a mile away and can dodge easy). Some states have laws about leaving a gun loaded. Mine doesn't appear to, but if someone got injured at my place due to that, I can bet I'd be in trouble, and I'm well respected by the LEO's I teach here.
In fact, don't go by anything you see from TV or hollywood. A gun doesn't make you bullet proof, in fact it makes you a priority target. And in fact, the bad guys don't auto-magically miss, and you auto-magically hit. It just isn't like that in the real world, and I have a scar to prove that.
With any gun, don't use "hold" or "kentucky windage". Concentrate on small groups (always aim at the exact same place), then adjust the sights so the bullets hit where intended - once your group size is acceptable.. Any other way won't work for real. Any for-real 'smith can adjust even "not adjustable" sights with files and weldups. With irons, well, it seems everyone sees them a little differently - so there's no one perfect setup - it has to be custom to the user.
One often taught but utter fallacy in shooting is "hold the sights on target, and pull the trigger without moving the gun". Let me tell you- it's total bullshit, and even guys who win 10's of times in national competition (like say, David Tubb) agree. You're always moving, you can't help it, though you can get somewhat better with practice. The idea is the same as with drumming - I don't start moving my arm when I want to hear a drum hit - it starts moving before that, so it lands at the right time. Same thing - you fire when the sight picture says you're moving to the target - letting anxiety pull the trigger after you've passed the desired aim-point is a bad idea and never works. You'll learn your pattern - mine is a figure 8 around the bull - and shoot just before you're about to be on the target precisely, because by the time the bang happens - you are. That hold still and be suprised by the shot might work for dumb kids in military service, but even there - they are more concerned with firepower and keeping the enemy's head down than actually hitting per shot.
The other not-gun thing is what we call OPSEC. Why would someone break into your house in the first place? Have you been telling people about your stack? Living ostentatiously compared to others in the 'hood? All bad opsec. Lights, cleared out places of approach where you can see them coming - all good opsec - and keep your mouth shut because word spreads.