Choosing a home defense gun in Missouri

Most people buy their first gun to protect their home. The right choice depends on your house, your family and how much you will practice. This guide compares the three main options and covers storage and the law in Missouri. It is general information, not legal advice.

The handgun

A full-size or compact 9mm pistol is the most common home defense choice. It is easy to store in a quick-access safe by the bed, one hand stays free for a phone or a door, and 9mm ammunition is affordable enough to practice with. Good choices include the Glock 17 and 19, SIG Sauer P320, Smith and Wesson M&P and CZ P-10. A weapon light on the rail helps you identify a target in the dark. Revolvers are simple and reliable but hold fewer rounds.

The shotgun

A 12-gauge pump such as the Mossberg 590 or Remington 870 has protected homes for generations. It is devastating at indoor distances, but it recoils hard, needs two hands and holds five to eight shells. Buckshot can pass through interior walls, so think about who sleeps on the other side of them. A 20 gauge is a softer-shooting option for smaller shooters.

The rifle

A carbine such as an AR-15 in 5.56 or a pistol-caliber carbine is easy to shoot accurately, holds 30 rounds and has light recoil. Defensive 5.56 loads tend to penetrate fewer walls than many people expect, but no load is safe to fire carelessly. Rifles are larger to store and harder to handle in tight hallways.

Ammunition

Use quality jacketed hollow-point pistol ammunition, buckshot or defensive rifle loads from a major maker, and practice with a cheaper range load that matches it. Shoot enough of your defensive load to know your gun feeds it reliably.

Safe storage

A home defense gun has to be fast for you and impossible for children and visitors. A biometric or keypad quick-access safe by the bed keeps a pistol secure but ready. Store long guns in a safe or with a cable or trigger lock when not in use. Keep ammunition for other guns locked separately. Missouri does not have a general safe-storage law, but federal law requires dealers to offer a secure storage device with handguns, and responsible storage prevents most accidents.

Missouri law on defending your home

Missouri's castle doctrine allows a person to use deadly force against someone who unlawfully enters or attempts to enter their dwelling, residence or vehicle, and Missouri has no duty to retreat from a place where you have a right to be. Every case is judged on its facts. Take a class that covers the use of force, and know what you will do and say after an incident.

Training

Buy the gun, then learn it. Shoot at an MDC range such as Busch, Henges, Lake City, Parma Woods or Andy Dalton, practice loading and clearing malfunctions with dummy rounds, and plan how your family will respond at night.

Shop handguns, shotguns and rifles, and read our concealed carry guide and Missouri gun law overview.

General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.