Hey about that, my wife has actually agreed to taking the course with me too! I'm surprised, but if there is going to be a fire arm in the home, it would be foolish not to have her take a course.
I have no interest in ever carrying a firearm on me outside of my home other then to the range, or remote hiking.
This would be almost exclusively for home defense. In Connecticut you have to have a pistol permit to purchase a shotgun/rifle, so I need to take this course regardless, but for home defense would you recommend a pistol or a shotgun for a new owner that is willing to learn, and continue to learn the craft well after initial certification.
Thanks
A shotgun is generally more effective at stopping bad guys IF YOU HIT THEM, but it can also be harder to wield if you have tight spaces or hallways/doors in your home, and generally has far less magazine capacity. A handgun is small, concealable, easy to wield and can have 18 or more rounds in the magazine, but are far weaker then a shotgun or rifle. To summarize, *Handgun = more chances to hit bad guy, but each hit is weaker* *Shotgun = fewer chances and possibly harder to hit bad guy, but each hit is much stronger* Also don't believe the Hollywood BS that you don't need to aim a shotgun, the shot spread over a typical room distance in a home defense scenario would be smaller then your fist. There is not do it all perfect firearm, everything is a trade-off.
Believe it or not AR-15 platform rifles make excellent home defense weapons also, they do more far more damage then a handgun, have double or triple the magazine capacity, very little recoil ( easy to shoot) excellent ergonomics and with a cheap red dot sight or laser it's easier to hit a target. And with the right ammo, over-penetration is not really an issue either. Although I guess an AR-15 might not be an option in Connecticut, do they have as silly of gun laws as NJ, NY and MA?
If you do go the shotgun route, consider something like a Remington 870 or Mossberg 500. They are cheap, reliable, and you can put a long barrel on it for hunting or skeet/trap and swap out a short barrel (18") for home defense. Also if you or your wife is intimidated by a big 12ga shotgun, then get a 16ga or 20ga. In close quarters even a 20ga with #7 birdshot is sufficient to make a bad guy take notice.
Bottom line is anything is better then nothing. I carry a pistol when I'm out and about town, I always have a rifle in the truck, and I have a shotgun and plethora of other firearms at home. So just get whatever your comfortable with, then go train and practice, and practice and train.
