Castle and queen to protect... Need advice

Bought a house two years ago and got married year and a half ago, as my former boss said, I now have a castle and queen to protect.
Anyway, looking to purchase my first guns and looking for general advice and suggestions.
I don't hunt or really plan on hunting. I have gone shooting a number of times with former roommates and friends and I really like skeet and trap shooting. Looking to get a shotgun and handgun. So looking for general home/personal protection as well as something fun to go out and shoot. I may get a concealed weapons permit but not sure yet.
There is a gun show in my area in two weeks that I think I'll try to go to and if I go, I'd like to make at least one purchase. I'll be going with a couple friends that own a number of guns and are people I trust to provide good on site advice.
So - what do people recommend???
Shotgun I'm thinking 12 gauge pump.
Handgun I'm thinking semi-auto and maybe 9mm or .40.
Thinking of total spending $500-$1k - but could maybe go higher.

Thanks!

 

you can get a mossberg 88 for about 150$ new walmart sells them here for that price it will have a long barrel but you can get an 18.5 inch barrel off Amazon/ebay for about 80$ and add a pistol grip for about 20-100$(100 would be a knoxx impact absorbing type) the shorter barrel and pistol grip would make it easier to move around in the house

for a pistol id get something you can carry id recommend a Glock, S&W M&P or Springfield XD compact pistol with the shotgun and the pistol youll have less than 1000$ in your setup

 

Can your Queen handle a 12 gauge if the King isn't around?
You might think about a 16 gauge instead.

 

i havent ever seen 16 gauge ammo in stores...with a Knoxx recoil absorbing stock im sure she could....

 

^This sounds about right. I would suggest that you go to the CCW Classes if for nothing else other than to have someone teach you proper gun safety. Your post makes it sound as if you zero to minimal experience with guns, which imo is a very bad thing especially if you are going to be purchasing one. If you do have minimal gun training then go get some! Take the ccw class, you and your wife go to a range and shoot the guns until you are completely comfortable with operating them.

 

If I had one all-around gun it would be a carbine. Especially since you said you didn't hunt, a carbine allows you or your wife to get accurate hits easily, usually holds a lot of ammo and can be very simple to run.

For simplicity, dependability and durability, you might consider an AK in .223. Maybe even an unconverted Saiga if you are low on funds.

http://classicarms.us/semi-auto rifles.htm

If you have a little more cash (say, closer to your $1000 limit) there are a lot of good AR-15s out there. Still very light, manuverable, higer capacity, adjustable stock, powerful, etc. They require a little more practice to run well though.

If you're set on a shotgun pump, go Rem 870 or Mossberg 500. Go 12 or 20 ga. If you're set on a handgun, go with whatever name brand gun fits your hand well. Consider 9mm if you're both going to run it and she's smaller. Glock 19 or 17, XD9, Sig Sauer 9mm, S&W M&P9 (the compact model is GREAT for women with small hands), etc.

 

+1 to what warhorseforever was saying about training.... i'll repeat ... training training training, ..is much more important than which gun this/or/that... go through the CCW/CHL course, but then take some more advanced training that get's you intimate w/ "fighting" w/ the gun, including low light, learn how to clear rooms in your home, slice the pie, ..dropout., how to deal w/ malfunctions, how to reload/charge w/ one hand, etc.. - skills that could be critical to surviving an encounter..

as for the guns, ...many will say a shotgun is good for HD, ...but keep in mind you want to make a good decision on which loads (bird, buck, etc...) will be effective enough, and a "long gun" is much more difficult to maneuver in close quarters, especially in the dark.. handguns are much easier to maneuver w/, and for room clearing, ...

..bottom line - there's a lot to consider but it should be a fun process, ...good luck!

 

Mossberg Winchester Remington pump

and a 9mm with a TLR1 on the end. Personally I'd push you towards a P229 or similar or a FNp9. Glocks, MPs, XDs are all nice as well. In the end it's best you hold a few (better yet, fire) and find which is most comfortable for you. I have a G17 and I'm looking at a Kahr CW9 as a carry piece.

 

IMO you're wise to obtain both a handgun and shotgun. I'll give a couple of recommendations based upon a couple of different circumstances (an some reasonable assumptions):

If you will be the sole user and are willing to obtain training and put in some practice, a Glock 19 9mm complemented by a Remington/Winchester/Mossberg pump action 12 gauge will take care of all your needs. The standard 4 shot magazine on the shotgun will be adequate.

If your wife may also use them and is also willing to train and practice, consider a 20 gauge pump instead of the 12 gauge. It's still devastating on the receiving end but lighter with less recoil for the user. Make sure the stock length fits your wife. The Remington 20 gauge youth model will probably be ideal for her. As another member has mention another option is a pistol caliber carbine in 9mm/.40 S&W/.45 ACP. These are light with very low recoil and low muzzle blast.

If your wife is like mine and won't practice but likes something for the "bump in the night", I recommend a Smith & Wesson model 60 revolver with a 3" barrel. The Model 60 Pro should fit her hand well. It only holds five shots but being a revolver it's the original "point and click" tool.

Above all else, learn the laws of your state as it pertains to use of deadly force. Many states have now adopted the Castle Doctrine. In my state for example, a homeowner who kills an intruder in his residence has the legal presumption that he has acted lawfully. Many are willing to spend large sums on the tools but balk at $100.00 spent for advice from a qualified attorney.

 

X1

 

I agree completely Did anyone mention TRAINING
The best money spent will be on training and pratice.

 

OP is in washington (state?)... hopefully

...if that's the case, ... drive down to oregon and go to a place like Thunder ranch would be money/time well spent!

http://www.thunderranchinc.com/home/index.html

 

9mm pistol, that way your wife can handle it when you're not home, it'll kill them just as dead as anything else, that being said I think a 4in .38 special Would be a good choice also so that she can just pick up the gun and pull the trigger 6 times, doesn't get much easier than that

 

FWIW I've been shooting guns since I was about 5 years old. Now I have a Mossburgh short barrel, pistol grip, and foward grip loaded in order of least deadly to most deadly. I have a bean bag in the chamber and one next in line then one bird shot, then a 0 buck, then a 00 buck, and finally a slug if all threats aren't eliminated.

 

IMO, i'd want to stop the threat ASAP, ..i.e. that starts w/ the first shot, ..why risk prolonging the attack, ...putting yourself in the situation where you may be taking return fire?..

 

Guns need serious knowledge, please get a class/ training first. Then go to the range and rent some pistols so you know how you feel about a certain pistol. There you can decide which one fits you. Again, get a gun safety class. Have fun at the range. Be safe.

 

What this guy said. You need a class first. Get comfortable handling firearms first. Depending on the layout of your house a big 12 gauge might not be the best choice and a .40 could be too much to handle. In the end, your familiarity with the weapon and the circumstances of when you'll need it are far more important than what you get or what kind of ammo it takes.

 

I had my friends shoot me with one at about 30 yards and it hurt like a son of a bitch. Honestly if it doesn't make them think twice about stopping whatever it is that they are doing then lethal would be necessary because odds are they are hopped up on something. I did it so that I wouldn't be too trigger happy with it, like leo's do when they get certified to carry a taser, in the event that someone came into my house. If need be I can rack through to the real shells in a second or two, years of duck and quail hunting have given me the muscle memory to unload the gun completely in a few seconds. I hope that if, god forbid, it was ever aimed at a human that threatened my family and need elimination they will kick in if need be. It could also serve as a self defense move in court so that I could say I tried to use less than lethal force and felt that it need to be ramped up to lethal. I hope and pray I never need to do that though.

 

beratta px storm 9mm or a cz 75, shotgun i would go with mossberg spx 930 semi auto.

 

I just got a Remington 887 12 guage. It came with a bird barrel and a trukey barrel. The short barrel is great for home protection and all you need to do is swap it out when you want to shoot some skeet! And stock pad is amazing, no kick what so ever