Common wisdom assigns bigger guns for this use, more compact guns for that use. The question is, might we have these roles reversed?
by Bob Campbell
For many years, my handguns were primarily go-anywhere, do-anything firearms. I could not afford specialization. When the handgun was pressed into different roles, the holster defined the mission — duty belt gave way to an inside-the-waistband holster or a belt holster with a safety strap when hunting. I carried the same handgun, most often a 1911 .45 or a four-inch barrel .357 Magnum. At the end of a hard-earned day, the piece was strategically placed beside the bed.
Simple as that.
As I came to own more handguns and fired more diverse types, I realized that a specialized home defense handgun might be a good thing. Still, the handguns I prefer are well suited to both constant carry and home defense. Running a few drills around the home, including the badger drill (duck in a “hole” and emerge from another), convinced me that perhaps more thought is needed when we recommend a larger pistol for home defense.
“No gun is too large to fight with” and all that is often recommended; however, a long-slide pistol with an extended magazine is impractical for all but home defense. Maybe versatility is the outcome reality will lead us to. I would imagine that a dedicated home defense handgun is something of a luxury for most.
If you invest the time, effort, and expense to set up a long-slide 9mm with a red dot, a combat light, and an extended magazine, why not simply set up a long gun for home defense instead? Unless you are willing to arm burglars and provide a handgun to those with unauthorized access, the home defense handgun must be locked away when you are not home. It will be removed from the safe for home-ready. Alternately, the belt gun is simply taken out of the holster and it becomes the house gun. Sure, that long-slide Glock with the red dot and 33-round magazine is a great shooter, but the Glock 19 9mm you carry all day may just be the better choice in most circumstances.
I have quite a few ideas concerning home defense, handguns, and concealed carry. I try them and see how they play out in drills and study instances of home defense. Run the information up the logic ladder and see how many steps it takes.
So, here is the situation that many shooters envision as the ideal reality: the carry gun is a compromise. The barrel is shorter than we like and the short sight radius may limit our accuracy, not to mention the ability to buffalo bad guys over the head if need be. The handle is short and doesn’t hold a box of Hornady XTP in its double, staggered magazine. There may be room for a red dot sight, yet it is difficult to deploy a combat light and draw quickly from the holster.
On the other hand, there are no restrictions on the home defense handgun. A six-inch barrel magnum revolver is a choice. A long-slide 9mm pistol is another.
Well, maybe, and maybe not.
This was brought home to me during recent travels across beautiful hills and out-of-the way places from the Natchez Trace to the Appalachian hollows. I don’t bring along a dedicated room defense gun nor a dedicated vehicle defense gun (although most free states regard the vehicle as an extension of your home). Thus, the room/cabin defense gun is the handgun I have carried all day. I translate easily from carry on the hip to a secure place beside the bed.
Sometimes I am more careful where I place the handgun, keeping it closer than usual as I don’t enjoy the advantage of an alarm or an alert canine when traveling. Do I visit dim places untouched by well-heeled travelers? I do and I hope I continue to do so. I have been spoiled by the intellectual, spiritual, and musical life of these places. I enjoy the warm balm of friendly interaction. Have there been robberies and murders near places I visit? An emphatic yes. One of the grandchildren, more grounded in fact than most her age (and less excitable), so noted during a tour of a haunted hotel. “Poppa,” she said, “I would be surprised if any hotel this old hadn’t seen a couple of murders.”
She was right — two murders in a hotel over a span of one hundred fifty years in Florida, a single murder at another in North Carolina, a haunted hotel closed room attraction for the better part of one hundred years, and several tragedies on the Blue Ridge Trail.
I decided a long time ago that I am not the type to die early. I am no longer in danger of dying young, and now I am aiming for not dying old, either. I am armed in my travels in the free states and don’t visit people’s republics that limit my freedom.
Back to the immediate subject.
The carry gun that is worn when traveling makes a fine defensive handgun for the hotel room. Some of the rentals are larger than my own bedroom. There is much less in that room than in my own home that’s worth fighting over as long as the Pretty Girl is safe.
The home defense gun is chosen with logistics and access in mind. A snubnose .38 always in the back pocket is more useful than a high-capacity 9mm in the next room. If the gun isn’t accessible, you cannot confront an invader.
For those concerned with attacks, a lightweight handgun in the pocket is a great thing to have — not too heavy, and just right for across-the-room fire. Consider the design behind the dimensions. A pistol over eight inches long doesn’t handle as quickly in intimate-range fights, but then a pistol over forty ounces recoils less. Which pistol really qualifies as a coming-in-the-door lethal foot stop? How simple is your plan? Sometimes, reduction is good, as the simpler plans are better and perhaps the simpler handguns are as well. A more compact pistol may be the optimal choice for home defense.
As an example, during my youth and later as a peace officer, it was common to meet a female who spoke of the “revolver under the pillow.” Widows, in particular, adopted this mode of readiness. It makes sense because I could call up a half-dozen instances in which a victim was awoken by a rapist at the foot of the bed. A dangerous burglar terrorized my home county for several months. A good friend got a quick tutorial with a shotgun and slept with it in the bed between her and her husband. She soon went and bought a pistol! This dangerous pervert showed up naked in a child’s room at one point. He finally broke into a department store and was trapped in the ceiling and captured. This type of threat invites one to keep the handgun close at hand. Many of us, when traveling, thrust the pistol under the mattress, butt out. A long-slide pistol may be difficult to draw from this position if you put body weight on the bedding; a lighter gun is easier to make ready. Be certain to practice deployment from the chosen ready position.
In the home, a fairly compact pistol makes for rapid handling. Consider the barricade position. It isn’t difficult to brace against a door jamb with the pistol. A revolver, as an example, may be propped against a door jamb by butting the barrel against the door opening. Accuracy is increased. If you are unlucky enough to get into a struggle for the gun, a handgun with a relatively short barrel and a hand-filling grip gives the homeowner an advantage in leverage. This is among the often-touted advantages of a short-barrel revolver. A three-inch barrel Colt Python or Smith & Wesson 686 Plus is an outstanding home defender.
Considering the short distances involved in home defense, a relatively compact but fast-handling handgun may be the best choice. As another example, a favored traveling gun may come as a surprise — a Bersa Thunder compact 9mm. This double-action-first-shot pistol offers a degree of confidence when simply placed on a nightstand or shoved under a mattress compared to a single-action or a striker-fired pistol. At close range, handling and user skill is what counts.
Another handgun I often carry when traveling is a S&W 640 .357 Magnum. This revolver is fast into action, and it hits hard. If you subscribe to the one shot, one hit mantra, this is the gun.
So, that is my contrary opinion to the usual recommendations. Some will say I wrote this with my thumbs. I may be in the minority opinion, but then the logic seems sound considering actual experience in report writing. A fairly short and light handgun that offers real security to those with good retention skills is attractive. Many of these handguns are affordable, which is good since most of us are not cursed by great wealth.
Now let’s look at another counterpoint — the carry gun. Some feel that the big gun is for the house and the little gun for the belt. I think the opposite may hold true.
The longest shot in the home is likely to be a few feet, or the maximum length of a hallway. A handgun is a defensive instrument. If you take the Ruger to check out a critter in the shed or an invader in the garage, it is forced into an offensive role better filled by a shotgun or rifle. A ten-yard shot would be a long shot. In contrast, once you leave the home, the likelihood of a long shot isn’t limited. Statistics and common sense favor a short-range encounter, but probabilities are limited while possibilities are endless.
A spree shooter or active shooter concerns me. My SIG P365 or S&W 640 aren’t as useful in that type of situation. When going about my daily travels, I carry a handgun well-suited to handling threats. A Government Model 1911, a 10mm 1911 in some areas, or a Magnum revolver are among my favorites.
So, consider the trite wisdom of a big gun in the house and a small gun on the belt when leaving the home. If you reverse the equation, you may be onto something.
