Customizing a gun gives you the best home defense gun for your budget and lifestyle. Defense firearms are meant to allow you to take control of a dangerous situation quickly. That means your home defense firearm needs to be able to rapidly and accurately engage a threat and be able to neutralize it. Here’s what to look for in a weapon that supports your Castle Doctrine rights.
The Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground
Before you build out the best home-defense gun for your money, you need to understand your rights to self-defense. Self-defense laws, including provisions about using firearms for defense, are enacted at the state level to legally shield citizens using a firearm to responsibly protect themselves. Currently, 37 of the 50 US states protect gun owners with a Stand Your Ground Law, the Castle Doctrine, or both.
- Stand Your Ground – These laws explicitly state that you have no duty to retreat when using a firearm for self-defense or the defense of others.
- Castle Doctrine – Based on the common law principle that you have the right to protect yourself with reasonable force in your own home, these laws stipulate that there is no duty to retreat while inside your house or another space you are legally occupying, such as a motel room.
It’s important to know that the specific verbiage of a law can vary from state to state, so do your research before you need legal protection for using a home defense gun.
Best Types of Home Defense Guns
There are a lot of different firearms on the market, and manufacturers are constantly innovating to create new models and refine or reboot current offerings. The best home defense gun for your needs will depend on your state’s laws, where you live, and your shooting skill level.
- State Laws – Your state’s gun regulations will govern the types of guns you can legally purchase, how you must store and handle them, and your legal protections when using them in a Castle Doctrine situation. The last thing you want to do is to believe you’re protected from prosecution by self-defense laws just to have an over-zealous prosecutor charge you with a gun crime that negates that protection.
- Location – Rural and urban homeowners may face very different threats, giving them entirely different shooting needs. Even in a crowded cityscape, living in an apartment building rather than a house may change the best gun for your home defense.
- Shooting Skill – You need to be realistic about the time and effort you have to put into learning to use your firearm for home defense and maintaining a sufficient skill level. This includes both the range and practice time needed to ensure accurate shooting in tactical situations and the regular cleaning and maintenance of the gun.
Once you’ve got a broad idea about the defense firearms you’re most interested in, you’ll want to consider stopping budget, power, capacity, and customization options.
- Budget – A gun can’t protect you if you can’t afford to bring it home from the gun store. Be cognizant of your budget, but realize that even if your gun doesn’t have every bell and whistle, you can add to its capabilities with aftermarket parts.
- Stopping Power – You need a gun chambered for a round of sufficient power that’s delivered to the target quickly and efficiently to stop a threat immediately.
- Capacity – The best home defense guns will have enough rounds to let you effectively engage a target. What that number is will depend on the gun type, the threats you’ll potentially encounter, and your shooting skill.
- Customization Options – Aftermarket parts can help you tailor a gun to fit your needs. They can turn a stock commercial gun into a top defensive firearm by giving you faster target acquisition, improved accuracy, attachment points for accessories, or precision barrels.
Our Picks for Best Home Defense Guns
Best All-Around Home Defense Gun: Glock Pistol
Gaston Glock’s Austrian-designed pistols have taken over the bulk of the world’s military, government, and law enforcement contracts for one reason: they work. If you want reliability, a Glock pistol is where it’s at. Rather than reinvent the wheel, Glock’s engineers offer a refined firearm in a range of frame sizes and calibers to help every shooter find the best home defense gun for their needs. Look for a pistol chambered in 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 Auto to ensure you’re getting a pistol that has the stopping power you need. Double-stack models come with magazines of ten to 17 rounds, while single-stack Slimline Glocks range from eight to ten rounds. Handguns are perfect for shorter ranges, like those found inside the home. There are also plenty of customization options and accessories, and the user-friendly design of Glock-type pistols makes regular range practice fun. Expect to pay as little as $300 for a good used Glock model, while new guns can run up to $600-800 at most retailers, depending on the model and extras.
Best Rural Home Defense Gun: AR-15 Rifle or Carbine
The AR-15 may be the most popular long gun in the United States, with tens of millions already owned by private owners and more produced every year. Introduced in the late 1950s by Armalite before the design and name rights were purchased by Colt, it is popular with a broad range of manufacturers and gun owners alike due to its modular split-receiver design, effective simplicity, and now-public-domain core components. This weapons platform’s ubiquitousness makes finding parts, accessories, and ammunition easy, and the reliable 5.56mm/.223 rounds make it perfect for rural home security, where you may need the extra range for varmint hunting and predator control.
Best Home Defense Gun for Busy Gun Owners: 12 Gauge Shotgun
If you need a home defense gun but know you won’t have time to get to the range as much as you’d like, a reliable 12 gauge shotgun can be a potent defense firearm. What makes this the best home defense gun for beginners and those who don’t have the time to stay in top marksman form is that the wide range of ammunition lets you find the right balance between precision and stopping power. At ultra-close ranges, an ounce of lead is an ounce of lead, with standard birdshot providing plenty of energy transfer without the risk of overpenetration. For those a little more familiar with firearms or who live in rural settings, the shotgun will do double duty as a ranch gun. Buckshot or rifled slugs can stop longer-range targets, and a simple reload has you ready for home defense again. Budget single-shot models are $100 or less, basic pump-action shotguns can be found for around $250-300, and higher-end semi-automatic shotguns are available at premium prices with plenty of bells and whistles.
Best Home Defense Gun Upgrades
If you want to take your firearm to the next level and tailor it into a better defense firearm, consider these popular additions, modifications, or upgrades. It’s important to note that many firearms laws governing self-defense, like Castle Doctrine laws, contain provisions stipulating that only “reasonable force” is protected. Make sure that you have a tactical rationale for any modifications you make that takes into account how they will help you protect your loved ones.
- Optics: High-performance optics, including reflex and red dot sights, improve accuracy, precision, and the speed of target acquisition. Optics can help you shoot better with handguns, rifles, carbines, and shotguns by making aiming almost as easy as “point and shoot.”
- Precision Barrels: Precision barrels help you improve shot placement, and some are machined to help control recoil and muzzle rise. Forged barrels, like those from Patmos Arms, offer superior durability and are perfect for upgrading or refreshing your favorite firearm.
- Custom Trigger Groups: Custom trigger groups can give you a smoother pull, cleaner breakover, or the ability to double your rate of fire. While they’re not a replacement for proper trigger technique, they can help you make the most of it.
- Extended Magazines: More rounds mean your defense firearm has more firepower for longer engagements. Semi-automatic magazines are designed to be swapped easily for fast reloading of AR-15 long guns and Glock pistols, and the magazine tube of most 12-gauge shotguns can easily be upgraded with a tube and spring extension kit.
Order Your Gun Parts and Accessories
When you need the best home defense gun to keep your home safe, we have the aftermarket upgrades you need to build a better firearm. Sign up for our email list to get new product announcements and special deals sent directly to your inbox. Order your gun parts from Patmos Arms today.