Gun for home protection

A pump shotgun is the best thing for home defense and you can get some decent ones within your budget.

Remington 870 or the mossberg pump will be your best bet.

Of course, make sure you get some training in some form or another. Either take a class or have a friend who grew up with guns teach you safety mainly, and how to shoot 2nd.

I'd say a youth pump shotgun in 20 gauge. That way anyone in your house could use it if they had to, wife kids etc.

Like downshift said get lots of training and safety too.

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Thinking around $300-400 range

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Get a decent used handgun or shotgun. Shotguns are a bit easier to use but the whole not aiming thing is completely false as the spread isn't huge in HD ranges. The best HD gun imo is an AR15 which you can get a decent one for close to $600 (there is a sale right on an Aero AC15 for $500 which is a fantastic gun and is normally $675).

Get a 870 for around $280 and then buy a replacement 18" mossberg barrel for it, they can be had for ~$90. They are really easy to swap out so you have a home defense weapon but you can take it hunting also if you want.

If you are in the Baton Rouge area, feel free to contact me about doing some basic safety training or a full length concealed handgun course with a group. Shoot me an email bigapple828@aim.com.

You need to figure out if you want a long gun or handgun but if you're starting from scratch with no formal training, it would benefit you immensely to get some before starting your search. If you don't want to pursue formal training (which isn't the best course of action) but still want some instruction then find a friend who is a hunter and get him/her to show you the basics.

Don't be prideful and go into getting trained with an open mind. It's going to be new and different and you may look dumb at first but everyone has to start somewhere. The more repetitions you take the sharper your skills will get.

Best of luck.

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Mossberg 500, 00 buck

And as others have said, practice practice practice.

or if you can stretch your budget another $150 or so, you can get one of the best all around handguns ever made: the Glock 19

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IMHO, I agree with the posters who recommended the Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 shotguns.

The AR platform advocates are correct also that the AR can be a great defense gun, but it costs in excess of your price range. And as a self proclaimed inexperienced shooter, know that the .223 round from an AR will travel half a mile and still kill what it hits, if you happen to miss the much closer target that threatens you.

Shotgun rounds such as a good double ought buckshot, have the stopping power of the gods, but don't travel near the distance and lose their effective kill range relatively quickly. Great for your exact scenario- home defense. I have the Mossberg 500 Special Purpose Road Blocker for my home defense gun. A bit more pricey, but good shotgun. The standard models will be fine for what you want them for.