Generally, a quality defensive handgun would be most people’s first choice of weaponry, due to the fact that they are portable, maneuverable, versatile, and capable of being stored unobtrusively in one’s nightstand or desk. However, some people are prohibited by law from owning handguns (often due to laws which make pistol permits virtually unobtainable), have no wish to spend several hundred dollars (at least) on a defensive handgun, or simply prefer a firearm with more power and extended range. It is for these individuals that I shall briefly discuss the option of long arms (rifles and shotguns) for home defense. To begin with, I shall cover the primary reasons why long arms may be considered inappropriate.

First, most long arms are at least a yard in length (and are often much longer), which means that they could prove awkward to maneuver through the confines of hallways, doorways, and small rooms. The length of the barrel would make it more difficult to engage targets at point blank range (typically, an adversary would need to be at least ten feet away in order to ensure one’s safety). Furthermore, a bold aggressor would have a much greater chance of successfully disarming you — particularly if he’d attacked from hiding.

Next, many long arms require two hands to operate, as the majority are not autoloaders (which would necessitate manually working the action of the firearm between each shot to facilitate operation).

And finally, not only would the (typically) much greater power of long arm cartridges result in a greatly increased probability of a "one-shot kill" (which might be undesirable in many scenarios — especially those where application of lethal force might be considered inappropriate), but they also have a tendency to overpenetrate their targets, which could endanger others (even those in another room or building). As you can see, there are a lot of good reasons why a long arm might not be your best choice.

On the other hand, if it is necessary that an attacker be dropped with a single shot (or if precisely aimed fire is either impractical or impossible) a shotgun would most likely be your weapon of choice. If it became necessary to fire upon targets that were beyond pistol range (or if you were required to disable a vehicle, penetrate cover, or defeat soft body armor), a high powered rifle would be the right tool for the job. Barring these unlikely and highly specialized applications, one would probably be much better served by either a .357 revolver or a .45 ACP pistol (especially if it were equipped with a laser designator or tactical light).

As a general rule, most rifles have far too much penetration to be safely utilized within a dwelling (unless you’re home alone and your nearest neighbor is a mile away), unless exorbitantly expensive (about five dollars per round) pre-fragmented projectiles are utilized. You would need to be well aware of your surroundings to ascertain that a round would not go tearing into a propane tank, a fuel oil tank, expensive machinery, or an occupied room. Rifles are best suited for precision fire at long ranges, unless you happen to be engaged in a military operation in hostile territory. Pistol caliber carbines (with the notable exceptions of the Ruger PC-4 and the Marlin Camp 9) almost invariably have a menacing paramilitary appearance, which would make you appear demented to a jury if you were required to argue your case in court (which is virtually guaranteed in the event of a shooting). Unless you live on a farm, deep in the woods, or out in the desert, a rifle probably would not be your best choice of weapon (unless, of course, no other firearms were available).

Shotguns (particularly the short-barreled pump) are generally touted by experts as the ultimate in home defense — and in many ways that is true (there’s a lot to be said for a weapon capable of discharging both clouds of buckshot and slugs as thick as one’s thumb), however, they are not without their flaws. One of their biggest flaws is that, unless the shotgun is a break-action with exposed hammer(s), it will be unsafe (as well as damaging to the gun) to leave a round chambered (so as to make it available for immediate use), as the internal hammer would be fully cocked (which would weaken the spring), and only a single safety mechanism (which could conceivably fail — especially on an older gun) is in place to prevent an accidental discharge.

Yes, one could always leave the weapon fully loaded with an empty chamber (which many do, due to the documented psychological effect of hearing a shotshell being racked into place), but consider the fact that nearly all pump and autoloading shotguns rely upon an integral tubular magazine mounted beneath the barrel — keeping the magazine loaded compresses the coil spring, which will eventually weaken it, making it prone to failure. A pump or autoloading shotgun is best kept unloaded (with the ammunition either attached to a bandoleer sling or inserted into a speedloading device) with a handgun close-by for immediate use. If you feel the need to keep a loaded shotgun "ready for action" at all times, you would be best served by a double-barrel with exposed hammers (unfortunately, the vast majority of side-by-sides, and all over-unders, are "hammerless") or a rotary cylinder shotgun (which, unfortunately, have recently been declared restricted items — also, the rotary drum would require "winding," in order to generate spring tension, prior to use).