One of the primary purposes of gun ownership is the ability to defend one's home from intruders. Much has been written on this subject, and I am hardly qualified to speak as if I am on par with Massad Ayoob or Col. Cooper, but I do have some opinions on this subject. I view the revolver as the ideal home defense weapon. While an autoloader has significant tactical advantages, it requires training to be able to use it effectively. While the dedicated gun owner may be well served by a "night gun", say a XD-M with a light mount, there is no telling who will use the average home defense gun. It might be the skilled shooter in the family, or the hesitant housewife. As such the advantage of the revolver is that it is very simple to use: you aim it and pull the trigger. Period.
Another belief I have about home defense is that the long gun has little to no place in it (I am talking about defending against intruders in the home, not a zombie apocalypse). While the benefits of a shotgun are often pointed out, i.e. increased power, this can be a disadvantage. First off, the long gun is difficult to maneuver in tight areas, making room clearing a difficult proposition. This is the opinion of respected tactical writer Gabe Suarez, who stated in his excellent book (I might do a review sometime) The Tactical Advantage that he prefers the handgun for indoor work because of its mobility.
Secondly, while a well made hollowpoint handgun bullet will not exit body of a felon with much power, a twelve guage buckshot load will go through many walls. Even if you hit the intruder, it is a shotgun, meaning that pellets will likely also miss the intruder. Some use birdshot for this reason, seeking to not penetrate walls, but it has not been a proven man-stopper. A rifle will be even worse, as it will very likely exit the target with lethal force. Even worse is the idea that using a shotgun is easy because you don't have to aim (come on people!). While I respect the idea of the increased power and hit potential of a shotgun, I do not see many places where it would be superior to a user-friendly handgun.
