I have read a lot, tryed a lot and seen a lot of home protective mesures, i still remain firm in the belief that a short barreld shotgun is still the answer, think about it, it takes minimul skill to operate the action of a double barrel or pump shotgun, they can use non leathal rubber buckshot, tear gas, ect...or full house 3" magnum 00 or 000 buckshot (i still maintain bigger is better... and a face full of thirty caliber lead bullets...) possible the biggest selling point for me is a short handy shotgun is one of the most powerful guns in the world...forget "lack of penatration" with hollow point 9mm, 45's what ever, even a .454 Casull pales in comparason of the engery of a 3" magnum load of 000 buckshot...blow the guy right into the next centry...or how ever long it takes to scrape his carcess off the celing...also, the mere sound of that shotgun's action being worked and a round chambering had ended more than one fight when the bad guys relise too late that they have beed suddleny outgunned in the extream...how about that for an article Guns & Ammo? 9mm Vs 12 Gauge? but thats just what i think is ideal for a home defensive weapon. oh, the brand shotgun? A Mossberg 500A with an 18 inch peep sigh and tinium dot front sight...this particular scatter gun aslo doubles as my weekly trap shooting gun....($100 garage sale special verses a $2300 beretta whitewing...mine wins on price alone!)