good enough to keep young kids out but easy enough to get incase of a middle of the night burglar.
since I live in a townhouse and don't want to shoot thru the drywall and accidently hit my neighbor, it'll be my Rugar Mark III .22lr instead of my 9mm
I'd be more worried about 22LR over-penetrating walls than 9mm, 22LR will go through drywall like it was paper. Get a lightweight frangible round like the Glaser Safety Slug (do they still make those???) in 9mm for home defense.
I'm not sure i buy this. 22lr going through drywall, sure. but 9mm, even frangible round, NOT going through dry wall? humm, wonder if i can find some drywall to test with 22lr. but i don't have a 22lr pistol, only a rifle. it should have more energy from the rifle. If i find some scrap drywall i might try this. try it with hollow points and fmj 22 if i can find any locally. but i don't have a 9mm. wonder if anyone at work does.
I once removed the roof off of a 1970s Buick using nothing but a Ruger 10/22 (FTR-it wasn't a convertible... well, not when we started anyway). Trust me, it will go through drywall.
I'd probably want something with less muzzle energy than .22 LR quite frankly for home defense especially if wall penetration is a concern. 9mm probably isn't ideal but I'd go with 9mm hollow points with as light a bullet and as frangible as possible.
Glaser Safety Slugs were designed not to penetrate the pressurized cabin of an aircraft so that would be my first choice.
I'd be more worried about 22LR over-penetrating walls than 9mm, 22LR will go through drywall like it was paper. Get a lightweight frangible round like the Glaser Safety Slug (do they still make those???) in 9mm for home defense.
We fired several rounds and saw the following Penetration:
.22 Long Rifle (Wildcats) 4 boards and bounced off 5th board.
9MM JHP (Federal) 8 boards, bounced off 9th.
.45ACP (Federal Hydrashocks) 7 boards, bounced off 8th.
How are you going to recommend 9mm over 22lr right after saying you want something with less muzzle energy than a 22lr?
22lr typically has less than HALF of the muzzle energy of a 9mm, and that is with the 22 coming out of a longer 16" barrel compared to a pistol barrel of 9mm.
Here is a glaser round going through 6 sheets of drywall.
http://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-23-extremeshock-ammo-and-the-box-o-truth/
Here is 22lr going through 6 boards of drywall while 9mm jhp going through 8.
http://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-1-the-original-box-o-truth/
OP, if lack of penetration is an absolute requirement, almost any firearm with regular ammunition will not suit your purposes and you're better off going straight for products designed to be non-lethal such as beanbag or rubber rounds if you're set on using a firearm. Or maybe something like stun guns and pepper spray/mace. That will also let you get away from having to deal with all sorts of potential legal issues from using a firearm. I recommend against using a firearm in a situation where you absolutely need to stop a threat while handicapping its capabilities.
Personally, if my gun is out, I will use what I think does the best job at stopping a threat and that is between my jhp 9mm, #4 buckshot 12gauge, and 5.56.
Look, I was simply trying to help the guy out with the best of my knowledge. I thought the Glaser Safety Slug would be better suited to his needs. Honestly, I don't like 9mm for a home defense round but those are his choices ATM.
So, if Glaser 9mm goes through 6 sheets of drywall and 22LR goes through 6 sheets I guess they are pretty equal... except in stopping power.
In his situation maybe he would be better off not shooting at all? Depends on the situation I guess. Personally, I'd invest in heavier doors and better locks... maybe a dog before relying on lethal weapons inside my home but maybe he has already done that.
Another vote for Gunvault, also, really not a fan of the idea of using a 22 for self defense, I've personally seen people walk into the ER with multiple 9mm slugs in them.
The human body can absorb an amazing amount of damage.
You can cut and slash a person a lot and not stop them either.
Most people aren't combat trained. Best thing they can do is apply the maximum force they are comfortable with as quickly as possible. A gun at least offers a small chance to kill or deter an attacker at some range. If it's not enough, then you end up in hand combat where you would've been anyway.
Having at least something is certainly better than nothing. When it comes to pistols for defense, the size of the round doesn't make as much difference as aim and luck. Squeeze off rounds as fast as possible for a few seconds and hope it works, then you better have a trusty backup bat/hatchet/machete etc...and hope you're better equipped and a better fighter.
Yes, popular opinion goes back and forth, the two I saw were shot 2x in the shoulder and the other patient took the slugs in the back of the neck. It was shocking to me that they weren't immobilized, heck they both ran into the ED.
I prefer the 357 sig and 45
Personally, for "in home defense gun", I'm going with a short barrel 10 gauge w/ buckshot. Each shell is like ~15x ~35 caliber rounds aimed at your upper body/head.