What is the best caliber for home defense?

There are multiple considerations you need to take when choosing the best caliber for home defense. First, you have to start with the firearm. Which one is best for your home? Do you have brick walls or vinyl? Kids? How close are your neighbors? It can be tedious trying to gather all of that information, but it serves an important purpose. You wouldn’t want to miss and nail the neighbor's dog, would you? Exactly. 

It starts with considering the home, the size of the people who may have to use that firearm to defend your home, and so on. Let me clear some of that up for you.

In the average American home, your wall is two pieces of sheetrock nailed to a two-by-four with about four inches of hollow space in between. Any physically capable human being can ram their fist through both wall layers. 

What do you think a bullet is going to do? 

Gon’ go right through it—especially your heavier, faster rounds like M855 5.56x45 NATO flying at Mach Jesus. And I wouldn’t go shooting Birdshot at an intruder, either. 

Unfortunately, there is no magic round that is going to stop an intruder and then fall off at the first wall. If the round doesn’t fragment or yaw when it hits the first surface (hopefully the intruder). 

That sounds terrible, but I don’t make the rules. 

Now, let’s say you have kids in rooms not too far from yours. I put bookshelves and dressers on the walls that are likely to be penetrated if someone comes into my home without an invitation. 

This won’t protect you 100%, as things are known to happen, but it will slow the round more, which could stop it from penetrating altogether. 

Homeowners with vast amounts of land around their homes can free willy. Go ahead and blast the intruder with a Raufoss round for all I care. Send him to the next realm on the express train. 

You don’t have to worry as much about hitting the old married couple that lives beyond the next wall. 

Those of you who live in apartments, on the other hand, have to be especially careful. For example, when I got my first apartment, I had about four inches of wall between myself and the people next door. The walls were so thin that I could hear the husband snoring at night. 

And a single mom lived through the walls to my left. 

Anyway, I had a 9mm and an AR-15 in 5.56x45. There were woods behind my house and a lot of dirt about 50 yards in front of my door. All I had to worry about was the sides.

How many sides do you have to worry about? 

If you live in a house, what is the exterior of your home made of? Bricks, cinderblocks, and other hard surfaces give you a bit more leniency. Vinyl and wood, not so much. 

Ideally, we wouldn’t have to worry about overpenetration. But we do. So we want a round that will put the attacker down quickly with minimal shots while still not penetrating too much. 

I will save you some time: shotguns are not the best for home defense. Many would agree, and many would disagree, but slugs and buckshot penetrate too much, and birdshot is insufficient. Not to mention the magazine capacity.

Pistols are fine but could be too snappy for some users. I’d recommend an AR-style firearm—short barrel pistol style. Don’t worry; there’s a pistol cartridge coming out of the other side. 

Now, here’s where you’re going to think I’m tripping. It’s a .45 ACP. 

That’s right. The legendary .45 ACP out of an AR pistol is my go-to for home defense. It’s powerful enough to stop an intruder, and out of an AR Pistol, the recoil will be easier to control, not to mention the larger magazine capacity, which gives you more than a pistol or shotgun.

The .45, particularly your 145-grain bullets, will only penetrate 6 inches of wall when shot from a five-inch barrel. Remember, an AR pistol. You can use a regular pistol if you can handle the recoil; just ensure you have a full mag. 

Again, some will say I’m crazy. And some will agree. 

Remember, finding the best caliber for home defense isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. No matter what, you will have some penetration as bullets will always beat walls. The important part is to make sure you aren’t going to over-penetrate and hit an innocent person. 

That will definitely cost you more than you’re willing to bargain. 

Be good and take care.