Well i choose shotguns over handguns for true home defense for several reasons.

1. awaken in the middle of the night, you may not be very accurate
2. you want a weapon your partner can easily use without needing practice
3. penetration factor and the possibility of innocents catching a round.

A shotgun bypasses all that. And even a 6' 6" 280 lbs burglar will respect a 4' 10" 95lbs woman pointing a mossy in his general direction

Handguns are more personal defense

 

lol wife would kill herself trying to fire a shot gun...

and illinois did just lift their carry law so itll be nice to carry whatever i pick on my person as well

 

I know you just turned 21 and all. Do you know you can own more than one gun.......

 

oh ya... i can have more than one... lol but im broke so ill have to get one at a time haha

 

I have to agree with using a shotgun for home defense over a handgun. Virually no chance of missing at such a close range and you have the added intimidation factor. I have a 12-guage double barrel and a Remington 870 in the corner for just such an occasion.

If you want a weapon for plinking around and general defense though, you might want to consider a .40, 10mm, or 9mm. Not as much punch as a .45, but the ammo is usually much cheaper.

 

Go with the pump then....

 

i have a springfield armory .45 XD great weapon they also have 1911's and all sorts of options and ive never had a jamming problem i go to the range alot and at one point i put in the area of 1500 rounds thru it without cleanin it and it never missed a beat, i wouldnt suggest that tho it took me forever to scrub that thing when i did get around to cleaning it lol.
http://www.xdpistols.com/item/65036_...45HCSP06_.aspx

 

If you arent a shotgun kind of guy than just go out and handle some and see how they feel. I just bought my first handgun this year and I had my heart set on this Glock 23, but when I went and handled it, it just wasnt for me.. If you are broke (lol like you said) than a Kimber 1911 probably isnt the best choice. I picked up a S&W 4013 used for a pretty good price. Will you be carrying this too or just around the house?

 

thx for the input guys (even though most suggest a shot gun which i can almost garentee i wont purchase) not out of ignorace or anything... but just because i live in a town where a home defense gun isnt needed its just more of a nice to have type of thing... my primary use i guess will be going to the ranges... and secondary home/personal defense

.... if i go 1911 itll prolly be a taurus they have great reviews and a very reasonable price for a 1911...

i was just seeing if anyone had suggestions other than 1911's or glocks is all ha

 

Taurus sucks as bad as kawasaki.

Glocks are a great choice, not alot to customize though. Customizing tends to lead to highly accurate and not extremely reliable weapons, I suggest NOT customizing.
For a low price begginer gun I'd suggest a ruger P90 or perhaps a cz97b if you can find one cheap. Mid price guns are the glocks and s&w's M&P series. Both are uber reliable and the standerd issue guns of most police departments [although they use girly .40] you should also look at the FNP45, thats big on my wish list for next handgun purchase.
High end guns would be something like an HK45, which isen't worth the money. A glock will do everything the HK does better. Sig's build quality has taken a huge dump in the last 5-8yrs and I don't suggest them anymore.
As for 1911's Im not a big expert, I just know from exsperience that taurus sucks, alot.

Now when it comes to home defence, a shotgun will loose [quickly!]againts my FAL. Read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_FAL