Mossberg 500A ‘Persuader’

Since we’re moving to a house, it was time to get our first long gun—a flexible 12-gauge shotgun. We settled on the Mossberg 500A ‘Persuader’ model for home defense duties. The 12-gauge caliber offers a wide variety of reasonably-priced ammunition options for different purposes.

• Model: Mossberg 500A ‘Persuader’.
• Type: Shotgun.
• Action: Pump.
• Caliber: 12-gauge.
• Capacity: 8-shell magazine.
• Finish: Blued steel.
• Stock: Synthetic
• Barrel: 20″.
• Purchased: September 2009 (new).

Smith & Wesson M&P 9

Having enjoyed several months with our ‘family’ revolver and becoming fairly proficient at using it, I decided to leave it to Melissa (and general home defense duties) and pick up my own dedicated firearm. After looking at several options, I settled on the Smith & Wesson M&P 9—a polymer pistol with a growing reputation as a solid competitor to the ubiquitous Glocks. I’ve put several hundred rounds through it so far without a single failure of any kind.

• Model: Smith & Wesson M&P 9.
• Type: Pistol (semi-automatic).
• Action: Locked-breech semi-automatic (double-action trigger).
• Caliber: 9mm.
• Capacity: 17-round magazines.
• Frame: Zytel polymer & stainless steel (large).
• Slide: Stainless steel with ‘Melonite’ finish.
• Barrel: 4.25″.
• Purchased: October 2008 (new).

Kel Tec P-3AT

Now that I have my Concealed Handgun Permit, I wanted to supplement my wonderful M&P with a relatively inexpensive, super-small, easily-concealable weapon. This is for those times when I feel a need to be armed, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to carry openly and it would be too difficult to conceal the large M&P.

• Model: Kel Tec P-3AT.
• Type: Pistol (semi-automatic).
• Action: Locked-breech semi-automatic (double-action trigger).
• Caliber: .380 Auto.
• Capacity: 6-round magazines.
• Frame: Aluminum (sub-compact).
• Slide: Steel, ‘Blued’ finish.
• Barrel: 3.1″.
• Purchased: January 2009 (new).

Smith & Wesson Model 620

This was our first family firearm and, truth be told, the first firearm I ever owned. After I got my M&P, I passed it along to Melissa. We usually share this weapon for general home defense duties, but it’s really ‘hers’.

• Model: Smith & Wesson Model 620.
• Type: Pistol (revolver).
• Action: Single or double action.
• Caliber: .357 Magnum & .38 Special.
• Capacity: 7-round cylinder.
• Frame: Stainless steel ‘L’ (medium).
• Barrel: 4″.
• Purchased: June 2008 (new).

Firearm Predecessors:

• None.