What gun should I get

[woodchopper]

Lots of great advice here to the OP. As far as the dog that's roaming around your property I'd only shoot it as a last resort. Trying a BB or pellet gun first might be good enough to persuade that dog that there's better places tp sniff around. Shooting any animal with a handgun is risky business. Making a humane shot at an animal across your yard with a handgun is hard for even someone who has been shooting all their life. If you have to kill that dog for the safety of your chickens consider using a small caliber rifle. I hardly doubt you want to wound an animal and make it suffer needlessly.
Also depending on your hand size, handgun weight, barrel length, bullet weight, and other factors there ARE .45's out there that you can shoot comfortably. Bullets in .45 and 9 mm are usually only a few dollars apart in price. For home protection I'd get the .45 and never look back. Just whatever you decide to buy.......do it sooner than later.

 

[Buster]

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Couldn't agree with you more on any of this. You took all the words right out of my mouth.

 

[spatcher]

Please remember this when considering the caliber....the higher the power the more walls it will go through if you miss!

 

[Buster]

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That's why for home defense I have a 12 gauge loaded with #7 bird shot. At 5-10 feet (about what it would be in most rooms in a house) the pattern is still devastating and the shot won't travel much beyond the first wall. You don't have to be extremely accurate with it and the sound of chambering a shot gun alone is enough to scare most wanna-be bad guys off. Still, handguns are awesome to have and that's why I have both.

 

[spatcher]

Dont get me wrong, I have both also. Just thought that needed to be said.

 

[woodchopper]

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That's why for home defense I have a 12 gauge loaded with #7 bird shot. At 5-10 feet (about what it would be in most rooms in a house) the pattern is still devastating and the shot won't travel much beyond the first wall. You don't have to be extremely accurate with it and the sound of chambering a shot gun alone is enough to scare most wanna-be bad guys off. Still, handguns are awesome to have and that's why I have both.

I'd really like to get a shotgun as well. You can do so many different things with them by just changing the ammo. Dick's Sporting Goods just had a sale on a pump that was inder $200 brand new.

 

[Buster]

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That's why for home defense I have a 12 gauge loaded with #7 bird shot. At 5-10 feet (about what it would be in most rooms in a house) the pattern is still devastating and the shot won't travel much beyond the first wall. You don't have to be extremely accurate with it and the sound of chambering a shot gun alone is enough to scare most wanna-be bad guys off. Still, handguns are awesome to have and that's why I have both.

I'd really like to get a shotgun as well. You can do so many different things with them by just changing the ammo. Dick's Sporting Goods just had a sale on a pump that was inder $200 brand new.

That's a great price. I recommend a Remington 870 12 gauge. I love the one I have.

 

[redoak]

My wife and I have been talking about getting a gun. We are considering getting a .22 but not sure what make to get yet. My grand-father used to work for Savage Arms before WW2 so that is my sentimental favorite.

 

[horsejody]

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You don't understand these dogs. They not only kill chickens, they kill other dogs. Fences do not keep them in their yard and don't appear to keep them out of others. I truly believe they will eventually kill a child. Law enforcement is already involved, and the neighbors are up on charges. In a perfect world, I could just pick up the phone and AC would just make it all go away. However, we do not live in a perfect world. These are not your everyday occasionally loose, playful dogs getting into mischief. If I catch them, they are dead.

 

[sred98]

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I absolutely L-O-V-E my Taurus "Judge"! It's a .45/410 revolver. Here is a link with a review about it... http://www.gunblast.com/Taurus-Judge.htm

I haven't read through all the posts, so if someone else has suggested this, I am sorry. I like it because it is extremely accurate and has virtually no kick. You can easily fire it one-handed if you need to. My DH got it for me and we keep it loaded, in the gun safe, with the .45 in the first chamber, and the .410's in the rest. Right now, I live in the city, so anyone coming through my front bedroom window is in for a nasty surprise!

S