For daily carry a glock of some sort in 9mm. 9mm because it is cheap to shoot and does the job well enough. Better to practice a lot and be good with what many call a sub power caliber than only practice a couple times a month with 45acp due to its cost.
In the car, a bone stock AK, 3-4 extra mags, cleaning kit, and maybe another 200 rds hidden in a go bag with other essentials like food, water and first aid stuff to get you through a 24 hr situation. I say 7.62x39 over .223 due to round size, and cost effective ammo procurement. You can afford to shoot every weekend on almost any budget with an AK or SKS. The AK spits more lead downrange its that simple, and is cheap to buy, and hits hard at close range.
12 gauge shotgun for home defense. loaded with bird shot. Will make a mess of anyone, and is very intimidating. I like semi autos over pumps, its a firepower thing. You want to enact maximum violence in the least time. Pump would be good if you anticipate using it for hunting or using more diverse loads. Can't go wrong with either! 20g is a good option too, especially if you have a wife or GF. It will be softer on recoil, and can still dish out a lot of lead.
"Birdshot for self-defense seems awesome, with little to no penetration of walls, and you’re protected from the dreaded over-penetration right? Well, not a single birdshot load penetrates the required 12 inches to produce a reliable killing shot. Let’s also remember that Dick Cheney accidentally shot his friend, a man well into the middle of his life, in the face with birdshot and the man made a full recovery.
How to hide your guns, and other off-grid caches…
At the distance where you’re poking them with your shotgun I’m sure it’s plenty fatal, but further than that and I just find it to be less and less likely that’ll you’ll stop a threat effectively. I also wouldn’t want to be that close to a bad guy.
Why use an inferior load made for squirrels, birds and clay pigeons?
Now, of course, you have slugs, and slugs can be used to reach out a little further than standard buckshot — roughly about 100 yards with a bead sight. Slugs can be devastating and are an option if the fight moves its way outside the home, or if you keep a shotgun for your trunk gun. Slugs are always good to have, but I personally don’t like them as an inside-the-home defense load.
Slugs can really over-penetrate. Plus, why use a slug? After all, a shotgun is a shotgun because it shoots a load of shot. A slug gun is kind of a big, low capacity rifle.
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Buckshot is my choice for home defense. Buckshot consistently penetrates to 12 inches and is capable of producing devastating wounds.
So penetration is covered, but what about shot placement? Well, per-shot the shotgun provides multiple projectiles, creating multiple wound paths, and therefore increasing the likelihood of placing an effective shot. Even if nothing vital is hit and a fatal wound isn’t inflicted, you’ll have an attacker full of pieces of lead, creating multiple wound channels throughout his torso – not only a very painful series of wounds but a debilitating effect on the body."
I tend to agree with this guy