sigh. i can only assume this is directed at myself. first, if you are able to buy whatever you want anytime you want, you are either rich or in vast amounts of debt. i am neither. so, i must make decisions that include sometimes doing without. i think this is fairly common for most normal folk. and yes, my wife and i make decisons on both of our spending....again, not a situation most people would find abnormal.

second, i don't need or want you to diagnose any of my "problems." i didn't ask your input about my lifestyle, i asked a question about the need of a handgun for MY purposes.

and as i said......i don't. so my orginal question still remains, other than carry or conceal, why do i need a handgun?

and i could have just as easily been at my door with my double barrel shotgun. a pistol is fine for HD. but imo, less effective than a shotty.

and if you read the whole conversation of the thread, you will see i already sold the pistol, but have since bought another. i can see that owning a pistol has its advantages, but it is still last on on my 'must have' firearms needs.

well, my wife has a very expensive habit as well....photography. so, she has never really really said "you can't have that." its more like like...."well, if YOU get a new gun, I get a new camera!" and somehow that seems to get us really broke....

question, though. would you really want a short range shoot out with this scenerio? You armed with a pistol & your enemy a 12gauge shotgun? not me, friend!

Mr. Hawkguy, You are correct. I should not have made any comment about your lifestyle, I apologize. It just hit me wrong, but that is no excuse, so please forgive me. I am neither rich or in debt. I have just been careful with my money. When working, I put some aside each paycheck. One for retirement, and two to buy men's toys with. I own four shotguns, and see the value of each. I just do not keep one loaded by my bed, I keep a pistol there. It is a matter of choice. Your choice is different and I respect that. If you were to put a top folding stock on your new Mossberg semi-auto shotgun, it would shorten the length and thus make it easier to keep by your bed. By the way, I am into photography too, and love it. My favorite is to take photos of nature and wildlife. I have not hunted with a firearm since my Dad died. Best wishes to you, and I will be more careful how I respond in the future.

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thanks, i appreciate that. no worries, my friend. i probably overreacted as well to be honest.

i think pistols can be a fine HD weapon, so i agree with you actually. personally, i never trusted MY abilities with a pistol, especially under pressure. shotguns have a little more "user error." they also have greater stopping power. so, this is really just from my point of view, rather than fact. there is really no right or wrong here. any firearm will get the job done for HD, really. and everyone has their own preferences.

if you are confident with your skills with a pistol, then that is all that really matters.

i have also come to realize, a pistol is good to have in the arsenal for several reasons, and that is why i got another. i got two needs with my most recent purchase....a pistol & a 22....i felt i needed both.

i still think a pistol is my most expendable firearm, but i am glad i have one again.

thanks again for being so respectful with this post.

I found a solution, I bought 2 .45, a 9mm and a cowboy SA......a AR and a SG.....instead of buying any more, I simply got .22 conversions for the .45 and AR, so now I have all bases covered.......btw, I use the .22's 99% of the time.

If you really need a reason to keep your handgun then you're on the wrong forum. If you have any doubts about the value of having a handgun, not only the financial value but the freedom you have to own a handgun, then I think you should be hanging out with Hillary or Oh!Prah.

what an insightful and intelligent response! i would probably rather hang out with hillary or oprah as opposed to YOU. i am a firearms enthusiast, so i have to disagree and say that i belong on this forum every bit as much as you.

again, please try reading the entire course of this thread. a few posts up, i acknowledged that handguns have value as a firearm. i was just simply stating that in my OPINION, they have the least use as a firearm, unless you plan to carry them.

if you don't agree, i can accept that. but, then again, i'm an open minded individual that seems to understand people are allowed to have different opinions.

i started this thread (a LONG time ago) to give handgun supporters a chance to tell me why a handgun is as important to have as longuns. some intelligent, respectful posters have influenced my thinking on this matter. there is really no more reason to keep responding to posters who either don't understand this thread, or don't seek to add anything constructive.

thanks for all the input, guys. i'm out of this thread.....carry on!

Keeping the hand gun is very tough thing.4 is my limit. i really want a SEMI AUTO 12 G. i have to give up something, for my purposes, the handgun seems the least useful to ME. but, i still have some reservations about having NO handgun.its a tough choice to make...

I will personally take a handgun over a shotgun for home defense any day. One word: Maneuverability.