Originally Posted by
GunnyFreedom
First, the bad news. When it comes to things that could save your life, you will always get what you paid for. A pistol is a tool that if it comes to be needed, MUST function properly and without fail. The worst thing you could possibly do, is to purchase a "Saturday Night Special." Say the SHTF and suddenly the local MS-13 block captain comes around to liberate you of any foodstuffs you happen to have on hand. Feeling secure in your home and being armed, you raise your pistol to his head and <click>. You would have been better off without a pistol at all.
Now for the good news. Razmear is exactly right. A .357 revolver is inexpensive and reliable. You can load .357 Magnums for self defense, or you can load .38 Special wadcutters for target shooting (and thus save a LOT of money) and practice.
The best weapon yet for self defense in urban areas is a shotgun. Being in a home/townhome/apartment will determine your loads, of course. If you are in dense apartments you don't want 00 buckshot or a miss could land you a manslaughter charge for the fella next door. You never want something as light as birdshot either. If you are talking about defense within the home, or for protecting yourself while moving out of the city AFTER TSHTF, I'd reccommend the shortest LEGAL (not sawed off) shotgun, either pump action or semiauto, in 12 guage, preferably with a muzzle choke. I'd put a priority on that before a pistol.
A pistol is really a backup, a weapon you can use from a vehicle (It is awful hard to swing a rifle or a shotgun around inside of a car), something you carry unobstrusively while conducting other business, or something you conceal so that people do not know you are armed. One benefit to having a pistol for home defense over having a shotgun, is that a pistol is easier to leave within arms reach than a shotgun.
My primary weapons are a 12 guage shotgun, a 30-06 bolt action rifle, and a 5.56mm AR-15. I do have a small pistol, but to my mind it's major function is to fight my way back to wherever my primary weapons are (if I am not already by them).
Also, the advice to get away from dense urban environments is awfully good advice. When I was just in DC, we camped not 35 minutes or so away, and it was nothing but woods and rural area as far as the eye could see. You could still maintain your current job but live away from the dense population centers by commuting (sucks, yes, but if the balloon DOES go up, a city apartment is NOT a good place to be!).
So prioritizing in order:
1a) 12 guage shotgun, pump action, as short barrelled as the law allows from the manufacturer! do not under any circumstances saw off your own barrel
1b) Stock up on 12gu shells
2a) Relocating to an environment where you will not be trapped in an urban apartment should TSHTF
2b) Stocking up on ultra-long shelf life storage food
3a) .357 Magnum revolver
3b) Stocking up on .357 Magnum rounds for defense, and especially .38 Special rounds for practice (You should shoot a LOT LOT LOT more in practice than in any kind of defense)
4) some common calibre rifle accurate to at least 400 yards
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